Tag: event planning tips

BLOGS How a Good DJ Reads the Entire Room

May 23, 2022
How a Good DJ Reads the Entire Room
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Reading the room is one of the most important things you can do as a musician and as a DJ. Whether you’re there for a wedding or a birthday party, the hosts have spent their hard-earned money on you, and it’s up to you to deliver a memorable experience!

Remember — you’re not there just to play songs. You’re a multifaceted entertainer whose job transcends having to crank a few tunes to get the crowd going. As a performer, you need to understand an encompassing range of elements in order to read a room and gauge whether you’re doing a successful job or not.

In this blog, we’ll take a look at what said elements go into reading the room so you can be the best performer possible!

Doing Due Diligence

As with most professions, doing your due diligence will only serve you better in your endeavors, especially as a DJ. As you prepare for your upcoming gig, you want to be as observant as possible about your upcoming situation.

Where is your next gig going to be? Is it family-oriented? College-themed? Factor in as many key demographic details as possible, so you can easily tailor a set around the people in attendance.

Communicate with the Client

Another important step in reading the room is the hired DJ communicating with the client. Hosts and DJs should meet (ideally several times) to hash out all details and ensure smooth sailing during their big events. Some ideas to potentially discuss between host and DJ include song selection, a “do not” playlist, and demographic information for the upcoming event. 

It can be challenging to curate content for an event when demographics are so widely encompassing. To entertain the 4-year-old all the way to the 90-year-old at the party requires an attentive and hyper-observant eye and ear to the dance floor. Discussing with the client to ensure the meeting of all guest needs will save a lot of time and demonstrate one’s commitment to putting on a great performance for all.

On top of that, shaping a schedule with the client is imperative to an event’s success. Appropriately timing slow dance numbers, energetic songs (and maintaining that tempo!), and segueing out for other festivities like cake-cutting and speeches will allow for a seamless event free of hiccups and other distractions.

Take Note of Body Language

The ultimate rule of thumb in reading any room — body language! There is absolutely nothing more important than body language.

Are people bobbing their heads to your curated soundtrack? Are they full-on dancing and getting down to the grooves you’re laying down? Or are they just standing around — meandering on their phones, waiting for the next track to come…

On top of that, your interjections play a crucial role, so know your personality type. If you’re a funnyman, use that to your advantage — but know your audience before making any wisecrack remarks! If you’re witty or energetic, use that to pump the crowd up if you enter a lull. People do get fatigued from dancing all night, after all.

Look for “Party Starters”

Yes, like the classic Will Smith track — keep an eye out for what we refer to as “party starters.” These are the high-energy individuals on the dance floor, who seemingly have their finger on the pulse of the room and can have other attendees eating out of the palm of their hands.

Party starters are an important guidepost for your performance. If they can get down to what you’re playing, then they’ll undoubtedly shepherd other partygoers to the dance floor. So if you’re struggling to read the room, pinpoint these individuals and you’ll be golden!

Everlasting Productions’ Commitment to Quality

If you’re looking for a team of seasoned DJs that have no problem reading the room, look no further than Everlasting Productions! Our expert DJs have spent years reading the room, perfecting their sounds, and cultivating their techniques. 

With our multiple services offered, we promise the highest quality delivered for all of our clients. So if you’re looking to have some spectacular sounds for your next event, visit our website and contact us today!

BLOGS How Your DJ Can Make or Break Your Party

May 9, 2022
How Your DJ Can Make or Break Your Party
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Every party needs a good DJ curating the soundtrack and being aware of the dynamic, ever-changing environment they’re in. In fact, ensuring client comfort and happiness are essential to the job! And despite how it looks, being a DJ is quite a demanding gig.

It’s not as easy as getting up there and pushing a few buttons on your laptop and calling it a night — your DJ must be able to bring a lot more to the table than just playing those popular tunes throughout the night. From understanding crowd dynamics to developing charisma and a persona, this article will show you what makes a DJ great and how a DJ can make or break your party.

The Importance of a Good DJ

Not only does a good DJ play the appropriate songs for any given occasion, but they also understand the fundamentals of human communication and the party environment. They can make you laugh, fill you with joy at the opportune moment, and bring smiles to everyone’s faces.

On the other hand, a subpar DJ won’t adhere to these elements. It may be easy to “fake it till you make it” by playing the latest hits — but chances are the crowd won’t be left with any lasting memories beyond the tunes.

However, with these elements in mind, a good DJ can supercharge a party with the proper know-how. 

Understanding the Crowd and Pop Culture

Reading the room is crucial to being a good DJ! Are you at a wedding? Are you at a Sweet 16? Taking stock in what kind of environment you are in, along with the crowd demographics, will help you dictate the culture and ultimately your own actions as a DJ.

Who’s in the room? Take into consideration key elements like gender, age group, race, and ethnicity. This will come in handy as it’ll help you choose your setlist for the night. For example, if you’re playing to a group of younger people, you’ll probably want to check out what’s trending on TikTok and Spotify to get a grasp of what to play. Tokboard is a great resource to see what’s popular on the Tok in real time.

If you’re at a wedding, throwbacks are certainly a move! Throw on some of the biggest hits of yesteryear (maybe even bring along a Walkman for the aesthetic) and you’ll be golden. It also helps if you have a playlist of “safe” songs that are instantly recognizable to the majority of people. Who can’t get down to The Killers’ classics “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside?!”

Incorporating Dynamics

If there’s a DJ at a social gathering, chances are people want to turn up. Bring the energy with songs that are fast in tempo! Songs that are 170 BPM and above are good for getting the energy flowing in the room.

But, of course, people are people — and people get tired after a while. Some DJs probably won’t read the room and take this into account, but not Everlasting Productions!

A good DJ won’t have an endless barrage of noise throughout the entire party, so turn it down a notch with some slower jams once you see people filtering away from the dance floor and getting tired. Songs from 65 to 85 BPM are good.

And don’t be afraid to consider the “bathroom break.” As the night progresses, people will filter in and out of bathrooms — a good DJ will take notice of when people start disappearing for longer periods than not. At this point in the night, save all of the big banger tracks and either play some lesser known music and/or slower music. You don’t want bathroom-goers to miss out on a big moment when you’re three-quarters into the night and front-loaded the soundtrack.

Bringing the Charisma

Of course, a good DJ transcends the music. A good DJ knows how to speak to a crowd — speak their language, provide witty banter (depending on the circumstances), and listen to their audience in what they want. They also know what the crowd wants before the crowd wants it. 

This means doing your due diligence in studying your audience and your upcoming gig — that way you can cater your personal performance to them. Not doing so can create a dull, drab performance — which a crowd can sniff from a mile away.

Smile, laugh, and be able to push the envelope with your radiant personality!

What Separates Everlasting Productions From the Rest

At Everlasting Productions, we boast a selection of seasoned DJs who have been honing their crafts for years on end. All avid music listeners, our charismatic crew here incorporates a multitude of music genres and backgrounds that will spice up any special occasion you may have. But don’t just take our word for it — just listen to our happy customers!

One client described Everlasting Productions as “An Excellent DJ Service” and wrote, “It is very easy to recommend Everlasting Productions … The flow of the reception was perfect, and they definitely brought the party and atmosphere we wanted. We only heard positive feedback from our guests, and we would choose them again in an instant.”

To learn more about Everlasting Productions, please visit our website today and contact us to turn your next event up!

BLOGS Top Event Planning Tips for 2019

January 17, 2019
Top Event Planning Tips for 2019
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Source: In2Events

Event planning, no matter your experience, is a complex task that takes time, experience, dedication and creativity. As 2018 draws to a close, we thought we’d share our top event planning tips for 2019 to help you get ahead of the game.

Tip 1. Always Create an Event Brief:

Whether you are an event novice or an expert, there are some event planning staples that are vital to pin down for each and every event, no matter the size or purpose. Creating an event brief is one of them: produce a document that gives an overview of all the important information pertaining to your event, including the brand vision and overall objectives that are required to be achieved. With a strong plan and a realistic budget in place, the event planning process can begin with a clear focus.

Tip 2. Harness the Power of Data:

Data can provide powerful insights into events and provide intelligence that can shape your entire event programme. Data intelligence is key to measuring event success against objectives; creating delegate profiles to develop customised attendee experiences; analysing lead generation and sales performance and becomes a vital source of information for the planning of future events.

There are a various tools available to help event planners collect data, understanding from the offset what data you require to be collected from your event will help determine what tools are best for you to utilise.

Tip 3. Find a Venue That’s the Perfect fit:

Selecting a venue is one of the most important decisions in the event planning process and can influence so many other elements of your event plans and budget. Providing key information and asking the right questions is a must when liaising with venues and can help determine if a venue is a good fit for your event. To avoid any nasty surprises, it’s also advisable to visit venue options yourself to see the location and view the facilities first-hand.

Tip 4. Promote Your Event Effectively:

Get your event noticed with a well-thought-out event marketing strategy. Creating awareness of your event and engaging with your target audience before, during and after your event is a sure-fire way of contributing to its overall success. Understand your audience and reach them through relevant channels.

Tip 5: Engaging Experiences:

Your event has to resonate with and engage your attendees and this can come down to the content and the methods of interactivity included within your programme.

Keep your audience in the forefront of your planning at all times: anticipate how they would want information delivered and by who, incorporate opportunities for delegates to participate and interact throughout the course of the event.

From booking recognisable, highly-anticipated guest speakers through to implementing event technology that can enhance delegate experiences, there are a multitude of ways to deliver an event that creates an impact and leaves a long-lasting impression.

Tip 6. Ongoing Feedback:

Feedback should be collected before, during and after an event. Listen to your audience and how they are engaging with your event marketing in the lead up to your event. During the event create touch-points for attendees to provide live feedback and after your event has ended, incentivise your guests with exclusive offerings and ask them to provide their much-needed thoughts and opinions about their experiences.

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BLOGS 14 Top Tips to Planning Successful Summer Events

May 22, 2018
14 Top Tips to Planning Successful Summer Events
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22By Arthur Backal

Source: Special Events Blog

1. Location, location, location: The summer is short, so take advantage of the season while you can. Be sure to pick a venue that showcases stellar summer season views or has an outdoor space.

2. Save-the-date ASAP: Summer is the height of travel season. With so many of your guests planning trips during the summer months, you want to send out your save-the-dates ASAP.

3. Don’t underestimate invitations: Invitations are your first chance to grab guests’ attention and get them excited about the big day. Unusual invitations are perfect if you’re looking to create a memorable summer party, but stay true to the theme of your event as it’ll give guests a taste of what to expect.

4. Use clever themes: Whether you’re creating a fully themed summer extravaganza or a more low-key dinner, the most successful events always make clever use of the key messages of the host’s brand. Think about colored lighting to complement a brand identity or creative touches that nod to key messages.

5. Don’t underestimate the power of color: For spring and summer, the bright color trend continues with yellows mixed with other vibrant colors, such as hot pinks, oranges, and purples. For the rustic craze, white goes perfectly, as well as muted pinks, pale blues, and pastel yellows.

6. Keep guests cool and talk with building management about air conditioning: To ensure a happy crowd, be sure to discuss air conditioning with the venue staff when planning an indoor event during the summer. Generally venues will have constant air conditioning, but when large crowds are coming together in a smaller space, the last thing the guests should be is uncomfortable or sweaty while reveling and networking. Be sure to discuss this beforehand.

7. Plan labor around weather: For events that involve a lot of production and setup, it is wise to look at the weather for load in and load out times during the summer season. Setting up in 100 F-plus-degree heat for hours will be exhausting for event staff and the process may take longer. Be sure to speak with the venue to see if it’s possible to set-up in the morning or evening hours when it is cooler to ensure a speedy process and not to worry about heat exhaustion.

8. Choose menu items wisely: Provide lighter, non-creamy fare for your cocktail party stations and your meal, to reduce the risk of spoilage. Summer menu items of cold, refreshing veggies, cold seafood, mango skewers and gazpacho shots are far more palatable in hot weather than heavier, cream-sauce dishes … and they’re often less expensive. Also, healthy items will be a big hit as many of the event revelers will be conscious of their beach-season bodies!

9. Add frozen drinks and boozy ice pops to your bar menu: For your guests’ comfort and enjoyment, get creative with the ever-popular boozy ice pops!

10. Stay cool with infused ice: An easy and tasty way to cool off in the hot summer months. Infused ice is so versatile, as citrus fruits, berries, and even herbs can be used to dress up and flavor your favorite drinks or cocktails.

11. Visit your local greenmarket and plan your menu around what’s seasonal and local: This tip works for any season, particularly in the summer months. Build vibrant, colorful salads or crudité platters around what has been seasonally harvested. Crafting dishes based on what looks and tastes fresh that day will help you get creative. (At left, Apella, the event space at Alexandria Center in New York, overseen by Backal.)

12. Build charcuterie and cheese boards: An Instagram-worthy appetizer can be simple and fun to assemble. Be sure to experiment and make your boards diverse with an assortment of cheeses (fresh, soft, firm) to go along with either smoky sausages, cured salami or aged prosciutto di parma. Make sure to include other accompaniments to offer your guests a variety of fun, paired samplings off of the board. Examples include: jellies or jams, honey, olives, peppers or pickles. Don’t forget to add bread and/or crostini and crackers!

13. Seek out ceviches: A refreshing summer starter dish, and the perfect excuse to also try Tip #11 and use local, seasonal ingredients! This fresh app can be light and filling and can satisfy a multitude of flavor palettes, play around with your ingredients! For a kick, we recommend to use Fresno chiles.

14. Set guest’s expectations: Have a good idea of who you will be inviting to the event and the mix of your guests. It’s important to clearly communicate to guests the event details including type of event, attire, guest restrictions, event timing, logistical details, etc., to ensure that all guests are party-ready.

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BLOGS 9 Biggest Mistakes You Make Planning a Summer Party

April 24, 2018
9 Biggest Mistakes You Make Planning a Summer Party
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By Natalie Gontcharova

Source: Good Housekeeping

Skimping on food isn’t the only rookie error our experts often see.

We’re not saying hosting a patio party is rocket science: Grill + warm weather + friends = fun. But don’t let your get-together turn sour by making these common missteps.

1. Considering neighbors “out of sight, out of mind.”
Invite the Smiths one door down. Even if they don’t show up, it’s friendly gesture —and might keep trouble at bay.

“Inviting your neighbors is the nice way of warning them without actually warning them,” says Helah Kehati, founder and president of the event planning company JPO Concepts. “Leave them your cell phone number, too. It’s courteous to offer a direct way of getting in touch with you if they’re bothered by any noise — and might discourage them from calling the police instead.”

2. Hosting a game of musical chairs.
Don’t assume that people are fine with standing. “If your party is longer than two hours, you should have seating for at least 80% of the guests,” says Kehati. Move indoor seating outside when you can, and borrow folding chairs from friends.

3. Leaving extension cords where guests might trip.
Place cords around high-traffic areas, or get metal-shaped U’s at a hardware store to clamp down cords into the grass, says Kehati. Don’t use any extension cords outside that aren’t UL-certified and marked “suitable for use with outdoor appliances,” says Rachel Rothman, Technical Director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute.

4. Running out of food or drinks.
For a typical party, plan for:
• Eight to 10 hors d’oeuvres per person
• One-and-a-half burgers, or 1/2 lb of bone-in meat (like chicken wings) per person
• 1/4 – 1/2 lb of side dishes per person
• One-and-a-half drinks per person, per hour

5. Serving food guests must sit down to eat.
“Make sure food is fork-only,” says Kehati. You don’t want guests to struggle with more than one utensil when they’re standing and mingling. So for example, if you’re serving pasta salad, do tortellini, not linguini.

6. Not timing your grilling right.
Preheat the grill at least 10 to 15 minutes before you’re ready to cook. Not sooner —otherwise you’ll waste gas, says Sharon Franke, Director of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute Kitchen Appliances and Technology Department. Start grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks about a half hour before you plan to serve them. “If you cook too soon, and keep items warm, they’re going to get too dry,” Franke says.

7. Going overboard on the booze.
People are more susceptible to alcohol when it’s hot outside, so serve lighter drinks, like sangrias, and make sure your proportions don’t tip too far in liquor’s favor, says Franke.

8. Leaving out food for too long.
You shouldn’t leave perishable food outside of the fridge for more than two hours —and cut that to one hour if it’s over 90° F outside, says Franke. Bring food out in smaller batches and replenish when necessary instead of serving everything you made all at once.

9. Forgetting a game plan for the trash.
Make sure you have at least one large garbage bag for every 10 people, says Kehati. Line trash bins with more than one bag so you can remove and replace full bags in one step.

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