Entry One Hundred Eighty-One.
Wednesday, 2014.06.04, 1:51 PM CST.
"Back to the Prom" - a very special event, and my return to the world of MOBILE DJING!!!
Current Mood:  More than a little excited.
Current Scent:  Higher by Christian Dior.

For years and years, I've been doing club gigs here and there, but I've also been saying, "Someday soon, I'm going to get back into mobile DJing."

"No, really, this will be the year."

"I miss mobile DJing so much, I'm just going to start doing it again," etc., etc.

Well, this year, I decided that I was finally going to do it.  No more waiting.  I just didn't know what I would do for a "first" gig.  Well, an opportunity presented itself and I've taken it.

Meet Taylor.  She's a wonderful young lady from Chelsea, Oklahoma - very selfless, very sweet, and really an awesome person from what I've experienced in my conversations with her.

Unfortunately, she also has epilepsy and an additional disorder called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) which only complicates matters.

Well, here's the story as I understand it:  Taylor was on her high school prom committee, and they hired a DJ for the prom, and the powers-that-be at the school assured Taylor that there wouldn't be a strobe light, because stroboscopic light can set off seizures in those who are prone to them.

Well, Taylor showed up at her prom... and the DJ had a strobe light.  Taylor had a seizure.  Her friends went up to the school representatives there and asked them to have the DJ shut off the strobe light.  (There were plenty of other lights there which weren't causing issues.)

The school reps refused.

Taylor had to leave her prom.  Her friends - who apparenty are also VERY awesome - refused to stay at the prom, leaving with her to keep her company.

Taylor's mom and dad went to the school to ask the school reps to have the DJ turn off the strobe so their daughter could enjoy the prom with the other kids.  Guess what?

The school reps refused again.

According to what I've been told, they told Taylor's parents that they weren't shutting off the strobe light... after Taylor had been promised that a strobe light wouldn't even be running in the first place.

So, if you're anything like me, you're thinking:  "Wow.  Those douches."  And you know what?  You're right.  Those douches.

Well, my wife heard about this story, and she proceeded to let me know about it... and I decided to do something about it.  I got in touch with Taylor's mom and explained that if she could find a venue for a party, I would provide my DJ services, with an AWESOME light system that would be still be safe for her daughter... for no charge.  Zero.  Zilch.  Nada.

The way I saw it, Taylor and her friends deserved to be able to attend an entire prom... and I figured I could probably do a better job than whatever yahoo the school had hired for the original prom.

I also got in touch with a friend of mine - photographer Brittany Murphy - and she said that she would supply photography services for free as well!  So, a whole plan was coming together.

Taylor decided that not only would she have the party for her and her friends, but she also invited other high schoolers in the POTS/epilepsy community.  Local homeschooled students expressed interest in attending as well, since they didn't get a prom of their own.  So, Taylor opened up the party to those kids, too.

(Like I said...  Taylor seems pretty awesome.)

Then, without any request or suggestion on my part, Taylor raised the awesomeness level even FURTHER by telling her mom that she wanted a lot of the music, decorations, etc., to be 80S-THEMED!!!

And that's how we came up with "Back to the Prom."

"Back to the Prom" - which Taylor also named! - will be the first "prom" that I've DJed in over a decade.  Although I've become more and more known as a "retro DJ" in the club community, I have also held an appreciation for a lot of modern dance music.  (In the early 2000s, I really lost hope for dance music... but that's turned around.)  I have some great modern music, and I'm planning on buying quite a bit more before this event.  I'm aiming for about 50% new stuff, 50% 80s classics.  :)

And, just like usual, I will NOT be DJing from a laptop or MIDI controller.  No sync buttons.  No easy ways out.  I'll be playing this gig - even the NEW music - using REAL VINYL, with the occasional CD when I need to.

This will be pure, raw, manual mixing, "without a safety net."  Just like I like it.

The party is being held at a venue in Chelsea on June 21st.  It's going to be the biggest "mobile" event that I've done in a very long time... and I can't properly express in words how excited I am about it.

I hope to give more details soon!  This is going to be INCREDIBLE!

- Badger