A great time was had by all at the Mobile Beat Las Vegas DJ Conference on February 8, 9, 10 and 11, 2010 at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. DJs from all over the country and a few from around the world participated in seminars, product demos and parties. While it wasn’t exactly a mother load of information, I found a few solid nuggets in the seminars.

Andy Ebon gave us some expert tips about good and bad marketing. His presentation consisted of slides showing examples of printed advertisements that ranged from fantastic, to laughably bad. His no nonsense, sharp tongue style was right up my alley. Jeff Meuzelaar had some advanced search engine optimization techniques for us. He was nice enough to email the slides from his presentation to everyone who asked. This was really useful to me because his presentation contained MANY links to great resources. I’ve already used one of his tips to improve my website by going to www.WebSiteGrader.com and scanning my site to look for suggested improvements. You can check out your competitor’s sites too. Nick Covino did a fascinating how-to presentation on being a video jock. I had no idea you could convert video signals to CAT-5, network style connections. That’s great for me because I know how to make my own CAT-5 cables and I already have a box of 100 yards of it sitting in my garage. But as great as these presentations were, I really think the show lacked any “big ideas” as I have come to expect.

In the past 10 years, MBLV shows have included people and ideas that have revolutionized the mobile DJ industry. When Mark Ferrell made DJs realize that they were charging less for their services than most brides were paying for a veggie platter, it was revolutionary. When Jorge Lopez taught us that being self-employed doesn’t mean you own a real business, it was inspiring.  When Randy Bartlett told us that improving your performance means making small adjustments, and doing things “1%” better, it was a paradigm shift. But there was an obvious lack of big ideas at MBLVX. Is there really a lack of innovation in this industry, or are there other factors at play? I asked the show producer, Mike Buonaccorso why industry giants like Mark Ferrell, Randy Bartlett, Peter Merry and Jorge Lopez did not present. Mike responded via email and I got the impression that he would be more than willing to showcase the next big idea. As he put it, he “just provides the microphone.” So where do we find new talent in our industry?

There’s a term floating around the interwebs called “crowd sourcing.” It’s also known as distributive problem solving. My point is, maybe it’s up to us, the masses, to recruit the next industry giant. If you know someone who you think has the chops to lead our industry out of an innovation rut, call him or her out! Ask them to consider submitting a proposal to present a seminar to Mobile Beat. Ask them to make the industry better by sharing their unique ideas. Some leaders lead because they choose to. Some need to hear the call. It’s up to us to make some noise (or as Spaky B. would say, “make some NOY-EEEEESE!!”). Think of your colleagues whom you consider to have a maven’s perspective, and start recruiting!

One thing that has always bugged me about the show, and this year was no different, was the lack of any sort of special effect lighting in the party room. This year, like the last two, the parties were at the “Top of the Riv.” It’s basically a ballroom on the Penthouse level of the Riviera hotel. You would think if you are throwing a party for DJs, you would want to bring better lights than what the average DJ brings to a wedding. Yet they never have more than par cans (colored light cans). The irony goes even deeper when you consider that the sponsor of one of the parties is a special effect light manufacturer. Want some more irony? That manufacturer has multiples of every light they make sitting in boxes in the downstairs exhibit hall. To be fair, the lights in the exhibit hall are not owned by the manufacturer, they are owned by an independent dealer. But it’s hard for me to believe some sort of arrangement to put up some neat lights couldn’t be reached. Don’t they have anything new and cool to show off?

The absolute high point for me was the performance by DJ Kool. You know, the “Let Me Clear My Throat” guy. He got his start as a mobile DJ and only became a recoding artist after his style as a mobile DJ got him noticed. People liked the way he rocked the turntables AND microphone. He has a natural talent for connecting with a crowd and entertaining. I can’t think of a single artist who would be more appropriate to DJ a DJ party.

The title of this post promises some fugly, so here it is. The Riviera has to be one of the dumpiest hotels in Las Vegas. The Riviera is only a half a rung up on the skank ladder from the Circus Circus. I was actually nervous about eating the food in such a dump. The best location we ever had was the Southpoint. It was new and clean. The service was exceptional and they had awesome, trustworthy food. The Southpoint was slightly removed from The Strip (a mere 10 minute cab ride away) and it had at least two large lounge areas. This meant that most DJs spent most of the time in the hotel, and you couldn’t help but meet DJs from all over the country just by hanging out. Southpoint, we miss you!

Regardless of where future Mobile Beat Conferences will be held, I’m sure I will be there. The negatives I have listed are no reason for a professional in this industry to stay away from the show. In fact, we will get out of the show whatever we put in. We need to attend, provide feedback to the show producers and recruit some new talent ourselves. The show is but one venue for the continued conversation we need to have about the current state, and future of our industry. The conversation is happening all around you. Participate!

I know a lot of DJs are willing to put up with anything to make the sale. But I’ve come to realize that there is such a thing as a “bad” client. Don’t get me wrong, demanding doesn’t equate with bad. Some of my best clients have been my most demanding ones. What makes them my best clients? Some of my clients with the highest expectations have become my most fervent advocates. They insist that their friends and family use my services because I promised the moon, and delivered. On the opposite side of the coin, if you find a client that seems like they just can’t be pleased even if you deliver the moon, and throw in the rings of Saturn as a “show special,” you aren’t doing yourself any favors by working for them.

This topic came to mind because of a bizarre incident with a potential client at a recent bridal show. I should have seen it coming. He rubbed me the wrong way from the moment he introduced himself. It was a very loud show with hundreds of vendors in an echo-filled convention center. So when this soft spoken guy came up to me and introduced himself, I misunderstood him. I though he said his name was Tim. I leaned in a little closer and said, “Tim?” I was about to comment on the fact that we have the same name. I was going to crack a little joke about it or something. You know how it goes when you’re trying to make small talk. But then he lowered his chin slightly, and in an exaggeratedly slow speaking voice, he said “No, you are Tim. My name is Tom. Your name is Tim, and my name is Tom.” He was enunciating each syllable as if he was trying to talk to me through a pane of glass. Then, he pointed at me with both index fingers, then back at himself with his thumbs as he slowly said “Tim, Tom. Got it now?” I immediately made a mental note. Either this guy’s personality lends itself to being too comfortable with strangers, or he’s the type of guy to give a waitress a hard time just for the satisfaction of it. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and continued our conversation.

Twenty minutes of abuse later, not only did I regret giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I began to regret waking up that morning. All of his questions involved laying out his low opinion of me and my profession, then asking me to defend myself. “I don’t understand why I can’t just ask one of my guests to make a few announcements, and have another guy play music. I mean really, how hard can it be? You don’t need a degree to do this, do you? You just switch songs and speak into a microphone a few times. Anyone can do that, right?” When I told him that I would provide a veteran entertainer’s perspective to the team, I would keep everything flowing smoothly, coordinate with other important vendors, and use my many years of experience to keep things on track and entertaining, his response went something like this… “It sounds to me like all these things you say you do, are responsibilities that overlap with other [pause] professionals I’ve hired. I wouldn’t expect my photographer to need a DJ to hold his hand so he doesn’t miss any shots, and my fiancé has hired a wedding coordinator. It seems like you get to twiddle your thumbs while other [pause] professionals do the work, but I still have to write you a big, fat check.”

I know what you’re thinking. “Oh snap, Tim! No he didn’t! I would have sent him packing!” So I feel the need to explain that I never turn down a client on the spot. I’ve had plenty of "difficult" clients turn out to be my best advocates. I’ve had clients tell me they didn’t want me to play even one song that you would normally hear at a wedding. I’ve had clients ask me to practice making scripted announcements in a foreign language. I’ve even had a client ask me to help clean up because they only had 30 minutes to get out of the hall. All of that is fine. I took those gigs, and I would gladly take them again. Those clients were not being difficult for difficulty’s sake. They considered me a part of their team, not the opposition. I always sleep on it before I turn an event down because I need to differentiate between the ones who are just trying to make a prudent decision the best way they know how, versus those who simply enjoy harassing “the help.” Tom was definitely the latter. Tom hasn’t called yet, but if he does, I’m booked. Whatever date it is, even if it’s three years from now on a Wednesday morning, I’m booked.

This was actually a response to a question that a user asked in the comment section of my post about the NAMM show. It seemed to warrant its own post, so here it is. Manny asked me if there were any new developments in the lighting department. Here's my response...

Yes, there were two very important developments in lighting for Mobile DJs. Both having to do with the LED par can fixtures we use for up lighting. Many mobile DJs jumped on the LED band wagon because they are very light-weight (no heavy transformer needed) they never need their bulbs replaced, and because they can achieve many colors without color gels. There were two huge problems with this technology early on though. First, LED fixtures make colors by mixing red, green and blue LEDs, just like the old projection TVs with 3 lenses. The problem comes when you try to make white. This is simple for a halogen fixture, just don't use a color gel. But with LED, how do you get white from red, blue and green? Theoretically, you just turn all three colors up to equal intensity. But most fixtures were not capable of precisely matching the intensity of of all 3 colors. The result was a blueish beam, with an intensely blue halo around the beam. To really achieve white, you had to go back to the old school halogen fixtures. I saw an impressive demonstration in the Community booth. They set all their LED fixtures to white, and the light they cast on the wall was actually white. Other companies, like Color Key Creative Lighting, list "Balanced White" as a feature of their fixtures on their brochures. The industry seems to have caught on that this was a problem, and they responded.

The other problem with LED fixtures has been the effect they have on video. Many weddings have a professional videographer to capture the events of the day. Most LED fixtures cycle at a rate the human eye can't perceive, similar to a TV. Also similar to a TV, they flash when filmed. When viewing the playback of a video of a wedding where LED up lights have been used to accent the room, the beams of light from the fixture appear to be strobing and changing colors. It simply makes the video look terrible. One would also get the impression from watching the video that the DJ was using an inappropriate lighting effect throughout the whole night. They seem to have solved this problem by increasing the speed of the cycles, probably from about 60Hz to 120Hz or more. Some fixtures are now advertised as "Video Friendly."

I just attended the NAMM show at the Anaheim Convention Center. I don't have much to say about it, except to complain about the layout. They used to put all the DJ gear in one spot, near the arena. Now, DJ vendors are peppered all throughout the entire show. It was exhausting trying to get through the whole thing, and I still feel like I missed some vendors. 

There wasn't much there to excite the Mobile DJ industry. Serato was demonstrating a program that lets you use 4 turntables at once. Hurray for all you 4 handed DJs out there! Another company was trying to sell a 10' cable for over $100 that could be adapted to various applications. You could use it for a guitar, or snap on some new ends and use it for a microphone. Who would want such a thing? It seems like a solution without a problem to me.