BeerFunk
29-04-2007, 03:03 AM
Well, what a night it's been... my first wedding. I normally don't take them on, as they are a full day's work, and I only have a small rig (which isn't all that 'classy' looking, which I believe you need for a wedding).
Anyway, this couple were let down by a friend who was going to do it for them, the less said about that, the better. So I agreed to do it, after having a look at the function room. Very small, so a smart, compact setup required. There was some sort of serving bar that I set up behind, and I managed to set up a T-bar behind it too, but it was very tight and not at all comfortable for me as I later found out :(
I managed to have everything neat, discreet and compact - which was the aim. Actually, when I got there later ready to start, I heard someone say "oh, there's a DJ on tonight" :rolleyes:
So I was set up for 3, and arrived back at 7, which was my start time. I was actually running a bit late, so skipped eating before I left, only to find out everyone else was still eating when I got there! :mad: I had to hang around until quarter past 8. I think this is quite a common thing to happen at weddings though? So, onwards with the first dance, 'Lonestar - Amazed'. I didn't have it that loud, as the bride had specified that beforehand (not for the first dance, for the whole night), I was a little annoyed as I could hear a lot of the guests talking away and not paying attention, which I considered to be a bit rude.
Once I got going, I had mixed results, although there was some excellent jiving action when I played a few rock 'n roll tracks! ;) As I was going to be playing nearly 5 hours, I thought I'd pace it a bit, rather than playing back to back floorfillers. There was only about 15 (of the 64 guests that attended) people who were going to dance at this point, and generally only got up for the odd song here or there. Again, not a concern, as they and I had all night.
Then - disaster! A power cut, at around half past 10 :( Well, I say power cut, but it wasn't quite as simple as that. Everything tripped for a second - lights and sound system, plus all the house lights etc. Then I noticed all the house lights were dimmed, despite not being connected to a dimmer switch. As for my equipment, the lighting units powered back on, but the lamps wouldn't light. My first thought was that the lamps were blown, but I decided to evaluate the rest of the equipment first. The 2 CD decks powered back on without a problem, as did the amp. However, the mixer powered on, but nothing was functioning.
At this point I was extremely worried - I hadn't brought a spare with me! I didn't panic though, I knew I had time as everyone was aware that the power wasn't right. The streetlights outside were out, so it was obvious it wasn't just this venue. As I said before, I tried the lights, but nothing. So I switched them off at the wall, because if the power was fully restored at that point, the lights would go back on and people would expect me to continue - but I had a mixer crisis! It then occured to me that because the mixer uses a lot of digital circuitry, any power supply fed into it which isn't exactly right would result in the mixer not working.
At this point, one of the locals, Jimmy, had his accordean out - which was incredibly lucky as it kept things going. He was very good too, I might add! By the time he was finished (he couldn't play all night!), I had forged out a temporary solution. I connected one of the CD players directly to the amp, and left a CD to play. I had to pick a good one though, as I had to keep CD changes to a minimum. It turned out that this was to be the way things would be for the rest of the night, as the power didn't go back on until half past 1. Unfortunately, I was getting requests from people, but I stuck to the ones which were worthwhile, and generally ignored the ones coming from the kids! ;)
The strange thing is, that I could get full whack out of the amp, yet the lamps in the lighting units wouldn't even light :confused: Despite having all the volume available to me, I decided to keep it fairly background for the time being, as it was a dark room now, and obviously no disco lights.
To be honest, I was mind-numbingly bored until 1, as I was basically selecting CDs which had a decent run of good tracks, and just monitoring.
However, the bride and groom were happy, and thanked me, and the best man informed me that it wasn't my fault :rolleyes:
So... very stressful, but at the end of the day I did my best and everyone was as happy as the cirumstances would permit! You can only play with the cards you are dealt ;)
Anyway, this couple were let down by a friend who was going to do it for them, the less said about that, the better. So I agreed to do it, after having a look at the function room. Very small, so a smart, compact setup required. There was some sort of serving bar that I set up behind, and I managed to set up a T-bar behind it too, but it was very tight and not at all comfortable for me as I later found out :(
I managed to have everything neat, discreet and compact - which was the aim. Actually, when I got there later ready to start, I heard someone say "oh, there's a DJ on tonight" :rolleyes:
So I was set up for 3, and arrived back at 7, which was my start time. I was actually running a bit late, so skipped eating before I left, only to find out everyone else was still eating when I got there! :mad: I had to hang around until quarter past 8. I think this is quite a common thing to happen at weddings though? So, onwards with the first dance, 'Lonestar - Amazed'. I didn't have it that loud, as the bride had specified that beforehand (not for the first dance, for the whole night), I was a little annoyed as I could hear a lot of the guests talking away and not paying attention, which I considered to be a bit rude.
Once I got going, I had mixed results, although there was some excellent jiving action when I played a few rock 'n roll tracks! ;) As I was going to be playing nearly 5 hours, I thought I'd pace it a bit, rather than playing back to back floorfillers. There was only about 15 (of the 64 guests that attended) people who were going to dance at this point, and generally only got up for the odd song here or there. Again, not a concern, as they and I had all night.
Then - disaster! A power cut, at around half past 10 :( Well, I say power cut, but it wasn't quite as simple as that. Everything tripped for a second - lights and sound system, plus all the house lights etc. Then I noticed all the house lights were dimmed, despite not being connected to a dimmer switch. As for my equipment, the lighting units powered back on, but the lamps wouldn't light. My first thought was that the lamps were blown, but I decided to evaluate the rest of the equipment first. The 2 CD decks powered back on without a problem, as did the amp. However, the mixer powered on, but nothing was functioning.
At this point I was extremely worried - I hadn't brought a spare with me! I didn't panic though, I knew I had time as everyone was aware that the power wasn't right. The streetlights outside were out, so it was obvious it wasn't just this venue. As I said before, I tried the lights, but nothing. So I switched them off at the wall, because if the power was fully restored at that point, the lights would go back on and people would expect me to continue - but I had a mixer crisis! It then occured to me that because the mixer uses a lot of digital circuitry, any power supply fed into it which isn't exactly right would result in the mixer not working.
At this point, one of the locals, Jimmy, had his accordean out - which was incredibly lucky as it kept things going. He was very good too, I might add! By the time he was finished (he couldn't play all night!), I had forged out a temporary solution. I connected one of the CD players directly to the amp, and left a CD to play. I had to pick a good one though, as I had to keep CD changes to a minimum. It turned out that this was to be the way things would be for the rest of the night, as the power didn't go back on until half past 1. Unfortunately, I was getting requests from people, but I stuck to the ones which were worthwhile, and generally ignored the ones coming from the kids! ;)
The strange thing is, that I could get full whack out of the amp, yet the lamps in the lighting units wouldn't even light :confused: Despite having all the volume available to me, I decided to keep it fairly background for the time being, as it was a dark room now, and obviously no disco lights.
To be honest, I was mind-numbingly bored until 1, as I was basically selecting CDs which had a decent run of good tracks, and just monitoring.
However, the bride and groom were happy, and thanked me, and the best man informed me that it wasn't my fault :rolleyes:
So... very stressful, but at the end of the day I did my best and everyone was as happy as the cirumstances would permit! You can only play with the cards you are dealt ;)