Names will be changed to protect the musically inclined. *Chuck the DJ was spoken to on Thursday night and received the explanation of what was expected for Saturday night. Knowing the majority of the guests were of West Indian descent, we knew that the soca and calypso had to be on point. Not to mention, the old school R&B, house and reggae had to come correct as well. The DJ was given a list from the Bride and Groom of "Most Notable Soul Songs" previous to my discussion with him. During our conversation, Chuck threw in names like Machel Montano, Allison Hinds, Michael Jackson and of course Bob Marley to name a few. Those names relaxed the tension I was feeling all week, as it reflected a glimpse into his musical tastes. However, when the mention of Buster Pointdexter’s "Hot Hot Hot" was mentioned, I felt an intervention had to take place. I sat down and burned close to 12 CD’s with the likes of Al B Sure, Gladys Knight, Buju Banton, Sparrow and such and hoped for the best. My girl and I even had a Sound Clash entertaining my brother and sister-in-law with Alyus’ "Follow Me," "I Need You" by BSVP, "Saturday Love" by Cherelle and Alexander O’Neil and "Tender Love" by Force MD’s. And the end result for Chuck the wedding DJ? As my man Darius Lovehall said, it was a "masterpiece of minimalism".
Chuck started on the good foot, with Luther Vandross and other noticeable gems playing in the background as everyone was eating dinner. I was pretty impressed with his track choices. Yet as the night went by, my whole outlook on Chuck turned into what I called The Chuckiness of the night. He started off with soca and had everyone on the dance floor. And here we thought, we are on our way! Two songs in, Chuck decides to play "You Can’t Take That Away From Me" a jazz standard. How do you possibly go from soca to jazz in the same breath? That absolutely makes no sense musically and anyone with sense could tell you that! My point is this – when does a DJ realize that they cannot play for themselves and guests know what they want? It is quite frustrating when you are told, "If there are any requests, please come up and let us know…" yet you don’t hear your requests at all. Or better yet, you hear one song, only to hear the same song AGAIN 3 tracks later. The sheer and utter frustration was not anticipated and Chuck got on my last damn nerve.
How much more can I emphasize 12 burnt CD’s that could have taken the party to another level? He actually did use a few; nonetheless there was no flow, no mixing and/or proper fading. Chuck was discombobulated and it showed. Ever had a similar experience? If so, please share. Let’s take care of The Chuckiness Effect one wedding DJ at a time.
