EP 298: From Turntables to Photo Booths: The Story of DJ Garo and Marie

Ever wonder what happens when a lifelong music enthusiast and a talented graphic designer join forces? Meet DJ Garo and Marie, the dynamic duo revolutionizing the DFW event scene with their unique blend of professional DJ services and designer-quality photo booths.

From humble beginnings making mix CDs for friends in the early 2000s, Garo's journey took him through DC's club scene before finding his true calling in private events and weddings. Marie, with her background in graphic design and photography, brings an elevated aesthetic to their photo booth experience that sets them apart from competitors. Together, they've created a seamless entertainment package that turns ordinary celebrations into unforgettable memories.

What truly distinguishes DJ Garo and Marie is their commitment to professionalism and meticulous attention to detail. While many assume DJing is simply "playing a playlist," they approach each event with careful planning—from clean, cable-managed setups to hand-programmed lighting that complements event color schemes. Garo's 20+ years of experience means he can adapt to any situation, often helping clients refine their timelines based on his expertise, while Marie ensures every photo booth template is custom designed with professional typography and proper lighting techniques.

When they're not creating magical moments for clients, you might find this Maryland transplant couple exploring DFW's restaurant scene or enjoying movies with Garo's professional-grade home audio system (powerful enough to once knock a stone off their fireplace!). After three years in Texas, they continue to bring fresh energy to the local event industry, building their business primarily through word-of-mouth and the strength of their online presence.

Want to experience their services firsthand? Visit their YouTube channel at DJ_Garo for behind-the-scenes content, check out their website at DJGaroMusic.com, or meet them in person at upcoming bridal shows at the Dallas Oasis (August 3rd) and DFW Celebration Expo (August 10th). Stop by for a free photo booth print and discover how DJ Garo and Marie can transform your next celebration into an event your guests will talk about for years to come.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of a DJ or aphoto booth for your next event?
Well, one might be closer thanyou think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbors
DJ Garo and Marie.
With DJ Garo, how are you guysdoing today?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're doing good, doing good.
How about yourself?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
I'm also doing good.
Thanks for asking Now.
We are so excited to learn allabout you both and the business
you put together today.
So let's get started by talkingabout your company.
How did you originally get intothis business?

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Also my name is Garo.
I'm the DJ.
So my story really starts offfrom when I was younger back in
the early 2000s, always had apassion for music my whole life
and growing up up.
You could almost always catchme anywhere with my headphones
on.
I always enjoyed making mix CDsfor my friends and family back

(01:12):
when.
Those were a thing, kind ofshowing my age here, and I even
had one of those massive CDbinders I kept with me in my car
.
I went everywhere.
I always had the urge to tinkerwith things and understand the
inner workings of almostanything I could put my hands on
, which got me into cars andsound systems.
Growing up, I had a number offriends who had older brothers

(01:35):
that were DJs and had turntablesand awesome speaker setups.
So that led to countless nightsDJing and playing the original
Halo and Smash Brothers with myfriends.
But yeah, eventually bought myown turntables and in early
2010s I got my first gig at aclub called Josephine's in DC.

(01:55):
After their first night theyinvited me to come back every
weekend as their resident DJ fortheir gold room, which was rap
and hip hop weekend as theirresident DJ for their gold room,
which was rap and hip hop.
So that led to other clubs buteventually just transitioned out
of that and doing weddings andprivate events.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
Amazing.
And what about you, Marie?

Speaker 4 (02:17):
So I would tag along with Garo to his gigs and, you
know, just like, helping him outwith, like you know, setting up
equipment and then also, likeyou know, taking pictures or
video for socials.
And then, um, you know, I gotlaid off because of the federal
spending cuts.
So, you know, I still wanted todo something creative.

(02:39):
Um, you know, with my time, andso we added in, uh, the photo
booth, since, you know, I'mgoing to be at these events with
him anyway.
So may as well try to offercustomers that service as well.
So that's how I got involved.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
And what is the most common myth or misconception you
both come across in theindustry you're in?

Speaker 3 (03:07):
I'll take this one.
I mean, I would say one of thebiggest ones that I hear
frequently is that it's an easyjob, just a matter of bringing
like speakers and playing aplaylist.
It's actually far from that andsome some people actually think
that's the case, and we'veactually heard plenty of stories
from clients we work with andevent planners that they've had

(03:30):
that experience.
But that's not what we're about.
So for us it's all aboutprofessionalism and presentation
.
We take pride in delivering aclean, polished setup no loose
cables, no clutter.
Everything's designed toenhance the event, not take away
from it.
Even our light shows I handprogram them myself, match them

(03:53):
with color palettes andeverything.
So it's not like crazy lightsbouncing around the room and
strobing and just craziness.
It's all planned out anddesigned to be like that.
Beyond the gear, we take therole seriously.
Definitely, coordination is abig thing.
We work closely with ourclients to understand their

(04:14):
vision and make sure the energyflows right throughout the night
.
We don't just play music, wework really closely with our
clients read the room,transition between genres, keep
the vibe going throughout thenight.
We even come prepared.
I always bring a backup sourceof music in case my laptop wants
to take an unscheduled break,but we strive to make your

(04:37):
events seamless andunforgettable and unforgettable.

Speaker 2 (04:47):
Now we know marketing is the heart of every business.
Who are your target clients and, in terms of marketing, how do
you attract them?

Speaker 4 (04:52):
Yeah, so our main clients are engaged couples
planning their weddings, butreally we're just looking, you
know, to make any kind ofcelebratory event unforgettable,
so not just weddings, but alsobirthday parties, corporate
parties.
There's music and a reason tocelebrate.
We're all in um also, you know,to help people find us.

(05:16):
Um, really, it's word of mouthonline, online reviews or after
seeing us live at someone else'sevent.
That's really how the word getsspread about us.
We also focus on creating agreat experience from start to
finish.
So it's not just about themusic, it's about how smooth,
fun and stress-free everythingfelt.

(05:38):
We're also really active onsocial media, showing
behind-the-scenes setups, recaps.
We're also really active onsocial media showing behind the
scenes setups recaps, andrecently we just launched our
YouTube channel to give you alittle bit of what we do and how
we do it.
We're all part of helping futureclients get to know us before
they ever pick up the phone.
So, at the end of the day,we're not just out here booking

(05:59):
events.
We're building relationshipsand helping people create
moments that they'll neverforget.

Speaker 2 (06:07):
Wow.
And have you both ever thoughtof having your own podcast?

Speaker 3 (06:13):
No, I don't think so.
We just really, it's reallyjust been our vlogs on YouTube
We've been focusing on.
I guess that would be theclosest thing to a podcast we do
.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Yeah, and outside of work, what do you two do for fun
?

Speaker 4 (06:29):
well, uh, being at awesome events, awesome and fun
events is already amazing, butwe are foodies and we love
exploring all the restaurantsdfw has to offer.
So we are originally frommaryland and so you know
everything down here is likestill a big wow factor for us,
as we've been here for aboutthree years.
But, uh, we also love watchingmovies and collecting movies on

(06:53):
disc.
Uh, specifically 4k.
Gar's all about havingeverything you know crisp and
sharp on his big screen tv.
But, but Garo likes to hook uphis DJ subwoofers to the sound
system and actually cause.
It actually caused one of thestones on our fireplace mantle
to fall off and break.
So yeah, so it's never a dullmoment in our house, but but

(07:16):
yeah, so we just love to hangout and we love to eat, and yeah
.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
And how many years have you both taken on this
venture together?

Speaker 3 (07:28):
So she's really I mean, she's been with like
tagging along to events forquite a while, probably like
seven or eight years, but justrecently getting involved with
the photo booth.
It's been about a year, sothat's she's really been driving
into it with her background.
She'll tell you more about that.
She was a graphic designer andphotographer as well.

(07:51):
It just kind of came secondnature to get that photo booth
added to the DJ aspect of thebusiness.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
What is one thing you would like our listeners to
take away from DJ Garo?

Speaker 4 (08:06):
So, as Garo mentioned , I'm a graphic designer and I
have a background in photography, and a lot of photo booth
owners don't necessarily comefrom that kind of creative
background.
So when someone books us,they're getting that extra layer
of care like custom designtemplates that actually look
good, no Comic Sans or cheesyfonts here, also high quality

(08:29):
prints and proper lighting thatresults in better photos.
So it's a more elevatedexperience because I bring that
design and photography knowledgeinto every event.

Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, and as far as I'm sorry, I'll just say on
DJing side I've had like over 20years experience.
I'm very used to like adapt andchange on the fly.
There's really no surprises youcan throw towards me that I
haven't already dealt with insome kind of way.
So I'm always on my toes andit's yeah, just your event's

(09:01):
going to be super smooth andreally no surprises.
I like to think of everythingahead of time and work closely
and actually have control oftimelines at events.
I usually make changes intimelines too, because I can
read through them and say, hey,this isn't all going to fit in
that little time frame.
So just really a lot ofknowledge and experience that

(09:22):
comes along with us.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
And where can our listeners go to learn more about
DJ Garo?

Speaker 3 (09:30):
So best way to is, honestly, through our YouTube
channel.
I would say it's DJ underscoreGaro.
We've been posting a lot of gigblogs, uh, behind the scenes
content, uh, so you can reallysee what we're about and how we
run our events.
Um, yeah, our website also hasa lot of information there DJ
Garo musiccom Uh, there's anabout us tab.

(09:56):
Uh, just started doing a, ablog section too, so, uh, that's
in there so you can seeeverything we have to offer.
And if you're local, we'reactually going to be at a couple
bridal shows coming up.
You can catch us this weekend,august 3rd, at the Dallas Oasis
and then again on the 10th atthe DFW Celebration Expo at, I
think it's the Double Tree inSouth Fort Worth.
We'll have our photo booththere, so come get some free

(10:20):
prints.
Stop by, say hi and grab apicture with us.

Speaker 2 (10:25):
Well, Marie and Garo, I really appreciate you both
being on the show today.
We wish you and your businessthe best moving forward.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
Thank you for having us.
It was a pleasure honor.
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 4 (10:37):
Yeah, thank you.
We enjoyed this so much.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to gnpfriscocom.
That's gnpfriscocom, or call469-221-9345 or five.