Beyond the DJ Booth
Brian B and Joe Bunn tackle questions about the private event DJ industry, share music, gear/gadgets, and stories from their gigs.
Beyond the DJ Booth
DJ Dream Teams & Volcanic Vacations
"What would your ultimate DJ crew look like?" We kick off our season finale with a fantasy draft where we build our dream teams – from hype men like Lil Jon and DJ Kool to security (Taylor Swift's $1.3 million bodyguard, anyone?) and tech support that could save your event from disaster.
Fresh off his European adventure, Joe takes us behind the scenes of his strategic vacation through Iceland and Paris. The journey delivered unexpected celebrity sightings (Leonardo DiCaprio at the Blue Lagoon!), otherworldly landscapes, and luxury experiences at the Louis Vuitton-owned Cheval Blanc hotel. Travel nerds will appreciate our breakdown of the essential gadgets from Brian's previous episode reccomendations that made Joe's international travel seamless.
We wrap with perhaps the most awkward question in wedding DJ history: would you ever tell a couple their first dance song is terrible? Our honest answer might surprise you, as we navigate the delicate balance between professional expertise and respecting clients' personal connections to music. After two incredible seasons, we're grateful for your support and excited to keep the conversations going in season three!
RESOURCES & LINKS
Our website. Please leave a review! - https://www.beyondthedjbooth.com/
To book Joe Bunn: https://bunndjcompany.com/
To book Brian B: https://djbrianbofficial.com/
Joe’s Gear Finds on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/djjoebunn
Brian’s Gear Finds on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/djbrianbofficial
DJ Event Planner free demo: https://www.djeventplanner.com/signup.php
Brian B's Coaching Options: Https://www.thdjscreativeedge.com
Welcome to Beyond the DJ Booth podcast. I'm Brian B. One of the co-hosts. Next to me is what's up, what's up it's.
Speaker 2:Joe Bunn Yo final episode, season two.
Speaker 1:I can't believe we made it through two seasons. I knew we would man.
Speaker 2:We are notorious for like pulling the plug on something every once in a while. You want me, but like you said early on, like like season one, you were like you are a good strategist, I know when it's time to pull the plug on something, and I don't think it's a bad thing.
Speaker 1:Sometimes it needs a restart. It's like I've heard you actually can build momentum when you stop stuff and then restart it later.
Speaker 2:Especially if you do it better, faster, cleaner, easier, cheaper, whatever. I did it with the DJ booth thing. I genuinely thought that was the end of that project. And now did it with the dj boot thing. I genuinely thought that was the end of that project and now it's got more steam than ever that's awesome, man. Different manufacturer, you know different process, different partners, everything we're about to head into event season we are. This comes out, this is going to be hitting on what?
Speaker 1:middle of march, so probably april, is when, yeah, kick full throttle.
Speaker 1:Usually uh, yeah, for us okay, I would say that last weekend of march or the first weekend of april is when it kind of really kicks in for us so I was thinking of this icebreaker idea, okay, of drafting your ultimate dj crew, so you being the headliner, okay, and then, beyond that, I'm going to have some specific jobs that you have to fill with, either celebrity people, real people you decide what it is. So maybe, like, pull out your phone so I can give you these categories here and what we're gonna do is compare the picks, so I'll come up with one, you come up with one, just write it in there. So the first one would be okay, you're the main act as the dj, but you need a hype man, an mc, and this has to be somebody living, like somebody living. I know you, I know who you're gonna go with you know, I going Scoop immediately, okay.
Speaker 1:It doesn't have to be a celebrity.
Speaker 2:It could be somebody even on my own team right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay. Second would be stage security Somebody to keep things under control. Third would be like a tech guru, someone who fixes problems when things go south. Two more Social content director Someone to document the things, who would be the person you'd go with. One more wildcard Anyone who could just bring chaos or crazy entertainment. That would be like a you know late in the evening, or maybe it's early, and you just like a wildcard that people didn't see coming to, like crush. Okay, you ready, I like it All right. So let's start with the first one here. Go ahead, hype man. I, I like it All right.
Speaker 1:So let's start with the first one here. Go ahead, hype man. I had to go with Little John. I feel like you know no one's hyping the crowd more than that guy.
Speaker 2:No that's a great one. As far as someone living, that's a great one. If I'm going celebrity, you think DJ Kool still got it. That's a good question. I haven't heard him much, me neither. Those records are still timeless.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, he was not as famous as Scoop and wasn't on so many of those records, but I mean, dj Kool killed it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to go, dj Kool, but you know who I'm going with? Second, I'm going with one of Saquon's guys. Wow, I'm going, vanny Preem, vanny.
Speaker 1:Preem, yes sir. Evan is like a local pop guy one of one of saquon's crew.
Speaker 2:Shout out hard knocks, entertainment, this dude's energy.
Speaker 1:He don't care if there's four people there or 400 he goes wild, okay like he wrecks shit I'm going vandy preem local pick, good pick, good pick, number two. Uh, you go first. This is stage security, somebody to keep things under control. Who you going, man? I?
Speaker 2:wish it was. I wish we were playing living or dead. You know who? My favorite would be no dude, and I was watching clips of this other day and was crying. Remember that show robin big on yeah big, big black.
Speaker 1:Oh, I've never laughed so hard he started talking about the man pond.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah yeah, bro, and I'm just trying to think of somebody that works for me. That's big.
Speaker 1:I feel like you need big, like like yeah, my guy ain't big, but he's a celebrity ish.
Speaker 2:I got it. Okay, I'm going with. I saw a video on this dude the other day Unbelievable. There's two guys that I've seen videos on recently. Either I'm going to go. Taylor Swift's bodyguard Okay, makes 1.3 million a year Okay, this dude is legendary.
Speaker 1:Or Messi's have you ever seen Messi's, the guy who ran onto the court? Bro, he'll tackle a kid out on a football field. Yeah, that's what it was.
Speaker 2:I'm going with one of those two. Don't know their names, shout out to whoever their names are. How about you?
Speaker 1:I go MMA, I'm going Jon Jones, man you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You know him, saquon follows that stuff. I mean, if someone even thinks about touching my gear.
Speaker 1:He's putting them in a guillotine chokehold.
Speaker 2:It's over. I don't know All right.
Speaker 1:Who are you going with for tech?
Speaker 2:You go first on this Cause. I'm trying to think of this guy's name.
Speaker 1:I mean I was going to go local, go Ben Stowe Cause I mean I figured this guy would know pretty much anything if I came into a man, that's a great one, but then I thought of that BK BHD, the guy from YouTube. Um, I brownlee, brownlee yeah, I don't know he's like massive on youtube and he's always coming up with like three things.
Speaker 1:No, no, not a dj at all, just about a tech about anything and he'll like break things down to like here's three options to fix this or to do that. He's always like really good about that. So I was just thinking of like a pop culture person.
Speaker 2:That would be decent I feel like any of the kind of dj youtubers would be a good call. Ben stoweowe is definitely the best call in real world.
Speaker 1:I thought you were going with him actually, that's why I didn't pick him.
Speaker 2:I'll text him once a week for something. Yeah, you know who. I also like Anybody from the Apple store.
Speaker 1:I thought you were going to say Geek Squad, no, not.
Speaker 2:Geek Squad Anybody that works in the Apple store. Geek Squad sucks man yeah. Geek Squad's garbage. They're low training. Apple, I think, really gives a shit, or at least trains their people. Yeah, I don't know how well they pay them, how well they take care of them. There's like a special place for them, okay.
Speaker 1:They have their own little playground.
Speaker 2:Okay, because think about it, man, like when you go in there like you're at the lowest of low Phone doesn't work Right.
Speaker 1:Laptop like anyway, social media content person. Who you going with? Who's shooting your stuff? Do they have to be the shooter?
Speaker 2:no, just director, like I'm going, I'm going, malik adigan curate entertainment wow shout out, malik shout out malik and I'll put my secondary backup crew with icon in his okay, okay icon. Icon during wedding season makes bangers homely again.
Speaker 1:I kind of went celebrity. So mr beast video team, I mean he'll make a crappy wedding look like a million dollar production, you know what I mean and he would actually spend a million dollars to make it. Make it totally and he'll give away a ten thousand dollar offer to give away that, that beast game thing.
Speaker 2:I saw some interview the other day and just lost millions of dollars I mean he was going to buy tiktok.
Speaker 1:He was on, oh yeah, on the short list. So I mean that dude, he knows what he's doing. Give me some followers, mr beast. Like, hook it up. Yeah, shout out, mr beast, all right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this one's easy for me as much as I would like to put regoza, I have to have both of them. I have to have desiree and regoza. I gotta go team regoza for when I want to just go like to the next level okay, and I and I don't want to be the closer, I need to be like the one before them, and then they just come in and just rip like a 45 minutes.
Speaker 1:That's a good call yeah they are good.
Speaker 2:I'm not. I'm going with people I actually know. On this one, they're one of one for sure, yeah.
Speaker 1:I went with DJ Khaled. Wow, I could one and another one just have him say that like after every show me and davis were laughing at him.
Speaker 2:The other day. Davis was watching that video and he's and it was like the video caption was like you never know what this motherfucker's gonna say, and he's like he made like a, like a long putt and he just looks at the camera and he stands there for like 10 seconds, then he just goes gatorade, stupid.
Speaker 1:I was even thinking like maybe there's could be like a, a band or maybe like an act that would go first that's kind of like not that great but good, and then you just crush on top of it so like it actually makes you look better as the headline. You know what I mean yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I thought we were going for just havoc, like they can take it next level.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think my squad that's good.
Speaker 2:It's pretty solid, but I feel confident with mine as well.
Speaker 1:I'm killing that brian b here, yes, interrupting yet another stellar podcast episode. But don't worry, this is a value add, not just me rambling. Have you enjoyed the music finds I share on here? You know the ones that joe pretends he discovered first? Well, if, if you didn't know, I've got a Patreon where you can grab not only song lists but also exclusive edits of mine Yep custom tracks. That'll set you apart from every DJ still rinsing the same tired wedding set. Want fresh music suggestions every month? Go to patreoncom forward. Slash DJ Brian B official. Again, that's patreoncom forward. Slash DJ Brian B official Again, that's Patreoncom forward. Slash DJ Brian B official. You'll be the DJ. Everyone's trying to figure out how you keep your sets so fire and planners will start nudging their couples your way. And if that's not a hard enough sell, I don't know what is All right. Back to the episode, before Joe tries to convince us that Sweet Caroline is actually a banger. Well, tell me about your vacay. You just got back Like the reason you went was because you needed a vacay.
Speaker 2:You haven't taken one in a hot minute, I definitely haven't been anywhere like out of the country in probably a couple of years, and even then it was always the warm spots. Yeah, it's always going to be. Dominican Republic, mexico, easy, fast. All inclusive. No children allowed. Fruity drinks, yes, fruity drinks. Don't pull out your wallet the whole time. That's my MO, so what?
Speaker 1:was this one.
Speaker 2:Man, I was like dude. I got to go back to Europe, and Iceland Air is really on the genius tip right now With this. Basically, you can stop in Iceland on the way to Paris for as long as you want and that's your layover. Wow, so it doesn't matter if you're there one day or a week.
Speaker 2:Rdu direct flight to Iceland was six hours Six hours and we had like whatever the you know kind of first class type seats were, and then we stayed there like three nights, I think three or four nights, and then there to Paris is only three hours and we had, you know, just Again.
Speaker 1:Iceland air on the second floor. Iceland air.
Speaker 2:Yeah, left that morning. We were there by lunch. You know what I mean? Yeah, and it only goes forward one more hour. So, iceland, the time zone difference is five hours and then, once you go to Paris, six hours difference from here in Raleigh Jet lag issues.
Speaker 1:You got on that time zone pretty quick, or were you just dead that first day?
Speaker 2:Man, we just kind of pushed through. When we landed in Iceland, it was supposed to be really early in the morning, like 7 am there, because we flew overnight.
Speaker 1:We flew out.
Speaker 2:that night it snowed here, and me and you were like I don't know if you're going to make it out. We made it out, one of the few, super delayed, though we sat on the runway for probably two hours. I watched a whole movie Because they didn't have. You know, we're so unprepared for snow. They only had like one de-icing truck Wow, so anybody that wasn't canceled. This one truck is basically going plane to plane, de-icing Jeez One of. So just welcome to the South. It just doesn't snow here right.
Speaker 2:So we finally get out flew overnight. They gave you breakfast on the plane. Hell yeah, Solid food. Ashley messed up. She thought you had to pick the meal and I think the fine print was pick the meal if you want a dietary meal. It's disgusting. Hers was even nastier than mine. Okay, but we get there and we just go straight to that Blue Lagoon Spa, which everybody that's been to Iceland was like, oh, tourist trap, tourist trap. I'll tell you what. The first five seconds I'm there, I saw Danny McBride.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember you saying that yeah.
Speaker 2:And then, dude, I'm walking out. And we had been there five, six hours went to this. You know had an in-water massage. Yeah, ate lunch. You know we were in the private side. So I see why people say the big pool where all the broke people are is like a tourist trap.
Speaker 1:That was like 30 euros.
Speaker 2:Right, we paid a lot of money to be on this private side and we're walking out and we're going back to the locker room. We had our own private like changing room and I stopped. I was like I know you don't want to say he's B-list. In my eyes he's A-list.
Speaker 2:And I'm like this is going to sound fucking crazy, but I think I just saw DiCaprio and she's like you're being stupid. And I'm like all right, let's go. It was like a loop and I was like let couple and his mom wow, no entourage, no security, nobody's messing with him, so we just plop, literally, dude, when I'm saying his table is where you are. And then we had two table, a little table, and we just sat there and had a cocktail, basically sat right there beside dicaprio. Yeah, dude, he got up, he was like do y'all want to go for a tour? Like talking to his crew, and they were like, yeah, he's like I got it. He like walks through the restaurant, puts his shades on in the spa, got a robe on, chilling Like bro DiCaprio's here. Like okay, so if I fell for a tourist trap, so did fucking Leonardo DiCaprio, and that shit was mind-blowing. And then everybody like he got up and finally left and everybody in the restaurant was like did anybody get a pick?
Speaker 1:And Ashley's trying to like low-key sneak him and I was sitting there going, man, leave that man alone.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm like he's you know like imagine how much harassment he normally gets.
Speaker 1:I'm like play it cool. Would you say that that was kind of like the pregame to the real deal, which was it was man.
Speaker 2:But everything in Iceland we saw was mind-blowing dude. It's like Mars. It is so wild.
Speaker 1:Look cold.
Speaker 2:It wasn't that cold man and you know I hate being cold. Yeah, you don't like to be cold. It was probably 50 degrees. Okay, did you see the lights? Saw the northern lights? Not well, we stayed way out in the country on purpose, but the hotel was super dope. Food was incredible, but they didn't even put lights on the hotel.
Speaker 1:When we pulled up, the hotel was black almost like it was intentionally out there in the middle of nowhere for this purpose.
Speaker 2:And even on your phone you had a little button to wake you up for the Northern Lights, wow. So, like a couple of times, like two or three in the morning, do, do, do, do, do, wow. And we walked out there and I'm like, eh, this is not what it looks like on movies.
Speaker 1:Right, where'd you go back?
Speaker 2:To Iceland.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean Mike Walter has been what three or four times.
Speaker 2:He's been several times, no only because I haven't seen enough of the world, but otherwise, yes, because the trip was so easy to get there and it was so unique. Man, I saw a lava show, the only lava show in the world. They reheat lava and runs down a chute and the dude literally is picking it up with like not a spatula, like this long metal rod showing lava in the room with you, I mean garage, showing lava in the room with you. I mean as soon as it rolled down the slide, like the room immediately went to 100 degrees. I mean it was crazy.
Speaker 2:Imagine trying to get that approved in the us to reheat lava and run it into a room full of people it was nuts and they were literally like man any week. Now this, this volcano is about to go off, and then paris is paris man. You know, I was telling saquon. I'm like we see a building here that's 100, 120 years old, like in Beaufort, or the. Merriman Windhouse and we're like damn that's freaking classic. There's like the minimum age is like a thousand years old.
Speaker 1:I haven't been to Paris, believe it or not.
Speaker 2:Really no, that shocks, me.
Speaker 1:But everybody tells me they can't believe how clean it is.
Speaker 2:It is incredibly clean. I saw a few homeless people in a few sectors even around, like the Louvre and where we were staying, which was the hands down nicest hotel I've ever been in. Wow, like it made the Umstead look like the days in Cheval Blanc, owned by Louis Vuitton Air Company, and they have them all over the world. I can't think of anything more elite than that. Okay.
Speaker 1:Sick Food solid.
Speaker 2:I got off the French food. I'm not a French food guy like so I started intentionally. You can go French fry chicken tenders. Chicken tenders, yes, yeah no, I just started like saying restaurants near here that aren't French food, that are elite. Whatever had Asian food, okay, had Italian food one night okay, like. Went on the river cruise. You know and saw the-.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like not being able to speak French was a problem? No, absolutely not.
Speaker 2:And I did not get the vibe that they were like super rude. Now again, I was staying at a super elite place, right. The restaurants we ate at were nice Parisians to me were completely kind. What's next on the list? Italy, spain. I feel like you need to see two places when you go out. Totally, totally agree and. I think, if you're going, I've read a survey, ironically, and we did it exactly eight days. That was like eight days. Is the move Something about?
Speaker 1:psychologically, it's better to take a few vacations at eight days than take some sort of three or four weeks. Yeah, I get it. I get it.
Speaker 2:I would have felt uneasy after more than about eight days.
Speaker 1:Okay Now, before you left, we went through a bunch of different travel wrecks. Yeah, we did. What were the winners, what were the losers? Anything stand out.
Speaker 2:No losers. The stuff that I purchased were that cable with the different ends on it Come in handy. Critical on the plane, Critical in the hotel room, because you know they have those European plugs. But a lot of the European plugs have USB under them.
Speaker 1:Old school USB.
Speaker 2:A, the battery pack with the retractable cord slash handle. Okay, critical, shout out Anchor. Shout out, anchor, critical. We should get them to sponsor. We need to. Yeah. And the last thing was that calculator turned into converter. Dude, saved me so many times converting euros or kilometers or kilograms, like that thing will convert anything, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Other than language, it converts every distance money, whatever, and you? Don't have to go into another app. It's just don't have to go into another app.
Speaker 2:Do any Googling, like it's native to your iPhone. It's insane Dope.
Speaker 1:You saved me, bro, hey.
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Speaker 1:Let's get to the question then. So this is coming from the state of Ohio. Shout out, ohio. Here's. I'll read it. During a recent creative planning meeting, while discussing special songs, the client relayed their first dance track. I hadn't heard it before and I commented that I was excited to listen to it. Fast forward to my Monday music day and I whip out this song and was instantly shook to my musical core. Not in a good way. Have you or would you ever tell a client that their first dance song is so horrendous that it threatens to make all their guests run and hide Sincerely Tone Deaf in Ohio? I have a sample of it. I know this song.
Speaker 2:I've played this song.
Speaker 1:Out of tune.
Speaker 2:Hopefully you know this song. I don't know it. Yeah, this, not this version, this feel of love like, oh yeah, I think it's this next chord. Yeah, jesus.
Speaker 1:You ever had anything like that I?
Speaker 2:played it. I played that song before for a first dance. The answer to the question is am I going to tell them their first dance sucks ass? Absolutely not. No, no way. If it was another song for another moment, no, I mean if it went in any of the special moments categories right, father daughter, mother son, cake cutting, walking down the aisle, recessional absolutely not. If they were saying they wanted this for you know a dance song or something, I'd be like. I don't think this is going to go over, but I mean for whatever reason, this is poignant or special to them.
Speaker 2:Man let it ride. It's bad, but it's not that bad.
Speaker 1:Are you walking away from the table, though? Are you walking away from the DJ booth? Hit play.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, because at the end of the day, man, unlike when you're DJing, playing, people know that the couple picked that song. They know they picked the song.
Speaker 1:They're walking down the aisle to the one they're leaving the aisle to Are you going passive, aggressive and kind of like setting them up for that, like they specifically picked those no no, because anybody that's ever been to a wedding knows the couple picked the first dance.
Speaker 2:That is not the DJ's job. No, I'm not. I don't need a precursor or a disclaimer. No, absolutely not, man. Let them their their shitty three minute song and just roll with it. What are your?
Speaker 1:thoughts. No, I would never go to them and say that, unless they were like hey, we'd think we want your opinion.
Speaker 2:Yeah and I might go.
Speaker 1:Hey, there's a better version. Right right, right right, you know, if you're not, if they're not tied to it right but this also kind of reminds me of like when they have those choreographed dances that they've done themselves, and like the timing isn't right, or, or it cuts hard, yeah, and you're just like uh, I hate being the guy having the button pusher on those you know we, we charge to fix those. Like to make those mashups okay yeah, but you never had somebody present it to you oh 100 but they usually have already gotten the choreography down to those moments.
Speaker 2:Right, we just play it, man, I mean it's pretty rare I might see one of those a year. Now the whole flash mob slash, you know, start the dance with your dad real slow, and then break into Thriller. I think it's kind of dead.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've had one or two in the last year.
Speaker 2:But again, I just saw that video go viral yesterday. I don't know if you saw that it was, you know the Super Bowl version or whatever yes. That was huge yesterday.
Speaker 1:No, that one, the guy in the white tux, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you saw it too. Did you see his egg one? His best man came out.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he came out behind him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that one, and then the other one that's really big is I'm seeing ton of them out right now that people are showing up where the crowd is hype and yeah just everybody just going.
Speaker 2:If you have the right crowd and you, you've got your moves down. You know what I mean. I mean I saw a bridal party, um, a group of bridesmaids tried to do that, not like us like walk into it, brother. I just immediately, like, sprained my ankle, run into the comments like everybody's, like rhythm has left the building. Y'all should have just walked. You look like you're galloping. I mean, it was nasty. These girls got ruined quick. I think they thought they looked cool. It was so white. It just tragically ruined the entire moment.
Speaker 1:Well, you want to put a bow on this? Yes, sir, but we need to thank our sponsor we damn sure do Before we drop this bow, we damn sure do dj event planner shout out.
Speaker 2:If you are looking for a crm to keep your leads together and automate some of your process and not drive yourself crazy. I would definitely look at dj event plannercom. Brian uses it, I use it, jan I uses it. A lot of djs that you know and love use it to run their business. Thanks y'all for listening new episodes every single wednesday morning. We're going to keep it going into season three. Stay tuned.