Ace DJ Service

FAQ's.

Here are some frequently asked questions which may assist you in selecting the right DJ for your event.

Q. Is it necessary to meet with the DJ to discuss details of your event?
A. Not really, a well organized and experienced DJ can make this part easy for you. Most issues can be discussed over the phone and the rest is usually handled through correspondence.

Q. How do I begin to look for a good DJ?
A. Talk to friends or family who may have attended recent events where a DJ entertained. They can be a helpful information source, and you should also check the Yellow Pages in the phone book. This is where most business's advertise their strength's so you can get an idea of what would best suit your needs. Next compile a list of DJ's you want to call so you can compare the features of each service and the price.

Q. If I know nothing about a specific DJ how can I learn more about the quality of service he or she provides?
A. Many DJ's often work in nightclubs so you can visit them there, but keep in mind it may be a totally different format than what you had in mind for your event. This is why it is important to talk to the DJ to see if your needs can be met. You can also check with catering halls and see if it would be alright to visit an event they are playing at but remember to also check with the people who are sponsoring it as well.

Q. Working as a DJ seems to be a lot of fun, is it as easy as it looks?
A. People usually get those impressions after seeing a good DJ, because they can make it look fun & easy. Let’s say you’ve just come from a wedding and you had a great time, as a matter of fact no one wanted the reception to end, so the DJ stayed and extra hour. You’ve never danced so much in years, the DJ played everyone’s requests, and even those obscure ones you would never expect him to have! Come to think of it, what a great job that would be, all you have to do is play music, right? Well yes and no, the good DJ’s make it look effortless and fun but there’s a lot more work involved than what the casual observer may notice.

Many hours of work and years of experience are the foundation for building a successful DJ Service. The preparation aspect alone not only requires years of experience but putting good ideas to work as a result of that experience. For me it was easy because I enjoyed all types of music and my engineering background took me down the path of streamlining the business into an efficient and well-organized operation. Other DJ’s took their business in different directions such as, branching out into merchandizing and retailing. Some DJ’s perform personally whether it be singing or dancing along with providing recorded entertainment. Most DJ’s have a unique signature to their work, beginners usually start out in small clubs while experienced ones are versatile enough to do a wider variety of work.

Q. Do you play all requests or do you draw the line at certain requests that may be inappropriate?
A. Common sense usually inclines me to use my best judgement when playing requests, but there are times when I ignored my most sensible instincts based on curiosity and/or faith in a stranger. In one such instance I was playing to a packed club in the Poconos where I was working for about two years. Everyone was dancing, which usually qualifies how good the DJ or bartenders are, never the less it’s always a great confidence builder for any DJ or entertainer. It seemed like my connection with the crowd that night was psychic, until the first request of the night hit me like a cold splash of water shocking me back to the recollection of Murphy’s Law, which for the most part served as my reality back then. Some guy had come up to me and asked "Hey, how about playing the theme from Hawaii 5'O ". I laughed prematurely in anticipation of a hilarious punch line, but seeing that his only follow-up was a sincere smile, I asked, "Do you mean the song from the TV show?" He replied, "Book ‘em Daniel". A quick history raced through my mind realizing I had never heard this song in any club before, and come to think of it, I’ve only heard it when the TV show aired. I did remember coming across the song in my collection because I thought what an odd song to put on a CD.

In an attempt to find out if this person was insane or some kind of social contrarian I asked why he wanted me to play it. He replied, "You gotta trust me on this". It was then that I made one of my first major leaps of faith. Acknowledging that timing is everything, I quickly cued up the song and crossed my fingers as I looked out across a packed dance floor while some popular dance song was fading into uncharacteristic silence. It was then that the owner decided to pop into the club from the adjacent dining room to ensure all was going well. Needless to say a pint of blood dropped to my feet and the only thing I could think of was what a time for a song to bomb! Well I had nothing else cued up so I figured here goes as the other song faded to an end. When those opening guitar riffs blasted through the speakers, a group of people let out with such a whoop it drowned out the music. Next thing I saw was about 30 people scrambling to position themselves in specific locations on the dance floor which seemed to resemble a Chinese fire drill. All of a sudden everyone except for two petite looking girls dropped on the dance floor. Two lines of people formed, sitting tandem positioned between the legs of the people behind them, like they were sitting in a canoe. Next, two big guys dove on their stomachs and began writhing on the dance floor. Temporarily stunned from all this unexpected activity, my full attention was focused on this crazy group of people who seemed to be working toward some common goal. Next, the two petite girls, who were the only ones left standing, kicked off their shoes and stepped on the backs of the two football player sized guys who were wiggling on their bellies. As I watched with my jaw slightly ajar at this kaleidoscope of activity, it all seemed to come together by simulating a beach scene. It appeared that the two lines of people were mock paddling catamarans as they scooted around the dance floor on their butts, while the two girls in the center appeared to be surfing. In the midst of this impromptu floorshow the owner, looking visibly pleased, came up to the DJ booth and asked me "How did you pull this off?" I told him that I promised them drinks on the house. For a second his expression sobered but I couldn’t keep a straight face, as his smile waxed bright again when he replied, "I hope you brought enough money". As it turned out the group of people were from a New York based Insurance company attending a seminar in the Poconos.

This account was probably one of the more memorable of many such experiences, illustrating the point of being prepared which is usually expensive and time consuming. I can only speak for myself but to some extent almost every party or wedding has one of those wacky or obscure songs or moments that personalizes the affair. It somehow instills a sense of fun filled abandon that catalyzes the event into a bona-fide party and memorable event.

Q. Isn’t it expensive to have so much music and what advice would you have for someone starting out in business?
A. Accumulating a large collection of music is expensive and time consuming. To start with the bigger the music library of popular music the better, but don’t lose sight of that pesky law of diminishing returns. There is a point where too much music is just that, too much. Purchasing this library is expensive so that’s why it may be better to start out in a club that showcases a particular genre of music, rather than many. This in turn will help limit the scope of music you’ll need before you can start earning some bucks.

When your library starts growing you’ll be faced with your next dilemma, where is the song? I would have thousands of all kinds of songs on records, tapes, CD’s and mini-discs but often times no clue as to where it was. This is where organization comes in, which is very time consuming. I first decided to categorize the music into specific genres before cataloguing them, similar to how you would find a book in a public library. This was a very tedious process because I needed to enter all the song information into a computer database that could easily be updated and appended as my collection grew. This is what propelled me into the computer age in the late 80’s. First I had to learn about computers which was time consuming in itself.

Next my attention turned to set up and breakdown time of the sound equipment. One of the best investments I ever made in that area was buying a hand truck and then a mini van. Next, I realized I had the room to transport my equipment if it was linked together in a custom cabinet. This eliminated the constant connecting and disconnecting of equipment and the special care required for transporting it. Since no one made the configuration I needed, I decided to build my own custom cabinet during the slow season (Jan, Feb, Mar). After construction and a few minor modifications my set up and breakdown times were cut in half.

I’ve got over 17,000 songs at every gig and could find anyone in the time that it takes to look up a person’s phone # in a telephone book. Now that’s efficiency and how many times I hear people say a DJ won’t play requests, not me, I can’t wait to take your request because that’s when the real fun starts.

Q. What possessed you to come up with the name ACE, doesn’t that sound a little, shall we say familiar?
A. Well two things steered my decision on the name A.C.E., which is actually an acronym for Acoustically Creative Entertainment. First I was shooting for the hokey or familiar angle because people remember it. The next was an idea I actually got from a movie Angel Heart where Mickey Rourke plays a private eye whose last name is Angel. He explains to a client the reason he changed his name to Angel is because most people will look in the phone book to find a service they need and they will usually start with the A’s. All these things made sense to me so that’s how I came up with the name.