January 14, 2025 • 21 mins
What if the perfect wedding DJ could make or break your special day? Join us as we welcome back Matt from Power Sounds, an expert in orchestrating unforgettable events, to uncover the secrets behind masterful DJing. From ensuring the right ambiance during cocktail hours to transforming the dance floor into a lively celebration, Matt shares his infectious passion and wisdom. You'll learn how he navigates the delicate balance of satisfying both the couple’s musical tastes and those of their guests, with funny tales of handling quirky requests, like a groom dodging his mom's favorite tunes.
Get a front-row seat to the chaos and comedy of wedding vendor collaboration, where clear communication and adaptability are key. Matt takes us behind the scenes, sharing stories of unpredictable guests and the magic of seamless transitions, even when last-minute song requests pop up. Whether you're planning your own wedding or just curious about the careful choreography that makes events memorable, this episode is packed with insights and humor that will leave you tapping your toes and nodding along.
If you enjoyed this episode, hit that subscribe button and drop us a review! We’d love to hear what you think!
Want us to chat with your favorite vendor? We’d love to! Shoot us an email at marco@tipsyguest.com and let us know who you want to hear from! Your top picks could be the stars of our next episode!
FOLLOW US:
https://www.tiktok.com/@tipsyguestpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/thetipsyguestpodcast/
https://www.youtube.com/@TheTipsyGuestPodcast
https://www.pinterest.com/tipsyguest/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, MarcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:26):
Hey guys, welcome back to thetipsy guest.
Today.
I have matt from power sounds.
We had so much fun last time soI had to bring him again.
Welcome back, matt thanks forhaving me again, man, thanks for
having me.
Like there's just so manythings to talk about when it
comes.
I mean I feel like the djs atevents are the life of the party
(00:47):
.
Yeah, I mean you guys arealways.
You know, you, you, I mean you,do you even take restroom
breaks?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
uh, no, not really, I really don't.
Um, well, if you think about it, right, going back to what
you're saying, like the life ofthe party, I mean we're like the
longest part uninterrupted,whether it's us or a band or
whatever.
It's like two hours, sometimesthree if it's a longer one
straight, you know, usually likethe ceremony 30 minutes of
pre-ceremony, 30 minutes ofactual ceremony time, an hour of
cocktail hour, of dinner, andthen boom, two hours straight of
(01:18):
us.
So yeah, I always say likeentertainment could definitely
make or break the night becauseit's the longest, it's the
longest part of the night.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I mean, what is your favorite part?
To dj the, the.
I mean you don't dj at theceremony, but I mean you.
What do you guys do at theceremony?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
well, ceremony, ceremony.
Uh, we run sound, so we runmics, and then, um, we play
music, so we play the music forlet's say, they're gonna have,
uh, family walk down, we playmusic for that I guess I always
get to the weddings late, yeahso I'm never there for the
ceremony.
So I'm like what do you?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
do at a ceremony yeah , he's a party.
He's a party, no, but so whatis your favorite part to dj, I
guess, or work, the ceremony,the cocktail hour or the actual
like party, yeah party.
Party for me, yeah, party Imean it made it.
That's when you're reallyhaving fun.
I mean I'm sure yeah you.
I mean you love you do so I knowyou always have fun doing what
you're doing, yeah, but but yeah, I feel like the party is where
you know, like I mean I feellike everyone in general,
(02:10):
they're just waiting for theparty.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, yeah, I mean all of that for us vendors too.
I mean, during ceremony orcocktail or dinner.
These people know each other,so they're talking catching up
for us.
Talking catching up for us.
It's just like it's kind ofsome waiting time.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, it's kind of some waiting time, so for us,
that's the time when you kind oflike talk to the people that
you know which are the othervendors.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That is cool, so okay .
So again, I always show up tothe wedding later.
I normally tell my people like,hey, I recommend, you know,
(02:51):
let's start the photo boothright after dinner, because you
know you don't want to wastethat hour of people having
dinner.
Um, you know when people areeating, you know people are
socializing, right.
So what kind of music do younormally play during dinner?
I mean, because it has to be alot lower, just maybe like
mellow music.
But what do you play?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
it.
It just depends um normal I,we're here in Texas, right, so a
lot of country.
Sometimes I do like a JohnMayer soft rock style, or some
will even do like a FrankSinatra rap pack.
You know Dean Martin, all ofthat, you know jazz style.
It all just depends, though, onthe concept the couple's
running with as well, becausethere's some clients that are
(03:21):
like I don't want a slow dinner,I'm going to have action
stations, right, I'm going tohave food.
I want it to be lively, I wantit to be fun.
Or someone will tell us hey, myparents have told me I want the
music really low for dinner.
So we do that, you know it'salways different, though for
dinner for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And I know you're set up of course hour, because
normally cocktail hour is in adifferent room or outside.
Yeah, uh, how?
I mean, do you have a secondsetup outside, or is it just
like speakers and you're djingfrom inside?
How does how does that work?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
we usually have like a separate speaker with the
music that the couple choosesloaded on that speaker.
Um, so it's not connected, uh,but you know it's just out there
, so we think have some musicokay all right, it's normally a
completely different style ofmusic during cocktail hour
versus the actual party it justdepends.
We've had some, we've had somecouples do like the same style
(04:14):
of music for cocktail and fordinner.
I always try to say or kind ofspin it in a way where it's like
, hey, you can, you, you caninfuse your musical taste in
different parts of the night.
So, let's say, there's someslower style music that you
don't want played for open dance, you can use that, you can use
that for cocktail, because Ifeel like you can kind of take
them through that journey ofmusic as a couple.
Yeah, even if it's not the samegenre, maybe it's the same feel
(04:38):
.
Well, they can just kind ofthrow that in cocktail or for
dinner.
So you can play a lot with themusic.
You can really make it your own, even with ceremony.
We've had some couples do somereally really creative stuff
with ceremony.
Like I forgot which group itwas, either vitamin string
quartet or brooklyn duo, I don'tknow.
Um, they did a numb cover fromlincoln park.
Well, the groom was a hugelincoln park fan, that's like
(05:01):
his band and we.
Actually that's the song hewalked down to, only him, he was
the only one that walked downto it, uh, but I mean, they
really really added like thatpersonal flair to their wedding,
so I thought that was reallycool and it's okay.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I guess to me, like it's so cool that you guys, I
mean you have to deal with somany different personalities.
Yeah, uh, I mean, and I always,you know, bring the the subject
back to me, like to as awedding vendor.
I mean we always try to relatethings to each individual vendor
.
But like going back to thephoto booth, for example, I mean
we deal with so many differentpersonalities.
(05:33):
I mean mainly drunk people.
Mainly drunk people becauseeverybody wants to take photos
and then the more they'redrinking, the more they start
photobombing other people.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yeah, so it gets crazy.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
So with you, for example.
I mean, what are the differentpersonalities that you have to
deal with?
I mean because I know normallyyour consultations are with the
couples, right?
I mean, do you ever also meetwith like the parents, or like
the bridesmaids, or like who doyou normally meet with?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
some, I mean mostly just a couple and the reason why
we want just the couplesbecause I want their opinion and
I don't want anybody else'sinput, because they're it's
their big day.
It's their day I don't mindwhen parents, when parents you
know, join um, sometimes ithelps because we get a feel for
the family a little bit morewith the, with the parents,
(06:23):
because sometimes you know youask the bride and groom well,
what does your family use for?
Like I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
My mom knows, you know, and they will kind of use
that information to ouradvantage To prepare your
playlist or what you're going tobe doing that night.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Right and I kind of ask them to in a way which is
like who's important to you thatday right?
Which is like who's importantto you that day right?
Like I had a groom, he was likehey, my mom's super, super
important.
She's paying for it.
So I really want to kind ofthrow this in her for her.
So little things like that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Do you ever get Right now that you mentioned that the
mom is paying for it, yes, doyou ever get at the wedding in
this case, the mom, because shepaid for the services.
Do you ever get that person,that mother of the bride, that's
always asking for songs orasking for certain things, and
then she always throws that inthere Like I'm the one paying
(07:14):
for it, I'm the one that got youpaid.
You need to play this Kind of.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I've had a dad come up to me.
He was like are you matt?
I was like yes, sir, pleasureto meet you.
He goes.
Cool, I paid for you.
That was that's what I had.
He was like so I do want tohear a little bit of country.
He kind of gave me like hislittle rundown, but it was all
kind of what the, what the brideand groom already wanted, so it
wasn't a problem.
The only thing I've had a groomone time tell me was really
crazy.
He was like I don't want you totake requests from my mom just
(07:40):
because our styles are sodifferent.
I have a lot of friends here.
I'm pretty sure his mom thoughtI was like the worst dj ever,
you know.
Uh, I mean because, likeeverything, I was like we had
the songs we really did, but itwas like footloose.
He's like I don't want thatstuff, I want like you know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So I was like okay, so I would just try to be real
cool, be like let me see what Ican do, let me see if I have
time and so when it comes tothat, like I know, for example,
like I mean, it is your big day,you're the, you're the bride,
you're the groom right, you knowyou want your music played at
the wedding, but I mean you haveto understand also there's a
lot of people at your wedding,so you need to understand that a
(08:19):
lot of the stuff that youpersonally like as the couple,
it might not be the same for forthe guests, like they might
enjoy other type of music, so soyou always got to be mindful of
your guests as well.
I mean, is that something thatyou guys discuss during your
your, your consultations?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
yes, yes, definitely like I'll.
First thing I'll ask him islike, what is your guest count
and what is the percentage?
Is it more families or morefriends?
If you say it's a lot offriends, then I'm gonna want to
know what the really the coupleis into, because yeah they're
probably gonna be around thesame age, you're gonna like the
same styles of music andeverything like that.
Maybe they probably went toschool college together, uh.
But if it's a lot of family,I'm gonna say, okay, what are
(08:59):
they used to, what are we like,what's the dynamic and what are
y'all okay with.
Though you know some coupleswill say, hey, like my family's
big in the country, we're notgive them like two or three,
don't turn into a dance hall andlet's move on, you know.
So we really, I really want toknow those things, at least
personally for me, ahead of time.
That way I'm not secondguessing myself.
I kind of know, okay, these aremy boundaries and I kind of
(09:20):
know where how to work it.
Yeah, you know, um, but yeah, Imean it's always.
I always put it like this.
It's like you can't forcepeople to dance what they don't
know.
Yeah, I did have a.
I did, you know, I did have a,uh, a bride, a couple.
I mean this was maybe a coupleyears ago and she was like hey,
like my family, you know.
I asked her what's your guestcount was potentially mostly
(09:42):
friends.
It was not, it was a lot ofolder people.
Uh, maybe she anticipated morefriends coming and I don't know
what happened, but it ended upbeing a lot of older people.
So her biggest thing was liketwo, two thousands, 20 tens.
So when I opened, I opened like70s 80s.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
By the time they knew it we're in 2000s, 2010.
So sometimes how you get there,I like that kind of like a like
a timeline, and then you end upwith what she really wanted,
what they really wanted, forsure.
That is cool.
I like that.
I guess, like I've never reallypaid attention to I mean, I
know the music's always goingand I always just see the crowd
going and stuff, but I've neverreally paid attention on how how
you transition, you know, likefrom one song to another.
(10:23):
Uh, I mean, and I guess that'sa good thing, because that to me
it tells me that you're reallygood at what you do.
Because I've been to certainweddings where it's like they
just it's a dj, but it's likethey just have Spotify playing,
because they cut out the song,yeah, and then they start a
brand new song, yeah, and youcan tell that it's not mixed.
(10:45):
Like they just like stopped itand then played a different one.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, or maybe you have to know how to break a
situation sometimes, like I hada groom one time and he was like
big in the country.
I played country really early.
It was a younger crowd, it waslike 350.
They had like 350 guests.
It was at chandler green andhis thing was like hey man, he
came up to me.
He's like dude, when you'replaying country, I was outside
doing sunset photos, I couldhear it.
You know, is there any way youcould throw some country?
(11:09):
And this is like 15 minutesbefore we're gonna end, before
it's crazy that's when theparty's going.
Yes, dude, it's crazy I mean alot of younger crowd.
You know it was a younger crowd, everybody.
It is what it is.
They were drunk.
So I got on the mic and I waslike hey, everybody, before the
night ends, our new groom wantsto two step with his bride.
And I was like so, and so thisone goes out to you.
And I played, it went off.
But I feel like if we wouldhave just went straight from
crazy party to country and notknowing how to break, make that
(11:32):
break, you know, make thattransition um, it would have
been like what is he doing?
Like we were just all vibingout and then you killed.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You killed the vibe, but that's what the groom wanted
.
I mean you, you, they are the,it's a groom right, right.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And that's why I always tell them like, if you
have anything, ask me there,because we could fix it there.
You know, like I always say askme there, yeah, because I can
fix it, you know for sure okay.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So how do you deal with people I'm sure I mean I
see it all the time peoplecoming up to you asking with
their little phones because it'sso loud that they can't hear it
, so they put their phone uplike requesting songs.
Yeah, how do you?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
how do you deal with that?
Well, that's something that thebride and groom kind of tell us
like do you want to take aquestion?
Not, most will say, or I'll askthem do you want us to use our
judgment?
And most say, yes, use yourjudgment.
So, like we talked about right,um, kind of filtering different
requests.
So sometimes people come up tous it's crazy hip-hop party end
of the night.
And I'll be like, can you playfrank sinatra?
(12:24):
And I'll be like, let me seewhat I can do.
To me it's, it's, it's a no,because for me I'm not going to
put one person's want in frontof, like, the whole dance floor
if I know it's going to kill it.
If it's there and it's, youknow, maybe it's in the same
tempo with same genre.
Okay, cool, I, or maybe I guessit's a different genre but I
can squeeze it in.
I think it's gonna work then,yeah, but besides the bride and
(12:45):
groom, for that it's really justkind of depends on what they're
asking for.
Now, let's say, I get a lot ofrequests for it.
Yeah, then I kind of know, okay, then like people really want
that?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
yeah, they really want that.
What is one song you I mean,you've been DJing for such a
long time.
What is the one song thatyou're like?
Oh my God, I got to play thissong.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
It was Sweet Caroline for Neil Diamond.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What yeah?
Yeah, I love Sweet Caroline.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, for me it's tough.
It's tough because it's such aslower song, so it's kind of
finding the time to play it, butyou've got to find the right
time for it, which is, I wouldsay, towards the very end, it is
when everybody's already superdrunk.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It is, and I feel like they're not really dancing
anymore.
They're just singing yes, alongwith the with the song, because
they're so drunk that they'rethey can barely stand up.
Yeah yeah, so they're just kindof like lip singing or singing
out loud, I guess, to towhatever you're playing yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
So I, and if I see it and they don't give me like a
last group song, like hey, howdo we feel about this song being
the last group song?
You know?
Because we'll make anannouncement hey, everybody, the
night's coming to an end.
This next song's the last groupsong, you know, because we'll
make it announced like hey,everybody, the night's coming to
an end, this next song's thelast song of the night.
We'll play it, um, and I'm likewhy don't we put it there?
You know?
Because it's like so it's justdifferent and what's that?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
what's the one song that you're always excited to?
To play like that?
You're like, yeah, like I like.
This is one of my favoritesongs and I'm glad that it's
part of this wedding uh, itchanges.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I'll probably say it's gonna sound super.
Wow.
I can't believe it's supercliche, but probably like this
how we do it.
I don't know why.
I just like it.
It's very.
It's a very versatile song.
It works with all kinds ofcrowds older, younger so it's a
very, very versatile song.
Um, so I like to just use it tomy advantage because it's very
versatile okay, okay, that's,that's fair.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
And then, um, you know, going back to the
personalities, do you ever haveto deal with um, I mean, I guess
we talked about the you knowthe dad or the mom you know
saying like, oh, we paid forthis, yeah, and you know,
dealing with the people thatrequest songs all the time.
Have you ever had anythinghappen like you know, like
something major I know last timeyou mentioned about you know,
like somebody telling you offbecause you didn't play their?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
song yeah, yeah but like what?
Speaker 1 (14:55):
is there something you know?
Like you know something funny,or something like that.
You were like oh holy.
Like you know, like get awayfrom me.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Like uh, like something.
I would say something funnythere.
This was a long time ago, likemaybe six, seven years ago.
It was, uh, at the omni lamansion and we were out playing
you know, very, very fun crowd.
But there was one dude that wassuper drunk on the dance floor,
had a drink in his hand,jumping around everywhere,
jumping around, jumping around,jumping around.
So I saw him like man, thisdude has a ton of energy.
(15:23):
Well, there's this older coupleright here.
He bumps into him so hard, theyliterally start tumbling and
they slide all the way under atable and all you see is their
feet sticking out from under thetable.
It was like Wizard of Oz style,like just feet.
So they end up like moving thetable.
And this couple was older, Iwould say they're like in their
80s.
They were older.
They were older.
(15:44):
So I was like well, it was meand dad.
We're like what do we do?
Do we stop the music.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Like like what do we do right?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
so we turn it down a little bit and um the they ended
up moving the table and the andthe, the man, the husband, he
was just like leave me here,give me like a couple minutes.
So that was definitely I meanthe way they like flew.
I've never seen anybody flyacross like slide across the
floor like a missile.
It was crazy.
That is too much yeah and thenum.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
So, for example, when it comes to um to the end of
the night, I know you, I I thinkI mean every dj, you know you
guys make an announcement like,hey, this is the last song, or
whatever.
We gotta clear the room for thelast dance.
Is there always a last danceand is it normally?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
private, um, you could do a private one.
I always say we gotta do a lastsong, like a last song, because
that way people are expecting,okay, it's coming to an end, and
it's not so hard to get themoutside.
Yeah, because I know most ofthey already know, like they
already know it's coming to anend, and not only that.
So that way most people willkind of get on the floor, like
if they see the couple, okay,it's the last one they'll kind
of get on the on the floor withthe couple.
(16:46):
Um, but it's like we talkedabout you have everybody there,
okay, everybody, we're gonna go,we're gonna be having a
send-off, and it's like rightthere, you know what I mean
they're all right there so wecan kind of move and because I
mean, most of the time thesetimelines are towards the end,
get really tight, yeah,depending on what's happening.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
So you know, we want to try to stick to it for as
close as we can and speaking oftimelines, um, I know we're
running a little bit already outof time here, but speaking of
timelines and and you anddealing with all these different
personalities, have you again?
This is my over again, yeah,but have you ever had that one
(17:33):
planner where she is a psycho orhe's a psycho and they think
it's their freaking wedding,like, and they want to, they
demand things like have you everencountered something like?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
that like I've had some try to give me a script and
I'm like, look, that soundsreally good from you, but when I
read it I can't.
I don't know, it's just notnatural for me, right?
So I'm gonna stumble over it,or or whatever the case, or
there'll be some times where youknow, let's say we're gonna
open floor, we open the floorfive minutes in.
Can we do bouquet garter?
And like now I'm like dude,give me, give us a couple.
(18:07):
The bride and groom are on thedance floor, like they're not
you know.
So, yeah, I mean we've, we'vedefinitely had it before, but
that's why we like to have youknow that talk with the couple
if it's if it's a coordinatorwe're not used to working with
right, because I mean we workwith tons of great coordinators.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
It's easy most coordinators will tell us hey,
do whatever you feel, becausethey know your work because they
know that you know what goes on, that you are, that you go with
the flow.
Okay, or maybe they.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Maybe they just understand momentum, right?
Yeah, there's momentum behindit.
Okay, we're gonna let it simmera little bit and then we're
gonna move into what we're gonnado next.
And it's not gonna be really,really choppy, and I think
that's where adapting comes intoplay.
For sure, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So just you know.
Word of advice for you guysplanning your wedding it's
always important to talk to yourvendors about so many different
scenarios that could happen atweddings.
I mean, you might be used togoing to events and just having
fun, but this time you're theone planning your big day.
You want it to be perfect.
Don't stress about it.
(19:06):
You know, enjoy it, have funand discuss all of those things
before during your consultationswith all of your vendors Most
important I would say, of course, your event planner.
But then situations like thatyou know, for example, like with
the song and if you are allowedto accept, you know, song
requests and things like that.
(19:26):
It's always good to talk to thevendors.
You know we're here to listento you guys.
We're obviously hired to makeyour day unforgettable.
So you know it's always good totalk.
You know like we're not here totell you no, we can't do that.
You know there's always or tojudge right.
Yeah, we're definitely not hereto judge you.
We're just kind of here to tellyou what works, what doesn't
(19:48):
work, and we're always going totry to give you advice.
But at doesn't work, and we'realways going to try to give you
advice, right, but at the end ofthe day, it is going to be your
decision.
You know, we're just here totell you what could potentially
work and what could potentiallynot work at all.
For sure, right, for sure, forsure, all right.
Well, matt, thank you so muchfor being with us today again,
and again I'm sure we're gonnahave you again in the future.
(20:09):
You know there's always so muchto talk about for today.
That is it.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Please spread the word aboutthe podcast.
Tell your bff.
If you know someone that'sengaged and needs advice or
recommendations, you can alwayssend us a dm.
You can visit our website.
You know we're always available.
Tell our listeners where canthey find you on social media at
(20:30):
power songs dj on instagramperfect.
There you go.
Thank you so much.
Until next time.
Thanks for listening to thetipsy guest podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
the love and share it with them.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
Next round's on us, same time,same place, cheers.
(20:52):
This podcast is brought to youby MVP Photo Booth.
No-transcript.
Welcome to the Tipsy Guest Podcast.
I am your host, MarcoBuenrostro, and every week I'm
here with the top industryexperts, amazing clients and all
my vendor BFFs to bring you thebest tips, advice and juicy
behind-the-scenes stories tomake wedding and event planning
a breeze.
So grab your favorite drink andlet's get this party started.
(00:26):
Hey guys, welcome back to thetipsy guest.
Today.
I have matt from power sounds.
We had so much fun last time soI had to bring him again.
Welcome back, matt thanks forhaving me again, man, thanks for
having me.
Like there's just so manythings to talk about when it
comes.
I mean I feel like the djs atevents are the life of the party
(00:47):
.
Yeah, I mean you guys arealways.
You know, you, you, I mean you,do you even take restroom
breaks?
Speaker 2 (00:56):
uh, no, not really, I really don't.
Um, well, if you think about it, right, going back to what
you're saying, like the life ofthe party, I mean we're like the
longest part uninterrupted,whether it's us or a band or
whatever.
It's like two hours, sometimesthree if it's a longer one
straight, you know, usually likethe ceremony 30 minutes of
pre-ceremony, 30 minutes ofactual ceremony time, an hour of
cocktail hour, of dinner, andthen boom, two hours straight of
(01:18):
us.
So yeah, I always say likeentertainment could definitely
make or break the night becauseit's the longest, it's the
longest part of the night.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
I mean, what is your favorite part?
To dj the, the.
I mean you don't dj at theceremony, but I mean you.
What do you guys do at theceremony?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
well, ceremony, ceremony.
Uh, we run sound, so we runmics, and then, um, we play
music, so we play the music forlet's say, they're gonna have,
uh, family walk down, we playmusic for that I guess I always
get to the weddings late, yeahso I'm never there for the
ceremony.
So I'm like what do you?
Speaker 1 (01:47):
do at a ceremony yeah , he's a party.
He's a party, no, but so whatis your favorite part to dj, I
guess, or work, the ceremony,the cocktail hour or the actual
like party, yeah party.
Party for me, yeah, party Imean it made it.
That's when you're reallyhaving fun.
I mean I'm sure yeah you.
I mean you love you do so I knowyou always have fun doing what
you're doing, yeah, but but yeah, I feel like the party is where
you know, like I mean I feellike everyone in general,
(02:10):
they're just waiting for theparty.
Speaker 2 (02:12):
Well, yeah, I mean all of that for us vendors too.
I mean, during ceremony orcocktail or dinner.
These people know each other,so they're talking catching up
for us.
Talking catching up for us.
It's just like it's kind ofsome waiting time.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Yeah, it's kind of some waiting time, so for us,
that's the time when you kind oflike talk to the people that
you know which are the othervendors.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
That is cool, so okay .
So again, I always show up tothe wedding later.
I normally tell my people like,hey, I recommend, you know,
(02:51):
let's start the photo boothright after dinner, because you
know you don't want to wastethat hour of people having
dinner.
Um, you know when people areeating, you know people are
socializing, right.
So what kind of music do younormally play during dinner?
I mean, because it has to be alot lower, just maybe like
mellow music.
But what do you play?
Speaker 2 (03:00):
it.
It just depends um normal I,we're here in Texas, right, so a
lot of country.
Sometimes I do like a JohnMayer soft rock style, or some
will even do like a FrankSinatra rap pack.
You know Dean Martin, all ofthat, you know jazz style.
It all just depends, though, onthe concept the couple's
running with as well, becausethere's some clients that are
(03:21):
like I don't want a slow dinner,I'm going to have action
stations, right, I'm going tohave food.
I want it to be lively, I wantit to be fun.
Or someone will tell us hey, myparents have told me I want the
music really low for dinner.
So we do that, you know it'salways different, though for
dinner for sure.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
And I know you're set up of course hour, because
normally cocktail hour is in adifferent room or outside.
Yeah, uh, how?
I mean, do you have a secondsetup outside, or is it just
like speakers and you're djingfrom inside?
How does how does that work?
Speaker 2 (03:54):
we usually have like a separate speaker with the
music that the couple choosesloaded on that speaker.
Um, so it's not connected, uh,but you know it's just out there
, so we think have some musicokay all right, it's normally a
completely different style ofmusic during cocktail hour
versus the actual party it justdepends.
We've had some, we've had somecouples do like the same style
(04:14):
of music for cocktail and fordinner.
I always try to say or kind ofspin it in a way where it's like
, hey, you can, you, you caninfuse your musical taste in
different parts of the night.
So, let's say, there's someslower style music that you
don't want played for open dance, you can use that, you can use
that for cocktail, because Ifeel like you can kind of take
them through that journey ofmusic as a couple.
Yeah, even if it's not the samegenre, maybe it's the same feel
(04:38):
.
Well, they can just kind ofthrow that in cocktail or for
dinner.
So you can play a lot with themusic.
You can really make it your own, even with ceremony.
We've had some couples do somereally really creative stuff
with ceremony.
Like I forgot which group itwas, either vitamin string
quartet or brooklyn duo, I don'tknow.
Um, they did a numb cover fromlincoln park.
Well, the groom was a hugelincoln park fan, that's like
(05:01):
his band and we.
Actually that's the song hewalked down to, only him, he was
the only one that walked downto it, uh, but I mean, they
really really added like thatpersonal flair to their wedding,
so I thought that was reallycool and it's okay.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
I guess to me, like it's so cool that you guys, I
mean you have to deal with somany different personalities.
Yeah, uh, I mean, and I always,you know, bring the the subject
back to me, like to as awedding vendor.
I mean we always try to relatethings to each individual vendor
.
But like going back to thephoto booth, for example, I mean
we deal with so many differentpersonalities.
(05:33):
I mean mainly drunk people.
Mainly drunk people becauseeverybody wants to take photos
and then the more they'redrinking, the more they start
photobombing other people.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Yeah, so it gets crazy.
Speaker 1 (05:46):
So with you, for example.
I mean, what are the differentpersonalities that you have to
deal with?
I mean because I know normallyyour consultations are with the
couples, right?
I mean, do you ever also meetwith like the parents, or like
the bridesmaids, or like who doyou normally meet with?
Speaker 2 (06:03):
some, I mean mostly just a couple and the reason why
we want just the couplesbecause I want their opinion and
I don't want anybody else'sinput, because they're it's
their big day.
It's their day I don't mindwhen parents, when parents you
know, join um, sometimes ithelps because we get a feel for
the family a little bit morewith the, with the parents,
(06:23):
because sometimes you know youask the bride and groom well,
what does your family use for?
Like I don't know.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
My mom knows, you know, and they will kind of use
that information to ouradvantage To prepare your
playlist or what you're going tobe doing that night.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
Right and I kind of ask them to in a way which is
like who's important to you thatday right?
Which is like who's importantto you that day right?
Like I had a groom, he was likehey, my mom's super, super
important.
She's paying for it.
So I really want to kind ofthrow this in her for her.
So little things like that.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Do you ever get Right now that you mentioned that the
mom is paying for it, yes, doyou ever get at the wedding in
this case, the mom, because shepaid for the services.
Do you ever get that person,that mother of the bride, that's
always asking for songs orasking for certain things, and
then she always throws that inthere Like I'm the one paying
(07:14):
for it, I'm the one that got youpaid.
You need to play this Kind of.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
I've had a dad come up to me.
He was like are you matt?
I was like yes, sir, pleasureto meet you.
He goes.
Cool, I paid for you.
That was that's what I had.
He was like so I do want tohear a little bit of country.
He kind of gave me like hislittle rundown, but it was all
kind of what the, what the brideand groom already wanted, so it
wasn't a problem.
The only thing I've had a groomone time tell me was really
crazy.
He was like I don't want you totake requests from my mom just
(07:40):
because our styles are sodifferent.
I have a lot of friends here.
I'm pretty sure his mom thoughtI was like the worst dj ever,
you know.
Uh, I mean because, likeeverything, I was like we had
the songs we really did, but itwas like footloose.
He's like I don't want thatstuff, I want like you know.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So I was like okay, so I would just try to be real
cool, be like let me see what Ican do, let me see if I have
time and so when it comes tothat, like I know, for example,
like I mean, it is your big day,you're the, you're the bride,
you're the groom right, you knowyou want your music played at
the wedding, but I mean you haveto understand also there's a
lot of people at your wedding,so you need to understand that a
(08:19):
lot of the stuff that youpersonally like as the couple,
it might not be the same for forthe guests, like they might
enjoy other type of music, so soyou always got to be mindful of
your guests as well.
I mean, is that something thatyou guys discuss during your
your, your consultations?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
yes, yes, definitely like I'll.
First thing I'll ask him islike, what is your guest count
and what is the percentage?
Is it more families or morefriends?
If you say it's a lot offriends, then I'm gonna want to
know what the really the coupleis into, because yeah they're
probably gonna be around thesame age, you're gonna like the
same styles of music andeverything like that.
Maybe they probably went toschool college together, uh.
But if it's a lot of family,I'm gonna say, okay, what are
(08:59):
they used to, what are we like,what's the dynamic and what are
y'all okay with.
Though you know some coupleswill say, hey, like my family's
big in the country, we're notgive them like two or three,
don't turn into a dance hall andlet's move on, you know.
So we really, I really want toknow those things, at least
personally for me, ahead of time.
That way I'm not secondguessing myself.
I kind of know, okay, these aremy boundaries and I kind of
(09:20):
know where how to work it.
Yeah, you know, um, but yeah, Imean it's always.
I always put it like this.
It's like you can't forcepeople to dance what they don't
know.
Yeah, I did have a.
I did, you know, I did have a,uh, a bride, a couple.
I mean this was maybe a coupleyears ago and she was like hey,
like my family, you know.
I asked her what's your guestcount was potentially mostly
(09:42):
friends.
It was not, it was a lot ofolder people.
Uh, maybe she anticipated morefriends coming and I don't know
what happened, but it ended upbeing a lot of older people.
So her biggest thing was liketwo, two thousands, 20 tens.
So when I opened, I opened like70s 80s.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
By the time they knew it we're in 2000s, 2010.
So sometimes how you get there,I like that kind of like a like
a timeline, and then you end upwith what she really wanted,
what they really wanted, forsure.
That is cool.
I like that.
I guess, like I've never reallypaid attention to I mean, I
know the music's always goingand I always just see the crowd
going and stuff, but I've neverreally paid attention on how how
you transition, you know, likefrom one song to another.
(10:23):
Uh, I mean, and I guess that'sa good thing, because that to me
it tells me that you're reallygood at what you do.
Because I've been to certainweddings where it's like they
just it's a dj, but it's likethey just have Spotify playing,
because they cut out the song,yeah, and then they start a
brand new song, yeah, and youcan tell that it's not mixed.
(10:45):
Like they just like stopped itand then played a different one.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, or maybe you have to know how to break a
situation sometimes, like I hada groom one time and he was like
big in the country.
I played country really early.
It was a younger crowd, it waslike 350.
They had like 350 guests.
It was at chandler green andhis thing was like hey man, he
came up to me.
He's like dude, when you'replaying country, I was outside
doing sunset photos, I couldhear it.
You know, is there any way youcould throw some country?
(11:09):
And this is like 15 minutesbefore we're gonna end, before
it's crazy that's when theparty's going.
Yes, dude, it's crazy I mean alot of younger crowd.
You know it was a younger crowd, everybody.
It is what it is.
They were drunk.
So I got on the mic and I waslike hey, everybody, before the
night ends, our new groom wantsto two step with his bride.
And I was like so, and so thisone goes out to you.
And I played, it went off.
But I feel like if we wouldhave just went straight from
crazy party to country and notknowing how to break, make that
(11:32):
break, you know, make thattransition um, it would have
been like what is he doing?
Like we were just all vibingout and then you killed.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
You killed the vibe, but that's what the groom wanted
.
I mean you, you, they are the,it's a groom right, right.
Speaker 2 (11:45):
And that's why I always tell them like, if you
have anything, ask me there,because we could fix it there.
You know, like I always say askme there, yeah, because I can
fix it, you know for sure okay.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So how do you deal with people I'm sure I mean I
see it all the time peoplecoming up to you asking with
their little phones because it'sso loud that they can't hear it
, so they put their phone uplike requesting songs.
Yeah, how do you?
Speaker 2 (12:04):
how do you deal with that?
Well, that's something that thebride and groom kind of tell us
like do you want to take aquestion?
Not, most will say, or I'll askthem do you want us to use our
judgment?
And most say, yes, use yourjudgment.
So, like we talked about right,um, kind of filtering different
requests.
So sometimes people come up tous it's crazy hip-hop party end
of the night.
And I'll be like, can you playfrank sinatra?
(12:24):
And I'll be like, let me seewhat I can do.
To me it's, it's, it's a no,because for me I'm not going to
put one person's want in frontof, like, the whole dance floor
if I know it's going to kill it.
If it's there and it's, youknow, maybe it's in the same
tempo with same genre.
Okay, cool, I, or maybe I guessit's a different genre but I
can squeeze it in.
I think it's gonna work then,yeah, but besides the bride and
(12:45):
groom, for that it's really justkind of depends on what they're
asking for.
Now, let's say, I get a lot ofrequests for it.
Yeah, then I kind of know, okay, then like people really want
that?
Speaker 1 (12:54):
yeah, they really want that.
What is one song you I mean,you've been DJing for such a
long time.
What is the one song thatyou're like?
Oh my God, I got to play thissong.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
It was Sweet Caroline for Neil Diamond.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
What yeah?
Yeah, I love Sweet Caroline.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Well, for me it's tough.
It's tough because it's such aslower song, so it's kind of
finding the time to play it, butyou've got to find the right
time for it, which is, I wouldsay, towards the very end, it is
when everybody's already superdrunk.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
It is, and I feel like they're not really dancing
anymore.
They're just singing yes, alongwith the with the song, because
they're so drunk that they'rethey can barely stand up.
Yeah yeah, so they're just kindof like lip singing or singing
out loud, I guess, to towhatever you're playing yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
So I, and if I see it and they don't give me like a
last group song, like hey, howdo we feel about this song being
the last group song?
You know?
Because we'll make anannouncement hey, everybody, the
night's coming to an end.
This next song's the last groupsong, you know, because we'll
make it announced like hey,everybody, the night's coming to
an end, this next song's thelast song of the night.
We'll play it, um, and I'm likewhy don't we put it there?
You know?
Because it's like so it's justdifferent and what's that?
Speaker 1 (14:00):
what's the one song that you're always excited to?
To play like that?
You're like, yeah, like I like.
This is one of my favoritesongs and I'm glad that it's
part of this wedding uh, itchanges.
Speaker 2 (14:11):
I'll probably say it's gonna sound super.
Wow.
I can't believe it's supercliche, but probably like this
how we do it.
I don't know why.
I just like it.
It's very.
It's a very versatile song.
It works with all kinds ofcrowds older, younger so it's a
very, very versatile song.
Um, so I like to just use it tomy advantage because it's very
versatile okay, okay, that's,that's fair.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
And then, um, you know, going back to the
personalities, do you ever haveto deal with um, I mean, I guess
we talked about the you knowthe dad or the mom you know
saying like, oh, we paid forthis, yeah, and you know,
dealing with the people thatrequest songs all the time.
Have you ever had anythinghappen like you know, like
something major I know last timeyou mentioned about you know,
like somebody telling you offbecause you didn't play their?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
song yeah, yeah but like what?
Speaker 1 (14:55):
is there something you know?
Like you know something funny,or something like that.
You were like oh holy.
Like you know, like get awayfrom me.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Like uh, like something.
I would say something funnythere.
This was a long time ago, likemaybe six, seven years ago.
It was, uh, at the omni lamansion and we were out playing
you know, very, very fun crowd.
But there was one dude that wassuper drunk on the dance floor,
had a drink in his hand,jumping around everywhere,
jumping around, jumping around,jumping around.
So I saw him like man, thisdude has a ton of energy.
(15:23):
Well, there's this older coupleright here.
He bumps into him so hard, theyliterally start tumbling and
they slide all the way under atable and all you see is their
feet sticking out from under thetable.
It was like Wizard of Oz style,like just feet.
So they end up like moving thetable.
And this couple was older, Iwould say they're like in their
80s.
They were older.
They were older.
(15:44):
So I was like well, it was meand dad.
We're like what do we do?
Do we stop the music.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
Like like what do we do right?
Speaker 2 (15:54):
so we turn it down a little bit and um the they ended
up moving the table and the andthe, the man, the husband, he
was just like leave me here,give me like a couple minutes.
So that was definitely I meanthe way they like flew.
I've never seen anybody flyacross like slide across the
floor like a missile.
It was crazy.
That is too much yeah and thenum.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
So, for example, when it comes to um to the end of
the night, I know you, I I thinkI mean every dj, you know you
guys make an announcement like,hey, this is the last song, or
whatever.
We gotta clear the room for thelast dance.
Is there always a last danceand is it normally?
Speaker 2 (16:25):
private, um, you could do a private one.
I always say we gotta do a lastsong, like a last song, because
that way people are expecting,okay, it's coming to an end, and
it's not so hard to get themoutside.
Yeah, because I know most ofthey already know, like they
already know it's coming to anend, and not only that.
So that way most people willkind of get on the floor, like
if they see the couple, okay,it's the last one they'll kind
of get on the on the floor withthe couple.
(16:46):
Um, but it's like we talkedabout you have everybody there,
okay, everybody, we're gonna go,we're gonna be having a
send-off, and it's like rightthere, you know what I mean
they're all right there so wecan kind of move and because I
mean, most of the time thesetimelines are towards the end,
get really tight, yeah,depending on what's happening.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
So you know, we want to try to stick to it for as
close as we can and speaking oftimelines, um, I know we're
running a little bit already outof time here, but speaking of
timelines and and you anddealing with all these different
personalities, have you again?
This is my over again, yeah,but have you ever had that one
(17:33):
planner where she is a psycho orhe's a psycho and they think
it's their freaking wedding,like, and they want to, they
demand things like have you everencountered something like?
Speaker 2 (17:44):
that like I've had some try to give me a script and
I'm like, look, that soundsreally good from you, but when I
read it I can't.
I don't know, it's just notnatural for me, right?
So I'm gonna stumble over it,or or whatever the case, or
there'll be some times where youknow, let's say we're gonna
open floor, we open the floorfive minutes in.
Can we do bouquet garter?
And like now I'm like dude,give me, give us a couple.
(18:07):
The bride and groom are on thedance floor, like they're not
you know.
So, yeah, I mean we've, we'vedefinitely had it before, but
that's why we like to have youknow that talk with the couple
if it's if it's a coordinatorwe're not used to working with
right, because I mean we workwith tons of great coordinators.
Speaker 1 (18:22):
It's easy most coordinators will tell us hey,
do whatever you feel, becausethey know your work because they
know that you know what goes on, that you are, that you go with
the flow.
Okay, or maybe they.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
Maybe they just understand momentum, right?
Yeah, there's momentum behindit.
Okay, we're gonna let it simmera little bit and then we're
gonna move into what we're gonnado next.
And it's not gonna be really,really choppy, and I think
that's where adapting comes intoplay.
For sure, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
So just you know.
Word of advice for you guysplanning your wedding it's
always important to talk to yourvendors about so many different
scenarios that could happen atweddings.
I mean, you might be used togoing to events and just having
fun, but this time you're theone planning your big day.
You want it to be perfect.
Don't stress about it.
(19:06):
You know, enjoy it, have funand discuss all of those things
before during your consultationswith all of your vendors Most
important I would say, of course, your event planner.
But then situations like thatyou know, for example, like with
the song and if you are allowedto accept, you know, song
requests and things like that.
(19:26):
It's always good to talk to thevendors.
You know we're here to listento you guys.
We're obviously hired to makeyour day unforgettable.
So you know it's always good totalk.
You know like we're not here totell you no, we can't do that.
You know there's always or tojudge right.
Yeah, we're definitely not hereto judge you.
We're just kind of here to tellyou what works, what doesn't
(19:48):
work, and we're always going totry to give you advice.
But at doesn't work, and we'realways going to try to give you
advice, right, but at the end ofthe day, it is going to be your
decision.
You know, we're just here totell you what could potentially
work and what could potentiallynot work at all.
For sure, right, for sure, forsure, all right.
Well, matt, thank you so muchfor being with us today again,
and again I'm sure we're gonnahave you again in the future.
(20:09):
You know there's always so muchto talk about for today.
That is it.
Thank you so much for joiningus.
Please spread the word aboutthe podcast.
Tell your bff.
If you know someone that'sengaged and needs advice or
recommendations, you can alwayssend us a dm.
You can visit our website.
You know we're always available.
Tell our listeners where canthey find you on social media at
(20:30):
power songs dj on instagramperfect.
There you go.
Thank you so much.
Until next time.
Thanks for listening to thetipsy guest podcast.
If you know someone who couldbenefit from these tips, spread
the love and share it with them.
Don't forget to subscribe andleave a review.
Next round's on us, same time,same place, cheers.
(20:52):
This podcast is brought to youby MVP Photo Booth.
No-transcript.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!