Winter Formal Dance – Julian Charter High School (JCS)

Client: Jenn Sheehey
Venue Type: Banquet Facility
Venue Address: 35245 Briggs Rd, Murrieta, CA 92563
Number of guests: 100+
Services Provided: Dance (mostly top-40) music, energetic emceeing, premium dance floor lighting, fog machine, laser lighting, wired microphone

Julian Charter High School held their Winter Formal dance at Monteleone Meadows. Creative Music DJs was contracted to provide the entertainment.
For those that do not know the location of Monteleone Meadows, let me tell you, it’s not easy to find even in daylight! The road, Briggs Road, is under construction, and if you get on the wrong part of it, you can get really lost! After driving around a bit, I found a way around the hill and made it to the school.

The staff of Monteleone Meadows are very pleasant and helpful. The manager, Gaby Wempe, was especially helpful at the end of the night and helped carry some equipment to the trailer for me.

The kids were very excited to dance! JCS had requested fog and premium lighting, so we went with an assorted display of Vue IIIs, a Tri-Pearl, Scorpion 56RG, and a Galaxian laser.

The floor was packed all night, despite the fact that there were casino tables in the same room! HS kids are excellent at letting DJs know when they enjoy a song, and this group was no exception. There were plenty of ‘wooooo’s, ‘yeeeeeeah’s, and ‘yaaaay’s to go around.

I had received a song request list before the event, so I didn’t expect that many requests, but there were still several. The song of the night was, “Circus” by Britney Spears. I think I had at least 8 requests alone for it. Then again, it could have been one or two people sending their friends one at a time to re-request the song until it was played. Yes, we’re actually on to those tricks, don’t think you’re being slick! Here’s a couple of pictures from the night:

After the dance, I talked with Mrs. Sheehey while tearing down equipment about feedback from the night. She stated, (I’m quoting) “You just blew away any DJ these kids have ever seen. I’m pretty sure everyone is going to want you for Prom in April.” She also mentioned that the ASB staff had made me a thank-you card but she had left it behind. I thanked her for the opportunity and then we posed together for a picture.

There’s no doubt that this school dance was a success, and I’m so glad for the opportunity to have made JCS’s Winter Formal a memorable and enjoyable experience!

Congratulations to the winners of the night:

Drawing for free night stay with free dinner and spa treatment at Pala Casino: Emily Warren

Freshman class Prince and Princess: Matt Smith and Alexis Umathem

Sophomore class Prince and Princess: Alex Morgan and Shellen Glahn

Junior class Prince and Princess: Austin Lewis and Amanda Difilipo

Senior King and Queen: Josiah Herrera and Hanna Johnson

The Westin Gaslamp Quarter – California Ballroom – NetworkFleet Holiday Party

Client: NetworkFleet Holiday Party
Venue: The Westin Gaslamp Quarter
Venue Address: 910 Broadway Circle, San Diego, California 92101
Number of guests: 150
Services Provided: Corporate Party DJ and Master of Ceremonies, enhanced dance floor lighting, , gobo lighting, second wireless sound system.

NetworkFleet, a leading provider of wireless fleet management services that improve fleet operating efficiency by reducing fuel consumption, maintenance expenses and vehicle emissions, had their holiday party at the The Westin Hotel in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego.

San Diego DJ Holiday Inn USS John Paul Jones

Due to the rainy weather, we made preparations to arrive at The Westin ahead of schedule. We set up around 2.5 hours ahead of time, which gave us time to set up a second wireless sound system. NetworkFleet’s party consisted of the California Ballroom, split into two using a large white curtain. On one side of the curtain, there was a dining area where we set up our DJ system. On the other side of the curtain, two bars were set up along with cocktail-hour appetizers. We set up a separate sound system consisting of two Peavey speakers and a 300 watt amp, and sent the same sound being played in the dining area to the amp using wireless transmission, giving guests the ability to hear music while on the other side of the curtain. Two gobo lights loaded with star gobos were placed on the cocktail side of the curtain, shining brightly into the curtain for that holiday atmosphere.

Westin Hotel Holiday Gobos and Uplighting

We played ‘holiday jazz’ for cocktail hour. At the end of the hour, we made the announcement that the dining area was being made available as hotel staff opened the sides of the curtain. Guests shuffled into the dining area, and we switched to adult contemporary classics sprinkled with holiday music. As soon as the guests were all in the dining area, the curtains were once again closed, and staff went to work installing casino tables and readying the room for the casino entertainment that would start after dinner.

During the end of dinner, we started raffling off prizes. I was asked to conduct the raffle, and had no problems obliging. We had some fun with it, drumming up anticipation and giving light commentary on some of the prizes. Food was excellent, and after dinner they brought out two dessert tables full of delicious desserts such as chocolate eclairs, cakes, and many types of cookies and such.

Once dinner was over, we announced that the casino area was now open and invited guests to start gambling, in attempt to win more tickets for the raffle. I had consulted with NetworkFleet beforehand, and cautioned them that nobody would dance if there was a casino going on, and I wasn’t wrong. However, due to the second wireless soundsystem in the casino area, guest were able to listen to the creative mixes we were doing, and I was told that several people mentioned that they enjoyed the music even without the dancing aspect being involved. Of course, after a bit some people did find their way to the dance floor, but honestly it was around 10 people total.

The DJ equipment set up in the dining area with holiday uplighting

After casino time was over, we invited guests back into the dining area and commenced raffling off prizes. After raffles were completed, there was still around 20 mins left until the scheduled end of the party, so I suggested we start up the dance music again, and invited everyone to the dance floor.

I think the guests really had enjoyed the music while gambling, because when there was nothing to distract them, they were all too willing to enjoy our services and hit the dance floor. Due to the positive response, we continued mixing classics and new club hits, and ended up going well over the time scheduled, ending about 30 mins after the event was supposed to end. And that was only because hotel staff came up to me and mentioned that they wanted to get home! haha

All in all it was an enjoyable night. Although it is not our preference to play music when guests are not on the dance floor, the energetic response once casino time was over made it all worthwhile. The staff of NetworkFleet are very nice people, and it was our pleasure to be a part of their celebration.

Oh, and due to an email I received two days after the event, I am pretty certain we are going to enjoy another fun celebratory night with them next year!

Happy Holidays, NetworkFleet!

Holiday Uplighting at Westin Hotel

Holiday Inn On The Bay – Pacific Ballroom – USS John Paul Jones Holiday Party

Client: USS John Paul Jones
Venue: Holiday Inn San Diego on the Bay
Venue Address: 1355 North Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101
Number of guests: 250
Services Provided: Military Event DJ and Master of Ceremonies, enhanced dance floor lighting.

The USS John Paul Jones, a Naval Destroyer, had their holiday party at the Holiday Inn On The Bay in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego.

San Diego DJ Holiday Inn USS John Paul Jones

We set up around 2 hours ahead of time, giving us ample time to do sound checks. When cocktail hour began, we chose to go with some ‘holiday jazz’. This consists of a special collection of songs we have that are jazz renditions of holiday favorites such as ‘Joy to the World’ and ‘Silent Night’. Being that they are jazz renditions, they rarely have words which allows free flowing dialog, something desired at cocktail hour usually.

After cocktails ended, the CO (Commanding Officer) took a moment to say a few words, including thanking everyone for coming. A few others were invited to come up and speak to the attendees, and then dinner began. At this time, we switched to adult contemporary favorites, which seemed well received by the fact that we could see guests in the buffet line tapping their feet and shaking their bodies to the familiar songs they were hearing.

After dinner, there was a bit more speech, then an initial raffle. When it comes to raffle giveaways, we can honestly say that the USS John Paul Jones team did not skimp at all! They gave away several $20 gift cards, a $50 card, a few $100 cards, and then even a $500 card!

There was a presentation montage shown, then more raffle prizes. This time, they gave away two 12 megapixel Fujitsu digicams, two 4GB iPod Shuffles, and some software.

Open dancing began, and the crowd was really enjoying the music. We did have one issue– it seems the power outlets couldn’t handle the amperage our system required.  After two quick outages, we quickly ran a second power cord to a different outlet and moved half our system to the second outlet. No more issues occurred after that.

More raffles occurred, and even bigger prizes were given away, including two Toshiba laptops, two XBOX360s, three PS3s, three PSPs, two 52″ LCD TVs, and then two grand prizes of vacations in Oahu and Vegas.

Dancing commenced again, and the floor stayed packed until the last minute of the party. The guests really enjoyed the music selection and our ability to take requests and still beatmatch and mix them into the system.

Oh one last tidbit- The highlight of the dance time was when we dropped in “I’m On a Boat”. Being that they were Navy, they sure enjoyed that song, and many sang along with it happily.

Happy Holidays to the crew members of the USS John Paul Jones, and thanks for inviting us to be a part of your celebration!