Dave
Staff member
In 1992 I was working at Red Lobster. A guy came in and sat down at my bar and ordered a Jack & Coke tall, asking that I add a lime. I joked that he could have ordered a Cuba Libre tall and gotten the whole thing and that set us off to talking about just general stuff. He cracked a couple of jokes and my expense and I immediately fired back at him. He then asked me if I liked music and I said yes. He asked me several questions about music - name a couple Frank Sinatra songs, who were the Beatles, etc. I didn't think anything of this because, well, that's what people at bars do. But this guy had different reasons.
"Dave, " he asked, "have you ever thought about being a DJ?"
I had. Of course, I was thinking more like a radio DJ but it turns out he was talking about becoming a wedding DJ. Again, I had never thought of doing anything like that but maybe it could be a stepping stone, right? Not knowing, of course, that the two skill sets were totally different.
Anyway, I said yes. The next Saturday night I was out on a gig with him as a trainee. I loved it. Sure, the hauling in of the equipment sucked ass and I got to hear a lot of terrible music, but the fact that I was getting paid to dance around like an idiot, play awesome music and have fun. Plus, I took seriously the fact that these folks were relying on me and trusting me to entertain the guests, read the crowd and make it a memorable party and celebration.
Yes, there were bad times. Such as hearing the chicken dance about a million times, the Achy Breaky Heart phase and drunk idiots who want me to play crap like Jethro Tull (nothing against Tull, it's just impossible to dance to so I won't play it). In my time as a DJ I only had to call security once, one gig was shut down early because of a fight and I once had my car vandalized. (On the car vandalizing...I probably earned it. It is a long story but I fucked up BAD!)
Saturday night was my last gig ever. I had met with the bride & groom twice and got to know them pretty well as people and not just clients. They were aware that this was my last gig and we all anticipated a killer party.
The night was amazing. There was an energy that's indescribable. This was truly a celebration and everyone was having a good time. With about 1/2 hour left I cued up the final two songs, got on the mic and announced that we had time for about 4 requests. I let everyone know that no song was out of bounds - as long as it was a good song I'd play it. "This is your party, let's go out with a bang!"
The first song was "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and the place went nuts. Singing at the top of their lungs and getting into it. The next song was "Shook Me All Night Long" and I called for all the air guitar they could find. The groomsmen all got in the center of the dance floor and were shredding the air guitar - it was great!
Then it happened.
I still don't know whether it was a slip on beer or if it was simply a misstep from a radical dance move, but one of the guests - a tall bald man - fell to the floor, hitting his head and hitting it hard on the floor. This happened right in front of me and I was looking right at him. When his head rebounded off the floor all I could see was the crack in the back of his head and the blood flying out in a fan of red. I immediately ran to the bar and grabbed several clean rags, using these to compress the wound. The guy's wife was an EMT so she took over. The groom is an Omaha police officer, so the guests were cops, EMTs, etc. They got directly to the dispatch and rescue crews arrived soon after. They picked him up to put him on the gurney and the movement made him puke. It was at LEAST a concussion.
The place was very quiet, people were milling around talking and a pall had fallen over the place.
Remember when I said I had the last song already set up & ready to go? I hit play.
[/SPOILER]
The whole place stopped, turned and looked at me. Then they started laughing. The injured guy even gave me a thumbs-up.
Then I stayed about another 1/2 hour or so playing upbeat music low in the background while the crowd just kind of shuffled out. Then I shut the power off, packed up and went home.
"Dave, " he asked, "have you ever thought about being a DJ?"
I had. Of course, I was thinking more like a radio DJ but it turns out he was talking about becoming a wedding DJ. Again, I had never thought of doing anything like that but maybe it could be a stepping stone, right? Not knowing, of course, that the two skill sets were totally different.
Anyway, I said yes. The next Saturday night I was out on a gig with him as a trainee. I loved it. Sure, the hauling in of the equipment sucked ass and I got to hear a lot of terrible music, but the fact that I was getting paid to dance around like an idiot, play awesome music and have fun. Plus, I took seriously the fact that these folks were relying on me and trusting me to entertain the guests, read the crowd and make it a memorable party and celebration.
Yes, there were bad times. Such as hearing the chicken dance about a million times, the Achy Breaky Heart phase and drunk idiots who want me to play crap like Jethro Tull (nothing against Tull, it's just impossible to dance to so I won't play it). In my time as a DJ I only had to call security once, one gig was shut down early because of a fight and I once had my car vandalized. (On the car vandalizing...I probably earned it. It is a long story but I fucked up BAD!)
Saturday night was my last gig ever. I had met with the bride & groom twice and got to know them pretty well as people and not just clients. They were aware that this was my last gig and we all anticipated a killer party.
The night was amazing. There was an energy that's indescribable. This was truly a celebration and everyone was having a good time. With about 1/2 hour left I cued up the final two songs, got on the mic and announced that we had time for about 4 requests. I let everyone know that no song was out of bounds - as long as it was a good song I'd play it. "This is your party, let's go out with a bang!"
The first song was "Pour Some Sugar on Me" and the place went nuts. Singing at the top of their lungs and getting into it. The next song was "Shook Me All Night Long" and I called for all the air guitar they could find. The groomsmen all got in the center of the dance floor and were shredding the air guitar - it was great!
Then it happened.
I still don't know whether it was a slip on beer or if it was simply a misstep from a radical dance move, but one of the guests - a tall bald man - fell to the floor, hitting his head and hitting it hard on the floor. This happened right in front of me and I was looking right at him. When his head rebounded off the floor all I could see was the crack in the back of his head and the blood flying out in a fan of red. I immediately ran to the bar and grabbed several clean rags, using these to compress the wound. The guy's wife was an EMT so she took over. The groom is an Omaha police officer, so the guests were cops, EMTs, etc. They got directly to the dispatch and rescue crews arrived soon after. They picked him up to put him on the gurney and the movement made him puke. It was at LEAST a concussion.
The place was very quiet, people were milling around talking and a pall had fallen over the place.
Remember when I said I had the last song already set up & ready to go? I hit play.
[/SPOILER]
The whole place stopped, turned and looked at me. Then they started laughing. The injured guy even gave me a thumbs-up.
Then I stayed about another 1/2 hour or so playing upbeat music low in the background while the crowd just kind of shuffled out. Then I shut the power off, packed up and went home.
