It was a record setting night in New Athens, IL as The Bullpen Bar and Grill was filled to capacity with over 700 people to celebrate with Jaime and Jake.  This was reportedly the largest crowd ever assembled at The Bullpen, the former American Legion Hall that is now the premier entertainment venue in the area.  We have worked there many times, but with the recent building improvements, stunning display of flowers and decorations this is the best I have ever seen the hall.

The crowd was energetic yet well behaved, and the dance floor remained active until 2:00 AM.  The capacity in the hall was not the only record set either.  Cyclone Sound set a record also…the longest wedding reception we ever worked with a solid 9 hours of entertainment!

Jamie and Jake, Congratulations!  Laura and I were thrilled that you included us in your plans and loved being able to provide your services for the evening.

Sometimes class reunion parties can be a little boring. You know; people haven’t seen each other in awhile and they want to spend time visiting. I was told this group would be different, and sure enough I was pleasantly surprised when the crowd danced all night!  The Freeburg HIgh School holds a birthday bsh every couple of years.  This year the Class of 1969 sponsored the event at the Regency Room in Bel-Air Bowl, and it was a night to be remembered.  Yes, we had the usual dinner, photos, and music, but this group did a lot more.

As emcee I had the opportunity to give away some unique raffle prizes, and I learned to “go with the flow” as I witnessed some impromptu events, like baton twirling, crowning of the king of queen, and singing of the school fight song.  What a fun group!  I was assured that Laura and I will be contacted as soon as the next birthday bash is planned, and we are looking forward to it!

Vickie’s husband Will did manage to keep the party a secret, and Vickie’s delight was overwhelming when she saw the large group of friends and family gathered in her back yard!  The weather outside was hot and humid, but it did not seem to bother anyone as they enjoyed the great food, music, dancing and friendship.  The guest of honor and several others got pushed into the swimming pool with their clothes on, but it was all in good, clean fun and provided some relief from the weather.

We did have to turn the volume down when the police showed up after 11:00, but we managed to keep the music and crowd noise at an acceptable level till midnight and there were no other complaints from the neighborhood. A great time was had by all, including the blow up pool boy…LOL!!

Vickie always wanted a big birthday party by her pool complete with disc jockey entertainment and her husband Will made sure he made her wish come true!  Great party Will and Vickie!!!

“A Night In Paris” was the theme for this year’s prom, but the event was held much closer to home at the Sheraton Four Points Conference Center in Fairview Heights, Illinois.  This is the sixth year in a row that I have provided entertainment for the Mascoutah Prom, and I continue to be amazed at the high level of energy and participation from the students.

The staff at the Four Points did an excellent job with the set up and dinner as usual, and they allowed the students to move tables after inner to create a large enough dance floor to accommodate maximum participation.

I look foward to working with this group again.  Good luck seniors!

The St. Louis chapter of the American Disc Jockey Association (ADJA) along with Mobile Beat, the national trade magazine for DJs, and its sponsors hosted the Mobile Beat DJ Tour on August 16, 2010.  Our group of local DJs from the St. Louis ADJA Chapter greeted the big Mobile Beat truck at 3:00 when it pulled into the parking lot of The Columns Banquet Center in St. Charles, MO.  We helped the crew from Mobile Beat unload all the gear to set up the speaking platform and various booths.  Sponsors included the ADJA, Mobile Beat Magazine, DJ Trivia, American DJ Audio, Pioneer, Open Air Photo Booth, NLFX Lighting, Hercules, and others.

By the start time of 6:00 PM over 60 disc jockeys from the greater St. Louis area had assembled to participate in the event.  The seminar featured three main speakers - Danny Brewer, Ben Stowe, and Andy Ebon.  Several other secondary speakers filled the gaps, along with networking time between DJs.

More information about the 18 city national DJ tour or the Mobile Beat magazine can be found at www.MobileBeat.com.  Thanks to Mobile Beat and ADJA for making this a free event and to all the attendees for a great seminar!  The three featured presentations:

Danny Brewer - “Are You Wearing the Right Hat”

Ben Stowe - “Take Control of Your Lighting”

Andy Ebon - “Building a Focused Social Media Strategy Online”

From the moment the wedding party made their grand entrance into the reception dancing to Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” I knew this was going to be a fun group! Eric and Ken, room captains for Our Lady of the Snows, did a great job as usual. They take care of every little detail, and make my job as entertainer a whole lot easier. The dinner meal was among the best I’ve had at a wedding, and they ran two separate buffet lines to keep things moving.

The guests were quite lively, as shown in this photo of the “Love Train” that ran through the halls and back into the banquet room. Fortunately the class reunion party next door didn’t mind the commotion; in fact some of them came over to check out the excitement! As you can see from the photo of the last song, the party was still going strong when we had to shut it down after six hours. I hope I get to work with this group again!

Leslie and James’ wedding will be remembered by us for years to come.  We became a little more than just contracted DJs when we were invited to teach Leslie and James how to swing dance along with both their parents.  Leslie’s mom and dad were so gracious when we went to their home to teach them all how to dance on two separate occasions.  James and Leslie were quick studies giving us some time to teach them some great moves for their first dance as husband and wife.  We were very excited to see them dance at the reception.

When we arrived at the Pere Marquette Lodge it was a relief to see the wedding ceremony was taking place inside the lodge.  With the heat index over 100 degrees and a thunderstorm looming, the family decided to change plans and move the ceremony indoors.  After a nice sit-down dinner we felt like proud parents when Leslie and James hit the dance floor for their first dance.  They looked so happy and did a wonderful job.

When all the formalities were complete, things “heated up” inside as the guests hit the floor and danced the night away.  There was some concern from the family they may not have a dancing crowd, but this certainly was not a problem.  Even though some of the guests had a long drive to make that evening, we had plenty of folks requesting songs and participating in the fun-filled five hour reception.  They even got to see the spontaneous “dueling guitar solos” from Leslie and James to their favorite AC/DC song!

It was truly a pleasure to share this wonderful experience with James and Leslie and the entire family.  Thank you so much for making us a part of it!

My first experience at the LaClaire Room in the Nelson Building in Edwardsville was a pleasant surprise.  The banquet rooms is awesome, with vaulted, natural lit ceiling and a beautiful atrium.  Kelci and the team from Bella Milano do the event coordination and catering for this venue; and they do fantastic work. Jamie’s family did a great job with the decorations, which were unique.  The centerpieces were complete with live goldfish and each guest had a keepsake at their place setting.  The keepsake was a glass coaster with a photo of the happy couple. Family and friends partied and danced the full five hours, and made the evening a memorable one.  The evening would not have been complete until the goldfish were brought safely to their new home at the lake!  The interesting photo taken outside shows Jamie scooping up some goldfish that spilled out of their container, wedding dress and all. Jamie & Clinton thank you for letting Laura & I share in your special evening.

It was a little warm for the outdoor cocktail hour on the patio of the Sheraton 4 Points Conference Center, but the guests had a great view of the lake from the hallway of the indoor cocktail area.  We set up a second set of speakers so the guest could enjoy music while having cocktails and appetizers before entering the main ballroom, which was decorated beautifully.  Ashley and the staff at the Four Points really did an amazing job.  The food, drinks and service were excellent, an we even had cake and ice cream for dessert!

Although the group of family and friends in attendance was just a little over 100 in number, I was pleasantly surprised when they kept us working for six entire hours. This group had some fantastic music requests and showed their appreciation by staying on the dance floor. Rachel and Anthony even enjoyed taking part in the Chicken Dance.

What a fun group!

Congratulations Rachel and Anthony…

We hope you life together is happy, healthy and prosperous!

As the bridal party filed out of the bus at the Collinsville Knights of Columbus Hall I realized that I might need a second song to play while I introduced the wedding party.  With eight pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen, ushers, flower girls and a ring bearer, this was huge wedding party!

The hall was packed to capacity with friends and family, and this large wedding party helped to keep the party lively.  In fact, I was concerned that it might be “too lively” towards the end of the reception.  The stage provided a great place for me to set up and overlook the dance floor, but it also facilitated the means for the wedding party to “stage dive” into the crowd during their favorite songs.  Fortunately we got them settled down before anybody got hurt, and this group decided it would be much safer to just dance the night away and scream out the lyrics to their favorite songs until they had no energy left.

This was truly a fun-filled evening to remember.

Good luck to Brandy and Anthony!!!