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
Crowd Control: Lessons From a Thursday Wedding
A purple suit, a mansion party, and one question every DJ faces: how much does the room layout actually matter? Brian B and Joe Bunn open this week’s episode with full Halloween energy — yes, a Heath Ledger Joker outfit — to explore smart seasonal programming that stays fun without slipping into novelty. From candy experiments on the porch to dance-floor reads inside, it’s a study in human behavior and how small environmental cues shape big dance moments.
The musical heart of the episode is an unexpected obsession: a Yacht Rock documentary on HBO Max that turned into a crash course on genre storytelling. Beyond smooth grooves and Michael McDonald cameos, it’s about learning your lineage — understanding where songs come from so you can bridge generations on the floor with confidence and taste.
Next, Joe recap the DJs Assemble conference in Syracuse — tight production, standout sessions, and a surprising talk from coach Jim Boeheim on NIL as a cap-management issue. That clarity mirrors Joe's own moves with The DJ’s Vault, where new leadership and coaching programs are focused on real professional ascension, not just content uploads.
Then comes story time: a Thursday wedding that stalled mid-reception when guests drifted outside. The fix? Kill lawn games after cocktail hour, keep bars inside when you want a packed floor, and align every vendor choice with the night’s true goal — dancing. It’s a reminder that design, logistics, and flow matter as much as music.
They close by debating a new “Skip This DJ” watchdog site — good intent, risky optics — and offering a cleaner, client-friendly framework for destination-wedding pricing, gear sourcing, and adding welcome parties to extend value (and referrals).
If you’re a working DJ looking to improve crowd control, sharpen set design, and build a healthier business, this one hits all the right beats.
🎧 Subscribe, share with a booth friend, and leave a review if this helped you book smarter or mix better. Want weekly banger lists, giveaways, and coaching access? Join our Patreon and step into the backroom.
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
What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Beyond the DJ Booth Podcast. I'm Brian B., one of your co-hosts, and this is Yes Erston. Dude, when this drops, it will be two days before Halloween. You've kind of been big on costumes. Are you able to reveal any costume material? Because it'll be two days before this drop, so you're not giving too much away early. So the tw this will come out on the 29th.
SPEAKER_00:29th of October. Uh I will have already been and performed as Heath Ledger's The Joker.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00:That's like a But not in not in the not in the nurse outfit from the end of the movie. I'm going back to the purple suit.
SPEAKER_01:Purple suit.
SPEAKER_00:Down to the authentic shirt, uh movie correct tie, socks, shoes, suit, hair, obviously, extensions.
SPEAKER_01:What type of performance are we talking about here?
SPEAKER_00:It's a uh Halloween party at somebody's mansion. Oh. That you're actually DJing? Yeah. I've never played in a costume before.
SPEAKER_01:I know they're doing like costume contests.
SPEAKER_00:I I don't think so. I've never played this party. We, as a company, have historically played this party for several years in a row. However, I have never personally played it.
SPEAKER_01:This is an individual's party or company party? A lady we know. Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00:A friend of mine. I mean, I guess. She she's an interior designer. Just a person that's, you know, a very social person in Raleigh. And I Scott played it a couple times. That works for me, Scotty Stops. And he sent me the video, and the room looks very small.
SPEAKER_01:So it's the same place every time.
SPEAKER_00:I think. I think. It's always at her house. Wow. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:So. And do you go like super themed with the music?
SPEAKER_00:Like no, absolutely not.
SPEAKER_01:You're just you're playing thriller, though, right?
SPEAKER_00:Like, sure, sure.
SPEAKER_01:But like any of the other like one-offs.
SPEAKER_00:No. No oingo bongo? No oingo boingo. No uh, what was that? A monster mash. Somebody told me Monster Mash was about an orgy. Did you see that? Did not. Swear to God that came out a few days ago. From the 50s? Well, I mean, people were getting down. We were getting down in the 50s? I mean, people have been getting down since the dawn of time.
SPEAKER_01:So are you going to reuse that costume after the party?
SPEAKER_00:No, I'm I'm so Halloween. I'm bringing back uh uh another favorite character, the one and only mayhem. Oh. I had normally I but in the past I used to be able to do it with my own hair. I had to purchase a wig. I had to purchase a wig. That's okay. So I got the band-aid and I got the black suit back out.
SPEAKER_01:And where are you going on Halloween?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I just sit on the front porch and give out candy. Oh, okay. Because my kids are too old to trick-or-treat. And I think we've talked about this before, but man, I, you know, I've probably lived in, I mean, including college, 10, 12 houses over the last um since I left home, maybe since I was 18. So what is that? 35 years ago? Yeah. I have never lived in a neighborhood that had a big trick-or-treater presence. Like my parents lived on a cul-de-sac. Yeah. My house on Anderson Drive was on, it was a busy street. Right. This house, I I'm no, I'm no exaggeration, dude. We saw over 200 kids last year. Wow. We had to start taking candy away from our own stash stash to give to other kids because they were still coming.
SPEAKER_01:So we we I I hate I hate Halloween in general just because I don't like people. So I I wanna light sound has come up twice now on the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:How the fuck does a man that has spent his life DJing party say he doesn't like people? If you go to engage, everybody there loves you. Every time I mention your name, you're loved. I don't believe that's the right term. I don't believe that's an accurate statement.
SPEAKER_01:Close the curtain, turn off the lights. So I You can't do that, bro.
SPEAKER_00:You have like a five-year-old.
SPEAKER_01:She goes out early in the night, five o'clock, before you know it gets crazy. But the reason why I say this is because my wife put out a bag of candy. Have you had this happen where you get the one guy who goes in and takes the whole bucket? Yeah, gone. Gone. And we didn't have any extra stash. I'm not taking for my daughter to go replenish the kit, the kitty. You know?
SPEAKER_00:What if you said, what if the sign was more deliberate by the bucket? Like take two, you're on camera. Because you have a ring. I do. You saw the kid probably feel the whole bucket. Like it, what if it was a little more intentional? Like, hey, like I'm gonna call the police on you, or you're on camera, take two, or something. Just try it as a social experiment.
SPEAKER_01:I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00:And see if, and then just watch the footage later and just see how honest people are. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Social experiment. So speaking of other things I don't like, um, I don't really watch TV because I don't like you either.
SPEAKER_00:Walk off the set.
SPEAKER_01:So I don't watch TV unless it's sports. Yeah, you don't watch movies. I'm just not into it. However, uh-huh, uh a DJ friend of mine, DJ30A, shout out Scott Lasseter, sent me an Instagram message. I don't even know why he sent this to me, but he said, You gotta watch this yacht rock documentary on HBO Cinemax. Have you seen this?
SPEAKER_00:I have not. I saw the clips when it first dropped, and how like some people, when this guy called him, basically told him to fuck off.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, yeah. Uh Donald Fagan did. Steely Dan. Yeah, right, right.
SPEAKER_00:It's hilarious. Yeah, I've heard some of this, and and just because it was he was calling it yacht rock or something. I don't I don't know. But anyway, go ahead. I'm sorry to interrupt.
SPEAKER_01:No, you're good. So I I don't know. Last night there was no sports on. I'm like, I'm watching this. So I and I've been paying for this apparently. I had no idea. I've been paying for HBO Max. Who knows? So I go on there, see it, and I'm like, I'm watching this. It's like maybe an hour and a half, two hours.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it's okay. It's not like a multi-part.
SPEAKER_01:One of the best documentaries ever.
SPEAKER_00:Wow. I'm watching this tonight.
SPEAKER_01:You need to. You need to you need to check it out. It was so good. So many stories, especially if you like music history, um, just things I didn't even know, like certain songs. Yeah, I don't want to be a spoiler.
SPEAKER_00:No, yeah, don't don't, because I will actually watch this, but I mean it was so good.
SPEAKER_01:The real clips from real shows, real interviews with the people who did it. Wow. Incredible. So if you are a DJ and you've not seen this documentary, shout out DJ 30A again. That that specific one is incredible. It's on HBO Max. HBO Max. Okay.
SPEAKER_00:Did they get they get Michael McDonald up there? They did. Okay. Yeah. That's critical. That's a critical piece.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and I I mean, I know him from the Doobie Brothers, obviously, this other stuff. I didn't realize how many records that dude has guest vocal on. Like, it's insane how many vocal tracks that dude has done in that decade. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:And he's still still looking good. I mean, he's like still out there singing.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, they love that stuff. And back then, of course, when we were riding around listening to it, my parents' car wasn't called Yacht Rock. It was just whatever was on FM radio.
SPEAKER_01:And they go through how it got its name and all of those different things. And it crazy enough, it didn't happen until like the 2000s.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. That's kind of when I remember people start using that term. Right.
SPEAKER_01:Yacht rock. And it's interesting because a lot of music actually doesn't get their name until it's the decade, it's over. That's a good example. They threw like give me an example. Um like Beethoven didn't say, hey, we're we're we're we play classical music.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, right. I guess.
SPEAKER_01:Let's just all play classical. Right. That's our genre. They didn't get that name until like decades later. You know what I mean? Yeah. So it's just interesting how some of those genres don't get their name until much later on.
SPEAKER_00:Nice. So I love that, man. I'll definitely check it out. 100%.
SPEAKER_01:You just got back from DJ's Assemble?
SPEAKER_00:I did, man. Shout out.
SPEAKER_01:First, their first show.
SPEAKER_00:First show. First time doing it. Uh, even Steve, Jack Christian, Chris Washburn, Lou Paris. And first show, and it was in of all places, Syracuse, New York, and of all times, October. And when they announced this six months ago, eight months ago, I'm not sure. I mean, I remember I'm I think I'm closest with Jack. Jack and I are pretty close. We talk once a week.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I was like, what are you doing, man? Like, why October in Syracuse is crazy. And he was like, I know, I can't do a British accent. But he was like, Man, I know, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, he goes, but I think I think we can get people to come. Now, just their names alone and what they've done, I was like, maybe they can. Even Steve, for sure. Jack. I mean, I just was like, surely these guys, you know, that they all had their own individual skill sets.
SPEAKER_01:And following. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And dude, they did it, man. A shout out to DJs Assemble. They they had two full days with breakfast, lunch, and dinner included. Wow. Food was good. Content, excellent. I left yesterday, and so I missed a second party, but the first night party, even Steve, Digital Dave, this guy B Ren blew my mind. Dave Gordon, that also works for Broadlighting. He's a great DJ. Mike Benoit and maybe one other DJ. It was like from 9 to 1215. Yeah. Not late. I mean, awesome party. Everybody was, you know, having a good time. Open bar. I mean, I'm sorry, cash bar. Um it it I mean, dude, all and and and I guess the highlight for me is is I mean, listen, everybody gave great content. I mean, uh uh Ben Norm, Ben, Benny Nord as he goes by on Instagram. I I even messaged you. I was like, this guy's a rock star. Um, let's see who else spoke. Uh Todd Towers gave a great job, did a great job about health stuff. Nepa spoke. My boys uh John Roach, Rich Cranston spoke about kind of like I mean how they built their team and like a workforce type thing. Um, but dude, to be able to listen to Jim Beheim, who has five three gold medals, five world championships, uh, at least one or two NCAA championships, uh speak and get to ask him a question was kind of a highlight.
SPEAKER_01:What was your question?
SPEAKER_00:I literally stood up and I said, Um, hey coach, thanks for being here. First of all, I'd like to apologize to you because as a diehard tower heel, I did nothing but cuss your name for years. He just laughed and he goes, he goes, I get that. I get that. And I go, but my question is, has NIL ruined college athletics?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_00:And he goes, you know, if I was the old, you know, fuddy duddy that I am. I mean, he's 81 years old now. Wow. I didn't realize he was a good one.
SPEAKER_01:He coached for 40. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, he's one of the top five college coaches of all time.
SPEAKER_00:That was my other question, but I asked him that in private. Who's the best of all time? Yeah. And he said Patino or Shushewsky. And I was like, fuck, I knew you were gonna say that. Yeah, I actually went, fuck, I knew you were gonna say that. I was like, I was throwing, I was hoping you were gonna throw Dean out there. Uh I knew he wouldn't throw Roy out there, but he did shout out Roy and Dean, and his stories about Kobe are insane.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah. He's my favorite player, one of my favorite players.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, his he had Kobe stories for days, but then somebody had hit him with the uh let's let's answer the age old question, Jordan or Cro, I mean uh LeBron or Kobe, and he goes, neither. Michael all yeah. And I was like, and I was back in the back going like anybody that says MJ wasn't the goat, to me, that it's not even an argument.
SPEAKER_01:Before you went, you told me there was another question, though, about his dog.
SPEAKER_00:I think I think it was um it wasn't him. Oh, it wasn't him. It was um some ACC coach named their dog Dean. And again, I couldn't, I didn't know if it was a diss or a or a tribute. Yeah. And it was um um not Bobby Knight. It was somebody else in that era of Dean Smith. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:What did he say about the NIL? Just curious.
SPEAKER_00:He said, listen, man, it's it's messed up. It's it's it's not going anywhere. The problem is it's unregulated.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:So if you have a booster like Larry Ellison at uh Michigan or wherever, that can just be like, this kid wants$10 million to come throw the football. I'll pay him$10 million out of his own bank account because a billionaire doesn't give a fuck about$10 million. Yeah, yeah. He goes, until they cap it, like the NBA or whatever, the other things where you have a salary cap, it's completely out of game. Wow, that was kind of his answer.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Interesting. That was kind of the highlight for me. But man, everybody did a killer job, and and I I went up to each of those guys. I said, you should be very proud of yourself. You should. I said, I've been to every conference. Yeah. I said, I've been to every conference there is, and there were very few tech problems. You were on schedule, it was organized, the badges were ready, you know, it y'all kept it moving. I the content days were a little long for my taste.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But nobody can leave there and say, Wow, man, I didn't get enough, you know, content. Or I got ripped off on content. They gave everything.
SPEAKER_01:And I know you left a day early. Did they say they're doing it again? Same time of year, same local.
SPEAKER_00:That's a great question. I'm assuming, I'm assuming. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:Okay.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know. Um, shout out DJs Assemble, though. That's awesome. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Speaking of John Roach and Rich Cranston. Yeah. Oh, there was some breaking news. There was some breaking news. So I I had to even write this down. Um, so at the end of their seminar, they called me up and all of their staff was there because again, they're in Rochester. What's the name of their company? Uh Encore Events.
SPEAKER_01:Encore Events.
SPEAKER_00:I bet they had 12, 15 people there because they're only 90 minutes away. Right. So they just drove over, rented an Airbnb or whatever. And over the last six months, I've been talking to these guys about working more in the DJ's vault. They've both been educators, just like you are. Yeah. Right. They've made countless videos. And I basically got up there and was like, look, I've been doing this for seven years. I want to take it to the next level. It needs new eyes, new energy. And I've brought both of these guys on. That's amazing. So they start when? They start effectively November 1. And what does that mean that they start? Well, they will be more active. They're just trying to get through the city.
SPEAKER_01:Are they the ones curating now?
SPEAKER_00:Well, now let's so John Roach is going to be the member and education experience guy. So he will be getting more people to be educators. Got it. Making sure that when you log in, that everything is organized and looks right. Make sure it's easy to use. Cranston, more vision and growth strategy. He's like the numbers guy, the financial guy. And then I've always told him we haven't the thing we're missing, and you and I have talked about this before inside the hall, is an ascension plan. Like, yeah, it's great. You can pay$25 a month and pop in here and watch a couple videos, download a couple of documents. But like some people need more help, more coaching, more hand holding. And that is what I think they're going to be good at. That's awesome. Whether it's a live thing, you know, a small kind of uh retreat, five, ten, twenty people in their office for two days, or it is six months of coaching with you know a guy that's absolutely killing it. Love that, man. Yeah. So that was the big announcement, I guess. That's great. Yeah, they all had on vault tees and it was cool. That's amazing. It was awesome. It went, it went great, man. I'm I'm glad I went. I I would have been upset and and had a little bit of phonemo if I had not.
SPEAKER_01:Well, let's talk about uh move to our next segment. Okay. Story time.
SPEAKER_00:Storytime, okay.
SPEAKER_01:You had a Thursday wedding just recently? I did. You don't do very many of those, right?
SPEAKER_00:I don't, man. And I know people listening are gonna be like, this guy's a dick. He doesn't do Thursday weddings. I'm like, dude, I'll do a Thursday wedding. We just don't get asked a lot. Yeah. Riley's not what you call a destination location. Right. Right. And it's not heavily populated like New Jersey. Jennifer does Thursday every week.
SPEAKER_01:You know what I mean? You were specifically asked for at this Thursday wedding, or you Yeah, I think I was.
SPEAKER_00:I think I was, and it was right around the corner at Merriman Wynn, which we've we're we're doing our conference there in 30 days. Yeah uh I've done countless events there, and it was a Thursday, and there were I did not look at the Thursday aspect of as a negative. I didn't think that was gonna work against me, and it didn't. But what did was that fucking lawn outside and those stupid lawn games and then putting a bar on the lawn. Right. It was 70 degrees that night. Yeah, everyone wants to be outside. They were, including the groom. We saw the bride some. The groom was out there until last 15 minutes. Yeah, last 20, last 15. So, as I've always said, people are gonna follow what the bride and groom do. So they were outside a lot. Right. And they had a watercolor um painter doing little couple sketches the whole night. She was outside. It was too much outside. It could have been great. And it was fun. I mean, we've I looked at the clips the other day. I mean, there was dancing. I don't want to say it wasn't, but it went through a point, and you'll see it in the YouTube video I put out. And Saquon stopped filming. There were either two or four people there. I think there was a hundred people on the dance floor. On the dance floor. And I looked at him and he stopped filming, and I go, keep filming. And I he turned the camera to me and I go, This is what happens when you do all this stuff outside. Right. You know, and and I'm in here playing my ass off.
SPEAKER_01:So would you have I mean, obviously the bar they came back, right?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, that wasn't how it ended. It ended, you know, on a high note, but there was a period where I looked out there and it was like two people like partying.
SPEAKER_01:So the bar, obviously, that's that was supernatural.
SPEAKER_00:That was a kiss of death. Yeah. Kiss of death.
SPEAKER_01:But would you have suggested lawn games only for cocktail hours? 100%.
SPEAKER_00:I I had a this exact conversation two days ago with my couple that is getting married there on the 26th, and she goes, she and I told her that story, and she goes, What do you think? She goes, You think I should just pull the lawn games after cocktail hour? I said, 100%. Yeah. Put them up. Don't need that. If you paid me all this money and you guys really like to dance, and and your guests really like to dance, do don't put anything outside.
SPEAKER_01:Have you ever done a um one there where you're outside? Or is it always indoors?
SPEAKER_00:They have a heavy noise ordinance. You remember how residential. I have played outside there before, and the police always come. Got it. You also have to remember the first one year first year that place was open, the where the carriage house is was a tent. Oh. There was no building. And I looked at Jody, the owner, and she had just bought this place, spent all this money.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I said, This isn't gonna work. And she goes, What do you mean? And I go, You're gonna have to put a building up. Police were coming every time we played there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And she goes, Oh, though, that's my five-year plan. And I go, Then you won't be in business. You're not gonna make it to year two if you don't start building this building.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:And I by the end of year two, it was built. Wow. Because I I I'm not kidding, man. We would be nine o'clock at night. Police were coming telling us to turn it down. Right. Anyway, um, it it is very residential.
SPEAKER_01:So any other tips for a Thursday wedding besides that's it, man.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Because honestly, those people came to turn up, but I mean, if you you've you've got all those factors working against me, we can't and the fact that it is Thursday, and most of those people did probably have to go to work, and they were local, you know, blah, blah, blah. But I mean, if you're gonna factor that along with being 70 degrees and putting a bar out there and almost encouraging outdoor activities, you you're gonna shoot the the dance floor in the foot every time.
SPEAKER_01:Got it. All right. Well, there's some other DJ news. Oh. Have you seen this DJ narking site? No. Have you heard about it? No. So it's it's this thing that's called skip this DJ. Oh, wow. Report bad DJ experiences. Is this real or is this totally real? Evidence-based reviews. So you basically go on the site, you can go to the next slide, and basically they say it's evidence-based. So a couple can basically uh post a story about somebody, and then they, if you go to the next slide, I think it's like the DJ. Here's an example of like two, of course, my area, my services in that area. I don't know this DJ, but like they basically can put all the evidence, somebody reviews it, a moderator does, and then if you go to the next slide, the DJ can actually respond to it. So they give the ability to s respond to it. Who made this? A DJ. So how did you hear about it? I just saw it online. He was someone was promoting it.
SPEAKER_00:So well what what hold on, time out. Do you I mean, how is he making is it is it how did is it monetized?
SPEAKER_01:I don't think so.
SPEAKER_00:Not yet.
SPEAKER_01:My my question is I mean, do you think this could be a good idea because it weeds out people who do bet the whole point of it is so that a couple doesn't get screwed? Uh is the ending is the basic thing. But as you know, people take advantage of that sometimes. Some couples don't report the whole story. That's why they've given the ability for this person to basically, you know, defend their story. But do you think that this is got legs and that it has the ability to be good for the industry?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I guess why is it any different than like the knot or wedding wire? I mean, that those reviews are real.
SPEAKER_01:They are.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, every review we have is real and I can respond to those.
SPEAKER_01:And I like this that it actually gives you the ability to like put facts behind it. Like you can only respond in text. I mean, I guess you could put some screenshots maybe on those knot reviews.
SPEAKER_00:I don't know. I've never done that.
SPEAKER_01:I've never had to do it. But I guess the whole point of this was to to warn pre-warned people so that they're not getting taken advantage of.
SPEAKER_00:I I get that, man, but it's it seems a little bit scary. I mean, because I I just don't know how regulated it is. You know what I mean? At least with the knot, they like if I if I got a bad review on the knot, and you know, and I go, hey, hold up, I can just and I can dispute it and go, we've never heard of this person. There's no tell them to produce a contract, they'll pull it down. Yeah. Like, is this gonna be that regulated? You know what I mean? Like, because your competition can get on there and just shit all over you. They could. Well, they and then and then secondly, how do I know that I've been shit on?
SPEAKER_01:You don't, yeah. I guess maybe they would I don't know. I don't know how it all works. I'm gonna assume they would give you the ability to like they would notify you, hey, we've received this complaint or whatever. I don't know. Uh there's only two of them on there at this moment. This is brand new, right? Apparently. Right. But uh had a lot of chatter in the DJ space from folks kind of saying yay or nay.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, it looks professional. I mean, it's it's I don't know. I mean, if somebody took the time to build it out. Yeah. Yeah. It's scary though, man. I I mean, not from a point of uh my guys do a great job, man. Listen, do we get a bad review? I would say we get one a year. Yeah. And it's usually something pr pretty, pretty mm tame. Yeah. It's not like a no-show or a complete disaster. Something something didn't go great. They didn't play enough of their songs. There was a tech issue during the ceremony. It's usually not disastrous. Right. But a good we we're we're good for one a year. Yeah. And I just don't know that I'm gonna be if somebody goes on here and I don't get notified, that that would kind of suck.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:At least I'd like to defend my position. Right. Or say, hey, this is what I need to make it right. Yeah, we we we made it right. We sent back$500 for the ceremony or whatever. I don't know. Anyway. All right, booth heads, we made a move and it's a bold one.
SPEAKER_01:We officially launched a Patreon. We've got two tiers. One for$599 and one for$19.99. Basically, the cost of a coffee or a cocktail, depending upon how you roll.
SPEAKER_00:Listen, this isn't some support us or we disappear kind of thing. You actually get some things that are useful that we think that you're gonna need to run your DJ business.
SPEAKER_01:Like early access to batched episodes, bonus episode that we couldn't post publicly, maybe, and our weekly top 10 banger lists, songs that absolutely crushed at our events this week. You know, the stuff that you really want to steal from us anyway. But if you want to go deeper, jump into the booth backroom at$19.99 a month.
SPEAKER_00:That's where the extra love lives. Monthly prize drawings like headphones, merch, coaching calls. We've got Serato exports of our history, discounts on exclusive merch, and record pool hookups.
SPEAKER_01:Backroom members aren't just listening, they're actually shaping what this podcast is going to become and probably making your DJ sets better in the process.
SPEAKER_00:So stop texting us asking what remix was that and get in the booth for real.
SPEAKER_01:Patreon.com forward slash beyond the DJ Booth Podcast. Choose a tier, grab your spot, and let's keep building. Booth heads, you know where to go. Last two things. We uh started a Patreon. Yeah, we did. It's been going pretty good.
SPEAKER_00:I think it is going pretty good. Um I think the value is there. Uh let me defend our Patreon first and foremost. As a Patreon supporter, yeah. I feel like you and I, yeah, you have a shitload. I have a lot. Yeah. I only have a couple. I want to, I feel like we are doing a great job of putting up something every single week, maybe two times a week. Yeah. And it has usually been lists of what we would call bangers, right? I mean, don't you think that's kind of one of the most valuable things popping up right now?
SPEAKER_01:I mean, I'm just talking about somebody who, if I was a subscriber, I there are songs that you actually you send me the list every week. Dude. And I'm like, dude, you played this?
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Danity Kane's showstopper went off last week at the at the 40-person wedding. Went off.
SPEAKER_01:That's crazy.
SPEAKER_00:I thought it would, I was like, there's no way.
SPEAKER_01:It's just so slow.
SPEAKER_00:It is super slow.
SPEAKER_01:60 beats per minute or something went off ridiculous.
SPEAKER_00:And I think I came out of EDM and then half it into that. Wow. And they weren't like they were doing like a routine to it. Yeah, it's like you know, it's the like snap era. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it kind of goes with that. Yeah, there was a bunch of soldier boy and stuff on there. Okay. Okay Snaps era.
SPEAKER_01:But yeah, I agree. Like we and then I posted my first um exported Serata playlist from an event. So you can see like how it kind of flows from one to the next, not just the 10 bangers.
SPEAKER_00:Yep.
SPEAKER_01:Uh, and we're also doing some giveaways, which every month we do one giveaway. I was gonna share on this episode what we're giving away in October, which is this uh extra extension travel extension cord. Okay. This thing is oh, you can wrap it around itself. You can wrap it around itself, has USB A and C adapt um uh plugins in it. And it's$21.99. So you're already getting more value if you win this than what you just paid for a monthly membership. So that will be the October giveaway for only the booth backroom members. So if you're a booth backroom members, we have two tiers.
SPEAKER_00:Two tier, right?
SPEAKER_01:So if you're in the booth backroom, you can win this at the end of the month, which is coming up in two days when this episode drops, is when we'll do the list of the wheel of names. Yeah, wheel of names.
SPEAKER_00:Where do we usually post that? In the Patreon. Did you spin in the wheel of names? Yeah, I did. So we can say we didn't rig it?
SPEAKER_01:Yep. Okay. Uh last month, DJ Squirrel. Yeah, he did win. I don't remember what he won. Oh, the the the early.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, yeah, the yeah, the yeah, to protect your hearing. Yep. Those things are nice. Yeah. Not hears.
SPEAKER_01:So let's move into the question. Okay. Let's do it.
SPEAKER_00:You read that.
SPEAKER_01:From a regular subscriber slash poster, I guess, or Albert, my boy from Pensacola. You know him? I do. Good dude. Nice. For international destination wedding pricing. Besides travel and lodging, do you charge a fixed fee or the same as you would in the U.S. if it's in Costa Rica? Since you don't do many, but let's give it a few. I did play in Costa Rica.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, last year.
SPEAKER_01:Well, what's your answer to this? And then I'll give you mine.
SPEAKER_00:Um obviously this travel and lodging. I'm not a good example, man, because it it's a friend of mine, and she also works at a wedding venue. So I did a discounted rate, took it as a vacation, went down to Costa Rica for four or five days. I But what if it was a rando?
SPEAKER_01:A rando reaches out to you.
SPEAKER_00:I would ask for um my normal rate, which is let's call it$4,500. I would ask for a plane ticket, a couple of nights at a hotel. I'd probably stay longer and pay for that out of my own pocket. Just I don't, I'm not like you, man. I can't go to these gorgeous places and leave in like 12 hours. Like you're in a maniac.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Uh and I would say, I, you know, I will um source the gear. Like I'll find somebody. Like I found a guy through AGI Pro DJ. They were like, hey, we've sold this guy a ton of good gear. He's your man. And he was the guy. Right. And you pay for the gear.
SPEAKER_01:So you didn't um because some DJs take it on the chin and be like, hey, you're taking away my Friday. You don't charge double rate for travel. Absolutely. Half day. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_00:Especially at a dope ass place like Costa Rica. Like I just made an actual vacation out of it. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That's cool. Okay. What about you? Uh same. I mean, I wish I could tell you it was different, but yeah, uh just give a different opinion. But no, I mean, I only take on 50 events a year. Yeah. So I know I'm gonna book 50. Yeah, I'm turning down gigs, usually, you know. Right. So I don't worry about I the argument is a lot of times that hey, I'm giving up a Friday to travel there and a Sunday coming back, so I'm losing. Potentially two gigs, should I charge half day rate for those travel days?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:In my opinion, no. Um, you should know your number of how many gigs you're planning on working for the year or have a good idea, yeah, and not be so worried that you're gonna lose out on a triple, anyways. Plus, in a lot of cases, I was telling Al that I will try to get their welcome party the night before. Oh, yeah, or you know, rehearsal dinner or something else out of it. Because I think a DJ rather than a band has more of a catalog of music to work with. You could theme it, you could do all kinds of different things. You're not gonna survive it out, yeah, blow out your wedding set and feel like you've heard the same thing for three days. A DJ has more in their catalog to play.
SPEAKER_00:Especially somebody like you that really digs deep, curates the music, like yeah, they're not gonna hear the same songs, even if you play it all three days.
SPEAKER_01:And I I think it actually works to your advantage because you build trust with the crowd. Yeah. Number one, usually they're short, there's smaller audiences, you know, 100 person or less, usually. Number two, it's always a good feeling when you do crush that first night, they're like, How are you gonna top it tonight? I love it when they say that. Yeah, you know, and then you kind of come back and you're able to do another one. So it's it's it kind of can be a uh a builder for that. And then those usually become great referral networks, right? Because someone saw you, they saw that you could handle a destination wedding. So I love working on the other events, that's how I would make my money rather than trying to charge them for a travel day, a half feet or whatever.
SPEAKER_00:Great tip. I never even thought about that. Genius. Cool, good shit. Well, let's thank our sponsor. Hell yeah, DJ Event Planner is the go-to CRM for myself and my guy Brian B over here and countless other DJs. If you are having trouble keeping up with your leads or your automated email drips and things like that, check out djeventplanner.com.
SPEAKER_01:We'll see you guys on the next episode. Happy Halloween.
SPEAKER_00:See ya.
