Doctor Boogie (TM) at V lounge with Magic 92.5

Many of you know that I've been an on air Mix DJ since 1997 and syndicated to a variety of radio stations around the country, San Diego, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and New Orleans. As many as 28 stations through my syndicating agent through 2002-2006. Occasionally, it works out that I'm booked to play station events. Since 1998 I've been Dr Boogie (TM) on Magic 92.5FM

June 5th I played band breaks at the V lounge, all old school. Its a pretty casual environment since people really just take a break from gambling to come over to eat, drink and dance. But it was fun and stayed pretty busy all night.

Peter & Tianey Shin

This was a great small family wedding, both Peter and Tianey are Korean and many of the attendees made the trip from overseas (korea and a few other countries in the area). Rachel Penichi of Plan-It San Diego always does a great job and this particular wedding happened to fall in her birthday. From experience I knew that it could be difficult to really get this party up to full speed, social dancing just doesn't seem as big in some asian cultures as others.



They had a great time and danced a lot. Peter, the groom, came back after walking his new bride to their suite and thanked me personally. Despite over 15 years of experience, the biggest song of the night surprised me. Hava Nagila; and despite the fact that neither the bride or groom were Jewish, Peter's college buddies, talked him into asking me to play it and they lifted them each in a chair and we did the Hora... at a Korean wedding...

As long as they enjoyed themselves, that's all that's important.

Video DJ at The Scripps Seaside Forum at UCSD

WOW! If you haven't seen this amazing new property, you really have to stop by and take a look around. Its right next to the La Jolla Pier in La Jolla, its right on the water and the full length glass doors open and fold away for a 1 one of a kind view. Its on Discovery Way in La Jolla and even if you aren't planning a party you can go down park and walk along the water, its great.

The venue is so new, this was the first private event they've had, not including a couple of industry events and Grand opening parties.

This party was for The La Jolla High School Foundation, they're a group of parents and alumni raising money to help fund some of the programs no longer covered by the state (Arts, Sports, Etc.). French Gourmet catered the party and did a great job as always. I brought in (2) 42" Flatscreens, a 12ft x 14ft projection screen and 4 speakers spread around the room and outdoor patio. Kerri the Event Chairperson said one of the things they wanted, was to make sure the party wasn't boring, that it was exciting and fun enough that people would talk about it through the year and look forward to next years fundraiser.

The night started with a cocktail reception and silent auction, dinner and a live auction followed by the party. Early in the evening we used the screens to show music videos mixed with a Thank you slide show for the sponsors.

Video DJ is so much fun. It takes a great DJ performance and adds that visual element, to really get the crowd engaged in the party. I still get a kick out of watching the people as they dance, some people dance while they keep one eye on the screen watching the video of the song they're dancing to, others try to sneak peaks at the screen while trying not to ignore their dance partner.

Video DJ Wedding

From the first time I sat down with Russel and Charlotte, they were really into the idea of having me Video DJ their wedding reception. They were a really nice couple and pulled out all the stops for their big day. Everything from all out floral arrangements and the "Mad Dash" video montage (the videographer shoots footage of the ceremony and then edits it to make it a part of the video montage to be viewed after dinner at the reception) to Dual Spotlights on the First Dance and a Jazz Trio for the Cocktail Reception. Red LED uplights really helped transform the room and compliment the red roses in the florals, the Party Donuts station (http://www.partydonuts.com/) and Photo Booth in the foyer were both a big hit as well.

Video DJ was perfect for this party, the 220 guests were mostly in their 20s and 30s with the 40+ group making up only about 30% of guests. Video DJ delivers that trendy, fresh interactive entertainment that fits that group perfectly.

The night started with a big grand entrance of 52 people, the guests were really riled up by the time the Bride and Groom came in. On to dinner and a performance by the Samahan Philippine Dance Company (Authentic cultural dances). Dual spot lights were set and ready for the Mother/Son and Father/Daughter Dances, the groom then cut in to begin their first dance.

By the time the dancefloor was opened, they were ready. They were on the floor in seconds...

The only thing I would have changed is we had so much to do in such a short time, we didn't really get to do a lot of dancing until later after the Mad Dash Video Montage, the Cake the Bouquet Toss, the Garter Toss and Money Dance.

(Sorry about all of the camera operators in the pictures and video clip, this wedding coverage is being submitted as a feature for an upcoming issue of Exquisite Weddings Magazine, as an article in San Diego Style Weddings Magazine as well as being considered for a wedding TV show - more info later.)

For more information on Video DJ, go to http://www.mobilemusicplus.com/

The Crossings in Carlsbad

This was an amazing party. I think this was the 6th time I had played parties and receptions for with this family (Slocomb, Castillo). First there were weddings for several siblings, then a couple of cousins and most recently Tony & Maria. The Crossings is a fantastic new venue in Carlsbad, with vaulted wooden ceilings and the spacious layout inside, it reminds me of the the Lodge at Torrey Pines.
What I love about this family is they and their guests love to dance and party. While most events I play for, whether I perform as a Traditional DJ or Video DJ, have good dance floors and a the guests have fun. This family really loves their music. I played everything from Earth Wind & Fire to Snoop Dogg, I even worked in a request for The Cure. I'll admit that playing the Cure is always a tricky thing for me at an event. I feel like The Cure is an acquired taste, some people love them and others have a quite different opinion. But I took the request into consideration and just waited to see if the right time to work it in arose and sure enough, it did and was just the right compliment to the other music they were having so much fun with. [Ok I confess I did mix out of the song before the end. ALWAYS LEAVE THEM WANTING MORE Right?]

(Click the video clip below to see a quick montage of the dancing)


You don't need a DJ that plays great music.
You need a Great DJ that plays music your guests will love.

DJ at the Prado

Danny and Diana had a big party for their wedding at the Prado in Balboa Park. I provided Traditional DJ, Dance Lighting and a custom Gobo projecting their initials in light on the dancefloor.



Danny told me in our initial meeting that he really wanted a lot of 90's and current music, everything from hip hop to 90's house music. He and Diana both understood the value of playing some music to appeal to the parents and grandparents so I played some old school and of course some latin. Cumbia, Merengue and even some Banda, they were a great crowd and danced for almost 3 hours after dinner and the other formalities were finished.

I know some DJs play the same "set" week in and week out, varying only slightly for requests, I honestly can't imagine not offering my clients that flexibility of playing the best songs for their guests. I do find myself playing some songs more than others but never as a preplanned set.

If you are looking for a location to have an event, you can't go wrong with the Prado. If you've ever been to the Prado restaurant... their special event catering is even better, I don't know what they do differently but The Prado is right up there in the top 3-4 on-site caters in San Diego.

San Diego State University Guest Speaker

I recently had the pleasure of being a guest speaker at San Diego State University to the Hospitality Tourism Management program students. It was a great group and it was nice to meet some of those future Catering and Sales men and women that I'll be working with in the years to come. The photos were taken and provided by Justin Hulse of Hulse Photography, the other guest speaker for the group.

Photos by: Justin Hulse