Jon Bruce, man of letters. DJ/MC/BGS

I just finished my last final for Summer Session I. Nine credit hours. DONE! Spring Semester, I took 15 hours. It has been a busy 6 months.

I am now officially a college graduate! I am a Bachelor of General Studies!

You can call me Jon Bruce BGS.

I can’t believe I waited this long to get it done.

For perspective sake, as a DJ, I am probably in the top 5% by education level. It may be higher than that. I will have to call somebody and figure out the actual breakdown.

As a client, do you ever think to ask about education for your entertainment? Most of my clients are some college, college, post graduate degree holders. May I should start handing out a C.V…

My biggest gripe about this business is differentiating the service I provide from the super special DJ guy who never bothered to finish High School and is still living in his parents basement.

You might notice the asymmetry when Mr. Cheap DJ shows up in jeans with a couple of buddies for your black tie event. It couldn’t hurt to ask before hand and clearly establish you expectations.

and no… Black Tie, doesn’t mean Black blue jeans, a buttoned down shirt, with a vest and a clip on tie.

1st Rate, 1st Grade field trip to the zoo.

I just got back from a field trip with my first grader to the Indianapolis Zoo. The weather was awful for people, but really the absolute best for seeing animals.

The big bonus was getting a tour of the zoo from Jon Wassner (he’s married to Jacob’s teacher). Jon is a zoologist and author. I have talked with Jon about zoo’s before but seeing him in his natural environment was an absolute treat! He had the entire pack of 1st grader’s complete attention and was funny, helpful and insightful.

America's Best Zoos: A Travel Guide for Fans & Families

If you want to book Jon for a guided zoo tour, give me a call and I may be able to introduce you.

Think I am kidding? Here is what Jack Hanna had to say about Jon’s book.

A fantastic resourse for people of all ages…If you’re hooked on zoos like I am, you’ll treasure this book! — Jack Hanna, Host, TV’s “Into the Wild” 5/8/08

The great part is Jon’s book is a lot easier to keep around the house and cheaper to feed than Jon in person (according to Mrs. Wassner).

oh and here is the link.

Jennifer may save you some heartache on your wedding day.

I got an inquiry from a Bride on Thursday inquiring about pricing and availability for an up coming wedding.

I went to reply and noticed she had sent her inquiry email out to SEVEN DJs all at the same time. In the interest of keeping the playing field open, I hit reply to all.

Here are the results I got.

One DJ replied to my email.
Four are probably familiar with me and chalked it up to Jon Bruce being Jon Bruce.
THREE were RETURNED TO SENDER!
-All three don’t have an active web page.
-Two of those don’t have let their domain names lapse.

Usually this means that on your wedding day, if the phones not ringing its your DJ calling. Take a minute and call or email your DJ today and make sure the number still works. The American Disc Jockey Association has an emergency DJ hotline for no shows on your wedding day. 888-723-5776.

When you book a DJ….

1. Get a contract in writing.
2. Meet the actual person who will be performing at your event. (And get a guarantee in that written contract).
3. Remember experience counts for something. I have had the same phone number for 14 years.

My email and indyprodj.com are coming up on their 10th anniversary.

What about your DJ?

If I had a million dollars, I would give you…

Free Barenaked Ladies Downloads… I would go for track #2, I love putting this song in the mix for right crowd.

Please send me an email or comment if the link has expired.

http://artwerksdesign.com/proofing/bnl/index.html

Yeah for Ben & Jerrys and Yeah to the Barenaked Ladies.

Hire me or this guy might be speaking on your behalf at your wedding.

Or maybe worse, you get the DJ who thinks this guy is a DJ Tutorin’ genius.

The person you select to be the Master of Ceremonies is representing you. It’s probably a good idea to meet them in person and know what they are going to say and why.

Kevin Bacon’s got nothing on me….

I was looking through pics from the Inauguration.

And found a pic that looked familiar.
[/caption]

That is guy to the left of the President of the United States is Sgt. Maj. of the Army Ken Preston. He is the senior enlisted man in the US army, he represents the men and women doing all the heavy lifting all over the planet.

I had the privilege of meeting him, at his son’s wedding in 2005.

How to get a groom involved in wedding planning…

 

Cabel Sasser got married. His wife, Nicole, gave him a little room to run on invitations and theme.

 

Words will not do it justice. Check out his blog post.

http://www.cabel.name/2008/10/on-wedding-design.html

He doesn’t spend anytime raving about how great his DJ was, but they did some really cool things.

Letterpress printed their own invitations.

Here is a detail from the letterpress invites.

A photobooth. (old school style).

Cabel – Congrats! and thanks for sharing your experience. Now I have to go buy a Mac.

More than words.

Bill Herman’s eyebrows are funnier than Dat Phan and Jay Mohr trapped in a burlap sack with an rabid, angry badger.

So I was at Kipp Bros. on Saturday.

I love Kipp Brothers Novelty here in Indianapolis.

I remember looking through the catalog when I was a kid. Nowadays, I need party supplies occassionally, beads, bubbles, etc. They have some really great toys too!

They have great flying toys and wood toys. My kids and my nieces think I am a genius!

So I was in there on Saturday morning and they had a hat. A hill billy hat…

Complete with Corn Cob Pipe!

It was too good to pass up… My friend Robbie Britton has put together a one day conference for Mobile DJs in Greenville Tennessee. It’s coming up on June 23rd.

He has a monster line up of presenters to enhance, improve and motivate DJs. If you a DJ within a thousand miles, you should be there.

If you considering hiring a DJ, you should ask the question…

“When was the last time you learned anything new?”

This industry is dominated by a “professionals” who are putting on the same act they did the day they started. Macarena anybody? In DJing, a commitment to the client involves a commitment to improving your skills.

Many professions REQUIRE continuing education to maintain certification or accreditation. There is no such thing in mobile entertainment. The individual commitment to improving their craft is a great indication of a DJs talent and ability to deliver the results you desire, deserve and should demand.
Which kind of explains this…

In my community of DJ friends, everything south of I-70 is the rural south, unless you are north of I-80.

I did three takes totally improvised. (who says rehearsal isn’t important?)

The music skipped a beat.

Here is a really great first dance bit of mis-direction.

The groom is Mike Anderson of  Creative Memories Entertainment in Antelope, California. (I think that is near Sacramento)

Mike – Congrats and well done!