At first I was afraid ……

I was petrified.

The Prom invitation read “live DJ” right on it. “Live” DJ? What’s that, I thought? Should I be insulted, as a live performer?

My school’s prom was Friday night, and the teachers were invited. (I’m tellin’ ya, this is a VERY cool school! We danced with the kids all night long, and they had a blast!)

This DJ “ensemble” did everything 100% correct. I have to admit – I was taking mental notes all night long for future parties.

First, there were at least 6 guys there, including three professional gymnast/dancers that never stopped moving all night. They danced alone, with the kids, as a routine … you name it – they did it. It really kept the energy level at a high. The mix-man was BEHIND a screen that had 4 video monitors on it, and a stage with DDR set up on the front of it. Two huge towers held lights, screens, and stage appointments, and even a dancer who climbed up to throw beads to the dancers! (without the usual Mardi Gras requirements ! )
They also had two 10' screens flashing live pictures of the kids on each side of the dance floor. Very cool touch.

I was shocked at how many songs they chose that I also use at parties for older crowds, and yet – the kids ate it up because of the dancers and lights. They stayed quiet during dinner, they used censored versions of the really harsh lyrics, they dressed nice and were perfect gentlemen all night long.

I especially loved the ending. I have been getting a lot of mileage by playing “That’s what friends are for”. I ask everyone to get into a circle and surround the guests of honor as we sort of sway and sing to them....and it gets a great response. These guys used “Seasons of Love” from Rent…and it was a smash. Many of my kids are very into Broadway and art, so it was a super choice! Huge hug-fest and a great message to send the people out with.

This was one of the only times I saw a DJ act that deserved the fee. So.... what WAS the fee you ask? Let’s try and guess:

6 people
LARGE set up
sub woofers, video screens, DDR
projection screens
4 hours

What do YOU think this act cost? ( To us, it was worth every penny, if that helps you guess ! )

One more clue:
I added it all up in my head, to see what I would charge if I had to rent the extra video gear, hire dancers and all...and it was almost TWICE what I came up with.

Dave: Very interesting post. I was at a wedding last night that had a very professional DJ. He didn't have the lights, dancers, and video just him a room filling pair of JBLs on stand and a Numark system that let him mix between 4 different CDs at once. I too listened to what was happening musically. What he did VERY well was when people were dancing him kept them going with a seamless transition from one song to the other. He was obviously able to change tempos of some pieces to get a smooth transition. He also had some of the "hooked on" kind of arrangements that I hate. You know the kind, constant pounding drum beat while moving through “In the mood”, “String of Pearls”, “Take the A-train” etc. Oh well, people like it. Or accept it. I think you got your money’s worth and probably paid aprox $5K for it. Wouldn’t be surprised if the number was higher. For those who want to now bash DJs for the downfall of western civilization, you also need to bash people who play arrangers who take away jobs from bands. People like music, people like live music, people like music that sounds like the CD. As Donny says, learn from them all, use them all, and make your audience happy.

Uncle Dave,
The act must have really been something special to have been such a hit to a group with such a wide spectrum of age difference. But I'm sure you appreciate good professional entertainers better than the average 'old' teacher.
Hope you'll put into writing and share some of the mental notes.
Ciao,
Jerry

That's the key. Nobody is going to please everybody all of the time, but that's what you've got to be aiming for - and you might get pretty darn close.

The fee for UD's DJs? I'd put it around $2.5 - $3K.

....keep guessing !

About nine years ago, my sister paid for a bat mitzvah in Pennsylvania whose DJ had that kind of setup less the video screens. He charged $5000 back then. So I would put the price tag at $8000 conservatively.

Beakybird

Around here, the "mitzvah's" carry a status premium that regular dances still haven't achieved.
These guys charged us $4000...the floor was packed all night long, and I didn't have a headache when I left the room !
It was a pro affair. I think the final bill for the entire prom was around $13,000.
Tickets were $200 per couple for students, and $50 for the teachers' guests. We had many fund raisers throughout the year to offset the cost, as well. We might have come close to raising about 8-9k, so that's not too bad for such a great party!

Too bad I'm not a better dancer !

If my maths are correct that's about £2000 in british money - I could do well over there for only 10% of that charge...
Could I get a work permit though..?
Rog www.divasndisco.co.uk

UD ... for $4000, couldn't you (or whomever) have hired one of the top wedding/general business bands in the area and have "live" musicians?
t.

Next year's theme is the "iProm." Bring your iPod, plug it in to the command table and press shuffle. UD supplies the sound equip and he hires video and dancers.
Cost for prom entertainment = $6000
Overhead for UD = $2000
UD's Profit $4000 = priceless

and now we can all sell our arrangers and retire.

All great thoughts, and much appreciated.
To answer all - A "live" band would not have held these kids on the floor, unless they sounded like each top40 act they played. Most of the crowd was 15-18, remember.
The most valuable comodody that we bought with these DJs were their expertise in filling the floor. They used their own dancers as "bait" if you will, and worked the heck out of that crowd.
I actually thought of doing it myself next year, but here's what I'd need:

Hire 3 dancers - $300 ( that's cheap )
Rent 2 huge sunwoofers,crossovers, amps and mixer - pay for delivery and setup - $500
Spend HOURS buying, downloading, listening to the latest hits and censoring the dirty, inappropriate language out of it ...($$$$$)

Aw ... forget it - I don't even WANT to deal with all these kids from behind the controls. The mix-man was BEHIND the scenes, and a full time emmcee was ON THE FLOOR. ( not for me )

So - we got the best deal I can imagine, and they're commin' back next year !

me either