Fall Season

The air is finally cooling down and that means its time to head back out on the dance floor! Last night I DJ'd for a Wedding at Shenandoah Mill in Old Town Gilbert. It was the first time I've been to this venue and it was very unique with a heavy country style. Overall, it was a very fun wedding, lots of dancing, laughs and cowboy hats! Congrats to Pat and Alissa!

Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss Song Suggestions

Often times in my meetings when planning for a wedding, I am greeted with blank stares when I ask if there are already songs picked out for their bouquet and garter toss. This is one of those details that people often don't think of or know where to start to find a song. So I have made a couple lists with examples of different songs that can be used. I tried to make a diverse selection of songs including new age, country, oldies, classics...you name it. I marked some of the more popular songs with a *. The best rule of thumb is to just have fun! You can also view and listen to the Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss playlists on iTunes.

Bouquet Toss

1. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

2. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) - Beyonce*

3. Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot

4. Maneater - Daryl Hall & John Oates*

5. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? - Rod Stewart*

6. Girls Just Want To Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

7. Just A Girl - No Doubt 

8. One Way Or Another - Blondie

9. Ladies' Night - Kool And The Gang*

10. She's A Lady - Tom Jones

11. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate

12. Wannabe - Spice Girls

13. You Can't Hurry Love - Phil Collins

Garter Toss

1. I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred*

2. Macho Man - Village People

3. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate

4. A little Less Conversation - Elvis Vs. Jxl*

5. Eye of the Tiger - Survivor*

6. Mission Impossible Theme Song*

7. Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins*

8. Another One Bites the Dust - Queen

9. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer

10. Hot in Herre - Nelly

11. Wild Thing - The Troggs

12. I Like it, I Love it - Time McGraw

13. I Wanna Be Bad - Willa Ford

14. Sexyback - Justin Timberlake

15. Bad to the Bone - George Thorogood

16. I Believe in a Thing Called Love - The Darkness

17. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC*

18. Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye*

19. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye

20. Are You Gonna Be My Girl - JET

My Newest Assistant

A few weeks ago I got to DJ one of my friend's wedding. And because of that, I got to bring along my newest assistant...my son! He even wore his "Little DJ" shirt with headphones on it. This was a super fun wedding that was laid back but very well put together and just easy. My friend and his wife had a special song mix they put together which started off with your typical slow song and transitioned into an upbeat one where they had a special dance planned. It was pretty fun to watch and hilarious. Definitely one of the more original things I have seen at a wedding.

DJ Obi and DJ Chunk

My dance party isn't complete without the "Y.M.C.A."...

...or a conga line?!

Tips for Building a Playlist

I get asked one of two questions for pretty much every DJ gig I do: "what kind of music do you play?" and "I like a lot of music but I'm not sure what kind of music I should play." Either way, getting the right music for the right event isn't as hard as a lot of people think it might be. There are a lot of concerns that people have ranging from "grandma doesn't like rap music" to "I want to make sure people are dancing" but there are a few tips to consider when trying to build a playlist for your wedding:

1. To be yourself, or not to be yourself- this is one of the hardest lines to walk while building a playlist. You want the music being played to represent yourself, but if you are a fan of Metallica, Green Day, Limp Biscuit (not that there really are any...) or other bands like that, then you probably don't want to add those types of songs to your playlist. Pop music may also be your least favorite type of music, but if it gets your guests moving and having a good time, the there will need to be compromises. As a suggestion, try throwing in your favorite songs that may not work for dance songs during the dinner or cocktail hour (though heavy metal probably wouldn't be too favorable at any point during a wedding, haha). Those times are more for listening entertainment rather than dancing. Songs played during that time can really set the mood for the rest up the night. To much soft background music could put your guests to sleep, while heavier music could interfere with conversation.

2. Mix it up- This is probably the best tip of all and the most important. If you want to make sure that your playlist is unique to you, this is the way to do it. For most weddings out there, ages can range from new borns to 90 year olds. You can't please everybody, but it's not a bad idea to try. And even if you are the most avid Hip-Hop/Rap fan, very few people want to listen to the same type of music the whole night long. Variety helps keep your reception fresh and exciting! Throw in the top billboard hits, some classic rock, and those oldies but goodies. Use the tactic that I use when I try and cook dinner- the more ingredients, the better! (there's a reason my wife does most of the cooking at our house).

3. Have fun- Along the lines of mixing it up, don't forget the songs that EVERYONE knows...literally, everyone. I promise, I have never bumped and danced to the Y.M.C.A. while driving in my car (mostly because that would be unsafe). But there are few DJ gigs where I haven't played that song along with others that would never find a place on the top 'coolest' billboard charts. Dancing is supposed to be fun, not cool. If it was meant to only make you look cool, then 99% of the people on any dance floor wouldn't be dancing. Your playlist doesn't need to filled with these songs (and probably shouldn't be), but have fun! Do the Y.M.C.A., the Electric Slide, the Macarena...the more corny the song is, chances are more people will know it!

4. Adjust to the night- A lot of people have the notion that their reception or party is going to be a huge dance party and people will be dancing all night long like a high school dance that has 1,000+ kids in attendance. And while an open bar and an awesome DJ (ahem) can help, this doesn't always happen. The truth is, guests like to dance for a few songs, then go get their drinks refilled or take a rest. It helps to have a DJ who can adjust. Sometimes the music needs to be reset, play a couple of more mellow songs, then come back with a song that everybody knows or likes to dance to.

So while building a playlist for your event or for your DJ, make sure you or your DJ are able to adjust and read the crowd. Don't be afraid to mix it up and dust off the classics and remember to HAVE FUN!!!



Taylor Cotter
Disc Jockey

Save This Dance
480.652.0888 | www.savethisdance@me.com
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Flash Back

So I was going through some of my old photos, and I came across a couple pictures of my first DJ gig in Arizona. I had just bought all new equipment- speakers, amp, lights, mixer, everything. And so of course I wanted to test it out. At the time I was living with a bunch of other room mates in a house that was the first built in a small neighborhood so we had zero neighbors. It was quickly decided that our house would become the inaugural site to break in the new equipment. We simply set up the equipment in the back of the garage, opened the garage door and thought we had a pretty good sized dance floor. Mass text messages were sent out and we got ready to party. It did not take long before we had the party of the year going. There was an easy 300-400 people there. Our dance floor extended out from the garage, to the drive way, to the street, and all around. It was a good thing we didn't have any neighbors! And even though we didn't, we still managed to get the cops called who showed up around midnight with a whole patrol! There were 3 cop cars, about 4-5 officers AND a helicopter. We were lucky that when they left, all we got was a written warning. But it made quite a story to my first DJ gig in Arizona!











Taylor Cotter
Disc Jockey

Save This Dance
480.652.0888 | www.savethisdance@me.com
Like Us on Facebook! | Follow Us on Twitter!

Dancing Grandma!

During the past season, I had the wonderful opportunity to DJ a dance for one of my friends, Heather. It was a very fun wedding that was held at Rockin'-R-Ranch. I've done other events ere, but this was a first time for a wedding, but it was awesome! They did a wonderful job converting one of the side lawns into a beautiful ceremony and reception. And people came to dance! The dance floor included someone who knew all the dance steps to "Bye, Bye, Bye" by NSYNC and a DANCING GRANDMA! She did not want to miss the party that was breaking out on the dance floor...see for yourself!

"Cause it ain't no lie, baby bye, bye, bye!"


Taylor Cotter
Disc Jockey

Save This Dance
480.652.0888 | www.savethisdance@me.com
Like Us on Facebook! | Follow Us on Twitter!

Halloween...and getting caught up

So everyone has New Year's resolutions, and I heard some statistic that said over two thirds of resolutions made are to loose weight. So I decided that I'm going to skip on that fad and stick to a New Year's Resolution that I can keep! More BLOGGING! So I will be getting caught up and sticking to it the next few days! And so to start, how about a little flash back to Halloween? We got to DJ a fun little Halloween Carnival which had everything from a trunk-or-treat, to a chili cook off, and a dunking booth! It was a lot of fun for all the kids there.













Batgirl could not get enough of that fog machine!