Jasmine and Aidan

Located in Blue Bell, part of Montgomery County, is a great historical hotel and conference center called Normandy Farm. I'm sure a number of you have driven by Normandy Farm without knowing it, as it is surrounded by white, stucco-covered stone walls. Once you enter through these great walls you'll see just how much character it has. Jasmine and Aidan, like many other couples, loved the charm and history of Normandy Farm.

Jasmine and Aidan are a very laid back couple. At our meeting, they stressed that they just wanted to have a great time. They told me to do whatever I had to do to get everyone dancing, while staying away from worn out "corny" music. They selected a couple of must play songs and left the rest up to me.

Unfortunately, as their wedding day approached, we had one of the first rain storms we had, had in awhile, but Jasmine and Aidan did not let it affect them. With the help of their amazing photographer Jennifer Childress they were able to get some great pictures before the ceremony even though they could not go outside. Due to the rain, the ceremony was also forced inside. It was held in the Silo Ballroom, the same place the reception was to be held.

Jasmine and Aidan chose our conventional lighting and DJ package with purple up lighting and a wash on the dance floor. We arrived earlier than normal due to the move of the ceremony. We wanted to put the up lighting around the room to add to the ambience and make it more special for them, (just something we try to do a Synergetic). We did amber gels instead of purple so it would have a different feel when guests came back into the room after cocktail hour.

Once the ceremony ended and the guests moved to another area for cocktail hour, we set up our DJ system, replaced the amber gels with purple and projected the wash onto the dance floor. The rest of the night went on without a hitch, thanks to the staff at Normandy Farm and of course Jennifer Childress and Joe Bleiler (her second shooter for the night). This was one amazing reception! The crowd danced to everything from "Ain’t Too Proud To Beg," to "Dirty Bit" and "Sandstorm." I felt like I could play any kind of music at this wedding and they would dance, it was just that great of a crowd. Come to think of it they may have just kept dancing even if I shut the music off for a couple of seconds.

All in all it was an amazing wedding even with the weather. Jasmine and Aidan are two genuine people who were just happy to marry each other and wanted their family and friends to share in their happiness. They threw one ROCKIN’ WEDDING!

-Kurt

Thanks to Jennifer Childress Photography for the amazing images.

Jeanne and Jon

Jeanne and Jon were married last fall and had a beautiful reception at Hartefeld National. Kyle and Justin kept the party going and did the up lighting. Thanks to Photojournalism by Ron Soliman for the images.

Salesmen

By now, everybody knows one of Synergetic’s main selling points as a DJ company - prospective clients get to meet their DJ before they sign any contracts - and you all know why we feel this is important. But there is a down side to this. You see, our DJs are excellent DJs. But, they aren’t salesmen. If they were, they would probably be selling cars, furniture or who knows what else. We don’t want you to meet with our sales people, because then you will be sold. And we know you don’t like to be sold something. You want to want it. I am also going to bet that you don’t want a sales person DJing your wedding reception. That could be really interesting.

We teach our DJs some basic selling skills, but the main point of you meeting with them is to ask them questions and get a feel for how they work. They are interested in hearing about your vision for the night, what type of music you like and what your idea of a good DJ is.

After their meetings, our DJs always say, “if only they could have been at the wedding I did on Saturday” or “they really needed to be guests at Friday nights wedding.” But we know that's not possible, so we had to be creative and come up with other ways for you to see what you'll get with your DJ.

The best way we can do this is by having you come in, meet your DJ, talk to them, and then head into our demo room and let them show you exactly what you can expect.

-Jason

Keep an eye on the blog and facebook for pictures of our new demo room. They'll be out soon.

Inspiration

I’m not going to lie, I get bored easily with music. And I’m pretty sure that the people I spin for would be bored if I was exclusively playing music from 10 years ago. I get payed to play good, energized music, so it is my job to find new songs that go with the classic songs I play - this isn't always easy.

Most of the music out today is horrible. It lasts for a few weeks and then disappears. And the radio stations play the same thing over and over again. So where does a DJ find his/her inspiration for different sets to play?

For me, it is pretty simple. I can find inspiration in anything that has a beat. I have found new ideas for mixes at the mall, at a play, at a concert - anywhere I hear music is a chance for me to get creative. Just this past weekend, while I was watching TV and listening to some commercials, I found the following dinner set:

- Three little birds by Bob Marley

- Africa by Toto

- Umbrella by Rihanna

So this weekend, I am going to give it a shot and see how the crowd reacts. I’m thinking they are going to like this one.

I also listen to 100’s of songs a month. This comes from my old record pool days when you HAD to do this to still be in the pool. Some can be older songs, but for the most part, I’m trying to find music that makes the event I’m spinning become electric. Trying to find the perfect mix for 4 hours - not just 4 hot songs, but 40 - all mixed in a particular order that makes everybody tell you, “seriously, you have the best DJ I have heard!”

I will keep you posted on some of the other mixes I do and where I get the inspiration from.

-Jason

We're not Emcees

Don’t get me wrong, we certainly handle all of the “emcee duties” at every event we work, but when it comes down to it, we are DJs, not DJ/MC/Dancers/Entertainment Director/whatever else you wanna call us! In fact, in the 15 years I have been doing this, I have never once had a prospective client call and say they wanted to hire us because we are such great “emcees.” NEVER. They call because the DJ's skills were incredible.

This isn’t to say that our DJs aren’t good on the microphone. They are very good. They speak clear, have nice voices and know not to talk a lot. We will certainly handle all of the introductions, toasts, announcements and other formalities, but we won’t make a big deal about it. We simply keep it professional and make sure everybody knows what is going on. I think many companies today tend to put an emphasis on that “emcee” part.

I don’t think you want to hear us on the microphone all night. We kind of feel like you would rather have an exceptional DJ who absolutely packs your dance floor with incredible programming and creative mixes and is good on the microphone. Versus a person who is impeccable on the microphone and a mediocre DJ. Yeah, I can’t see that being too fun of a party. When is the last time you heard someone say, “wow, I want to hire that guy for my wedding because he is just an amazing emcee?”

Even seeing the word “emcee” scares me. I think of a DJ who is going to be on the dance floor teaching a new dance. Or worse yet, a DJ who is going to be in all of your photographs because he is on the dance floor letting people sing in the microphone! Really?

For the most part, we stay quiet on the microphone. You are hiring us to spin a wedding that you and your guests will talk about for years to come. Pretty much like the one I did on Saturday night for Jennifer and Jason at Northampton Valley Country Club. I swear, after the blessing and toast, I said about three things - but I didn’t need to say much. I played the right music at the right time and the dance floor was packed. I mixed in a few new tracks too like, Jay Sean’s “Hit the lights,” and Pitbull’s “Give me everything.” But the party pretty much took off with “Don’t stop till you get enough” by MJ.

Until the next time…

-Jason

The Cost of Events

I was reading Preston Bailey's blog the other day, and he got me thinking about some of the struggles businesses face. One struggle that every company deals with is what and how to charge for what they do. Some companies are cheap and some are expensive. And in most cases, you get what you pay for. We've all heard that line a million times. But you always “get” something, it’s more what you feel. You are paying for all the things you don’t actually “see.”

In order to compete in the market place, we have to show our value and talent to you and then price accordingly, all while trying not to lose money or rip you off. This is no easy task. We constantly have to evaluate our pricing, our service and the value we provide to you.

Let’s face it, you can always find something cheaper. Every single thing we do as a company, someone else can, and will, do cheaper. But for us, it’s the process that means more. We charge our rates because we want someone answering the phone for you throughout the day. We charge our rates because we want to pay the exceptional people that work for us more than an “honest” wage. We charge our rates so we can afford the best equipment. We charge our rates because that’s what it takes for us to stay in business and continue to service our client base.

“Talent and quality are always going to be more expensive!” Preston couldn’t have said it any better. We know we are always learning and always growing, so we can always get better. That’s what makes us who we are. Our experience and talent are the values we provide to you.

Sometimes what you want for your event costs more. And that’s because it feels better!

-Jason

This Week

We thought we'd give you a glimpse into what we're doing each week. This week, on top of preparing for a number of weddings and corporate events we're prepping for the S.A.V.E. event in Princeton; getting 3 pretty serious proms designed; prepping a very cool draping design for a wedding; and leaving the warehouse bay doors open so we can enjoy the weather :).