Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Wow You Got To Check This Computer Out!

                                                 See video link at bottom of this article!
While traditional mixing desks can bury DJs behind bulky equipment in a dimly lit corner of the club, this transparent, 46-inch multi-touch system from software development company Smithson Martin puts the person spinning the discs - or in this case the touch display - front and center.

    Emulator DVS system
    The Emulator DVS system allows the crowd to see what the DJ is doing
    Emulator DVS software

Billed as the "world's first and only multi-touch midi controller PC software for professional DJ and music," Emulator is a MIDI controller that shows all the information on one single screen and gives the user a colorfully lit display of all tracks and controls.

The Emulator features 130 controls covering all the usual functions of DJ'ing (of course there's no need to lug around your old vinyl) and the screen is made from durable toughened glass - useful if a disgruntled raver hurls a beer can in your direction. Being see-through, the set-up also adds an extra dose of audience interaction to the whole process as the crowd can watch you mix, add effects and loop tracks ... and hopefully applaud you in the process.

The MIDI controller PC software is designed for Windows 7 (a Mac OSX version is currently being developed) and right now it only works with Traktor Pro. Smithson Martin says that Emulator for Ableton, Serato and Virtual DJ are currently in development. The minimum system requirements are Windows 7 Home Premium or better (32/64 bit), Dual Core 1.3 Ghz CPU, 1 GB RAM and an ASIO sound card (though 4 GB RAM and Native Instruments Audio2DJ sound card or better are recommended).
The Emulator DVS system allows the crowd to see what the DJ is doing

The whole shebang comes with the multi-touch screen in 32", 42" and 46" versions, Emulator Software, stand and projector mount, 2200 lumen short throw projector and technical support. Depending on which size screen you choose the full package Emulator costs between GBP4,300 (approx. US$6665) and GBP5600 (approx. US$8680). Custom sizes are also available by request and the stand-alone software for use on your own tablet or multi-touch device costs US$249.

(video) http://djcraig.net/matrix

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/


Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Colors To Avoid For A Wedding

Colors to avoid for a wedding (im not going to post up any more then this picture because obviously it will offend many...Sorry if your wedding color was yellow. 

In my 10 years of DJing iv seen it all from Canary Yellow to florescence Green and Pink at the head table and through the room. Nowadays just about anything goes for weddings, there are still a few matters of taste that ought to be addressed. For one, the wedding colors. No longer are brides expected to adorn themselves,

COLORS THAT OPPOSE THE SEASON

Hot pink and orange look gorgeous for an outdoor, daytime wedding in the summertime, but make little sense indoors at night in February. Try to coordinate your colors – at least the shades of them – with what meshes with the time of year.

COLORS THAT CLASH

If you are unsure, consult with an artist or decorator and see if your desired colors go well together. Clashing colors are photographic disasters waiting to happen. This means no puce allowed.

MOST EARTH TONES

They look lovely in some situations, but soil brown and clay red do not necessarily say “wedding” except in certain venues. You are better off taking the opportunity to choose less “natural” colors.

TOO MUCH WHITE

Yes, white is for weddings, but having a white wedding without at least a light accent color – even silver would work – puts you at risk of hosting your wedding in what looks like an enormous marshmallow. When throwing a white wedding, be sure to add some contrast, even if it is subtle. This rule applies to all colors, really, but especially to something as glaringly bright as white. Which brings me to my next thing to avoid…

EXTREMELY BRIGHT COLORS

This is not the time for highlighter yellow and traffic cone orange – save those for a blacklight party. Even if you are throwing a casual dance party as your reception, choose shades that are a little below neon lest you make guests dizzy.

Your wedding colors can be one of the things that make your wedding memorable, so use some care when choosing them. It is a good idea to run ideas by a few people of varying taste to make sure you are not making any aesthetic missteps – the last thing you want people to remember are the ugly colors at a wedding. Avoid any major mistakes by following the advice in this guide and taking the path of elegance!

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/
bridesmaids, and venues in white and pastels, but there are still some colors that should probably, for the sake of attractiveness and good sense, be avoided. If you aren’t totally clear on what these might be, here is a brief guide to clarify what I mean.

Friday, May 17, 2013

5 Steps To Succeed In The Dj World


5 Steps To Succeed In The Wedding Dj World

Creative professionals everywhere struggle with the challenges of getting things finished. Successful creative professionals beat those challenges. This is a sentiment that should resonate with the bedroom DJ.
With the rise of affordable music equipment there has been a flood of people trying to get into this field and the competition is fierce. To become a successful wedding DJ you must learn the skills of self-motivation to survive in this competitive field.

 1. Show up!
To succeed, you have to turn up. When you’re a wedding DJ, maybe doing it part time, it’s doubly important, because nobody else is making you do it and you’re busy anyway. But if you don’t put the hours in, the rest of it comes to nothing. Professionals do; wannabes just think about it.
The best way is simply to plan a certain number of hour for production into your days, weeks and months, and stick to it. Jobs have set hours, and this is a job. If you’re physically there, ready to start, you’ve already won half the battle. id like to add something off topic i myself have been down all the professional roads from Djing small bars to venues packed with over 3000 people. Keeping that in mind the most efficient  way of getting payed and living a good live while only Djing would be that i highly suggest you stick to Djing weddings as your mane souse of dj work. Is a club going to pay you $1000 a night to dj...No never.

2. Fight resistance
Ok stop looking at the pic!! Resistance is what makes you sort through your sample library recategorizing all of your loops and hits, instead of working on your tune. Resistance is what makes your hand move towards
the Facebook bookmark to check your page, instead of working on your promo or marketing. Resistance is what makes you suddenly decide to rearrange your studio to put the speakers in a different place, instead of working on your promo…
In short, resistance is what makes you do something else that feels important but that actually isn’t, at the expense of doing what you’re really meant to be doing – creating. It’s particularly insidious because you feel like you’re working, but in fact you’re actively looking for anything but your important creative work to do!
A simple way to trap this creeping disease is to log exactly what you do for a few of your daily promotional sessions, and see how much time you actually spent working on getting gigs. Once you’ve identified the apparently urgent but really unimportant stuff, the “instant gratification” tasks that you’ve been doing instead of the real, painful, worthwhile job of creating, you can start doing something about changing your habits

3. Finish what you start, then start again (for the music producer example)
How many times have you had somebody tell you excitedly about an amazing new tune they’ve made, right up until the point that you ask to hear it, at which point they shuffle uncomfortably, muttering something like
“it’s not quite finished yet…” or “I need to master it first…”. How many wannabe producers do you know who never seem to finish anything at all?
Signed bands traditionally had little choice but to finish their records on time, with obligation-ridden advances, studio time booked, and record company execs breathing down their necks. Even then, there are legendary stories of albums taking years to finish (or never getting finished at all). If “real” bands sometimes never finish their work, what chance do effectively self-employed producers have?
You have every chance, as long as you set yourself deadlines and stick to them – come what may. Tasks tend to expand to fit the available time. Deadlines are your friend. Professionals produce, release, and move on. Wannabes procrastinate and spend more time coming up with excuses than delivering and getting going on the next project.

4. Accept failure as a necessary part of success
The answer is to accept that to get that success, you have to first miss the mark. You have to produce Promo that nobody ends up liking. Hell, you have to produce promo that even you end up not liking!
Every time you miss the mark, treat it as training – or if you like, as “nudging your guided missile closer to its target”. We always learn more from our failures than our successes. Without the little “nudges” that each almost-success gives us, we simply can’t hit our final, successful goal.
With modern music distribution, there’s a real hidden bonus here. As you release post after post, piling them up on Facebook and cross-promoting them on your blog site and so on, remember this is free promotion  you’re actually building up a back catalogue. And believe me, as soon as you have one success, a lot of people will want to know about that back catalogue. 95% of people now days with google your company name. so remember the more stuff that's on the net. the better. So treat your early efforts as banking stuff up for future success if you like.


5. Accept that it’s natural to lack confidence
We are each programmed to think than anyone, everyone, can do stuff better than us. That simply because we’re involved, anything we do is bound to fail.
Writers feel it when they face a blank page, artists with a blank canvas. DJs feel it as they warm up a night,
scared out of their wits. Producers feel it in Ableton Live with a new, empty project and no ideas. All feel like they’re just not up to the task.
Let me give you an example. I have had a long, fulfilling career in being a wedding DJ. But, even when I was ten full years into DJing as a professional, I remember realising that I’d never lost the feeling that I wasn’t really a DJ, than I was a fraud, and that if anyone actually came up to me while I was playing – I mean, just one person out of a packed, happy dancefloor of hundreds – and told me so, I would crumple and feel uncomfortable the rest of the nigh. Such was my lack of confidence. It’s much better now, but it’s still there. And I’m very normal (I think!).
Here’s another thing: While it’s unlikely anyone will ever tell you you’re a fraud for playing others music, also  No-one will say “you’re good enough, welcome to the club”. You have to tell yourself it’s OK, and you have to do it daily.
How many DJ do you hear saying they can’t stand to listen to their own mix, or read their own reviews? Do you ever wonder why that is? It’s because they have that natural low confidence in their own abilities. Success and money don’t cure it, either. You just have to accept it’s part of the creative mind.

Finally…
A wonderful thing happens when you turn up, blindly believe in yourself and push on. They say “God loves a trier”, and it’s true – when you get going, the stars seem to move in your favor, synergies happen, your mind – having beaten resistance – slips into creative mode, stuff you can’t explain begins to go your way, and out of nothing – painfully, slowly and precariously – good stuff evolves. Good luck! and remember Promo, Promo, Promo that's where you start.

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/







Friday, May 10, 2013

Our Top 6 Unique Wedding Venues - Toronto Ont.

Our Top 6 Unique Wedding Venues - Toronto Ont.

During my ten-year career as a DJ, I had the chance to work and attend 600+ weddings all over Toronto and the GTA. I'm always paying close attention to the food, service and how well I am treated (even as a staff member - these are the people who will sing your praises). A few of them stand out in mind, so I'm sharing my most favorite and unique wedding venues in Toronto as an industry-insider:

1)Steam Whistle Brewery - Host your wedding in the historic roundhouse with features like exposed wood
beams, warm red brick, huge windows with views of the city skyline and 30-foot ceilings. It's the opposite of a sterile window-less banquet hall. Best part? Fresh Steam Whistle on tap! Guests can take tours of the brewery during cocktail hour or hang on the huge, newly renovated back patio. The gallery space (bar) can be rented for cocktail hour and there's even a classic photo booth on-site. It's one of our favorite venues in the city. AV works with a built-in house system - you bring the band of DJ. Choice of exclusive caterers, event furniture/decor would have to be brought in.

2)The Berkeley Field House - The clean white space can be left minimal or jazzed up with as much decor as
you want. Think South Beach interior, big greenhouse windows, a lovely garden patio and outdoor tent option. Even comes with its very own tree house and eclectic dressing room for the wedding party. I once attended a family-style Thanksgiving wedding here and the food was phenomenal. The chef is extremely flexible and open to ideas - no rubber chicken or typical steak and potatoes here.

3)The Berkeley Church - The old church has been
converted into an event venue and is more edgy than the Field House next door. The space has a large stage (perfect for a live band), exposed cement walls, stained glass windows and a mezzanine upstairs to host your ceremony or cocktail hour. If you're thinking cocktail reception, this would be an excellent space as well. Lots of capacity here for a large wedding.

4) Casa Loma - We love all the different spaces
available for use in this castle-like mansion. Host your ceremony in the gorgeous glass conservatory, move into the great hall (with 60-foot ceilings) for cocktails and then into the library for dinner. The picturesque gardens make for great pictures and guests will love lounging on the expansive patio too. The catering is done exclusively by Pegasus Group and I've been to four weddings here. The food is consistent and excellent. The staff are on the ball and even connected over headsets to execute the service of meals perfectly. Book in the late spring or early fall here, the space is not air-conditioned.

5)The Royal Conservatory of Music - Your guests will feel like they are in a floating glass box in the trees in
the newly-built The Leslie and Anna Dan Galleries inside the RCM Telus Centre on Bloor Street. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlook the quiet Philosopher's Walk. The Upper-Level Gallery or the Conservatory Theater can be rented for the ceremony. Bring your own caterer & furniture/decor - exclusive suppliers list.

6)The Distillery District - Lots of interesting spaces
here including restaurants, art galleries and cafes that can be rented for an event. We recommend that you check out The Fermenting Cellar, Archeo, Balzac's, Arta Gallery, The Boiler House and The Thompson Landry Co-operage Gallery.

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Stag & Doe Planning & Tips




Stag & Doe Planning & Tips. We all know that one of the main roles that the wedding Party has other than standing up for you is the Stag & Doe Party Planning. However what if you´re wedding Party has no

experience in this field and you do not want to be left planning your own party. Seem kind of tacky right? Well here is another option. Tell your Wedding party to click to this page and find out what all has to be
done.
Here are a few tips and games for a Stag and Does that are sure to make the big night a success.

1) Planning
First do you know how to plan a Stag & Doe? If not find someone who does. These people can save you time and money in the long run when you already have the knowledge of what works and what doesn´t. You may have thought you remembered everything but you can forget one thing and that could break the entire evening. You do not want to be at a Stag & Doe with lots of food, music, and beverages stacked to the ceiling and prizes that you spotted the money on and only have twelve people showed up and that includes the planner and Wedding Party. Do not count on people showing up at the door. Pre-ticket sales is where you can make the most money. When planning a Stag & Doe write a detailed budget, just like you would for a wedding. Include your projected ticket sales and estimate that if you sell 150 tickets, about 90 people will show up (60%). From those guests, use a typical average of 4 drinks per head to count your alcohol sales. Add another ten percent onto your final figure for gaming and draw sales. Keep these figures on the conservative side.

2) Pick your Venue (Hall)
When looking at halls keep in mind that some halls will not allow you to collect the revenue from drink sales. So make sure you ask questions and inform them of what you are looking at doing as far as selling and costing. Sometimes choosing a Friday over a Saturday may lighten the price of the hall and the DJ, but be careful not to lower your attendance by choosing a Friday. Check to see if you are allowed gambling and 50-50 draws. Some halls are free if you purchase food from them, so check!!! Remember if a hall holds 200 you should be ok with selling 250 tickets to people, as many will only stay 2-3 hours and some may not come at all.


3) Assign Duties and find helpers
Since the Wedding Party is hosting the Stag & Doe use them. But if they are out of town or are unable to

help get as many helpers as you can, especially ticket sellers. The best ticket sellers are those who are comfortable talking to people and work in the public and a waitress/waiter, Bartender or Sales Person is a good example. You will also need people to run the front door, the bar (if not being overseen by the Hall), the gaming tables, 50-50 draws, and people to relieve these people.

4) Sell! Sell! Sell!
This is extremely important. Sell, Sell, Sell!!! If you want 200 people to show up, you need to sell about 300 tickets. A lot of people will just buy a ticket to help support the couple. The ticket price depends on what you have to offer and what the going rate is in this area. The general price ranges from $5 per person to $8 or a Couple for $10 to $15.
CHECK OUT THE GREAT DEAL ON STAG AND DOE TICKETS.....

5) At the Door
This would be the area where you can increase the revenue. Most people only do a 50-50 draw where half of the money goes to the couple and the other half to the winner. Others will do draws for liquor or clothing. I have seen other ideas that work well. Have a draw for concert tickets or sporting event. A very clever ideas was having a package that had all the tickets you have needed for the evening i.e. Envelopes with 4 Drink Tickets, 2 raffle Tickets, 20 Silent Auction Tickets the total package was sold at $ 20.00 but if they bought everything separate they had a savings of $6.50 so these sold very well.

6) Prizes
Other than supporting the couple this will entice people into coming to the party and if drawn properly will keep people there later. One big mistake people make when they have lots of door prizes is to use the microphone to draw each and every one. This stops your party dead. It is a good idea to draw a couple of prizes publicly and either have the DJ announce the other winners in between songs or have a piece of Bristol board with the winning numbers posted.

7) What are you Selling
You should of course have the standard liquor and beers available. Drink prices should range from $2.50 a drink to $3.50. Jell-O shooters are very popular and generally sell for a dollar a piece.

8) . Don´t forget the FOOD
Instead of purchasing pizzas try having sandwiches and vegetable trays made up. Hot roast beef on a Bun, Pasta and Salads. Having a choice gives people a sense of value on what they are paying for.
Money Making Game Ideas

The Pie In The Face Auction:
The honorees of the evening have the opportunity to receive "Pie In The Face"....for the right price of course! 1st method: Individual Bids on each. Highest bidder that night gets to mush pie in the face of the groom and
bride to be.
2nd method: (More of a money maker$$$) Whip Cream in tin foil pie dish. $5 bucks for a mush in the face per person.

Crazy Jokers:
52 Cards shuffled. Tape each card on Bristol board face down. Guests purchase cards for $2 or $3 each. Write guests name with magic marker on back of card. When all cards are purchased you then turn each one over. The individuals possessing the Jokers win $20 each.

Toonie or Loonie toss:
There is a special prize of your choice placed on the floor inside a bucket. The choice of prize should be of decent value or need for other guests as well. There are 3 or 4 rounds. Tape mark 7 feet away from prize. Everyone tosses as many loonies as they'd like until they get their toss in the bucket. Everyone who gets it in the bucket gets to go to the next round. The toss line is moved back to 10 feet. The procedure goes as the individuals who get the loonie in the bucket move to the next round. The toss line moves back 3 feet each time until you have one winner. You should end up with a decent amount in your bucket at the end of it all. Important: make sure you plan this game a little later in the evening.. when the tossers judgment is not as focused.

The $100 giveaway:
First your need a crisp $100 dollar bill. Display the bill in a plastic sheet on the table where you are selling the guesses. You must conceal the serial number of the bill by placing a strip of Bristol board at the bottom to cover it up. You will have an approx. 34 X 12 inch Bristol board on the table with approx. 100 squares. In those squares are mock serial numbers of the $100 bill. Only one square has the real number. Each person who pays for a guess writes his or her name in the square. Price the guessing opportunities accordingly.

Great Canadian Whack Off:
Get a couple of stumps of wood. A softer wood for the women and a harder one for the guys. Tap six-inch spikes an inch into the top of the boy's stump and the girl's stump. Contestants pay $2.00 to whack the spike all the way into the stump. The event is not timed so they are counted by the amount of strikes it takes to sink
it. The person that sinks the nail in the least amount of swings at the end of the night wins an allotted prize. Remember a miss counts as a swing and if the nail is bent the amount of taps to straighten it out also counts. This is a good game to play with a lot of egos in the room. If there is a tie at the end of the night, you will have to have a whack off to determine the winner. This can be a timed event. Remember always provide safety glasses.

To Sing or Not to Sing:
Place bowls or jars on the drink counter. One jar will be labeled to sing and the other Not to Sing. The object for your guests is to fill the jar with change to a certain line. If the line is passed with the to sing then the Groom or Bride will have to sing. You can also substitute the singing with some other embarrassing event.

For your Stag & Doe The DJ Group will bring in our same great sound and lighting that will be at your reception. If you are interested in looking into our Stag & Doe package click this link. http://www.thedjgroup.net/additions.html

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Your Wedding's Photo Booth.

Your Wedding's Photo Booth.

Your wedding's photo booth Winking, blowing a kiss, or wearing a boa — anything goes in a photo booth, which is what makes them so addictive. While it's nice to have shiny, posed, professional photos from your

wedding, more and more couples are also including photo booths at receptions to capture silly moments with friends and family. Before you start planning your wedding's photo booth, we at The DJ Group invite you to take a look at our photo booths to give your guests flawless fun for the night. A booth along side a DJ is the way to go. http://www.thedjgroup.net/weddings.html

For a surprisingly low price we can provide you with a beautiful 5' X 5' photo booth (room for 8 people at once). The Photo Booth rental includes:
Two full-time attendants
Custom designed banner for each photo (just tell us what you would like printed - they make great mementos of your wedding day). Unlimited prints
Digital copies on a USB drive.

A box of props with fun hats, glasses and accessories to make your memories even more fun.
Up to 5 hours of photo booth usage.
A memory book for the bride and groom filled with all of the night's pictures.
http://www.thedjgroup.net/additions.html

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Do You Use Professional Equipment?

Do You Use Professional Equipment? And the answer would be a big YES! Ask whether you’re prospective DJ works with professional audio grade equipment and will it accommodate your room size. If you are not sure, ask for their equipment list and check with a local music dealer to verify they are using professional-grade sound gear. Remember that professional gear does not guarantee an entertainer's talent or service level , but is simply a tool for building an exceptional event. this is a quick over view of what we at the DJ Group bring to every wedding reception also all our gear is always updated ever two year or so. to view our DJ gear and packages we offer please visit us

We hope you take this advice into mind when booking your wedding DJ.

Please visit us at: http://www.thedjgroup.net/ at http://www.thedjgroup.net/weddings.html