oops, failed again!

Well, I've failed again to keep you posted! Oh well what can I say? I'm a DJ because I love to help people make their events awesome, not because I love to push keyboards around! Anyway, I've been up to quite a bit. I've sold my gear, and bought new gear! Basically, I have gone from a Kia to a BMW. While I wont put you to sleep talking about specs and equipment--I will say that I'm able to make your event sound better than before? Was this necessary? Maybe not. Will it put me in a different level of DJ? I like to think so.

Besides selling and buying, you know I've rocked out some receptions, school events, and a bunch of other stuff. I'll post some pics so you can see the continued effort to provide not only the best sound I can offer, but to also enhance the beauty of an event with my set up. As you can problibly tell, I put a lot of stock in my presentation, and feel that is one of the major things that sets up apart from other DJ's. It's important to offer that little bit of extra...and even more impressive when I offer it for free. (the light up facade is the free part, not the lights!)

And lastly, we are getting close to my first wedding expo. This will be my chance to compete witht the big boys sort to speak and I can't wait. I'm feeling quite confident that I will be able to stake my claim among the elite DJ's in the Eastern Shore, Baltimore, and even up and down the east coast. January 3, 2010 is the date. Google: Delmarva bridal showcase and you should have no problems finding it. Along with me, you can find everything possible to make your wedding the wedding of your dreams. Enjoy the pics, and I'll be chatting you up shortly.

An old friend's wedding

Thursday I had the chance to DJ for an old baseball buddy of mine. Tony, and his wife Jen, were married at the Swan Harbor Farm in Havre De Grace, MD. It was a wonderful, beautiful day that turned into a rockin evening! They opted for the ceremony sound system, and all was heard crystal clear because I was able to provide the minister with the lapel Mic! The evening was the perfectly blend of formal and party as we were able to get the lights cranked up after dinner! We partied until they kicked us out and I'm sure there was more partying going on elsewhere afterward! It sure was great to see an old friend and help make his wedding day memorable. Sorry, I forgot my camera so I did not get pictures from the event. But don't worry--they would have been awesome!

Justin

Burrough's Wedding

Well, rocked another wedding last night. Tessa and Matthew had their reception at the lighthouse sound. Went 'till 11 PM strong and everybody had a great time. My buddy Sam Ellis was there taking pictures as well as Will Vickers on video. It's always fun working with professionals you know. Although, Sam made me die a little bit inside as he could not help but make fun of me. Oh well, he's just jealous of my head full of hair! I don't need to bother to put sun block on my dome! Check out the party fun with the image provided by Sam Ellis photography

Cunningham-Gordon Wedding

It was a great weekend! I only had one wedding to be at, and it was on Saturday for Pat and Lindsey. We had a great night. This one was more of a relaxed affair but that doesn't mean we did not sneak a little bit of fun in! Here we have two pictures form the evening. You can see my light show in action as the bride leads the way, and in the other we see the very popular Cha Cha slide. We all had a lot of fun. My wonderful wife provided photography via Darlingimagery.com. Feel free to check out her work...and the Gordon Wedding to see what I mean.

Until Next time, have a good one!

I promise to blog more...Really!

Well, as August ends I find myself in the home stretch for the year. I have really been bad with blogging, Twittering, and all the social stuff. I will make a pact with you that I will blog at least once a week...after each and every gig. I'll tell ya about it and provide pictures. Hopefully those who stumble amongst my site will enjoy keeping up with me. Till then, I'll talk to you Monday, Aug. 31! I'll leave ya with something to smile at. My little one is starting to feed herself. Well, she puts a handful of mush up and hopes for the best. So here she is!

Light set up

A little background: I recently lost a prom because I did not have pictures of a light show. My competition did...whom I know and actually have a great deal of respect for. I actually had the same lights, just no pictures or video clips as he had. Well, it wasn't good enough to simply post pictures of the lights I currently had--I had to buy more! With my wife's blessing; and by blessing I mean her rolling her eyes and me justifying it with the tried and true: "you gotta spend money to make money", I set out to totally revamp my light set. I am proud to offer a top of the line lighting show. I have not seen anything around here that would compare to it. What the picture shows is a one of a kind custom table surround, light truss cranked to project the lights overhead along with various special effect lighting which I will talk all about should you want me to! To top it off, we add haze. That's haze NOT FOG! Fog will set off smoke detectors and are generally not allowed into most venues. Haze is a smaller mist particle that is not really noticeable in the air, but as you can see, reacts well to lights! Please do not be frightened of these lights if you are thinking about adding them to your wedding as this is a rockin' dance party for a middle school. We have wash lights that we would use to accommodate your wedding or other event, and we would hold off until the dancing portion to really step up the light show. Of course, this is all customizable to your taste.

Trust your professionals

You've spent months planning. You've spent plenty of money to find the perfect vendors. You've dreamed of this day your entire life....Trust us!

I recently did a wedding where the bride and groom gave me four cd's and told me to "just play these ne after the other". They were numbered accordingly. The problem with this? Songs that are good to listen to in the car, perhaps when working out, do not translate well to Wedding receptions sometimes. Pantara at a wedding? Ozzy too?

Well, I pride myself on giving the customer what they desire, so after we chatted they told me under no circumstances should I play any songs not on their CD. Well, after dinner when dancing was supposed to start what happened? Well, nothing. The music was abrasive, crude, and simply put-not very good.

Now, it is not my style to complain about a customer. I am simply using this as an example. True wedding professionals know what they are doing. Feel free to make suggestions and tell me your favorite songs and or types of music. Also, tell us what you do not like. Then allow us to worry about the entertainment--you just worry about having a blast at your wedding!

Where's the priority?

I've been in this business now for a solid five years. I've paid dues and learned the correct way to provide for my clients the very best in entertainment.

That said, I've noticed more and more that with the internet comes an entire new world for wedding vendors, and ultimately, clients. So many people claim to be experts that, if it were not for the brides they swindle, would be considered funny. I like to think that my energies and priorities go into my customer's event. I've seen to many times the priority of many internet businesses go directly into getting the name on the dotted line. Numerous times I have heard and or seen beautiful websites, really eye catching promotional material, and so forth crop up. Google adds, Yahoo searches and such are tools of the trade now. Sadly, a good position in a Google search does not mean anything in reality to how good your particular vendor is. Likewise, a fancy wed site means only that somebody hired a professional to construct a little bit of eye candy (Think smoke and mirrors.)
My point is this: Go after the vendor who puts their energy into your event. Ask around. Ask for a past bride to call and chat with. Did they like your vendor? Also, ask around the local vendors where you will be getting married. What is their opinion? I do a lot of weddings where the client will be coming from out of town and trust their entire day to a vendor they have only interacted with online. What's their reputation?

I find that my qualities arise from dedicating myself to my clients AFTER the check has cleared. I am A DJ and only a DJ. I will not offer photography, flowers, ministers, limo's, and or any other vendor service. It is not my goal to send out 5 DJ's and skim from the top. It is simply my goal to provide outstanding services to my clients. I will gladly give you names and numbers of past clients to ask about me. I am confident that the staff where I have played would speak very highly of me. I am not a one stop shop. Let me show you the difference between a fully equipped independent DJ against the company that uses an assembly line approach. From start to finish, it's just me!

That DJ Guy changes his name

So a little back round- I was adopted at the age of 8 after my mother passed. My aunt and uncle took me in under their name which was Dickerson. My wife's father had three daughters and after a night of beer drinking and pool playing with him I learned that he had always wanted a son to carry on his name.

That got me thinking-why not take my wife's name? Now, that's not to say that my aunt and uncle's last name did not mean anything to me. Just, My uncle has a biological son that will carry on his namesake. After discussing it with my wife and my uncle (adopted father...I know, it's confusing) I told my father in law of my intentions on my bachelor party night. He accepted and that was that. It has taken me two years to go through the legal work and jump through all the hoops necessary to make it legal. Anyway, My legal name is that of my in laws--Darling. More specific, that's Justin Flair Darling. So there ya have it!

This crazy economy

I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this economy has us all tightening our belts. As an independent DJ, I am able offer prices that appeal to even the most modest of budgets. The entertainment you chose for your event is crucial to the success of that event. I am sure you can find a cheaper, cut rate DJ than I. I am also sure that these DJs are not going to offer the professionalism and know how that an event demands. I am committed to offering you a fair price for professional service. In these difficult times, we can all use a welcomed distraction for a few hours. Don't let that chance to cut loose turn into more stress because of a cut rate, weekend warrior DJ who is both ill prepared and not interested in your event. This is what I do. This is how I make a living. Let me prove to you that you can have quality entertainment for your function while keeping your bottom line in sight at the same time. Please give me a call and together we can develop the perfect entertainment package for your needs.

That DJ Guy
Justin Darling

That DJ Guy Justin

Welcome to my site!

I am a full service, independent professional Disc Jockey specializing in providing a custom musical experience for your event. Please take a moment to look around and educate yourself about my services as well as my business practices.

Thank you so much for your time.