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 events.
Beyond the DJ Booth
Why real DJs don't wear shorts and other unpopular opinions
Every DJ knows the struggle of balancing personal comfort with professional standards, especially during those sweltering summer gigs. This candid conversation between Brian B and Joe Bunn tackles this head-on with Joe's controversial hot take: "grown men should only wear shorts at the beach, at the gym, or if they're a child." Whether you agree or vehemently oppose this position, their passionate debate perfectly captures the hosts' authentic approach to all aspects of DJ life.
The episode weaves through summer plans as Joe shares his impressive concert lineup spanning Avril Lavigne to Mumford & Sons, while Brian tests his Joe's festival knowledge with a playful "real or fake" game. These lighthearted moments balance perfectly with substantive business discussions, particularly when addressing a listener's question about service diversification. Their nuanced take on "niching down" versus expanding offerings provides practical guidance for DJs at every career stage.
Fitness-conscious DJs will appreciate Joe's detailed review of the Whoop wearable fitness tracker, which monitors sleep quality, recovery metrics, and physical strain without the constant distractions of a smartwatch screen. For professionals working late nights and irregular schedules, these insights into physical recovery and stress management are invaluable for sustained career longevity.
The most exciting announcement comes midway through as the hosts reveal details about their upcoming DJ Collective Recharge event in Raleigh this November. With tickets priced substantially lower than previous events and attendance capped at just 100 participants, this intimate professional development opportunity promises meaningful connections and fresh content even for repeat attendees.
Ready to dive deeper into the business and lifestyle of professional DJing? Subscribe now and join the conversation with these industry veterans who combine practical business advice with refreshingly honest takes on DJ culture every Wednesday morning.
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 back everybody. It's the beyond the djoth podcast with your co-host, brian B, and Mr Joseph Eagles. Bun Jr, damn, I did the whole name Government issued.
Speaker 1:We are in episode two of season four Season four Brought to you by DJ Event Planner, the CRM of choice For us. We've been on it for quite some time, Highly recommend it, Use it Decades and especially as this is getting launched in the summer, this specific episode probably be relying on a lot of the automation features of the CRM right, Probably while you're at the beach or doing other things.
Speaker 2:You got to follow up with your people. Yes, absolutely. And also our friend CP my boy over at S-Start supports the podcast as well. Check them out at sstartcom. Several different apps that you can use for your clients to make parties even better.
Speaker 1:So I have a gig that is potential, hasn't booked officially yet Interesting Two full weekends in a row, three days Go on, called Summerfest. It's weekends in a row, three days Go on, called Summerfest. It's happening in Milwaukee, wisconsin. Wow For a corporate, potentially playing for Lexus in their booth. But they got some great acts, and so today I kind of thought we would hit. First of all, let's talk about you're not a festival guy, are you? You like festivals? No, I hate festivals. You're just a concert guy. I'm a concert guy.
Speaker 2:Well, hold the concert stuff, because I want to get a sense of what concert you're going to, but I thought for our opener.
Speaker 1:Today, I would share with you what festivals are either real or fake, so I'm going to give you a name. You're gonna let me know if these are real just the name of the festival, just the name of the festival. So I've got a few of them here. We're going to start with the first one here. That's right up your alley. This is the Gator Tickler Jamboree. Do you believe this is a real festival or a fake? Real, it is fake.
Speaker 2:Shit, the Gator Tickler0 for 1.
Speaker 1:All right, I'm going to keep track. This time, damn it. Next one the Firefly Music Festival that's real, coming up in June. Where do you think it's taking place? Any idea? Is it in North Carolina? Dover, delaware, apparently? So that's that. I don't know about that. How about this one, the Pitchfork? That's real Music Festival. I think that's real. That's real. Where do you think it's taking place?
Speaker 2:Nashville. It is real, it is.
Speaker 1:Chicago. Union Park the pickle rick rave nah it is fake.
Speaker 2:That was a character on um rick and morty. Yeah, pickle rick and uh one last one here the mullet mania fest I know you're trying to get me. I must say, no, it is fake. Okay, you did pretty well on these. These are very well one stumped me.
Speaker 1:One of them stumped me damn. So of them stumped me Damn. So you're going to a lot of concerts. Talk to us a little bit about the concerts you're headed to. I have to, because that is your summer, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, that's what I like to do. Here's the good news about Raleigh Raleigh is not a major market playing on Saturday, Right, so I'm able to go to a lot of concerts during the weekday. I'm sorry I'm pulling up my Ticketmaster app if you're watching this on video, but right around now Avril Lavigne the greatest hits tour.
Speaker 1:I never would have expected you to say that I love her Like I have a real like passion. Really, I actually love her Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah With Simple Plan, wow with.
Speaker 1:Simple Plan. Did you get like VIP? Are you going to go backstage? I don't think I went that far, normally I do sign my what butt cheek, have you seen Avril Lavigne lately? I haven't no she's gorgeous somebody somebody said they saw in Florida. Actually, who was it um? Another one of those 90s ish, who was um ironic. Who's that girl?
Speaker 2:oh, alanis morrison said she's gorgeous really yeah, how did um natasha beddingfield look at that thing you went to.
Speaker 1:She looked good, she just was not. Yeah, the kindest of people, right, a nasty person. So yeah, then the week after that, it's not summer until this happens.
Speaker 2:In my opinion, 311 oh. Nobody loves 311 more than joe bond.
Speaker 1:Redhead amphitheater I don't know man, chris, romero is a big oh he, you're right, romero loves 311.
Speaker 2:He goes to like 311 day.
Speaker 1:So they're all. These are in raleigh so far, yeah yeah, okay, then you know that.
Speaker 2:Band the head and the heart, yes, but the opener is who I want to see, so I'm, I don't really care about the head and the heart. Wild rivers you would love this band, wild rivers.
Speaker 1:You would love this band, okay, two dudes and a girl like harmonies, like very acoustic, very acoustic, like pop, but like small venue red hat again.
Speaker 2:Then the triumphant return in July Mumford Sons, Ooh Marcus.
Speaker 1:That would be a good one, they go crazy dude, yeah they absolutely Also Red Hat. No, sir, principal credit $25,000. Okay, ooh, so that's going to be decent.
Speaker 2:Then back to Red Hat in August. It's a step down from Matchbox 20, but it's still Rob Thomas and he still does Matchbox 20 songs, so it's him solo. Yes, sir, he's got a new record coming out. Oh I know why?
Speaker 1:I don't know. They never are, though. They never are. When they get to that level, they're not working with the best producers, it's just always. You're like Rob Thomas got money though.
Speaker 2:Maybe Rob Thomas is rich. You think so Net worth Rob Thomas. Please look that up, saquon, I'm going to go. Hold on, let me, let me go. I'm going 20 mil. Hell, no, rob Thomas.
Speaker 1:You think a hundo.
Speaker 2:Yes, he wrote all those songs. He wrote smooth for Santana. How big was that song?
Speaker 1:I'm going to go under a hundo 17. That's what I thought, bro. I'm like he's'm questioning the source.
Speaker 2:Then 100 mil. Then I'm going on tour In the fall Down to Columbia, south Carolina, to see Need to Breathe Acoustic the last tour With the bass player that's been in the band Since they started 20 years ago no new album, no new record, but it's called Elegantly Acoustic or something, and they will kill that Interesting stick or something. And they will kill that Interesting you know I love those guys.
Speaker 1:I just like all these places. They sound hot muggy. Oh, you're right.
Speaker 2:Everything's outdoors other than that. I don't know. You just go. It's summertime, though you chafing.
Speaker 1:Not really because.
Speaker 2:I wear jeans. I wear jeans. It's even worse. I'm going to make a statement right now and in fact, I'm going to make a reel about Not really because I wear jeans, I wear jeans. It's even worse. No, it's not here, let me. I'm going to make a statement right now and, in fact, I'm going to make a reel about this. There are three moments that a grown ass man should wear shorts.
Speaker 1:No, I'm agreeing with you. I don't wear shorts either, man.
Speaker 2:Are you ready? Oh, I want to hear this the beach or pool, beach slash pool, the gym, or, if you're a child, that's it, or bedtime.
Speaker 1:Really Bedtime. Bedtime is boxer. Yeah, okay, sure, so what's the age, what's the cutoff? 18?
Speaker 2:Wow really what the fuck does a grown-ass man need to be walking around in shorts for?
Speaker 1:In other words, let's say it was night it's in the south Bro, but what do you?
Speaker 2:mean like do you think that if I take these, this, this, this part of my pants off, let's say, this is 24 inches from the knee down? Oh my god, I'm that much cooler and then I gotta see your ashy ass knees.
Speaker 1:You're not breathing you're not breathing, bro. I'm not wearing skin tight shorts. I don't know who does.
Speaker 2:Now, that is different skin tight shorts would be like I'm not saying skin time, just saying regular.
Speaker 1:A grown-ass man does not need to be walking around short because it's coming from a non-athlete here. I'm telling you, I'm not an athlete honestly yeah but I'm still allowing that.
Speaker 2:I said the gym, yeah, but like what about the dudes that walk around with those like shorts, that are like way above the knee, like?
Speaker 1:that's even worse.
Speaker 2:I agree, but they're like gym bros.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. I know what you're talking about. The five-inch inseam with your balls hanging out the side.
Speaker 2:I hate those guys, bro, nobody wants to see your legs, bro. I just don't want to be pulled off. Nobody wants to see a grown man's legs or your fucking feet. It's the same dudes that are walking around in flip-flops right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm not a flip-flop guy. I don't care if I'm at the beach, I ain't wearing flip-flops.
Speaker 2:I can't do it. I can't do it, bro. Oh man, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:So do you just suffer? Yeah, ugh. No, I can't do it.
Speaker 2:I'm not matter, man, even if you're skinny, you're jacked, whatever. I don't need to see a grown man's legs ever.
Speaker 1:Okay, noted Moving on. Well, we got the recharge coming up. Yes, we do here in November. You want to spill any deets? You have any new information?
Speaker 2:you want Listen. I'm just going to say this. The DJ Collective has been a passion project of mine and yours, yeah, and Jason Chan and I's since 2017. So here we are, eight years in. We have realized that over the years, people have gotten more out of the smaller, intimate events that we call the Recharge. We are doing it here in my hometown because I can pull every favor to make this the best experience possible and not have to spend a fortune, which therefore allowed favor to make this the best experience possible, and not have to spend a fortune which therefore allowed us to basically half the price of the ticket. You speak $2,500. Now I think it's around $1,200 to $1,500, depending on when you're seeing this. It started at $9.95. If you guys had gotten in early, which a lot of people did, we're capping it at 100 people.
Speaker 1:So close.
Speaker 2:Yeah, You'll be able to have genuine conversations with everybody there. Yeah, Me, you and Jason are all doing a presentation. We're also sitting on stools answering your questions that you can send in, you know ahead of time. We're going to have a couple of guest speakers. Tbd we're going to have a couple of nightlife events. One party in this old 150-year-old house that's going to be fun it's going to be sick.
Speaker 2:The venue itself is gorgeous. North Carolina at that time of the year is unbelievably gorgeous. Probably going to even have a DJ ride at the Spin Studio that I have an investment in one morning, or even one evening. It's just going to be fun, man. We've got a great group of people coming. I think we're already at 60 people, so by the time this comes out might be more, more. Yeah, so if you're interested, it's the dj collective officialcom. Is there anything you want to add or did I summarize?
Speaker 1:I think you, you did it I. I would just say that we always try to make, even if it is a copy and paste of the name each one is standalone so like you came in february or you came last year. It's not going to be repeated topics it, it's all new information.
Speaker 1:And I will say this too if you've been to a DJ collective, you guys know this. Like those things people always say, I didn't think I was going to take any more notes. I've been to every one of these, I, you know. I think I've learned it all, and there's always new stuff that's presented and people who've been seven, eight, nine times in a row have said man, I keep getting more and more stuff. It's crazy how much.
Speaker 2:I walk away with. So I think it's. It's a worthy investment. I think it is, and I think that the relationships and the conversations you have, you know, between sessions or at night when we're out having a drink, are just as poignant and relevant as the stuff that we're going to say up in front of the crowd.
Speaker 1:And I also say this too if you're flying in there's more than enough direct flights these days into Raleigh. I feel like the airport's becoming better and better. Every time I go out of it. It's just like another airline. Another airline's offering direct flights. There's a new one called Breeze. Well, it's not that new, it's been out for a little while, but I just flew there direct from Pensacola, of all places.
Speaker 1:Yeah $54, you know, so it's crazy what you can get, and there's another couple of new ones that are coming online too, that are servicing these smaller markets.
Speaker 2:And I think you know there's enough hotel rooms and Airbnbs around there that you probably don't even need a car. You can Uber or catch a ride with one of us. You know, brian and I live here now, obviously, so it's just going to be a really fun two, three days. We would love to have you here in my hometown his hometown now of Raleigh, north Carolina. So the DJ collective official dot com. You've heard me and Brian B talk about running a successful DJ business every week here on this podcast, but if you want more, you need the DJ's Vault. For just twenty five dollars a month, you get access to my proven sales and marketing strategies, all of my documents, live trainings, discounts and a community of DJs who are growing their businesses every day. The DJ's Vault has been called the Netflix of DJ information. Want to try it free for a whole week? Go to wwwthedjsvaultcom. Slash free week and get inside right now.
Speaker 1:Well, is your last gear segment of this batch? Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:I got a wearable tech today. Wearable tech the.
Speaker 1:Whoop the who. Yeah, I got a wearable tech today, wearable tech. The Whoop, the Whoop. I have heard of it.
Speaker 2:W-H-O-O-P dot com. I think Jan and I was the first person I ever saw wearing one of these. This is one weekend, so it's part of Joe's journey. I guess, and it comes with an app. It's a little bit, I think I'm on the trial now, so I'm not sure the price, but the band and the device on top of this band, and I paid for an upgraded band because the other one was already getting funky and wet and sweaty, or whatever.
Speaker 2:This is more of just kind of a rubbery type band Monitors your sleep Monitors a lot. The reason I like it and I love watches like real watches I hate Apple watches, I don't. I think they're super distracting. The thing I love about the Whoop mainly is there is no screen you can turn on and off what you want in terms of the notifications, but it basically tracks sleep, like last night I was at 88%. It tracks your recovery 96% yesterday and then strain today is only at 7.6% because I hadn't been to the gym or anything yet you can do journaling. It kind of gives you your heart rate throughout the day. It unlocks, like your stress monitor and things, the longer you wear it. But this is meant to be worn 24-7. This isn't something you take on and off.
Speaker 1:So the battery doesn't. There's not a lot of battery strength. It lasts days and days, Okay.
Speaker 2:And then it has a little bitty pack that you charge up and slide over the top when you want to charge it up, so you don't need to even take it off to plug it into the wall. This little pack, you charge that up and slide it right over top and wear it kind of like an oversized watch for a couple hours and it charges it back up.
Speaker 2:It's waterproof everything I've jumped in the pool, been in the shower, I went in the ocean with it on You're supposed to leave it on 24-7, and it tracks all these metrics and I think that they're probably what they do is sell you a membership. So the device doesn't cost anything because they want to sell you the membership. I think it's $300 for a year. There's a this is a 4.0, there's a 5.0 version. Probably costs a little bit more and gives you more metrics, but it's whoopcom. For what I know. I had a bad experience out of the gate with them, where the package got lost and I wasted a lot of time with them, kind of put them on blast, and then they made it right and actually gave me this for free. Not on Amazon, Not on Amazon. This is I'll put the link under the YouTube video.
Speaker 1:But you're gonna have a nice little tan marker there.
Speaker 2:Huh yeah, that's a good point, but I guess I don't really. I try not to get any sun anymore.
Speaker 1:To be honest with you after the skin cancer battles, and I'm always wearing these stupid bracelets anyway, so it hasn't bothered me at all, like I've not even noticed. I've got it on what?
Speaker 2:metric. Are you most excited to have it measure? I think probably the sleep you just said you like I do well, but I like to know that and I like to know if I don't. And then also that stress monitor 80%.
Speaker 1:what is that? I'm assuming that's got to be really great.
Speaker 2:80, yeah, I think that was in the green. Still, what would be bad. I haven't seen it yet. Okay, I think you should wear one man, I do.
Speaker 1:I need to. I don't require much sleep, though Unlocked week one highlights.
Speaker 2:Launch my highlights. Let's see Congrats show. Let's review your first week. I haven't this with wool because I've been wearing it exactly a week today. Uh, you wore your wool for seven out of seven past seven nights, of course. What else? Let's review your sleep 87 sleep consistency, 82 restorative sleep 45. Members like you average 38, so I did put in my weight and my age yeah, there's so many people like the.
Speaker 1:The value of sleep these days is underrated. It really is.
Speaker 2:Review your recovery. Your recovery score is 79%. Average members get 59%. Your heart rate variability 52 milliseconds. Most members average 41. Your resting heart rate is 53 BPM. Members like you average 58 BPM. You're chill, it's pretty cool. Yeah, it is.
Speaker 1:It's cool Review your strength I would think this is something that you would take. You know, it's great to have information for your doctor too, if you needed.
Speaker 2:I think so, and again I'll. I mean knowing me just a sucker, for you know even more tech. I'll probably eventually buy the upgraded one and get even more stuff, but I mean it's also good to see, like, where other people lie in this age range. Average day strain 17.7. Most people average 13.1. You can log in your activity. So, like yesterday when I went to that spin class, it goes, you were doing something active from 4.30 to 5.15. What was it? And I'll literally pick from a list of probably 200 activities and I just put in spin.
Speaker 1:That's cool.
Speaker 2:It's cool, man, and it's not distracting like an Apple watch.
Speaker 2:It's just there's no screen on it, it's just always on Love, that, yeah, anyway, whoop, whoop, whoop. We'll put the link in there. What was that movie? Whoop, that trip, hustle and flow, hustle and flow. Did you ever see that? Yeah, hey want to make more money at every single event. Let me put you onto something. It's called S-Start. It's the event platform made by a DJ for DJs. With S-Start, you can offer apps like live photo sharing, real-time slideshows, song requests and even seating charts, and you can upsell your clients like a pro. It's simple, plug and play, easy to use and your clients they love it. Join their membership for the best pricing and watch your profits soar. Go to sstarcom right now and book your free demo. Oh my God, this question is mad long dog, I can't even read it. Dead serious.
Speaker 1:Richie Stedman, can you read that with your glasses? I can. Oh, cause you're, you're, I'm far. Yeah, I can see it. Read that, shout out. Richie Stedman, how do you know that you've niched down? Is it niche or niched? I say niche, niche there's a little sh, niche down too much and need to broaden out what you do. Or how do you know when you're too broad and you need a niche down as far as your services go, because trying to be everything to everyone allows you to be nothing to anyone. For instance, for me personally, I don't do any of the CO2 cannons or any of those add-ons, because that means I have to hire someone else and that means I have to invest in the things. Currently, I'm able to help to keep a more competitive price for a lot of our middle and lower tier budget clients, but some would say offer all these things. What say you?
Speaker 2:Man, it's a great question, and the thing about Richie is we're friends, right, and so I see his socials. This dude works his ass off. You think we work a lot? I swear to God, do it. And then he'll be also starring in a play as Indiana Jones or something at the same time.
Speaker 2:I say stick to what you know right. He is able to take out a simple setup, simple rig, no assistant, and sometimes literally do two or three shows a day. He may do some marathon halfway point at noon, then he'll go do a grand opening of a store at three and then do apres ski at five or whatever, and he can be super mobile, super agile, break shit down, set it back up fast, you know, and maybe the shows are 500 to a thousand or 500 to 1500 each, instead of getting $5,000 for a wedding that's taking his whole day or something like that. Yeah, so I think, richie, just based on what I see from your socials and the conversations we've had, stick to what you know.
Speaker 2:If you don't want to invest in that stuff and don't want to do it, then if you wanted to make a little bit of money on it, just sub it out or just give it to, you know, cam Reeve or Russ Powell or somebody else in your market and say, hey, man, I need CO2 or moving headlights this night. You know how much will you charge and either charge the client the same thing or mark it up a little bit, or just give them the business for the sheer karma of it coming back to you that they're eventually going to send you something they can't do. You know what I mean. Like it doesn't always have to be about money, but my thing is, man, stick to what you know. I think we're going to be the same here.
Speaker 1:I am the king of not trying to have a gazillion add-ons.
Speaker 2:Yeah, right.
Speaker 1:Just because it's just to his point, you got to hire somebody. I'm usually going solo. I also have to think about it. Can I offer this if I'm traveling somewhere?
Speaker 2:Is it?
Speaker 1:accessible. I don't want to have so many different things every time I'm talking to somebody. Oh yeah, I can get it in this market, I can't get it here.
Speaker 2:Whatever the case may be, that time I played in Costa Rica last year. To find a CO2 cannon was like finding the lost Ark.
Speaker 1:It was crazy. That being said, I also revisit items Because I think they've improved over time. As an example, you were talking earlier in the year about cold sparks and how now they're battery powered, right Like now. You don't need that crazy amount of setup time or extra person necessarily you can almost do it yourself.
Speaker 1:Co2 cannons. It used to be the big, you know 50-pound siphon tanks you needed. Now they're 20-pound. You can wear them on your back. So like there's different configurations, that as time progresses things get more compact, more mobile. Yeah, and to relook at it costs usually goes down is also part of that. So there's been a couple of items I would say. Co2 I was kind of late on yeah For sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And then the other one. I was definitely late on and I didn't think it was ever going to stick around. Was photo boost back in the day Right? I felt like that was going to be a fad and gone tomorrow and now yeah, I mean they're around.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're definitely around. The the bottom of the pricing fell out right. We were getting two, three thousand dollars back in the day for a photo booth and they were like fully enclosed and you got inside the curtain and all that bullshit. But now everything's open air. I mean, yeah, if you get a grand you're lucky, but that's fine. I mean it's still a very bookable thing, easy to take out, easy to set up.
Speaker 1:But there's something to be said for, like the in and out model too right you get known for being the great at this, and you only have to worry about that one thing of just keeping pushing on that, instead of trying to have to learn a new tech item every time something new comes out. And it's.
Speaker 2:Also, you know, people respect you for getting in and out quickly. They're trying to go home, right, yeah? And somebody like Richie is known for diversity. Yeah, he can go do a kid event at noon and then do apres ski for a bunch of you know drunk people doing coke. You know, on the slopes at five, you know what. I mean Like it's just there's something to be said for that, that diversity, I guess. Shout out Richie Good dude man. He's helped us a lot with the podcast.
Speaker 1:I agree, it's been amazing.
Speaker 2:Thanks guys. Uh, anything else before we wrap this thing up?
Speaker 1:Would love a review, love a comment.
Speaker 2:Uh, love a share love a like on a future episode of Beyond the DJ Booth. You'll be an absolute overnight star. Yeah, An overnight star. Yeah, we're global. Global baby. People will be listening to this thing all over the world.
Speaker 1:They are.
Speaker 2:I was talking to that dude in Australia today. He said people knew me over there Really.
Speaker 1:That's what he said. Wow, that's awesome, we're in.
Speaker 2:Australia Shout out Australia.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but every Wednesday we drop these, so check it out Wednesday morning, right when you wake up on the East Coast, it's live baby.
Speaker 2:We don't miss.
Speaker 1:No, we don't, we're good.
Speaker 2:We're consistent like that. Yes, sir, with that, go ahead, we be out, we out. Thank y'all, see ya Later, thank you.
