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"Never
ask them for an autograph unless they're signing a
contract."
iJAM Productions Inc.
The
mystery caller phoned on a Tuesday afternoon, asking the DJ
not for prices but for references. "Have you ever
provided entertainment for a famous person?" the caller
inquired.
The mobile rattled off a list. "Sure, Dionne Warwick,
Whitney Houston..." "Sure" the caller
interrupted, "but how did you make those events
special?" It didn't take long for Orlando and Tampa
Bay, Florida-based iJAM Productions Inc. to realize that the caller
was an event coordinator arranging a gig for a celebrity.
Quickly, Jam assured her that he could indeed provide the
professionalism required for such a gig. explaining how he
pulled off successful events for Warwick, Houston and the
lead singer for pop-metal group Firehouse.
"This
is a party for Frank Sinatra," said the caller.
(iJAM Productions Inc. did book and perform the event for ol' Blue
Eyes - but more on that later) Imagine living and working
your DJ business in a city soaked with celebrities, whose
agents call your number frequently to inquire about your DJ
service.
Errr,
sorry, it usually doesn't happen that way.
Or imagine a famous actress complaining about your music
selection, perhaps because it doesn't include the soundtrack
from her latest movie (which didn't win her an
Oscar). Or the CEO of one of the world's wealthiest
corporations paying you half your contracted fee and
complaining about your service. Or how about a big-name rap
star smirking at the sight of your par can and strobe
lighting effects, which hardly matches his usual
MTV-financed sets that are hauled in on diesel-fueled semis.
Fortunately,
it's not quite that bad either. But, like they say about the
rich, celebrities are just...different. Not only are the
rich, but they're famous, which means they do not exist
outside of the spotlight's glare.
But when they're your client, are celebrities all that
different? Does Bill Gates do the Chicken Dance? Would
Rosemary Clooney insist on grabbing the microphone from the
MC to sing some cabaret? Or more importantly, do they pay on
time? DJ Times spoke to several DJs with experience in these
endeavors.
A
Backstreet Post-Concert Party
The
phone call came in to Chicago's Show on the Road at 2:00 on
a Wednesday afternoon. All day long owner Russ Harris had
been in the office filing paperwork and fielding phone
calls, and he was about to leave to set up for a bridal show
that evening.
"Hey Russ, this is your old friend Bobby D from
B-96!" said the caller.
It
was Russ' best buddy from high school. "So Russ, are
you doing anything tonight?"
asked Bobby.
"Well, it's Wednesday and I've got a bridal show."
Harris replied, not entirely excited about the prospect of
greeting scores of window shoppers for a few hours with a
constant smile and canned sales pitch.
"What time does the show go until?" Bobby pressed.
Harris told him 9 p.m.
"Good, 'cause I have a gig you can do later tonight.
It's going to be held at the bowling alley in
Rosemont."
Tired
and expecting the need for a couple of cold ones at home
after the bridal show. Harris told his old buddy he'd send
one of his DJs to do the job.
"No, you'll want to do this one, Russ." Bobby
countered. "This is for the Backstreet Boys!"
Well,
the Backstreet Boys are not Harris' favorite group, but the
thought of drinking beer on a Wednesday night with brides
paled to the prospect of hanging out with one of the world's
most popular music groups. "I'll be there," he
assured Bobby.
Harris
knew he would be expected to play music from 11 p.m. to 3
a.m. for the event, but beyond that he didn't know what to
expect.
"We
brought five cordless microphones in case the guys would be
performing." he recalls, "and we brought out the
turntables for Bobby D, because he does a lot of stuff on
vinyl."
The
event was a post-concert get-together for the group, crew
members and a few acquaintances. each of the Backstreet Boys
had his girlfriend for the night, each of which had two or
three of their friends. "Nobody was there to
dance," says Harris of the event, for which they
provided a five-foot lightshow and charged $900 - not a bad
profit for a weekday night party. "We brought props,
too, but they were exhausted. They just wanted to drink,
bowl a little, and hang loose."
What
music would you play for the Backstreet Boys? "They
were all over the place with requests, from rap to hip hop
to classic rock. One of the group members, Kevin, came up
and listened to a bunch of Metallica in the headphones,
because he wanted to request one for the birthday of one of
his crew guys.
"It
was funny, we had another person come up and say, 'Do not
play any N-Sync songs; it'll just piss them off,' Not that
we were going to play any, but they just warned us ahead of
time."
The
only autographs Harris said he asked for were photographs he
got signed for the daughter of a co-worker. Or at least
that's what he says. "It was basically like DJing for a
Christmas party in the middle of a Friday afternoon,"
he says in summary. "Everyone comes straight from work,
were they've been since 7:00 that morning, and no one feels
like dancing. We got lots of compliments though, and
everyone had a fun time."
Hangin'
With a Millionaire
"I
treat calls from celebrities like any normal call."
says Robert Bonham, whose Seattle-based company Music Dee-Lite
has performed several times for Bill Gates and the Microsoft
Corporation. "Even with the excitement building in my
head, I can't reflect that. My job is to act normal."
Of
course, Bonham isn't afraid to have a good time with someone
like Mr. Gates at a party. In fact, he remembers one party
in particular that ended up being one of the more fun events
he's ever performed, and having Gates there actually enabled
the DJ to open up and be more outgoing than normal.
"Bill
himself was pretty shy and didn't want to get out on the
floor." recalls Bonham of the event, "so I got on
the microphone and asked the employees, 'Who would like to
help us get Bill out here on the floor to do the Chicken
Dance?' People started warming up and going over to him and
asking him to get out on the floor. I got back on the
microphone and said. 'Well, if you want to still have a job
on Monday morning we better leave Bill alone and let him
come out on his own.' Sure enough, Bill kind of smiled and
threw his hands up in the air and came out to shake his butt
for the Chicken Dance."
It
appears reverse psychology still works.
"For a little while we circled around Bill, but then he
started milling around with the crowd. You could see him
liking the attention for a while, but he has a shy kind of
side to him. He enjoyed it but he didn't want to be too
showy himself."
When
Bonham later that night turned to interactive dances such as
the Macarena and Electric Slide, he chose not to pick on
Gates. "I put the people who knew the dance on one side
of the floor and I taught the Slide to everyone else on the
other side. There were about 300-400 people on the floor by
them, but I don't even remember what side of the floor Bill
Chose. I do know he was on the floor for both songs, though.
Bonham
suggests that for any event, celebrity or not, mobiles
should personalize it. "Gauge the situation," he
advises, "and determine if you need to give a lot of
attention to the star or not. If you overdo it you make
yourself look like a jerk, but if you underplay things
you've ruined an opportunity that could have been a lot
bigger. I think experience alone lets you get a feel for
what to do"
It
takes a Village of Celebrities
One
person who is lucky enough to live near a large grouping of
celebrities is Sid Vanderpool, who runs Music Magic in Twin
Falls, Idaho. A mid-sized community of 50,000. Twin Falls is
located near Sun Valley, a town that is home to such
personalities as Arnold Schwartzenegger, Demi Moore, Peter
Cetera and Richard Dreyfuss.
"Sun
Valley is a very private area where a lot of the stars have
homes, and they go there to get away from the spotlight and
the hustle and bustle of the city." explain Sid.
"It's a place where they can be normal people - going
shopping at the supermarket without people falling over
them, for example."
Granted,
there may not be many huge celebrity bashes in Sun Valley,
but because of the large number of celebrity families,
there's no lack of parties for the children of the
famous actors, actresses, sports stars and musicians. Says
Vanderpool. "All the gigs we play for up in that area
are for someone who is either married to, has been married
to, or is a celebrity themselves."
Vanderpool
laughs when he remembers the first time he meet actress Demi
Moore. "We were playing music for a birthday party in
the living room of this huge house up in Sun Valley. It was
the 13th birthday party of Richard Dreyfuss' daughter, and I
observed what appeared to be an 18-year-old girl with dark
hair and a ponytail out dancing with all the boys. She was
in a jump suit, had no makeup on, and really looked like a
young girl just out having a good time with the kids. It
wasn't until later that night that I found out is was Demi
Moore."
Was
Vanderpool impressed? "At first you're star struck,
thinking, 'Oooooh, Demi Moore!' Let's face it. every man has
had a fantasy about Demi Moore after seeing her in
Striptease."
"But you basically have to ask yourself what
you're really there for, and it's to make sure everyone has
a good time. And if I do a good job they're going to have
me, back. I'd rather do that then blow the whole gig by
asking for an autograph or pictures and crap like that. It's
going to put a lot more money in my pocket to be referred by
Demi Moore than to get an autograph or picture from
her."
Since the first party, Vanderpool's calls for
celebrity gigs have exploded, and many of those are for the
children of celebrities. He says that often Demi Moore is a
chaperone at these gigs, which are usually booked through a
nanny who coordinates all the events for the house.
"When we play for these kids they get what
they want, no ifs, ands or buts." Vanderpool says.
"There are no lists of songs you can't play or anything
like that. Their parents are paying you to keep their kids
happy, and you are there to do just that. Within reason,
even if the kid wants to swing off the lighting truss, well
let him, because we're getting paid enough. We go with the
flow, any music they want, any dancing they want.
Can You Say, "Spoiled Brats?"
Actually,
Vanderpool says that all though these kids may be pampered
they also have rather sophisticated tastes in entertainment.
Sure, they like to hear the typical mixture of sky, club,
alternative and Top 40 music during their four-hour parties,
but they don't get off on some of the more hokey stuff
typically done at kids' parties.
"I
think we did the Macarena once," he says. "But we
don't get into a lot of that stuff because these kids are on
the higher end of the social ladder. We do the glow
necklaces occasionally, and we might try Conga lines or
other little interactive stuff that isn't too hokey."
For
other mobiles looking to tap into the celebrity market.
Vanderpool's advice is based on experience. "If it's
going to be a formal event with other celebrities I'd treat
them like celebrities. But if it's a private event. I'd
treat them like normal people. They really don't want to be
treated any other way aerpool when he first started
doing celebrity parties. "There's one thing you
have to realize when it comes to events like this. Most
people like Demi just want to be treated like normal
people."
I've Got You Babe
Although
he has also done jobs for such big corporations as
Coca-Cola, IBM and Microsoft. San Diego-based Duffy Fainer
is most proud of a surprise 50th birthday party he did for
Sonny Bono in 1988.
"Sonny
and his wife Mary had been referred to me through an agent
that works out of Palm Springs and who was throwing the
elements of the party together," says Fainer. "The
nice thing about this party was that the Bonos were very
simple, low-maintenance clients. People were just trying to
throw together a nice surprise for Sonny Bono, and he didn't
want a lot of pizzazz or a lot of glamour.
To
bring Bono's close friends together in a nice warm
environment. 100 people gathered at the Marquise Hotel in
Palm Springs. Fainer says he charged his normal fee,
"but for a change I didn't worry about having to
negotiate a price."
Throughout
the event, the only requests Sonny and his wife made were
for a few Italian songs that Sonny liked, such as Frank
Sinatra. "Lots of crooners were requested." Fainer
says. "It was basically a combination of cocktail music
and party music. Not a hardcore dancing crowd, but quite a
few people who seemed to like disco and big band
music."
Although
he could have played a few of Sonny's older music recorded
with Cher ("I Got You Babe"). Fainer says he chose
not to because of the new wife. "That would have been
in bad taste to throw that stuff in with his family there,
especially since he had just been married a few years at
that point."
Gigging for An Old Crooner
When
JAM did his party for Sinatra, he enjoyed it much
more than celebrity parties he's done for Julio Iglesias and
Dan "Grizzly Adams" Haggerty.
"My
earliest start doing celebrity-based work was back when I
was the house DJ at State Street restaurant and club in Las
Vegas, Nevada," says JAM.. "The place was
known as a VIP, late night, nightclub spot back in those
days, and after the performers in town were done with their
shows on the Strip they would come over to State Street
owned by actor Gianni Russo (better known for roles in the
movies, Striptease staring actress Demi Moore and The
Godfather, and Godfather Part II
movies).
End's
up, Sinatra had heard JAM playing music at the
club one night, and chose him for his party. "Most of
the music I played early at his party was traditional Italian
music." JAM remembers, "much like the
music I played at State Street every evening. That heavy,
heavy Italian music was the reason they brought me in, and
then after the cocktail hour and dinner it was basically
just party music."
Did
JAM play any Sinatra tunes that night?
"The
only thing Sinatra asked me that night for was a tarantella."
he says, 'because a woman wanted to dance with him that
night.
"I've
found that most of the artists themselves won't come up and
ask for their own music, although their guests often
will," says JAM. "A lot of times what
the celebrities will requests is that I promote the new
music of a guest or friend of theirs that they're trying to
help out. They'll utilize me to help break in new songs of
people they're associated with."
JAM is adamant in charging his normal price even for
celebrities. "If they're calling around and you tell
them that you're a $200 DJ, they're automatically going to
assume that you're only a $200 entertainer. But if you're in
the price range of a normal entertainer, they'll ask more
about you. If you want me for a wedding or for a Super Bowl
party, you're going to pay the same price."
And
for advice. JAM says the same thing other DJs in
his position would say: "If you don't have a comfort
zone about yourself, but are constantly trying to impress
people, you won't succeed. Never ask them for an autograph
unless they're signing a contract. Just shoot the breeze
with them."
And
that's not so different after all.
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