Hi And Welcome to my regular blog. I will try and keep it humorous which may mean mildly colourful language at times. I hope you enjoy it and won't be offended. In order to protect the guilty; no Customers will be mentioned by name unless it's complementary and even then I may opt for anonymity. This is only because I wanted to impress you by putting in the word "anonymity." If I can think of any other slightly more pointless and annoying rules, I will let you know in due course.
Hi all. Well it's half past one in the morning and I can't wait any longer to write this weeks blog. First of all I'd like to say a big thank you to Hazel and Stewart who really looked after me at the Burley Manor Hotel
on Thursday night. Check out the video of the first dance. Very well done.
Here's their testimony:
Hi Mike
Just like to say thank you for providing the entertainment at our wedding
last night.
I know that it was probably a bit of a challenge at times, due both to the
lack of attendees, there were quite a few last minute cancellations; and a
number of guests abstaining from the alcoholic stuff and therefore not loosening
their inhibitions, problems associated with a mid week wedding; however, you
managed the playlist exceptionally well and your choice of music made it
impossible for the dance floor to remain empty for long.
So, once again, thank you for making our wedding evening a fantastically
happy and memorable one, you were simply greaaattttttttt.
Best regards
Stewart and Hazel L***
Now the rest of the blog that I wrote, I have deleted, as it was too angry. basically last night (saturday) I was driving the crowd wild with excitement but the venue owner ruined the end half hour by insisting that I turn the volume down to near zero for no valid reason that I was able to determin.
Never mind all that. This afternoon I helped my mate Tim from Atlantic sound set up for the Bognor illuminations. This is a large procession of floats that sets up in West Park Bognor and at 8:30pm sets off along Bognor seafront much to the aural and visual delight of all the locals. What a laugh. It was the first time I actually met Tim in the flesh although we've talked for lord knows how long on facebook and on the phone over the years and I found him to be a really personable bloke. We had the job with various other deejays too of setting up a float on the back of a 23 tonne curtain side rigid truck complete with disco, lights lazors etc. and various banners and dancers. Tim's been a dj for a while now as was obvious by the suitcase loads of plug leads etc. that he carries around with him. I could never work like he does. I have everything hard-wired into cases and ready to go but he sets everything up from scratch, not even connecting hard drives to his laptop until he arrives at the gig. Top marks to him though, he reckons he can set the whole lot up in about 30mins, which is faster than yours truly.
After what seemed like endless plugging,gaffer taping, climbing and hanging etc. we eventually set up a float and spent the next half hour trying to alter the set up so that the two generators could cope with the huge powerlaod being asked of them! We had to turn off a few old style halogen lighting effects that were drawing 250 watts each and rely on the LED ones which were drawing about 1 watt or something close. Thats progress for you. And they weigh a lot less too.
Nothing can beat that moment of excitement when you get the first bit of music blasting out of a new/different sound system and everyone cheers. And nothing can top the disappointment when it all cuts out again as the generators give up...Stick some petrol in Tim! Still, we got it working in the end and I met some interesting charactors, like a guy who used to be an engineer on radio Caroline in the 60's and became a dj who played to thousands at a time when mobile deejaying was in it's heyday. I left them all to it just before they set off but I've actually managed to take some shots and do a bit o filming so go here if you want to see it.
Have a great bank holiday and I'll see you next week.
Hello all. Well the other day a venue owner announced a few days before the gig that she needed to see my Pat test certificate (portable appliance test) in order to play at the said gig this weekend. I haven't had such a cerificate in all my nine years of business as a) i buy new equipment vertually every year making me exempt and b) I look after my gear so well that I haven't even had a fuse blow in all the time I've been a DJ/musician/producer and that's a long long time!
So I tell her the above initial bit and politely say: If there's anything else you need to know then don't hesitate to ask...
She did. She wanted to see all my equipment warranties to prove it was all new. Oh my god! you don't get warranties on pro-equipment, just receipts and that meant going back through the diary to try and locate and scan them all. A big big job!
So to cut a long story short, I decided that rather than do all that scanning and fuddling, I'd just get the damn stuff tested an certified. I met the pat test guy this morning and a thoroughly nice bloke he was too. www.parkfieldelectronics.co.uk if you're interested...
I hopelessly under estimated the total amount of equipment I had that needed testing making it double the price I expected and more, but he was cool and we did a deal which saved me some cash.
So there you are. If you're wondering whether to book me because your venue's insurers want minimum responsibility get-out-of-paying-ever clauses written into their contract; fear not! I have big shiny stickers and certificates to show them. Oh, and they're laminated too so I can't forge them like certain other deejays do. You know the rules..No names.
