Eugene weekly., January 12, 2012, Page 13, Image 13

E W ’ S
W E D D I N G S
2 0 1 2
I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
THE INSIDE SPINS AND HARSH TRUTHS ON THE UNHERALDED ART OF BEING A WEDDING DJ
by Rick Levin
A
DJ Anonymous seconds that emotion: Be prepared.
good wedding DJ might go unnoticed,
ANDRE SIRIOS AKA DJ FOODSTAMP
First, he says, “I’ll meet with the bride and groom,
so effectively and smoothly is he keeping
just to get a feel for them.” Even at this early point,
things rolling. A bad wedding DJ, on the
Anon says, he’s trying to establish trust — trust that
other hand, will ruin your night and, at
fl ows both ways. He suggests to affi anced couples
worst, immortalize your shitty time by
that they “always meet with your DJ ahead of time,
going viral on YouTube. But a great wedding DJ can
to let them know your expectations for the day, what
make your dreams come true.
you want to hear, and also to fi gure out if they know
Enter DJ Anon, a local wedding DJ who’s been
what they’re doing.”
working the Eugene events circuit for the past couple
Trust, however, might be only a subcategory to one
years. “I’m just a music junkie is what it comes
of his strongest maxims: “Your DJ is not a glorifi ed
down to,” says Anon (short for Anonymous, not
iPod.” Anyone laboring under this assumption, Anon
his real tag). Even though he confesses to disliking
warns, is opening a can of worms — not the smallest
much of today’s pop music, he nonetheless fi nds
being that, “like anything else, there’s plenty of people
satisfaction — even pleasure — in discovering which
in this business who have no business being here.”
contemporary songs smash together seamlessly to
DJ Anon, in other words, is not simply a human
create the perfect segue.
jukebox. “I work by the hour, and spend hours
“The job is harder, and more important, than you
of unpaid prep work studying music, practicing
think,” says DJ Anon of putting together and playing
transitions, compiling ideas, because I care about
the ideal soundtrack for each snowfl ake of a wedding.
giving you a day that you’ll never forget. If I screw
“Think of the most fun you’ve ever had at a wedding
up, I am forever a stain on your wedding video.”
and then get rid of the DJ,” he proposes. “Would it
But to accomplish giving you your ideal wedding,
still have been as great?”
Anon fi rst needs you to understand a few things. “It’s
Andre Sirois, a local spin master who goes by
your day, yes, but I’m a lot better at this than you are,
the tag DJ Foodstamp, says he’s worked upwards
so relax and enjoy it,” he says, noting that, minus a
of 20 weddings, though he doesn’t consider
wedding planner, it is typically incumbent upon him
himself a wedding DJ, per se — rather, he is a DJ
to play unanointed emcee — to “move things along,
who sometimes does weddings. Unlike DJ Anon,
keep the event rolling” by getting guests seated for the
who works under the umbrella of an entertainment
big entrance, making announcements, semaphoring
contractor, Foodstamp does weddings “on a very
such crucial moments as cake cuttings, toasts and fi rst
limited basis” because he fi nds them, for the most
dances.
part, rather stressful.
Then there are the intangibles — rowdy kids,
“I respect people that do it all the time,” Sirois
meddling mothers, inebriated assholes — that must
says of wedding DJs, adding that he tends to be “more
be dealt with. “I am the one who will take the mic
picky” about the ceremonies he works. “Usually it’s a
PHOTO C OU RT E SY A N DRE S I R I O S
out of the hands of the guy who probably shouldn’t
friend, or a friend of a friend. I do weddings where I
have been giving a toast in the fi rst place,” says Anon.
The key to deejaying a wedding, Sirois says, is
think it’ll be fun, so I’m a little more selective.”
“Sometimes when I put my headphones on, it’s so your
preparation. He sets up with his own equipment, and
Nonetheless, Sirois has developed a system for making
drunk uncle will stop talking to me.”
doubles or triples up on everything — digital music backed
those select weddings he does DJ go off without a hitch.
Because of such mostly unnoticed, unremarked duties,
up by vinyl, a second DJ mixer, music sequenced on two
To get things rolling, Sirois has the bride and groom burn
DJ Anon offers a piece of post-wedding advice: Always tip
iPods. “I try to show up and have everything I need just
CDs of their favorite music — an “ultimate dance party,”
your DJ. That, and “if you really want a great dance party,
in case,” Sirois says. “These are lessons I’ve just kind of
for instance — which he listens to and analyzes. “I do a
make it an open bar.”
learned along the way. You just don’t want to fuck it up at
musical DNA,” he says. “I kind of extrapolate on what
ew
someone’s wedding.”
they give me.”
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