you make me feel like dancin'

tonight i DJ'ed a wedding reception.

i've only done this once before, about a year ago. that couple found me through divaville... they listen all the time. tonight's couple are actually friends of that first couple... so i guess i did a good job that first time out. i got a referral!

there was one big difference between that first wedding and this one: the first couple wanted me to play tons of my divaville stuff, and only sprinkle in a handful of non-divaville songs that were meaningful to them (some beatles, bob marley, etc.), but tonight's couple --well, tonight's groom-- had me play from mix CDs he'd assembled for the occasion. he picked all the music himself. i was just there to push buttons.

which is fine. i mean, shoot, i'll take the paycheck either way. it's simply a little more fulfilling to be able to play what i want to play. but that's why i have my own radio show, i guess.

anyway, on my way to the gig tonight i thought, "i'd better drop a few divaville CDs in my purse, just in case." and man, am i glad i did.

the music the groom picked was extraordinarily varied... from grupo fantasma to pegboy. from the magnum pi theme to stuff from riverdance. and from balinese wedding music to huun-huur-tu. truth be told, i admire this guy for his chutzpah... it takes guts to attempt to educate your wedding guests.

however, no one really danced.

the bride from last year's wedding happened to be at this reception. she brought me some champagne & cake and said, a little confusedly, "what's going on?!" she didn't really didn't know how to dance to the ukranians. (you can imagine how lost ol' grandma & grandpa felt.)

so i reached into my purse and made a bold move: i put on some frank sinatra for her. suddenly people moved out on the dance floor. next came some nat king cole. when the groom came up to me i thought i was going to get chewed out, but instead he smiled and said, "i guess people didn't like my crazy music, huh?" he seemed happy to see people finally dancing, so i stuck to the divaville stuff while throwing in the occasional song from his mix. (peter gabriel's "in your eyes" was a good call on his part, as was sister sledge's "we are family".)

but i have to say, i find it immensely gratifying to see people dance to the music i've chosen. i readily admit, though, that i am a novice and do not have the foggiest idea, for instance, how many fast songs to play in a row before throwing in a slow song. i also don't have the knack for exactly which slow song will get everyone --even the people who hate to dance-- to dance. (an eric clapton tune from the groom's mix actually worked best.) i also wish i had brought some 80s mixes with me, because people went crazy when i played "girls just wanna have fun" during the bouquet toss.

i think if i ever do this again, i will of course solicit requests and suggestions from the bride & groom, but will insist that the bulk of the music be of my choosing. i just felt too much pressure tonight to appease the groom, while experiencing an opposing desire from the crowd to dance.

Posted by xta at September 26, 2004 01:02 AM | TrackBack