Ian
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Homepage: http://www.discofever.co.uk
Posts by Ian
The Rider…a whowhat?
Apr 8th
One of the many benefits of working in this business is that you get to work with some amazing people. Florists, venue decorators and of course bands are all people we work closely with on an almost daily basis.
A client of ours contacted us recently to tell us that he has hired in a big surprise for his Bride and could we help him out. Well of course!
He has hired in a group of professional opera singers who basically “pretend” they are members of staff and they just appear from nowhere and start singing. I have worked with this group before and they are absolutely fantastic, a real eye opener. When you hear their voices up close it really does make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.
The company has sent him a “rider” which is basically a sheet of paper containing their requirements. The bulk of it is mainly technical requirements like a specific brand of microphone is required for their voices, speakers in the corners of the room and a competent technician to run it all for them – they just basically turn up with their voices and you have to pay for everything else. From memory, this particular group cost a few thousand £££’s, a staggering 10x my usual fee!
The rest of this “rider” is quite funny to read. You would think you were hiring in some A-list celebrity. I will show you some examples of their special requirements on the day that if you fail to provide could potentially lead to them cancelling the performance.
- Hot meals and refreshments must be made available for the performers and two sound engineers after sound check.
- For overnight stays, single rooms in a minimum 3-star hotel with breakfast near the venue and must be provided and paid for in advance.
- For transfers from the hotel to the venue a dedicated air conditioned car, taxi or minibus must be provided.
- It is the clients responsibility to ensure that any specific clothing is made available e.g. waiters uniforms.
Now, it’s the last one that confuses me. This group of singers are well known for their “act” when pretending to be members of staff. You would think that with the thousands of pounds they earn they could afford a few sets of waiters uniforms? Also, would they cancel the performance if you sent them a non-air conditioned taxi to get from the hotel to the venue?
So, if I was “so diva” to put together a rider it would contain only one thing…
- DISCOfever will only perform in ground-floor venues where our vehicle can pull right up to the stage area for ease of unloading OR the client must provide strong venue staff to carry out equipment both in and out of the venue.
But of course, such venue’s are very hard to come by (and so are helpful venue staff!) so for now i’m quite happy carrying equipment up and down endless flights of stairs, long corridors and around tight bends.
I must go, the sun has moved and my garden chair is now in the shade and it’s a little bit nippy. Have a great weekend everyone, looks like the sun will be shining for most of it!
It’s April 1st!
Apr 1st
Omigod! When did that happen? Ok, ok, it happened at Midnight…
So it’s the first of April which means that it’s April Fools Day -- a time when all the media outlets in the UK try to hoodwink us with fantastic hard to believe stories and the gadget shops try to pull the wool over our eyes with amazing advances in technology.
Check out I Want One Of Those for some marvels that even Tomorrows World would bend over backwards to get on their show.
DJ’s aren’t immune either, I was made aware of this product this morning and I think it would really take my show to the next level -- what do you think?
Introducing eyeCanDJ…
Four Weddings is back!
Mar 29th
Well it’s that time of year – the new series of Living TV’s Four Weddings is back and it promises to be very much the bitch-fest the first series was but I had a more-than-casual-channel-flicking interest in this purely because I was the DJ at the first wedding they showed on tonights programme!
The venue my client chose is one of the finest and most exclusive wedding venue’s in Sussex but two of the Bride’s managed to find fault in EVERYTHING! From the prices at the bar, to the food, to the wedding singer, the chocolate fountain, casino table, tarot card reader and the “poor smelly” horses pulling the carriage that the Bride arrived in. There was definitely a huge element of “sour grapes” from one of the Brides who felt really annoyed that this wedding was everything hers was not.
I managed to get off lightly, in fact I didn’t really feature at all in the programme. My equipment was there (looking very elegant I must say) and my mood lighting looked absolutely stunning, in fact better than i’ve ever seen it before. It was weird though seeing it on the screen.
Sadly, like I said, sour grapes was the order of the day and two of the Brides, Louise and Sarah had their cat claws out for pretty much the whole day – i’m so glad they didn’t win! At the end of the programme they looked really REALLY annoyed that they had not won. Unfortunately, neither did my client who I have to say did herself proud on the show, and i’m not just saying that.
So, another 15 minutes of fame to be proud of.
Here are some pictures from that very special day!
Fame!
Mar 19th
Ok well, not quite.
Your Sussex Wedding Magazine asked me to be on their panel of industry professionals to answer a “Hot Topic” question from one of their readers and they’ve only gone and printed it! I haven’t been this excited since Annie Nightingale played one of my requests on her late night Radio One show back in 1989!
Click on the image above to see it! My little bit is at the bottom…
WARNING: There’s a picture of me on there.
Clever Business or Bad Business?
Mar 16th
I came across a style of business today that shocked me to the core. I had heard of this style of “business” before but it had never affected me directly, up until now.
We received an enquiry recently from a young lady looking to get married later this year. We discussed with her at length what we could do to make her big day special. She was all ready to book when we received an e-mail out of the blue telling us that she was not going to require our services and that she would be going with the services of the resident DJ at the venue. We thought that this was strange and enquired further.
The client told us that the venue wanted to charge them a “fee” if they wanted to use a DJ other than the one provided by the venue. The fee was a whopping £275.00. Faced with the prospect of having to pay more money just so that she could enjoy our services she really had no option but to inform us that we were not required.
Upon receiving this information I decided to enquire further with the venue because I was surprised, especially as I have worked at this venue many times previously and no-one had mentioned it before. I was also interested to find out what this £275 fee exactly covered.
I spoke to a nice lady who confirmed that an extra fee was payable if the client chose a DJ other than one they recommend. This fee of £275 was to cover the cost of electricity, their music licence and….well, then she started to mumble a bit. I asked her about the music licence (because I know quite a bit about that). She tried to pull the wool over my eyes that she had to purchase a music licence specifically for other DJ’s to play music. This is absolutely untrue, as long as a venue has a PRS licence, no further licences are required for DJ’s. I questioned the cost of electricity, a DJ would only use maybe £5 of electricity in an evening, certainly no more than that. She was sounding a bit flustered at this point.
Unfortunately for her, I was like a dog with a bone and she eventually caved in and explained that the fee also included the cost of admin to check a DJ’s PAT and PLI documents (effectively the cost of a phone call or e-mail and a stamp) and also the money she would be losing out on by a client not booking their recommended DJ.
And then the fog lifted.
In a nutshell, she charges the client say £390 for the entertainment. She keeps maybe £190 for herself and gives £200 to the DJ. The DJ does not moan after all, he gets loads of work from the venue. This sort of business practice absolutely stinks of corruption! The lady from the venue went on to say that not only does she do this with the DJ, but also with the catering, photographer, flower company and so on. She must be making an absolute mint! As I said, is this clever business or bad business?
I also have to question the ethics of the DJ involved. Surely a DJ who has to give a venue backhanders to get work does not have the best interests of his clients at heart? Surely a DJ who does this is someone who cannot appear to get work of his own, or at least cannot use his skills as a professional to gain the trust of his clients and get them to book his services.
Hang on a minute, am I not being hypocritical here? After all, a lot of venue’s I work in recommend me to their clients. There is the big difference. I am a recommended supplier, much in the same way that a venue will recommend a photographer or a balloonist. True professionals, myself included will never ever go down to the depths that some companies will go to get business. I have never in the past, or will in the future, pay a backhander to a venue to secure my services.
If DISCOfever plays in a venue and as a consequence of that becomes a preferred supplier (of which we are at many venue’s in Sussex) it is because we have earnt our way into the venue, not paid our way in. I also cannot understand why someone would want to book their wedding at a venue that constricts them in this way and does not allow them to have a choice for probably the biggest day of their lives.
Rant over.
Mixing Workshop
Feb 27th
Did something a little different last night. Myself and A couple of DJ friends all headed off to the 8th Burgess Hill Scout Hut in Burgess Hill for a mixing workshop. We taught the lads about music structure, the components of a good mix and how you can use FX and samples to make mixes more interesting, but best of all we let them loose on thousands of pounds worth of professional DJ equipment and try it out for themselves. They really enjoyed it especially the bit where they each chose two tracks and went head to head with the other groups.
We answered any questions the boys had and also planted the seed in their minds that DJ’ing can be a proper job and you can earn good money out of it if it’s done properly. We also discussed the dangers of tinnitus, a dreadful condition that severely affects your hearing through prolonged exposure to loud music.
The grand finale however was between myself and the other DJ’s where we each chose a song and then next DJ had to professionally mix from that song into a song of their own choice. It was a great example of our own skills, especially as we did not know what song each DJ was going to choose!
Fun was had by all and I think we’ll be looking to take our workshop to other groups in the area so if you run a group of under 16’s please do get in touch!
Can We See You At Work?
Feb 23rd
It is without doubt one of the most popular questions we are asked. We fully understand that you want to check out our service in advance, after all you are entrusting the final part of your special day to us. To book a bad DJ could potentially but a downer on the whole day.
Unfortunately we do not invite future clients to other peoples’ parties. We want to be 100% focussed on YOUR party not 50% on your party and 50% on securing a deal for later that year. If it was your party would you really want random people turning up for example sitting at the bar having a drink?
Each party we DJ at is built around our clients’ specific needs. Because of this, each party we DJ at is different. Imagine turning up at one of our events and hearing very loud heavy metal music. The couple whose party it is might be loving the sounds of Deep Purple and Metallica, but you might walk away thinking “eurgh!”. You may walk in on a party and no-one is dancing. What if 20 minutes after you leave, the dance floor packs out for the remainder of the party? Because you left early, you will leave with a negative image.
99.9% of the work we do is at private functions, it is very very rare that we do a public function, if at all. Even then, if you are looking to book us for your Wedding, watching us work in a Working Mens Club for example, or a Pub would probably leave you with a VERY negative image and definitely not a true account of the professional service we provide.
Say you needed surgery. Would you want to sit in on another operation the surgeon was carrying out before he took the knife to you? Or would you trust the surgeon implicitly, after all, he is a professional?
So what can we offer?
We fully understand that this is your special day, a one-off, a never to be repeated party. We want it to be as special and as perfect as you do. We are fully committed to our clients’ and their needs and because of this we always recommend a client meeting. This can be done at our house, your house, the venue, over the phone, via Skype, whatever! It gives us the chance to “check each other out” and build up that all-important rapport you need with a Wedding supplier so that you feel confident that we can deliver exactly the professional service we advertise.
We have a special area on our website where you can view client testimonials. These are real, unedited testimonials submitted via our online planning system. You will also find there a selection of written letters we have received from past clients. We can also put you in touch with real people who have previously used and were exceptionally happy with our service.
DJ’s have always had a bad name, there are a lot of very dodgy characters out there, but there is also a band of very client-focussed and committed wedding professionals out there who are finding it very hard to compete with “sixty quid Sid”. But that’s a post for another day!
What can I write about?
Feb 11th
So i’ve got a few spare moments, I thought i’d update my blog…but what can I write about? Hmmmm….tell you what, i’ll just go through what’s going on right now.
Last night was my last Christmas Party. Yes folks, it’s now February and they’re still going on! Thankfully, that’s it now until October, so there’s still a few months left yet until I have to drag out the old Christmas classics. I have to admit though, there was no Christmassy music at all last night, but there were plenty of crackers and streamers and those horrendous balloons that people blow up and let go resulting in an ear piercing screech as it deflates. Whoever invented those needs a severe beating!
I bought a new computer this week, not to replace an old one I must admit but i’ve been after a MacBook for some time. Everything else I have at home comes from Cupertino, computers, iPhones, iPods and so on, so it kind of made sense. I will also use the new computer to DJ from using a very excellent package called Serato Scratch Live. Complete overkill for weddings, but very functional and more importantly…stable. It will also allow me to let rip with my creative juices when times allow which is great for 16th’s and 18th’s when a bit of Judge Jules-style mixing is required.
Been having some major brain trauma about my equipment. There’s nothing wrong with it, I just have OCD when it comes to presenting a professional show. I’ve tried so many different variations and am still unsure which is the best. The fact remains though, and this is based on FACT, none of my clients have EVER made a negative comment about the equipment, so does it really matter? Well yes, to me it does. I always strive to excel and be the best wherever possible, problem is it costs me a small fortune in bits and bobs to try these different variations. On the other hand, it’s always handy to be able to change the look of your show to fit in with the surroundings.
On Friday I played at Waltons Oak Barn in Alfriston, next to the Wine Centre. A beautiful barn right next to the A27, with lots of room inside so I was able to spread out a bit. Saturday night I played at a 21st birthday near Preston Park here in Brighton. I had to set up in the front room of the house which meant I had to seriously downsize my equipment. I managed it though, and to good effect, the party was great with lots of positive comments. I wasn’t too enamoured with the look of the equipment but again, there were no negative comments from the client. I do keep a small library of shocking looking photo’s on my computer which I will maybe show you one day!
This weekend i’m playing at Upwaltham Barns near Midhurst on Friday and in Crawley on Saturday. There’s quite a bit of snow around at the minute so hopefully there will be no trouble getting to venues!
Don’t leave it too late!
Feb 2nd
One thing that always astounds us is how late people leave booking the entertainment for their Wedding. Mind you, it doesn’t surprise me. We get sent all sorts of “weddingy” magazines and they all contain planners which are meant to give Brides & Grooms a list of things they need to do in order of importance. Never ever ever ever is entertainment near the top, if it even appears on the list at all!
The fact is this, if you want a pick of some of the best wedding professionals in your area you NEED to be looking to book at least 12 months in advance. The longer you leave it, the more chance the companies you want will be working elsewhere.
Another fact is that the disco is a far more important part of the day than you think it is – I just wish the magazines would catch onto this. It’s the last part of the day, and the memory you go home with (along with the ceremony, etc.). It is a major part of your special day yet I find it most odd that magazines and wedding websites don’t even list it as important!
The Royal Pavilion Wedding Show
Jan 27th
I’m going to post my first rant today. I’m not normally annoyed by things, but this really got to me.
After the success of the Buxted Park Wedding Show last week I thought would investigate other Shows. The one i’ve been itching to do for some time now is the one at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. They don’t actually host evening wedding receptions there but they allow other venue’s in, venue’s that we actually already provide DJ’s for, so it kind of made sense.
So we rang them up and instead of the woman we wanted we were put through to somebody else who was most dismissive in thinking that Brides & Grooms who choose to come to their Show and indeed get married there would not be looking for mobile disco’s to entertain their guests in the evening. She continued to tell us that harpists and piano players would be the entertainment of choice for the quality of the client who visited their show (this was the bit I found most laughable).
Now, DISCOfever already provides high-end wedding entertainment across the board and we get to work in some of the most prestigious wedding venue’s in Sussex. Like many of my DJ peers, I would like to see the words “mobile disco” banished to some vast underground dwelling where it would never return, it just conjurs up some horrific images. It now appears that the words “mobile disco” are creating some sort of divide between us and other wedding suppliers. What sort of elitism is this? We already struggle to get what we are worth. Some clients already choose to put the supplier and the size of their wedding cake in a much higher priority than a DJ. Some clients are happy to spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds on balloons and other trinkets that are simply thrown in the bin at the end of the party, yet always look for the cheapest deal on a DJ.
Getting back to the Pavilion before I really go off at a tangent into deeper, darker murky waters – it is (I believe) owned and run by the Brighton & Hove City Council. Now, unlike some DJ’s, I pay my taxes and national insurance. I pay my parking tickets on time, on top of the already obscene costs to park in the city where I live and choose to work, yet when I want to advertise my business – I can’t.
What is even more baffling is that whilst I am allowed to perform as a DJ in front of today’s Royalty (remember the Sandhurst gig I did before Christmas?) I cannot advertise my business in what frankly was a building that started off as a farmhouse before turning into a location for the Prince Regent to enjoy secret liaisons with a certain Mrs. Fitzherbert.
I will keep you updated with this, I doubt that I will be able to attend as the show is allegedly “fully booked” but we shall see what happens.
