Groove is in the Heart: Booking Entertainment

Some things about wedding receptions remain the same, such as tears from the bride when she dances with her dad.
And the likelihood of hearing “Mony Mony.”
Still, according to DJs North’s Nick Scott, he and his staff of DJs find each reception a unique and fun experience tailored to the bride and groom, no matter what’s spinning.
“One of the most interesting things is, no matter how many weddings and receptions we get a chance to do, each one is unique in some way,” said Scott, whose DJs North disc-jockey service, based in Petoskey, has been entertaining wedding parties for more than 20 years around Northern Michigan.
He figures his company has handled entertainment for more than 1,000 weddings from Muskegon north to the bridge and beyond, with Scott serving as owner and entertainment profile coordinator. He works personally with brides and grooms to ensure the right music mix — and also to satisfy his romantic side.
“I’m a hopeless romantic,” said Scott, who married his wife, Diane, first in Las Vegas 25 years ago and then re-proposed and wed again in a church service several years ago.
When it comes to planning other couple’s entertainment needs, Scott is just as receptive to their ideas. With 25,000-plus songs in the master music library, it takes listening to find out a couple’s style.
“We talk about what they’d like to have and what they don’t want to have, which is equally important,” said Scott.
For reception dancing songs, Scott suggests familiar songs that help get people up and dancing. That means brand-new music is rarely played because people don’t know it yet; instead, old time rock ‘n’ roll and hits from previous decades are top suggestions.
“The No. 1 one-hit wonder which has sold more copies than any other single is ‘The Macarena,’” Scott said. “It’s the best for putting dancers on the dance floor, and the party follows the bride and groom. If they’re on the dance floor, that’s where the party is.”
Musical selections span 1950s and ’60s polkas to dance fever highlights of the ’70s, plus Frank Sinatra, Glen Miller, Harry Conick Jr. and “just about anything they would like,” he said.
Often an evening’s worth of entertainment will span music genres, to please everyone from grandma and grandpa to the teen-age cousins.
“Each guest list is different and that’s one part of the disc jockey’s job, is to read the mood of the crowd,” Scott said.
The DJs can also serve as master-of-ceremonies and keep the event moving forward by announcing bridal dances, for instance.
Three DJs make up DJ’s North, and they charge $750 for up to 5 hours of entertainment. The staff also handles music at the wedding site — church, outdoor location, local inn or restaurant, etc. — for a discounted rate if they’re booked for the reception also.
As for favorite songs for the first dance, Scott said there are some regular favorites, such as “Unforgettable,” “In Your Eyes,” and “Bless the Broken Road.”
“There’s no rule to all of this, except it’s your party and you should have a great time,” said Scott.
 
Shake your groove thing
For those couples looking for a specific type of entertainment for their big day, Razor Entertainment has the resources to find anything from a string trio to a Motown band.
“We’re an entertainment booking company,” said Chris Ames, owner of the business based out of Charlevoix, Saginaw and Detroit.
Ames works in the local office and relies on the numerous entertainment contacts the company has developed through the years for various private and corporate events. That can mean a blues or jazz band for cocktail hour and a six-piece band for the reception, Ames said.
“The nice thing about the company is that rather than be one band, we’re able to provide all stages of a ceremony,” Ames said. “From a wedding angle, it’s one-stop shopping.”
The company uses musicians from around the state and country and depending on the budget, pretty much nothing is out of reach. Costs, of course, vary depending on the performers and also the duration of play-time.
Jazz, blues, country, R&B, Motown — “literally just about anything,” Ames said, about the company’s abilities to book entertainment. Razor can arrange DJ services as well.
Area talent the company draws upon include Bellaire trumpeter Dan Jacobs; former Charlevoix teacher and piano player Steve Stargardt who now lives in Traverse City; and Claudia Schmidt, whose folk and jazz talents are well-known in the region.
One of Razor’s founders is a keyboardist who once worked with the Temptations, providing more industry connections, Ames added.

To contact DJs North, call 347-0711 or visit www.djsnorth.net. To reach Razor Entertainment, call 547-5750 or go to www.razor4music.com.

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