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!

Sub Base Point Loma – Oceanview Room (NSB) – Kathleen and Dominic Carr Wedding

Client: Kathleen and Dominic Carr
Venue: Admiral Kidd Club – Oceanview Room (Naval Sub Base in Point Loma)
Venue Address: 140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106, US (NSB)
Number of guests: 100
Services Provided:  Wedding DJ and Master of Ceremonies, Wedding Ceremony, enhanced dance floor lighting
Photographer: Liz Grace from Liz Grace Photography

Kathleen and Dominic Carr had their wedding at the Ocean View Room on the Point Loma Sub Base. Musical choices include Bob Marley and all Marley Family, Dave Matthews, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Otis Redding, AC/DC, Black Eyed Peas, Steve Miller Band, The Police, and Steele Pulse. To complement these tastes, they decided on a island-music based ceremony. For their prelude music, they selected an entire set of Jack Johnson songs, which worked quite well.

Oceanview Room Ceremony - Point Loma Sub Base

The wedding guest list included around 12 kids, and they dominated the dance floor for the first half of the evening.

Point Loma Sub Base - Kids on the Dance Floor

After a while, the kids got a bit tired out, and it was time for the adults to dance. Being that this crowd was primarily Irish, we worked in some Irish music, including popular artists such as U2 and House of Pain. At one point, we were asked if we had any traditional Irish music. We suggested a compromise– We’d throw on a traditional Irish jig, if the Irish guests promised to dance an Irish step to it. They agreed, and we had a blast playing traditional Irish and watching the guests enjoying their native dances!

(Irish step video coming soon)

During open dancing, we put on Pitbull – Hotel Room Service, a popular song among dance clubs, and one of the guests remarked, “awww… come on! Put on the original!”. “Oh, you want some Nightcrawlers?” we asked. “Yes, exactly”. That was our cue. We went into a old-school 90′s house set, and the guests packed the floor. Afterwards, one of the guests (a woman by the name of Blaize, which she swears is her real name!), asked if we did house parties, and took a card while stating that she was impressed because wedding DJs didn’t normally have music like this, nor the knowledge of what to play and how to mix it properly. We hope to hear from her in the future, and would love to rock a 90′s house set at her house party!

Kids and adults on the dance floor

One thing we’d like to mention– Photography for this event was done by Liz Grace from Liz Grace Photography. With the amount of events we do, we meet lots of photographers, but to be honest, most get in, get out, and really don’t seem to care to get to know us. Liz was different. For one, she stayed throughout the whole event, making sure she didn’t miss one little photo opportunity. Also, she took the time to converse with us. We talked about our businesses, and she even offered some advice on what has worked well for her as far as marketing investments. She was extremely helpful, even volunteering to organize the wedding party for their introductions if we wanted. She definitely liked what she saw regarding us and our professional lighting, equipment, style, and performance, and mentioned that she would be happy to work together to cross-promote. We highly recommend her if you’re looking for a wedding photographer, and we look forward to the next wedding we do that we get to work together again.

So, all in all, we had a wonderful island-music-based ceremony, traditional Irish music, happy kids, and a whole bunch of family and friends of the bride and groom that appeared to enjoy themselves immensely. I’d call the evening a complete success.

Afterwards, Kathleen and Dominic expressed their thanks and gratitude, and posed for a memorable picture.

San Diego DJ Dennis J posing with the happy bride and groom

One of the reasons for the delay on this posting is the lack of pictures we have from the event. We took some video but have been so busy with other gigs that we haven’t had a chance to process it. If anyone in attendance cares to share some pictures, please comment and let us know. There were a lot of smiling guests and we would love to have more pictures to show of them! Does anyone know if they use Facebook?

Thanks to Kathleen and Dominic for inviting us to participate in their amazing evening, and thanks to all guests for making the night a unique enjoyable experience. And thanks to all that demonstrated the Irish jig. Those types of surprise occurrences are some of the main reasons we enjoy what we do and look forward to each new event!

San Diego wedding DJ Dennis J with happy bride and groom

Military Ball Video and Pics

Client: Paul Quigg
Venue Type: Marriott Hotel in Del Mar
Venue Address: 11966 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130-2592
Number of guests: 350+
Services Provided: Club music, premium dance floor lighting, wireless microphone

Creative Music DJs Equipment Setup for a Military Ball

Paul Quigg, a Marine stationed in San Diego in the Wounded Warrior Battallion-West, contracted us to perform at their annual Military Ball. We provided music for their cocktail hour, dinner, and open dancing.

Marine Corp Ball Cocktail Hour

For those that do not know, the Marine Corp Ball is also the Marine Corp birthday celebration. To symbolize this, they have a ceremony and then a ‘cutting of the birthday cake’ ritual. The cool thing is that they bring the cake out with a lot of fanfare and then cut it with a SWORD! Yes, a sword. There’s not many cooler ways to cut cake, right? I mean, maybe a laser cutter, or a circular saw, but other than those, a SWORD pretty much tops the cake (pun intended).

Marine Corp Birthday Cake

The gig was a lot of fun. It was a six-hour event, with cocktail hour and dinner, like all military balls we’ve had the pleasure of being a part of. For a few video snippets and highlights see the video below. To hire us for your military ball, please visit our check availability page.

I’m a victim of IDENTITY THEFT! A lady in New York is using my DJ insurance papers as her own. No kidding. Check her page out at identity thief. Watch her slideshow, and when you see the insurance papers, click on them. Those are my insurance papers, for Creative Music DJs of San Diego, which you can see here in my blog: San Diego DJ Insurance.

Do any of my blog readers have any experience in this area? What do I do? I found this out by a guy that had been stiffed by this lady so him and his wife started doing research on her to take to the cops. They came across her slideshow and called me after they found my insurance papers.

I’m worried that she might be handing out my insurance contract as part of her ‘proof of insurance’ when she DJs at different venues in NY. Is that possible? If she were to do something wrong and the venue tried to use my insurance, couldn’t I be in for a potentially long legal fight? I’ve worked long and hard to keep a good reputation throughout the years, and I can’t risk it being destroyed by something out of my control!

Please comment if you have advice!

Marina Village – Halloween Party for Staff and Friends

Client: Marina Village
Venue: Vineyard Room at Marina Village
Venue Address: 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego, CA 92109
Number of guests: 40+

Services Provided:  Halloween DJ, dance floor lighting, haze machine, secondary wireless sound system

The staff of Marina Village had their annual Halloween party at their own venue, in the Vineyard Room. The venue was decorated nicely, lots of spooky things hanging everywhere, and so many cobwebs that I was worried that one might be real! For music, we started with some rock, then progressed into a disco set which really got the dance floor packed for around an hour! Due to a rather assorted request list, I transitioned into some 80s rock music and to my surprise the dance floor stayed packed and they LOVED it! We also did a 90′s house set, a second disco set, and even an electro house set. The guests had a blast, and one of them even came up and asked me, “Just who the heck are you? You’re mixing it up like I’ve only seen in really expensive clubs!” Primo from Primo DJs (who had sub-contracted me for the night) came to my rescue, saying “He’s DJ Dennis J!”, which was all the explanation we gave them (keep ‘em wondering, right?).

At the end, we were told we would definitely be on the list of recommended vendors for Marina Village, and that they had an incredible time. Here’s a few pictures of the night.

DJ Dennis J at Marina Village (Rasta costume)

Marina Village Staff and Friends at the Halloween Party

Halloween Party Lightshow with Haze and Lasers

Marina Village Rocker and Ghoul

As you can see, it fit well, and as you can also see, we have a lot of professional-grade speakers of every size. To date, we have (2) JBLs TR225s, (4) Yamaha S-12es, (2) JBL MR825s, (2) B-52 ACT-18X subs and (2) Cerwin Vega Earthquake SL36 subs. This means we can easily pick and choose the right speakers for your event, whether it be a disco dj party or a school dj dance!

Now to decide if we want to do any branding/airbrushing on its pristine white exterior…

Just a quick note– We understand the importance of maintaining insurance coverage. Many venues won’t even allow a DJ to perform at their location without proof of coverage. And of course, we need to make sure that our customers are assuredly compensated if a situation were to arise. One has never occured so far, but we like to make sure that our clients know that there is ZERO RISK of loss of finances if you contract us!

So we’re please to announce that we’ve just renewed coverage for another year through RV Nuccio and Associates, a prestigious well-known insurance firm that specializes in coverage for professional mobile entertainers. Rest assured, everyone. You’re safe with us!

Creative Music DJs Insurance