The SIMON SAYS Blog

Someone forwarded me the link to a competitor's website today.  It's a big name DJ business that offers 4 hours of service for $595, but they are having a special offer of only $495 for a limited time only.  Their site is copyrighted 2005, so the limited time offer has probably been going on for a few years.  Why play games with people?  If your price is $495, tell people it's $495.  Post it up front and be honest about it.  That's what we do.  Our price is $495, only we don't limit the hours to only 4.  For us, we offer unlimited time, within reason.  A typical reception lasts aywhere form 3-6 hours-ish.  The wedding is about you, not us.  We'll do what it takes to take care of you. 

They have an options page that lists an extra hour of music (anything over their standard 4) for $45 per hour.  Oh, and you want a cordless microphone too?  That's another $25.  Lights?  You want a few party lights for the dance floor?  Ka-ching...that will cost you another $25.  Would you like 4 speakers instead of their standard 2?  There's another $45.  Your $595 DJ, on sale for a limited time at only $495 with "them" now really costs you $635.  All of those things that they list in their extra options list are things that we have standard in our $495 price.   They are the things that we believe every DJ service should offer as standard.

It has always irritated us that most DJ services don't even list their price up front.  How many things do you consider buying without knowing the price in advance?  Not many.  Consumers, brides, grooms, etc. beware.  If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.  Check the options out too.  Most of what I would expect to be standard options often time aren't.

While I was at Circuit City the other day, I saw 2 teenagers looking at an I-Pod docking station.  One said to the other, "Dude, we could buy one of these, throw our speakers on it and become DJs...We could make lots of money".   I've said it before, but it takes more than JUST the hardware to make a great DJ, Photographer, or Videographer.  ALTHOUGH, keeping up with technology is important too.

Our DJ sets have been equipped with VHF cordless microphone systems for quite a while, with a separate VHF back up system on each.   The only way to be successful in this business is back up all of the equipment one uses.  I wonder if the teenager DJ wannabes at Circuit City thought about that.  Probably not.  Buy a couple of Ipods or a laptop, and POOF you're a professional DJ.  Buy the latest digital camera and POOF you're a professional photographer.  It scares me.  Hopefully, it scares whoever might be reading this also.  The latest technology might be important, but experience, professional training, and lots of knowledge are even more important.

We recently DJ'd an event where nearby radio and television broadcast equipment cut into the VHF microphone system we primarily use on what we call System A.  Between the corded mics and the reserve/back up system, it worked out fine for the event.  BUT it was enough to make us dig in and investigate what is better...what else can we use.  What better technology can we bring to make the wedding or event run smoother?

With constantly improving our equipment in mind, we have gone to newly released high frequency UHF cordless mic systems on all sets as the primary.  We've also begun using a laptop with each DJ system as a back up for all of the music, making thousands of other song selections now available at each event.  We still don't believe that using laptops as the primary music source is the best choice, but we do believe it is important to use the laptop...part of our philosophy of growing WITH technology.

For over 20 years, the professionals at SIHASI Sounds & Images have been updating to the newest technology, while keeping our prices low and quality high.  To the teenagers I saw at Circuit City...If you really want to be professional DJ's, train with someone else for years before going off on your own...AND think about all of the different technology that goes into being successful.  If not, it won't work.

There was recently a negative comment posted here about the website www.weddingtoledo.com.  I responded to that posting, although the individual who posted it did not leave anything but their name.  So, to address their concerns and anyone else's, here's the story behind www.weddingtoledo.com.

Some time ago, I (Mark Simon) purchased some web site names with the hopes of creating a local network of wedding professionals.  I never got around to putting anything together, but was contacted by a recent bride who decided to become a bridal consultant.  Long story short, I let her borrow the www.weddingtoledo.com name.  Since I paid for the site and the hosting, I said that I wanted SIHASI promoted heavily there.

She started the site, and in the process took a position with a local reception hall.  She decided not to pursue the consulting idea, and let the site go.

This seemed like a good opportunity to start the network of wedding professionals that I had thought about before.  After talking with a few other wedding professionals, I set a list of criteria to be met if a business wanted to be  listed on the site.  All Toledo area wedding professionals are invited to be part of the site, if they contact me, meet the criteria listed, and are among the first 2-3 to be posted in each category.

I am more than willing to discuss the site with anyone who contacts me direct by phone at 419-464-9464 or by email to weddingtoledo@gmail.com.

This is not a new idea.  Other area wedding professionals do this also.  Jim Lieber, who owns Sounds of Music is a good example.  Sounds of Music is an excellent local DJ business.  To the best of my knowledge, Jim also owns www.toledotietheknot.com.  That website charges area wedding professionals to be listed there.  That is also an excellent website to review to find area wedding professionals.  Sounds of Music is listed there.  I have posted a new page to the www.weddingtoledo.com site explaining the SIHASI connection to that site, hoping this clears up any problems that anyone has with the site.

I have had 2 calls in recent weeks from people I know both saying, "They should've hired SIHASI".  In both cases, my friends tried talking their friends into hiring SIHASI, but the friends found the low ball budget DJ's to do their wedding instead.  My guess is that there are hundreds of wedding DJ's just in the Toledo area alone, most of them with little or no experience, not knowing what they're doing, and willing to DJ very cheaply.  Once again, the kids think it's easy to buy a laptop, a few speakers, and POOF they are wedding DJ's.

It takes more than equipment to be a wedding DJ.  It takes experience, social skills, (like how to read a crowd) having some good improvisational comedy skills, (without turning the reception into a comedy club) and good knowledge of how music genres work together.  AND most important, remembering who the DJ is there for...the bride and groom.

In both cases mentioned above, the DJ's sold their services for less than what we charge.  At 495., we're still at the low price end of the PROFESSIONAL market.  Most of the other good competitors, DJ businesses that we consider equal to us, charge as much as 800. to DJ a wedding reception.  When someone DJ's a wedding reception for significantly less than 495., there is something wrong, and you'll get what you pay for.

My friends told me that in one case, the DJ forgot to release the bride and groom for dinner.  They had to eat near the end of the line.  The bride and groom are the stars of the day.  They are the most important aspect of the day.  They are what the day is all about.

Knowing music styles and genres, how songs begin and end is very important.  For instance, a great slow song to start the night with is Frank Sinatra's "Fly me to the Moon".  It's older but still hip enough that everyone can dance to it.  It has a nice instrumental beginning that gives us just enough time to talk for a few minutes before Frank starts singing. 

Playing just Kenny G or Michael Buble during dinner is horrible, as was the case in both of the weddings my friends called me about.  We use a variety of smooth jazz songs, most without words, emphasizing piano, guitar, and saxaphone, without dominating any one sound.  Playing songs that talk about break ups or sadness is inappropriate.  Switching from a slow song to a fast song, right back to a slow song will confuse the guests and keep the dance floor empty.

We know how to put it together and make it work.  The low ball, budget DJ does not.

495. is a good price in the Toledo market.  It's the same price that we have charged for years, and will most likely continue to charge.  Most people don't know the costs involved in being a DJ.  They think that he 495. is all profit.  This website and the others we use to feed business to us cost thousands each year.  Since we are watched more closely than the general public, (and it's just the right thing to do) we buy our music, not steal it.  Bridal shows cost us thousands each year, as do the marketing materials we put together.  Insurance, equipment maintenance, formal attire, and time spent meeting with couples is very costly.  Finally, the DJ usually spends well over 2 hours in travel and set up/tear down time for each wedding, let alone the 5-6 hours there.  Break all of those costs down, and 495. is a very reasonable price.  Less than that is trouble, more than that is excessive profit.

You do get what you pay for, and with us, it's more than likely just what you need.

I recently saw an article promoting the do it yourself wedding reception idea.  It basically said to just buy an IPOD, throw the songs you want on there, and skip hiring the DJ.  I've seen this idea showing up more in wedding chat rooms too, and I wonder how people feel after the fact.  My best guess is that they wish they would have hired the professional.

The do it yourself wedding bothers me for several reasons.  The least of which is that any kind of threat might take business away.  The professional DJ who offers the right price and outstanding service will always have as much business as he/she wants.

If you're going to buy an IPOD to play music at your reception, then why not buy a Betty Crocker cake and make your own wedding cake?  Why not buy a bunch of food and put it on a table for people to eat?  The reasons are simple.  A wedding is a once in a lifetime event.  It is something that you will never do again.  If the reception doesn't go right the first time, you can't do it again to get it right the second time.

The professional wedding DJ is more than just the guy (or gal) who plays the music.  The professional wedding DJ is the person who keeps the night going, often working around the right music to fit the crowd at any given moment.  An IPOD doesn't know how to tell the bride and groom when it is time to do which reception event.  An IPOD doesn't know that if the dance floor is packed, you should hold off the next event for another song or two...or how to change up in an instant when a certain genre of music just isn't working.

Would a Betty Crocker cake taste good?  Sure it would...at home...after dinner.  Would food from your local grocer taste OK to the guests.  Sure it would.  And some people on a budget have to cut some corners.  But...everyone wants the best for their wedding.  Hire a professional baker to do the cake.  People remember the cake.  Hire a caterer to do the food.  People remember the food.  People really remember the music, how the events ran, and how the flow of the reception went.  Hire a professional DJ for this.

The key word in all of this is "professional".  Remember to hire the professional, not the high school kid who just bought the loudest speakers and biggest amplifier on e-bay.  Tools don't make the recpetion.  The person using the tools does.

Do it yourself is best left to car repair or plumbing...although I'd personally rather have a professional handle those issues too.

You may have been to a wedding or two and think you know how to program the IPOD to do everything that's needed, but the professional...our professionals have been at hundreds of weddings.  We've seen it all, we know how to handle the undexpected.  Our equipment is backed up.  If something breaks, the back up equipment is in place to automatically take over and finish the night.  Will an IPOD do that?  Did the rest of the equipment you rented for that professional sound come with a back up system in place?

By the time you spend the money to put together a quality sounding set, buy the music you need, and pay for that IPOD, you're going to find that a professional DJ isn't that much more.  And remember, the music you use should be purchased.  If you steal music from the Internet for the do it yourself wedding, you're even in more danger of being caught and prosecuted.  Our favorites to buy music from are www.walmart.com at 88 cents per download and www.musicmatch.com (recently acquired by Yahoo) at 99 cents per song.  It's easy and simple and neither require long term contracts.  They both have an excellent selection of songs to choose from too.

So, if you're thinking about a do it yourself wedding and using an IPOD to play the music, please think twice.  We charge only 495 for a wedding reception.  That's a great price with a lot of built in service to make the reception a memorable event.

Somehow, most DJ's have the impression that working a Wedding Reception is actually putting on some kind of show.  It's to the point that in DJ land verbiage, Wedding Receptions are mostly called "shows".  The professionals in the DJ business do talk to each other on a regular basis, mostly trying to check out the competition and see what the other guys are doing, charging, and seeing where new business is coming from.  It bothers me that when I have conversations with other DJ's, they usually call their Receptions some kind of show. 

Maybe I am old school, because I have never in the twenty some years of DJ ing considered a Wedding Reception to be a show.  It's a Wedding Reception, plain and simple...just that.

I try to be entertaining when I DJ, while entertaining with respect.  The Reception is one of the most important events that the bridal couple will ever be a part of.  They don't come there and pay me good money to put on a show.  They have me there to run the events of the night, keep things moving, and play the right music at the right time to keep the bridal couple and their guests happy, always with the emphasis on "bridal couple" and "happy".  A happy bridal couple will surely tell their other friends what great DJ they had, and those friends will call me when they need a good DJ.  Word of mouth is the best advertising.  It can also be the worst.  DJ's who put on a show and act showy will more than likely turn off the bridal couple.  They tell their friends about that too.  I'd rather have good things being bantered about than the alternative.

I might call a New Year's Eve party a show.  I might even call a school dance or class reunion a show.  For those events, I will put on a little more of a show.  I can act up, clown around a little more, and entertain the crowd.  Key word there, being "crowd".  Those events are not specific to one or two people.  A Wedding Reception is specifically for two people, the Bride and the Groom.  They are the stars of the night.  They are the center of attention.  Even with any entertainment that I provide, I should not and never will outshine those stars.

So, note to my other DJ friends, when we're chatting, I will not call a Wedding Reception a "show".  I will call it what it is and give it, as well as every bride and groom some well deserved respect. 

A few weeks ago, I was DJing at Grafton Hall in Carelton, Michigan.  The Hall was split into two smaller Halls, and there was another DJ on the other side.  It seems that every time Circuit City has a sale, another DJ business springs up.  This was obviously one of those kids who thinks that a few speakers and a little music makes him a professional DJ.  So, let's see...if I go buy some scrubs and a scalpel, does that make me a surgeon?  Maybe not a good analogy, but it takes a lot to be a professional DJ, including training...something these "kids" seem to think they can skip.

This other DJ came over to visit.  We always check out the "other guy".  I do the same thing myself, I just hadn't had the time to go over to the other side yet that night.  I was too busy taking care of the most important part of my wedding, the Bride and Groom.

He looked at my DJ set and smirked.  He said something like, "You are old school, aren't you?"  I asked him what he was talking about.  He looked at my CD and MD decks, along with the MP3 player hooked into the set.  "I do everything from laptops.  (Maybe I am "old school".  I remember when "laptops" were dances that you didn't talk about in public.)  "Laptops are much better", he said.  I replied, "If I'm not mistaken, digital is digital is digital, and what you have isn't any better than what I have."  He went on to tell me how it was better to run from laptops and how much nicer it was, but couldn't really give me a reason why.

I think he finally realized that it he didn't want to debate this with me, because there was no evidence that his digital music was better than my digital music.  We had the same music, same quality...digital is digital is digital.

During the dollar dance, I went over to see "Junior".  His two laptops were sitting next to a mixer, next to an amplifier, all spread across the table.  It looked cluttered and unprofessional, wires hanging everywhere.  The sound was good, but the look was very poor. 

I'm not a computer geek by any means, but I believe that constant movement of computers, even laptops will eventually cause problems.  And what heppens if one or both laptops crash?  I asked him those questions.  He danced and skirted but didn't really have answers.

Interestingly enough, the next week, while DJing a wedding at Cambridge Place in Toledo, a former bride called me on my cell phone and said that she was a guest at a wedding at Stranahan Hall in Toledo.  She said that the DJ who was there, (I'll keep the name to myself) was not playing.  He couldn't get his computers to work.  She asked me if I knew of anyone who could come play the reception.  Apparently, the bride and groom had arrived to none of the usual fanfare, there was no music.  It was getting ugly.  No, it wasn't the same DJ I ran into at Grafton Hall, but it answered my question about computer crashes (and glitches) and what those "guys" do when their perfect little world flass apart.

I think that we may be old school, but our music sounds great and seems easier to find from pre-programmed CDs.  When I started DJing, we were still spinning vinyl.  Then came the advent of cassette tapes, then CDs and MDs.  We use MP3 players primarioy as a back up system to the CDs, but until someone can show me a reason why laptops are better, I think we'll primarily use CDs for our music.