Summer - it turns me upside down

A few updates on what I've been up to since I've seriously been neglecting this blog:

My Brother's Wedding - My brother got married back in mid-May. Everything went really well; the bride and groom had a great time and there weren't any issues. Candid pictures of the wedding rehearsal, ceremony and reception can be seen on the wedding DJ's website here and here:

Summer IT Party - I DJ'd the summertime party at my work. I was a little nervous about doing this since it would be in front of 300+ coworkers. It went well though; people seemed to enjoy the music and they had a good time. I was a bit tense at first because it was the first time I'd spun at an outdoor party in the afternoon, and when I set up I realized that in the direct sunlight I could not see the laptop screen at all. There was a brief moment of internal panic, but then cooler heads prevailed and I found some shade to set up under and it all worked out.

Brad Paisley Concert - Jennifer had the opportunity to get cheap Brad Paisley tickets from her employer, so we went to his concert at the Sprint Center. I wasn't very familiar with any of his songs since I don't listen to country music, so that was a new experience (going to a concert and not recognizing any of the songs being played). It was fun though; Brad Paisley plays a mean electric guitar and he puts on an entertaining show. Darius Rucker opened up for him and I didn't recognize any of his country songs either, other than the 2 Hootie songs he sang and when he covered Prince's "Purple Rain."

Rev Run Celebrity DJ Set at KC Power & Light - I had seen an ad in early spring that Rev Run (from RUN DMC) was doing a free DJ set at the Power & Light one Friday at 11PM. I made a deal with Jennifer; I'll go see Brad Paisley with her if she'd go to Rev Run with me. I was excited about seeing Rev Run, but also a bit apprehensive about it as well, and here's why. Rev was not the DJ for RUN DMC; he was an MC (Jam Master Jay was the DJ). I was a bit skeptical of his DJ skills because I had seen a YouTube video of him attempting to DJ at a music festival and it looked awkward/forced. I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt though. Anyway, Sister Hazel had played a free show earlier that night at 8PM at Power & Light, so then their crowd (mostly Caucasian guys in their early 30's) cleared out by about 10:30PM and they set up the turntables and mixer for Rev Run. A guy (not Rev Run) came out and started spinning; I thought he was just the opening act and was there to check sound levels, etc. I was wrong. A few minutes later Rev Run came out (in full Adidas gear) with mic in hand and started MC'ing. He was getting the crowd involved and rapping along to the songs the DJ played, but he never actually DJ'd. He attempted once to DJ, but he couldn't get it right so he handed the headphones back to the DJ. His involvement with DJ'ing was limited to him reaching over the DJ to turn the upfader down for the turntable currently being played while he sang/rapped the lyrics to the song. The show was basically another DJ spinning songs for Rev Run, while Rev was the hype man. Don't get me wrong; it was still a really fun night and I enjoyed hearing old school hip-hop music (Slick Rick, Eric B. & Rakim, Notorious BIG, etc.) being played at Power & Light, as they primarily play just rock & country there. I was hoping to see Rev do some old school DJ tricks (beat juggling, echo/delay, etc.), but I wasn't surprised to see him just MC.


Song of the day: Brad Paisley's "Water". Yes, it's a hokey song, but it gets a pass because it's summertime.