The Clever DJ

Creating the Perfect Wedding Vibe - Tips from A Pro Wedding DJ - Ep #34

• Ilia & Nino • Episode 34

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Ever wondered what goes into making a wedding reception unforgettable? Tune into this week's episode of The Clever DJ, where you'll gain invaluable tips and tricks from Nino, a veteran DJ with two decades of experience, and Ilya, an enthusiastic newcomer to the scene. We'll promise you this: by the end of this episode, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of how to align with a couple's vision, manage tailor-fit playlists, and avoid those dreaded genre mishaps that can throw off the entire event.

From the art of reading the crowd's vibe to mastering microphone techniques, we dive into the essential skills every DJ should hone. Hear our personal stories, like the time a Christmas party nearly went sideways but was saved by on-the-spot crowd reading, or how a simple request notebook transformed a school event. This episode is packed with real-life anecdotes that demonstrate the power of attentiveness and flexibility, ensuring you can create an engaging and memorable atmosphere, no matter the venue or occasion.

But that's not all—we also stress the importance of strong vendor relationships to ensure seamless event execution. Learn from our experiences about the pitfalls of late arrivals and the critical role of good communication with photographers and videographers. With tips on managing crowd energy, volume levels, and avoiding common mistakes, we wrap up by highlighting the top strategies for DJ success. Don't miss this chance to elevate your skills and make every event you DJ a hit!

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Ilia:

Welcome back. Welcome back to another episode of the Clever DJ. First, a quick intro about ourselves, just so you know who we are If you're just tuning in for the first time, whether it's on YouTube or any of the other platforms. My name is Ilya and I am a DJ. I'm a beginner DJ. I've been DJing for about two years now and I've done a variety of events, and at one of the events where I was bartending before I became a DJ, I met this guy beside me and you know he took me on as his apprentice and uh, ever since then we've been uh djing together or uh different, like different events, and that's when the journey started yep, so my name is nino, I'm a professional dj and, um, I've been djing for 20 plus years.

Nino:

Uh, started off with bars and clubs. Now I do primarily mostly, uh, private events, especially weddings. I have a roster of 15 djs under my belt.

Ilia:

So, yeah, that's, that's me in a nutshell yeah, and this is a banter podcast about djing, so uh, every every episode is uh weekly and uh we speak about just things that happen to us, things that happen that happen to other djs and anything dj related.

Ilia:

Yeah, under the sun, right, yeah just like two guys hanging out talking about djing, yeah, uh, some other, some other uh podcasts and live shows you you'll see out there uh are a lot more technical or more like schools and stuff like that, and you know we're going in that direction at some point too, but for now we're just enjoying, just, you know, chatting and discussing.

Nino:

Just chilling.

Ilia:

Yeah, just chilling, drinking our tea, drinking our tea.

Nino:

We're really into tea. Yeah, we love our tea. Tea and pho, pho, yeah.

Ilia:

Yes, that's another thing we really love. You know what One of those days we need to get a tea and a fa sponsor. I just I don't see who's gonna sponsor djs when it comes to fine I know, I know it's weird, it's more, like you know, like club stuff, like more like you know, alcohol, alcohol and all that other stuff yeah, yeah, yeah but it's okay, yeah, we'll make it work.

Ilia:

Oh my god, wait, this is not straight. Oh my god, come on. No, I'm joking, okay? So, uh, nino, you take it away. What are we talking about?

Ilia:

so today we're talking about wedding djing and how tricky it can be and, um, just some of the worst mistakes you can make as wedding djs yes, and if you think that, oh, I started djing because I want to be a wedding dj, you know, in three to six months max a year, I'm gonna be a wedding dj. That's exactly what this guy said, because I was ambitious. You know what? You know, three or six months max a year, depending on my schedule, I'm here side by side with you. I I still don't really do weddings. I done a couple gigs like weddings, you know, very, very like serious production, and you know I did it by myself, at least one of them, one of them. You came with me and supported me and, yeah, I'm ready for weddings now, but so far I've done them with another DJ. Yeah, right, so this is because it's not that simple. There are. This is because it's not that simple. There's an itinerary.

Nino:

There's a lot of moving parts. There's so many things, so many things going on with weddings. Right, it's not just playing music, they're coordinating. Sometimes You're talking on the microphone, you're playing the music, you're curating the actual atmosphere, the day, the soundtrack of the day.

Ilia:

Yeah, you're the puppeteer, you're the master of that night, and the DJ doesn't usually get that credit until the end of the night when the bride and groom and whoever else noticed wow, you made this night happen. Yeah, right, sometimes that's the case. They don't have a coordinator or everything is messed up and then you know, for example, nino comes in and rescues the night. I've done that so many times.

Nino:

Yeah, I've seen that. But yeah, we're going to start with number one. What do we have there, buddy?

Ilia:

Number one is not preparing adequately.

Nino:

Yeah, so this applies to just DJs not preparing their playlists and just making sure that everything is accessible right away and making sure that you have the vision of what the actual client wants their wedding day to sound like, right, because there's some songs, some genres that clients do not want, so you want to make sure not to play those Right. So, yeah, it's very important that you play what the kind of music that they want.

Ilia:

Yeah, they have a certain vision for the wedding. My sister just got married just a couple of months ago and they met with the DJ several times. They spoke to him several times and they explained OK, so that's what's going to happen in this part of the night, ok, this is what we see for this, that's our vision for that. So there's a lot of stuff. There's the songs that did not play and then the ones that must be played. There's how they want certain parts to go on, like okay, so on the father-daughter dance and mother-son dance, we also want to switch, and you have to know all those things.

Nino:

There's different details and if you don't remember that, because you're focusing on your transitions, yeah, yeah, you gotta get tough, you gotta remember all the little, the finer details that every couple wants. That's just. That's just, um, just trying to prepare accordingly how to go over the notes.

Nino:

Yeah, and that's why the client meets with you and in person sometimes to talk everything over, especially if they want a lot of things like a lot of surprises and a lot of like live mixing and stuff. If they want to do like a like a mashup mix of, like the father-daughter dance, what I have that in a couple of, a couple of weeks I'm actually actually making that mix, pre-making it so they can make a dance to it, right? So sometimes, yeah, you need to do stuff like that.

Ilia:

I was just going to say one time when we were driving, was it? I think it was when we ran out of gas, almost. Didn't you say that while we're driving you're already prepared While we're driving. Okay, so we want the song this way. Actually, we want it to start here and then we'll come in. And then you're like that's not even possible. How do I tell her that? Right, and then you made it possible, you found her an alternative, right? But even if you're fully adequately prepared, they're still going to throw something.

Nino:

you got to be flexible with with what they want right, because you never know what's coming coming up on on the actual day of right.

Ilia:

So yeah, number two, ignoring the crowd so this is.

Nino:

This includes not reading the room and just failing to adjust to the music to suit the mood of the crowd, right? If you don't read the room and don't engage and watch them and making sure that they like the music that you're playing. Usually this falls on a lot of bedroom DJs. A lot of bedroom DJs will be like because they don't look up at the crowd. They're used to just playing for themselves, right? So make sure that you actually look up instead of just staying like, uh like, looking down at your laptop or or your controller like you're used to in your bedroom yeah, like even twitch streamers.

Ilia:

Uh, you know, like I've seen some who are actually responsive to the comments and stuff and those are the ones that are very popular, right?

Nino:

they get a lot followers because they actually engage with them. They look at the camera and they they talk to you literally like they're alone in the room and they're still engaging.

Ilia:

Yes, can you imagine what they're like when they have a crowd in front of them? Even more right. So being alone in your bedroom does not mean you're not engaging with whoever you play music for, because otherwise you're just playing for yourself. Exactly. Some people might like that because they have the same vibe, but what are the odds? You'll find 3 000 people who like that.

Nino:

Yeah, on that day, right, exactly now, if you, if you're just gonna do that and play for yourself, then just be a bedroom dj, not even take it up to the level for fun.

Ilia:

That's fine, nothing wrong with that.

Nino:

Yeah, uh, number three playing inappropriate songs like you know, I've talked to you about this right um clients that ask um, please make sure you play the explicit version. So I'm like what? Especially because you know there's kids, there's your grandma, grandpa um, out in the crowd.

Ilia:

It just it's not gonna appreciate that.

Nino:

No it's just, it irks us right because we look so unprofessional right now. It's different maybe if you play it at the end of the night, when, when the kids are gone, grandma, grandpa are gone already. Then you can turn up right and just play the explicit versions and we love playing them because you know we love playing the, the real versions, like the club songs.

Ilia:

Yeah, it really, really hits my ears like just really badly when I hear the, the censored version. Yeah, just, it's just like.

Nino:

I'm like that's just, you don't even want to play that song a lot of the times that's how I feel a lot of the times the crowd will sing the obscenities anyway, right. So it's like, yeah, you might as well play, but you know, to stay professional you have to. Um, not, yeah, keep it. Keep it clean, right. Inappropriateness is is so awkward for us for us djs.

Ilia:

Another awkward thing.

Nino:

Number four overusing the microphone you know it's not about you, it's about the um, the couple, right? So don't make it about you. Don't talk um on the microphone too much. If you're gonna emcee the wedding, make sure that you get to the point, straight to the point um. Talk slowly, concisely and just make sure everybody knows like what you're saying, right yeah, also not over the song.

Ilia:

Every time some djs over the best parts of the song or singing with a song, I'm like what are you doing?

Nino:

like if you were a good singer, okay, sure like even then, come on, man, not to every song like I'm here listening to pitbull, not to you, right like uh.

Ilia:

but um, yeah, it's just uh. I don't understand how some people are, it's just so lost on them because I don't get on the microphone enough, because I realize like, hey, maybe they don't want to listen to that and I'm still like in the beginning of my journey, you know there are some crowds that will respond to it, but in general you just don't want to do it too much.

Ilia:

I noticed that if you do want to do it, you got to be so confident and so like, yeah, like I'm going for it, cause if you're not, they're going to pick up on that energy. Yeah, they're going to kind of look at you like, all right, buddy, that feels so so awkward, it's so awkward man. Or if you're just like yelling into the mic like a like a madman, like a 13 year old, just like yeah, I just want to tell everyone uh, the food's ready.

Nino:

That's another thing. Do not cup the microphone. You're not a rapper of them. Cup the microphone oh, you're not a rapper, right, and it it peaks the actual system too, and it's. We have to turn it down.

Ilia:

We're gonna probably uh post edit this. That was too loud. Shut the levels, just shut right up.

Nino:

It's too much man. So yeah, please don't cop the microphone as well, use the microphone appropriately. All right, this is the handle. This is not the handle. Okay.

Ilia:

Yeah, you're going to get feedback. If you cut the top part, it's going to start. You're going to get feedback because the sound just anyway, number five being unresponsive to requests. So that's kind of part of the crowd ignoring the crowd, but that's very specific.

Nino:

Yeah, you have to, especially if you're bombing. You have to make sure that you're taking the request, because that gives you an indication of what the crowd will actually like Well, at least the person who requested it, right. But it might give you ideas, Like, if they start dancing, it might give you okay, they like this song, so I might as well play this and this and this. They'll like this.

Ilia:

right, as a DJ, you have to have that knowledge and you know just, yeah, I had a a Christmas gig last year and I wouldn't say I was bombing it, but it was definitely not going as well as it should. Not even as well as I wanted to go, as well as it should go. 10 to 15% of people were dancing kind of like almost forcing themselves. A couple of people really enjoyed it. Most people were like all over the place. I realized it wasn't really me, it was the place.

Nino:

It was probably just the environment.

Ilia:

They weren't ready to dance, but any good DJ will get them to want to dance. Yeah, it's almost. It almost never happens. It just doesn't work. No matter what you do, if you're good, you know how to get them there. So I found a few things that I saw they liked, but it was, it was painful, it was like okay, like hit, miss, hit, miss.

Ilia:

But were they requesting stuff and then they started requesting and I'm like, okay, I see why they like that. And then I brought in more of those songs and then suddenly it just became an amazing night and it was. You know, it was like an hour and a half of like 90% of the people on the dance floor. It was fun, it got tipped nicely. It was just from like oh man, I hope they're going to call me again To. Oh wow, they're tipping me and everyone's dancing and everyone's happy.

Nino:

Sometimes it just takes that one request and then it'll spark the whole night, right?

Ilia:

Yeah, it's like an inside thing there. They all like that song or it reminds them of something You're not going to know that Especially beginners, if you're just not going to know that.

Nino:

So, especially beginners, if you're just learning how to read the crowd, take those requests, because sometimes they're gold. They'll get the crowd going.

Ilia:

Remember what I did on our first gig, my first gig, yeah, like without you, mm-hmm. It was at school and I took a notebook, a request notebook, a request notebook, yeah, yeah, right. So for the kids, because I'm like they're coming on there every like two minutes.

Nino:

They will request and keep going, man, and then you won't be able to dj anymore because you're so busy taking the requests and I loved it.

Ilia:

I created like three playlists I'm like okay. So these kids from this age, this age, love that there you go then.

Nino:

Then that's how you build your playlist too right. I built it For that age group.

Ilia:

Yeah, and then it was how young were they? From like six years old Probably six to like what? 12? 13, I think, yeah, 13. So it was six to eight, then it was eight to 10, I think, or 11 and 11 to 13, something like that. The blocks of grades, well, something like that. I kind of overlapped a few of the ages, but I literally wrote it down in such a way that I'll know, and then every time I went back there and played those songs and researched upon those.

Nino:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the way it's all thanks to the requests.

Ilia:

I was brand new. I had no idea what to play.

Nino:

I don't listen to that music, right? You know what that's? That's the thing for for high school, like prom gigs. That's the way I get um schooled in knowing the new music because they request the stuff like they'll. They'll request the stuff like oh, I haven't heard of this, maybe it's a banger. And then I listen to it. Oh, yeah, it is a banger, so I just play it and then they go crazy, right, so that's? That's a way of just building your playlist as well. Right, so it's great and you know what.

Ilia:

There are those kids that I really respect, like over the top, yeah, which when they come to the dj booth and they're like, hey, can you play? Play that song and and, and they're trying to describe it and I'm like, is he talking about? No, he's not. He's like, oh, yeah, that's the name. And then he shows me his phone, like no, that was like 20 years before you were born. Yeah, right. And I just respect them for loving the old school music, whether it's rap or it's like an electronic music, which is really my thing. Electronic music, um, uh, yeah, like it's great. Yeah, I just I want to play it. But here's the thing most of the kids there won't, won't know it or won't vibe to it. Yeah, right. And then I'm like you know what? I'm gonna play it for myself. I don't care, one kid wants it. It's not just for me.

Ilia:

But you never know, sometimes it's a, it's a thing, it's like a, like a, maybe a joke or something, or something that all everybody knows an inside joke thing that all the kids would know, and then they'll actually go crazy and dance to it yeah, like, uh, there was one one time actually, something like, um, something to do with one of the one of the kids. Fathers played a song and then they all liked it, yeah, and they all spoke about it. And you know, the dad is like in his 40s or something right, so now they're all listening to that song. So I played it. I'm like, let's see.

Ilia:

And then there was a group of group of kids like 12 kids, who probably all were in the same place when, whatever, something happened and they all started jumping and and because of their energy, even though the other ones didn't really care for it, everyone just yeah, yeah, the effect right yeah, I've had those moments as well too, and if it bombs, then you get to listen to you to the song you like, and then you just like get to that request list switch it up really quick.

Ilia:

That's how, as djs, you gotta you gotta do that this is the way it is uh, oh I, I put my phone away, one sec sec.

Nino:

Okay, well, number number six is playing music too loud. Now, this, this is something that number six playing music too loud, yeah, so don't don't play music too loud, cause you can literally agitate like the um, uh, the guests right, especially if they're having conversations, um, it'll drive them away a lot of the times. You can clear the dance floor, especially clear dance floor, um, you can drive people to go home early if you play to piss off the event organizers, even the bride and groom, right.

Nino:

But sometimes you guys, you have to go out on a dance floor sometimes and hear your levels, right, and just hear how it sounds in their perspective, right? So just, uh, just to make sure that it's not too loud. You know those times when the, the highs are just too piercing and it just hurts yeah, some songs you just know.

Ilia:

Hey, that's a loud song, yeah, it's lower the level, just turn it down a little bit, and you told me that back in the day we spoke about it several times one of the things that, uh, when you become more of an intermediate to towards maybe even a professional dj, one of the things you gotta start learning is levels, levels. It's not just transition.

Nino:

it's not just playing the music, it's making sure the levels match.

Ilia:

Yeah, each song matches the next song, and then also it matches the energy of the song and the night and people. You don't just read them for what they want to listen to, but how they want to listen to it, right.

Nino:

It's important. Just imagine a song you're playing at this volume, you bring in the next song and it's like, right here. Imagine a song you're playing at this volume, you bring in the next song and it's like, right here, it doesn't matter if it's a banger or not, if they can't hear what it's what's going on, you just lost the crowd. It's like, oh, lost that you. You instead of them just keeping the momentum, you just kind of like jarred them and this, that's it. It's like, oh okay, I'm just gonna exactly right, and then you get, then you turn, then you just decide to turn it up and by that time it's kind of like, oh, it lost its effect.

Ilia:

It's not a podcast, you're DJing.

Nino:

Yeah.

Ilia:

Let's make this louder Everything has to be just simultaneous. Yes, Number seven poor timing.

Nino:

Yeah, I've seen well, I haven't done this like I've seen, um, social media djs have done this and, like really bad moments that they've, they weren't prepared. I actually sent you, uh, something like just like like that just yesterday, I think, on instagram. Yeah, yeah, I sent you a dj like um who was trying to find a song and lauren hill was right beside her singing, killing me softly. But the guy was like trying to find it or something so he can play it. But he didn't even end up finding it or playing it. He ended up playing another song and lauren hill felt sorry for him and said give it up for the dj. You know, oh, my god, I was like, oh, I was so cringed about that, right, but yeah, I saw you send me something on instagram.

Ilia:

I was on vacation so I did. I did not, okay, but that's what it was. That's insane, yeah, that's, that's, that's gotta hurt. That's like a moment where you're like do I continue doing this?

Nino:

and he went viral and it hurts. I was like, oh, it's a dj. You're like oh, that's not what you want to go violent for, right, but it does happen. So make sure you prepare accordingly, make sure that everything's in its proper crates, it's labeled as well as like first dance or like father daughter dance, and that you're ready for it.

Ilia:

You have the itinerary beside you and you anticipate it's coming up, so it could come up anytime it's uh, you know it, people need to understand your regular skills will not play out the same way when you're stressed out. Yeah, just like when I went to the shooting range with a friend a while back. He's a detective and he's like a top cop, like he did lots of courses. If you're in the US he's with a SWAT, but we don't have SWAT. We have, you know, emergency task force, etf, eru, emergency response unit. Yes, so he works with them and you know I was impressed.

Ilia:

Oh, look at my grouping. Like, look how well I shot. I was like, well, one of the first times I've ever done that is again. I'll try doing that after you ran for 15 minutes and after you, um, being chased by someone, or or you're trying to figure out like all the rules of what you're supposed to do and now control, and you're under pressure too right now. Just an analogy, maybe not the best one, but like that's how it's gonna feel. Same thing you're gonna be sweating buckets, yeah, when you're at the gig and you can't find a song or you need something, all eyes are on you. And now for you, your regular skills of being oh, I could buy a song like that. Normally, if you're at home, you'll find it yeah your jitters.

Ilia:

You're not thinking the same be prepared, yeah, um, and and time your things correctly, because if you don't do it ahead of time and if you don't kind of practice that you can go viral for the wrong reasons, exactly number eight. Can you like give me like an echo when I talk like number eight, number eight, eight, uh.

Nino:

Lack of backup equipment yeah, I was talking about this. You have to make sure that you have um mixes, extra mixes, uh backup controller. Um, most of the times, I like to bring my small controller as well as as backup um extra speakers. I always bring a monitor. Um, yeah, backups for your backups. You never know what's going to happen to your mains, right yeah.

Ilia:

Or like if you have like a really like bad cable for your laptop and you kind of like, just like throw it into it so it like magnetizes, like let's see, okay, it's charging, yeah. Or if you like I don't know who does that but if you come with a laptop that has to be plugged in and if it gets plugged like unplugged, then the battery like there's no battery, then there's no music like yeah, some people do that.

Nino:

Yeah, I don't know who does that, who does that man here?

Ilia:

I'll do it for you, I know that's what I was thinking, but like that's the thing, like I I'm like I'll do it, I'll get another laptop next year or next month or like next season or whatever, but then I have so much stuff on it now it takes forever to transition.

Nino:

That's my problem, right now, but yeah, I can't imagine how much stuff you have. But backups, bring backups for your backups, always because you never know.

Ilia:

Yeah and it's. We're giving these examples because we know we preach it but we don't always do it because it's hard. It's hard to always, it's expensive, it's time consuming to do all that stuff. But you could get in a lot of trouble if you get to the event and it's remote, like there's nowhere to go and buy, and now you don't have a speaker or you don't have a laptop. Like what do you do? I never heard of anyone, like I've just gotten into it in the last couple of years. What do you do when? When you're in that situation, oh man, you do what you can.

Ilia:

There's no music, Ah, what you can play play on your your phone, play on your ipad? Yeah, what if you don't have the connector? Right? You need a special connector.

Nino:

Oh well, that's the thing I have. I have backups for that too as well, just in case, right? Yeah, so extra cords, extra everything right you never know what you're gonna extra.

Ilia:

Everything need at the time. Number nine Arriving late or unprepared, same thing.

Nino:

So we always actually try to arrive at least an hour and a half to two hours before the actual event, or four hours, like I used to. If you don't know how to set up, properly and you're not used to it yet Four hours. Four hours, four, four, four and a half hours, my first couple events. I actually told you to sleep over at the in the parking lot so you can get ready for him.

Ilia:

It took me so long. I was like ocd, like well, the speaker should be here. I'm like it's been two hours just trying to figure out where the speaker is where the table is how I'm going to put the cables, I'm like, I'm like, uh, taping everything you know, like placing the tape, and then it's also because you're the DJ, everyone comes to talk to you. Now, yeah, they're not going to leave you alone. So now I spend at least 45 minutes all over the place speaking to people who are asking me for things.

Nino:

Yeah.

Ilia:

Yeah, so, yeah, I got to come on time, especially if you want to have fun. Yeah, on the way, on the way, yeah, I miss that. How, how, um, I think we showed up.

Nino:

How late we showed up, like half an hour before the gig started or 45 minutes that that day we came up, just yeah, around half an hour 45 minutes it was the drive to it was.

Ilia:

It was the day with the gas right.

Nino:

Yeah, because we were kind of yeah, I was freaking out. Was that the day? I think it was that day, and it was the one when we went to Phu too. We just came, oh we did it twice, we did it twice.

Ilia:

And we killed it because we're two. We have a system we set up.

Nino:

Yeah, we set up pretty fast because we know exactly how to set up and stuff. But yeah, don't do that, don't. Yeah, don't do that, don't do how we're doing. It. Do as we say, not as we do.

Ilia:

You know, stuff happens sometimes, right, and it's out of your control, but yeah, you might want to have fun the things, the things that are in your control. Please make sure that you do it properly look, if we drive and we have an hour and a half like, we know we're getting there an hour and a half before the event starts. But if we like we drive by a fought place and we know we'll still have 20 to 30 minutes, we gotta hurry up, man dude, we inhale it.

Nino:

We inhale it fast right, you see how I eat right, no, I, I can't get to that level.

Ilia:

That's nuts. That's nuts. You'll be able to finish the bowl by the time you get to the bathroom.

Nino:

Go in, the door won't close, you'll come out that's how you eat as a dj man all right um number 10, number 10, neglecting to coordinate with other vendors yeah, and this is just like coordinate or just working with your other vendors, like if you, if you're um, just before something happens and usually you're the one who announces it, or you you know the m MC is going to come up and pick up your mic to announce something, you have to let the photographers or videographers know that it's happening so they can prepare right, because it takes them like a minute or two just to get into place and stuff they have to set up their flash, this, that, or maybe they just sat down to eat and you see them, you know eating, and then suddenly realizing it's dawning on them Uh-oh, oh, he's introducing, oh, and it's also on them.

Ilia:

They need to know when things happen. But it's professional courtesy. It really helps. They have stuff to deal with, you have stuff to deal with. Communicate, at the end of the day, proper communication between the vendors is going to achieve, it's going to help you achieve an unbeatable event, like an amazing event, and everyone's going to be happy. Yeah, and you will actually get more gigs through those vendors.

Nino:

Yes, teamwork makes the dream work, yeah, for real.

Ilia:

And yeah, and I think that, um, I got at least two gigs back to back yeah, I think it was back to back From vendors I was working with. One was a 360 booth and another one was a photographer slash videographer. So they're like, wow, it was amazing working with you and somebody asked for a DJ. They recommended me. Right, it was amazing working with you and somebody asked for a DJ.

Nino:

They recommended me.

Ilia:

Yeah, yeah, right. So it was just fun. It was just fun knowing that, like I just communicated with them properly and that's like it got me that and everyone was happy Got a five star review.

Nino:

So work with everyone like that. Don't turn down like the videographer I know some videographer. I know some DJ videographer. I know some djs. That actually charge extra for the videographer to plug into their system so they can get the audio for the video. I'm like kidding. Oh yeah, I read it online. I'm like what?

Ilia:

that's preposterous I think that's gonna, that's gonna cause, that's gonna cause some serious like arguments. Yeah, yeah, why would you? Do that like even even between the um the client. Yeah, like my photographer just, or videographer just told me that you want who you're gonna build, like the client or or the actual videographer videographer who's gonna not, he's gonna have to take the hit.

Ilia:

Yeah, it's weird, man, I don't get some people, um, number 11, number 11, playing extended mixes of slow songs. That's that, unless it was a request, and it's like the end of the night and it's like just them two, right, but like you don't do that throughout the and just playing a lot of slow songs.

Nino:

In general it kills the momentum of the actual party, unless it actually called the night, actually calls for a slow song, like you've been dancing them for like half an hour to an hour and then it's time to wind down and slow down, because they can't dance forever like on at a hundred, right? So you're gonna have to slow it down sometime. So play maybe one song or even two songs. It also depends on the crowd. Sometimes the crowd is mostly elderly, so you're gonna play a lot more older songs to get them dancing too.

Ilia:

Yeah, yeah, usually for weddings, cause that's what we're speaking about today. Uh, specifically, it's going to be the. The youngest people will be the, the, the bride and groom Usually, usually, sometimes it's you know, it's their second or third wedding. Um, usually, no, usually. Usually, sometimes it's their second or third wedding, and then their friends and the children, right, but then 70% of the of the guests are older people. Yeah, so that's when we play the oldies and everything, yeah of course.

Ilia:

That's why it's hard, because the main people, the main people, they're younger and they may not appreciate that music. Yeah, but then the majority of the crowd will.

Nino:

It. They may not appreciate that music, yeah, but the majority of the crowd will. It all depends If it's like a big popular song back in the day. Usually people know it.

Ilia:

Didn't you have those people who said, at least once, I remember, don't play old music At all. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Nino:

There's some, but people still came up and asked for it. Yeah, it's tough and you have to turn them down, especially because that's what the client wants, right? So, yeah, it is what it is.

Ilia:

That was a great list. Um, this is. I'm getting like a flashback of everything you were telling me for the past couple of years. Yeah, it's been a couple of years already. More than a couple of years has been, man. I got to check my texts and see how long it's been One more thing.

Nino:

One more thing. For the love of God, please put your phone on silent.

Ilia:

Oh, yes, that's a bonus. Put your phone on silent. I can't tell you how many times I called him and he was at a gig.

Nino:

Oh, my God, yeah, what analogy were you making? Like the the last time, like at the ceremony hold on?

Ilia:

sir, oh, excuse me, uh, I'm getting a call. Uh, can you just hold on for a second? It was funny to me thinking what if you actually um coordinated like a like a prank, like that, a prank like yeah, I've seen similar pranks. Right, it has to be done. It has to be done.

Nino:

It has to be done right, with the right couple, with the right crowd too, as well. Right, yeah, otherwise you'll get backlash.

Ilia:

Yeah, and you know what? Some things happen throughout events where it seems like it's a prank, but it just, it just something just happened and you pulled it off, yeah, so yeah, it requires skill, um, but yeah, like, this is a very good list. It's coming from me because I've you know, I wanted to do that from the start start with weddings, right, and I wasn't sure how to get into that. And then you gave me all these pointers throughout those years and I used them. I didn't do weddings by myself, but I used them at other gigs and it really really works.

Nino:

It really helps it'll prepare you for when you actually do weddings.

Ilia:

Yes, and, uh, I actually am getting. Uh, I think I said it in one of the other episodes I'm working with a couple of DJs now who liked my style and, uh, you know they have a bit more time you have too many gigs lately and they want more time with the family and they were saying that you know they'll prepare me for it and uh, and then I'll start doing weddings. So take any opportunity you can take if it works for you, if it, if it sounds right. Um, that's it for today, I think, right.

Nino:

That's today only 11 points, 12. There's actually more, but I just cut the best ones.

Ilia:

That's a good list, man. Yeah, all right. Well, thank you very much for joining. Another episode of the clever dj and we will see you next time.