DJ'in a good friend's wedding (always avoided these types of gigs/need advice-R)
JectWon
(@_@) 1,654 Posts
I've combed through the SS wedding threads that I could find and have gotten some useful info/tune suggestions out of them.
This one has been pretty informative/funny: http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php?/forums/viewthread/71345/P0/
So here is the deal...I've flatly rejected every wedding gig I have ever been offered but I've never had a really good friend ask me (probably because they know I've had 0 interest in DJ'ing weddings)...This is a good friend and his fianc?? is also super good peoples.
They are late 20's kiddos that can listen to anything. Based off of house parties and just hanging with them, I think they are going to enjoy a lot of oldies, funk, soul, some current hits here and there. I plan on sitting down with them and getting an idea of exactly what they want to hear and do not want to hear. I also plan on getting an idea of any crazy ass family members that might try to strong arm me into playing some bullshit and how they suggest I handle it...
Since I'm a total rookie at DJ'ing a wedding, I'd love to get any advice ya'll might have...anything I should be on the look out for? Drunk Aunt-Becky's? Tactics to prevent toast speeches getting super awkward?
As always, tune suggestions from the SS godz are always happily listened to and considered.
B/W....
Goddamn, Controller 7....this is going to be a fun one...you selling this?
This one has been pretty informative/funny: http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php?/forums/viewthread/71345/P0/
So here is the deal...I've flatly rejected every wedding gig I have ever been offered but I've never had a really good friend ask me (probably because they know I've had 0 interest in DJ'ing weddings)...This is a good friend and his fianc?? is also super good peoples.
They are late 20's kiddos that can listen to anything. Based off of house parties and just hanging with them, I think they are going to enjoy a lot of oldies, funk, soul, some current hits here and there. I plan on sitting down with them and getting an idea of exactly what they want to hear and do not want to hear. I also plan on getting an idea of any crazy ass family members that might try to strong arm me into playing some bullshit and how they suggest I handle it...
Since I'm a total rookie at DJ'ing a wedding, I'd love to get any advice ya'll might have...anything I should be on the look out for? Drunk Aunt-Becky's? Tactics to prevent toast speeches getting super awkward?
As always, tune suggestions from the SS godz are always happily listened to and considered.
B/W....
Goddamn, Controller 7....this is going to be a fun one...you selling this?
Comments
Elton John tiny dancer
Faith Evans love like this
Stevie Wonder superstition
MJ off the wall
MJ don't stop til you get enough
Shaka Khan aint nobody
Beyonce naughty girl
Lauren Hill doo wop (that thing)
Stones sympathy for the devil (Neptunes remix)
weird Brasilian Smiths cover thing
Stones start me up
Presidents of Teh USA peaches
Wheetus teenage dirtbag
Beyonce crazy in love
Taylor Swift I knew you were trouble
Salt n Peppa push it
Calvin Harris acceptable in the 80s
New Order blue monday
The Clash rock the casbah
MJ working day & night
Pharrel happy
J-Lo on the floor
Rhianna man down
J-Lo I'm into you
A-ha take on me
MJ wanna be starting something
Lionel Richie all night long (allnight)
Men At Work down under
Human League don't you want me baby
MJ rock with you
Police roxanne
White Stripes seven nation army
Pixies oh my golly!
Section 8 soldier girl
Bow Wow Wow want candy
Florence & The Machine dog days are over
Fleetwood Mac go your own way
Blondie one way or another
Kinks you really got me
David Bowie ashes to ashes
Chvrches lies
Plan B frikitona
Magnetic Man anthemic
Magnetic Man I need air
Chvrches the mother we share
Kate Bush hounds of love
Blondie call me
Stones paint it black
Nouvelle Vague too drunk to fuck
Simon & Garfunkle cecilia
Jonathan Richman egyptian reggae
Queen & David Bowie under pressure
Foster the People pumped up kicks
Beatles you've got to hide your love away
Toto africa
Kinks sunny afternoon
Stones get off my cloud
Marlena Shaw california soul
Jean Knight mr big stuff
Stones under my thumb
Cold Play parachutes
and more...
Don't fear the cheese! You can have fun with it. The Salt n Peppa/Calvin Harris blend rocks:
Lionel, Shaka Khan etc... feel that shit.
Word. Thanks for the info! This actually reminds me of another question. Do ya'll try to make it one long ass set where everything blends one into the other? I'm sure it's something I'll discuss with the couple. Personally, I think I'm gonna play some of the tunes that appeal to the wedding party youngins and the older folks for the first 2 hours and during that time I won't get too caught up in blending but then for that last 1+ I want to get into something a bit more involved.
For what it is worth, I always ask for 3 lists from wedding clients:
1) must play songs (including first dances, father daughter dance, etc)
2) things they like (artists or genres or songs)
3) do not plays / things they don't like
I also usually starting the dancing with classics (lots of motown (e.g. got to give it up, signed sealed delivered, etc), disco (you sexy thing, best of my love) / MJ / rock classics (brown sugar) everyone knows (old and young) and then gradually get more modern. Late I might get more eclectic mixing old and new stuff, but keep it safe and familiar for the most part unless they are serious music heads.
Everyone is different, but here are some never fail wedding tunes off the top of my head:
Outkast - Hey Ya
Beatles - Twist and Shout
Contours - Do You Love Me
Any JT
Bruno Mars - Treasure
Beyonce - Crazy in Love, Single Ladies ( good for bouquet toss if there is one)
Matthew Wilder - Break My Stride
Whitney Houston - How Will I Know
Denise Williams - Let's Hear it For the Boy
Prince - Kiss
Human League - Don't You Want me
R. Kelly - Ignition rmx
Blackstreet - No Diggity
And of course all the big big current pop tunes always work (Happy, etc)
All of this sounds kind of cheesy (and is) but just remember it is a wedding, not a place to flex your deep record knowledge. Also, the more time you spend organizing your tunes before the event, the easier it will be.
Yeah, don't fear the cheese. People are drunk and really happy, so it's exactly what they want. I've only done a few and one had more particular requests, but that was fine too. Basically, if the couple is happy and into the music, everyone should fall in line with them. Unless they have crazy Becky and Brad friends.
Dont expect the same level of "we party to anything" attitude.
Good point and I totally expect this to be the case on this one. I know a few friends of the bide to be who (I'm sure) will bug me for requests because we all kinda hang together.
Make sure you bring "The Wobble"
yeah, this is a must here in the south. every generation gets the electric slide it deserves.
I guarantee folks are not gonna give a shit if you blend for two hours.
Just play the bangers with some sense of taste and youll be fine.
Its not some 3Am club-goin' crowd thats going out to strictly dance and sweat it out.
Aunt Victoria just wants to boogie.
Yeah but Aunt V needs to see how loose I can get with my electric slide doubles routine, son!
Just kiddin', I know you're right. I'm not gonna get too crazy with it...just going to try to do enough to keep my dignity/interest in tact.
Of definitely - I only poasted that blend because it was too good not to include, but for the most part I was letting the songs play, just keeping tempo fairly linear where possible, and trying to work out from their picks what would work and where.
But serious, as I prepared 4 hours of music I found myself really feeling some of this... Lionel muddafunkin' Richie. All night long. All night. That shit's the truth.
Im wondering as time goes do certain 70's/80's/sheeeeeet even 90's Bangers get washed away by time?
Of course MJ, Prince and all the extra POP big bangers will stay, but besides "old folks" do cats raise their hands in the air when Queen/Bowie - Under Pressure drops?
Are those Level B Bangers just filler these days?
My Fantastic Indie Movie Private Mind Garden Wedding Gig is rockin Ç album cuts and the crowd dont care about hearing classic number #1 sing-along-shit. Im playing a muthafuckin' fucking Stezo album cut and your gonna feel that shit.
I wouldn't have chosen Under Pressure and a load of other songs they wanted... I made an executive decision to drop The Beastie Boys Get It Together for example. I love that track, but wouldn't dream of playing it at a wedding.
As for 70s/80s/90s I think as long as it's popular enough that new generations have heard them, whether only through a film soundtrack or tv commercial if they were too young to just hear them as pop hits, then they won't fade. It must help knowing your crowd though. My generation will have heard anything 80s the first time round, maybe despised it then, but be happy to hear it again 30 years later.
I think you can do that once they're drunk and you've got them moving with shit they know. There comes a stage of the night and you can drop anything with a beat and people will dance to it.
Anyway, doesn't Delay do this for real? Or a different strutter? We need a pro to chime in!
Wow...I am completely guilty of this and am happy to hear I'm not the only one. Whatsup with that? 'Take on Me', 'Pictures of You' and tons of that era of pop song annoyed the shit out of me even as a kid...now I hear it and I guiltily kinda dig em'. Is it nostalgia?
Probably, and maybe with age your tastes broaden and your confidence grows so you don't mind whether or not ________ is cool and what other people will think of you for liking or dancing to cheese. Besides, the terrible cheese of yesteryear is so much better than today's pop ;-)