Wedding Master of Ceremonies with Lou Guzzo – E97

Welcome everybody to the Wedding Songs Podcast. I am Matthew Campbell. Today we’re going to be talking about MC also known as master of ceremonies. We are lucky to have the one and only Lou Guzzo from Spectrum Entertainment and Events based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Welcome Lou. Hey, Matt.

How’s everybody doing out there? I’m so happy to be on this podcast, you know, you do a lot of great stuff with that music list of yours Thank you check it out all the time. Awesome. Thanks very much. I’ll give you that 20 bill next time I see you.

Memorable Wedding Moments

The way that we always start off is with the question What are some of the most memorable wedding moments that you’ve had in the past?

Man, I’ve been doing it since 89. So I have a ton. I’m originally from New York. So you could sense a lot of crazy stuff that was there. And then being down here in Atlanta for 18 years, I’ve seen everything from bridesmaids breaking their wrists, going for the bouquet, heart attacks, fights.

Brides met up with each other at a facility and they were told they were the only one that was supposed to be at the venue that day. They got into arguments, brides in white dresses. But the coolest memory I have actually wasn’t a wedding. It was a corporate event down here in Atlanta. We had a huge tornado that ripped through Atlanta, and we were actually doing an event at the Omni, which is right near where the Falcons play football on this hotel, and it was like 3000 people and we’re doing the crazy event.

I got two emcees with me, a DJ lighting production of a whole nine yards. We have 3000 people dancing. And all of a sudden, one of my guys turns me and goes, Did we bring a smoke machine? And I went, no, there’s no smoke machine. And all of a sudden we were told a tornado just passed through. So we went from being entertainers.

To crowd control instantaneously since I’m such a strong MC, you know, sometimes I stutter, you know, we’re able to control the room when people knew when I spoke, it was something important to say. So, that was probably the most memorable thing ever to happen at an event. Is this helping people get safety after the tornado ripped through the hotel?

Wow, that is incredible. And you know, this is a recurring theme that DJs always have to be spontaneous and handle the situation. And I think, you always have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Oh God, yes. Oh, we didn’t see it or hear it. We just saw the aftermath because we were partying and it was so loud that people were still dancing when the thing was ripping through this outside of the building. It’s amazing. Yeah. Wow. That’s definitely going to be a memorable event for everybody.

Before we go any further, can you tell everybody a little bit about your company and where you DJ weddings?

About Lou & Spectrum Events

Sure. I’m a DJ manager at SE Events, Spectrum Entertainment. I’ve been with them now going on 18 years. The owner of the company is actually Matt Osborne. I met Matt and Chris.

Chris was also an owner at one time, about 18 years ago when I just came down from New York and I actually called every company in Atlanta and every company said, I wouldn’t have enough work for you. And they were the only company that brought me in for an interview. They gave me a gig that Friday night and I’ve been working with them.

As a D.J. And then full-time with them a year later since then. What we do is we’re not just a DJ company. We’re an audio-visual company, with photo booths, videography, and video walls. If you could think we can get it that type of thing. The only thing we don’t do is we will not get you a tent. I can tell you where to go.

We will not transport you. We will not serve you food. We will not be your wedding planner and we don’t take photos at the events. We will have a photo booth, but those things are things that are not inside a box that you can almost sell. I can sell a package or a video, but photography is such an art thing.

It’s such a talent that those people have. I can’t just sell it. Hey, yeah, I got a great DJ, but photography is something that Brian has to look at and go, Ooh, I love the way that looks. We have 17 DJs on the roster. I have no 19-year-old kids. Most of our trainees come to us after they’ve worked on their own or, are over 20-something years old.

These are guys who really want to take time and work with us. We don’t have turnover. Once in a while, we’ll get guys who move on, they retire, but our guys stay with us because we take care of all the planning, take care of all those things. We give them the paperwork, take this DJ. And enjoy themselves. We supply them with equipment that they don’t have if they need it.

I’m going to just make sure it’s a fun environment for everyone to enjoy. It’s a great business to be in as a DJ. Why would you want to do anything else when you get good money? To make people dance, you know what I’m saying? We’re out of Atlanta, Georgia.

We do go up to Tennessee, Alabama, and Carolinas. We’ll do that, Florida. But only on occasions. We usually stay within a 100, 150 miles, 2-hour drive from Atlanta. That’s generally where our work is. That’s fantastic.

Training MCs & DJs

17 DJs, that’s incredible. So I have to ask what does the training process look like?

I assume you’re not hiring them on day one with no experience and then saying, Hey, go play this wedding. What does that training process look like in your company? Well, I can tell you one thing. That’s what happened to me when I was a young DJ, I went with the company. I was maybe 19 years old.

Those came out of broadcasting school. I was able to speak on a mic, but I had no clue how to do a wedding. I actually had to watch my sister’s wedding video to figure out what to say. And I had no clue what I was doing. So we make sure that I have a series of videos that I made about eight years ago and try to update as much as we possibly can, and it’s called “The Bad, the Worst and the Great”. They have three 45-minute videos of really bad DJs and what they do wrong. The really, really, really bad DJs and emcees and what they do wrong. Then the amazing emcees that I’ve known. And what they do, right? And you can see the difference in everything when you come up to this, the last video.

Then what I do is, I’ll have training with them. I mean, not just DJ training, but MC training, what to say, when to say, what you’re supposed to say, what. Not to say when you don’t have to say anything at all, you know, sometimes what makes a good MC is just not saying something just because you feel like you have to. Then it’s music, music, music, music, music.

It comes down to what are you mixing. Why are you mixing all those little details and don’t think? Oh, this is just what we do. Blah, blah, blah. Okay. It’s dinner time. No, I mean, you look like a gentleman who has some experience at his age. And do you remember the time when dinner music was that Yanni CD we all used to put on?

Or, or just Frank Sinatra in the background? That’s not the way it is anymore. And being a good DJ is someone who’s going to play that really fun music during dinner. I love it when people come up and go, Hey, this is great music and it’s just dinner time. You know that you’re prepping them and priming them to dance.

So, it takes a lot to be on our roster, really. You know, you have to shadow us a couple of times. There are a few of our DJs you have to go and shadow. And if they feel you’re good. I think that’s a really important fact for all wedding couples that are hiring DJs experience is so valuable just getting them to that point where they feel comfortable and you know, they’re going to do a good job instead of, Oh even though this wedding is only going to be 20 people, let’s send Frankie out just because he doesn’t have a lot of experience.

No, this is your reputation. Every single wedding, I remember somebody saying once, DJ, like you’re in a room with two and the in a room of 3000, you’re still going to put that same effort into performance. We get most of our leads from our facilities being on the preferred vendor list.

And if there is something wrong, they let us know, and we don’t get those phone calls that there’s something wrong because of the way that I’ve been instilling everything. This is another thing. We all know DJs, and oh, I’ve been DJing for 10 years, but they do, and this is nothing against guys who do this, trivia and karaoke jobs during the week, and they do maybe 5, 6 weddings a year.

Is that really the guy who has 10 years of wedding experience? Or is that a guy who does weddings on the side? That’s where this experience thing is hard to really look at. It comes down to this, I do 2 or 3 weddings a weekend. That’s the big difference. I do as many weddings as some guys do all year long.

It just comes down to finding that guy you feel the most comfortable with this bride.

DJ versus MC

Speaking of weddings, what would you say is the biggest difference between a wedding DJ and a wedding MC? I think I said it before knowing when not to say something a good wedding MC is not just going to be like, Hey, come on, everybody let’s dance.

It’s going to be telling them exactly what’s going on, what’s going to be happening. So they’re ready to make those things happen. There are a lot of great videos out there from a lot of great people. I don’t want to throw names. We all know those guys who do the videos. They’re all professionals. They all do great work.

Then you take what they do and you learn from them and you make it your own. So just knowing how an event runs makes a really good wedding MC. But one thing that, you know, if you’re a really good wedding MC. You don’t even need the names of the people in the bridal party, and you know exactly what you’re going to say for each person, parents of the bride and groom, parents of the bride, maid of honor, best man, how you’re going to be saying those things, and then you just add those names into it.

You don’t need to skip a script anymore. You just know exactly what has to be said. That’s being a really good MC, and then just being a wedding DJ is making people dance. There’s a lot of them out there. It doesn’t mean that they’re good MCs.

Wedding MC Tips

What tips can you give them as an emcee to get people to dance?

Oh, it’s quite simple. I love doing the simple thing of using music to your strength. The one type of music that will automatically get everybody up is not a line dance, not the cha cha slide, not the cupid shuffle, but a love song. All right, give yourselves a big round of applause.

We ask for all the happy couples to join us on the dance floor at this time. Let’s slow it down. Those people who are not dancing, who might not have danced all night long, are gonna get up and jump on the dance floor. Little things that you could say just hit the little spinal cord backward.

Ooh, we get to slow dance now. Something like that, using music. And then saying the right things to get people dancing. It’s not just popping your hands in the air and being DJ Pauly. It’s using and saying the right things with certain songs and everybody has their own stick. I’m sure you do.

Everybody’s going to be listening to it as their own shtick. It’s not wrong. It’s just that you should always watch other videos of other DJs so you can get those little thoughts of little things., Joe Bunn. He had a guy, Rob on his video.

He told Joe, he goes, I always do, the good news and the bad news. Have you ever heard him say this? Okay. So, hey, the good news is that we’re still dancing for another 35 minutes. The bad news, or he might say, the bad news is the bar is closing, but we’re still dancing for another 35 minutes, ladies and gentlemen.

So, if you got to get bad news, you always give good news to that. So, all of a sudden, you’re telling everybody, hey, the bar’s closing, but we’re still dancing. Little things like that will keep people, ooh, all right, yeah, DJ said we’re still dancing. Always tell them the stuff that you want them to hear to a point.

I totally agree because slow dances I think are an invaluable tool. During the reception, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten requests for slow songs, just because maybe Aunt Mary wants to dance with grandson Johnny or just those moments that I know everybody wants that party atmosphere, but just to create those family moments, I think those slow dances are also very important.

Well, for the anniversary dance, you have to do the anniversary dance where you get all the couples on the dance floor and you find out who’s married the longest. When we get up to those 40, 45, and 50-year marriages, everyone is around watching, applauding. It’s a great experience. It’s audience participation without doing the cha-cha slide gets everyone involved. It’s so much fun.

Importance of an MC and Wedding Coordinator

Great tip. A little bit of a controversial question, but is an MC more important than a coordinator at the reception?

Wow, man, you’re throwing me underneath this. Well, I can tell you one thing. Anytime that I work with a planner or coordinator, they’re the coach, they’re Bill Belichick.

I am the quarterback. I will wait for them to tell me to do something unless it’s someone that I’ve worked with a million times and I’ll start getting things going and they know exactly that I know their way. We have some planners that are like, it’s Lou, he’s just going to take care of it. I guess go up to him and go five minutes and then, okay, no problem.

Some planners are a little more hands-on. So it’s better to take that ego that you have, that you are a God of a DJ. Throw it away and work with that planner. ’cause you don’t know if that planner is going to be working with a $2 million bride in a year from now. And she remembers Lou is so easy to work with.

I want him to be the DJ at this event. So take that ego and if the planner goes, Hey, let’s, we gotta do this. Even if it’s not the way that you do it, do it her way or talk through it. Or just give them an idea. Hey, maybe we should do it this way. It might come out easier. And then the quarter ago. Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea because she’s taught one way you’re taught another way.

I think if you join your forces and become an ultra-Voltron. And you work together, it’ll make things easier so I don’t think that a great MC is better than a good coordinator. I think that if they work together, it just makes things run smoother and less hassle. I think the word that I love for that situation is teamwork, where you guys are working on that particular wedding.

It’s about creating the team to create the ultimate experience for the wedding couple. Yeah. Egos aside. I know that DJs have to have their egos at some point because they have to be able to command the dance floor, command the room. So that is needed. But yes, I think that creating that teamwork.

Here’s an example. Anytime a coordinator tells me, Hey, we’re going to throw the bouquet. The first thing I ask them is where’s the photographer and where’s the videographer? Oh, I got to go get them. Well, then we could throw the bouquet. Use your experience and give her the experience of telling her, Oh, what she should be doing without telling her what she should be doing.

Cheesy Wedding MCs

Are the days of the cheesy wedding singer-type MC over like Adam Sandler?

No. Do you know why? There’s somebody for everybody. Just because you lost the bride to another DJ who’s cheaper than you. Doesn’t mean that they were your bride. If a bride’s looking for that cheesy guy who does karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursday nights, fine, let her get them. You’re going to book another bride.

If that’s not you, it’s okay. I even tell my guys, this is what you should do. Be yourself. I’m not telling them, but on a disco ball jacket, I’m not telling them to do all these things. You don’t have to wear funny hats. I mean, back in the nineties. We used to do all that stuff because that’s what people were expecting.

But now, you look the part, you act the part, and if that’s what the bride wants, heck, I could be cheesy. I have a lot of stuff in my bag if I need to be cheesy. But nine out of ten times, a bride’s just looking for a DJ who’s gonna control the event and speak on the microphone. It doesn’t mean that they want cheesy.

It’s just that those wedding DJs who just scratch usually don’t speak on the microphone. And they see that a guy who they saw as cheesy actually talks people through stuff. So they go towards that MC because the DJ that they saw at so and so’s wedding just mixed and might have been a great dance party, but nobody knew what was going on.

You could still be kind of cheesy. There are fun cheesy things that you could say. I asked for all the happy couples to join us on the dance floor. And if you don’t get a reaction, okay, now the unhappy couples. Now, is that cheesy? Yes, but it gets a laugh and I’m not, I’m not wearing a disco ball jacket.

There are a lot of cheesy things you could say, but I do not think those days and they actually I think they’re going to come back. Because now this style the way that the DJs are people are going to want fun again, they’re going to want that very interactive MC. Back in the day when we were in New York, the reason why we had a DJ and MC was why we had two people.

Because the equipment was so heavy. Yes. You needed two people to carry the gear in. So that second person would jump on the microphone and be the MC. And if you were just interactive, nobody cared because, Hey, this guy is fun. And then they would get the jackets and everything else and the props and the giveaways.

And there was a time not too long ago when nobody wanted glow sticks again. And now they’re coming back. So everything goes in a revolve, you know, everything goes and changes back to what it used to be. And eventually, I do believe the cheesy guy will come back. I just hope that I don’t have to wear some Really bad jackets.

I can tell you that much.

Great answers. Thanks for answering that. That was a little bit tricky there. Thanks for the question. That really leads to what I really want to ask.

Should DJs Be MCs

?What do you think about DJs being MCs? Do you think that all DJs should be MCs? No, if you don’t have the confidence to speak on the microphone you should never put yourself in that situation where you have to speak on the microphone.

If you need an MC, hire an MC. There are a lot of guys that I know who are emcees who work with really great DJs, even here in Atlanta. If you’re not an emcee, but you’re a great DJ, find a good, strong emcee. Work for a company where you’re going to get a great emcee. With bar and bat mitzvahs, you can’t tell me that those great DJs are also great bar mitzvah or bat mitzvah emcees.

They know what to spin, but not every DJ has to be. a good emcee. And you know, they probably can still get a lot of work just being a very basic, noninteractive emcee. Just saying the basic stuff. You don’t have to be a strong emcee to be a wedding DJ. But if you do want to become a strong emcee, find other guys.

Listen, learn. Me and you at our age, we can still learn a thing or two or remember a thing or two that we totally forgot about. That’s why I like talking to my young MCs and my young DJs and, oh, I mixed this and I said that and I go, oh my God, I totally forgot about that. And I put it back into my stick or I put it back into my rotation of music. I don’t think that you have to be an MC if you don’t want to be a DJ.

I 100 percent agree and going off of that, it reminds me of the famous Mark Twain quote, It’s best to be thought a fool, then open your mouth and prove the point. Yes. And I think that goes along with that. And hopefully for this whole interview I’m not acting, I’m not… Finding out that I’m a fool.

Hiring DJs and MCs Tips

Are there any tips that you can offer for companies that are hiring DJs to couples that are hiring DJs versus an MC or both? Companies for other guys in the business looking to hire, listen, don’t look at a, don’t look at a book for its cover. Don’t look at a guy and go, this guy’s never going to be a great DJ.

He’s never going to be a great emcee. That’s because you’re not willing to put the time in to make him a good emcee or a good DJ. You’re not giving him the resources. A lot of guys, every single weekend. I’m going to pat myself on the back right here. I’ll post about a wedding and guys will go, man, you’re the wedding, you’re the wedding king.

You know, that’s all you do is weddings. Well, I was not this good when I was 19 or 20. Or 21 or 25 or even 30. It took years of doing things wrong to learn what I had to do. Right now with clients hiring a DJ, don’t just look at a website, see the price, and hire, because it’s in your budget, you’re going to spend more money on a wedding dress because you like it.

And it’s $2,000 over your limit of what you want to pay for a venue. That’s more money than what’s going to pay. Don’t scrimp on the DJ. I ask a couple every single time I meet them on Zoom, Have you been to a wedding recently? Was it a DJ or a band? And if they say it’s a DJ, I go, Well, what did you like? And what didn’t you like about them? Nine out of ten times, he didn’t speak enough. We had no clue what was going on.

Yeah, he made people dance. That’s fine. Brides don’t care if you have the newest, coolest-looking sound gear. Brides don’t care if you have furniture if you put your stuff on a table. Brides care that their event is jumping, everyone knows what’s going on, and that they walk away and everyone had a great time.

Those other things are stuff that makes our ego feel better. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Spend that money on that gear. Buy that newest stuff. I bought a Denon Prime 4 when it was the newest thing out. Nobody had it here in Atlanta. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

I wanted to show it off. And now there are other guys who have it. I have furniture. I love the column ray speakers. I’ll have all that stuff because of my ego, that’s what I want. Still do that, but still with the brides looking for a DJ, just don’t book because of price. You might get sticker shock after you buy it. my wife bought a car for my daughter.

She spent $13,000 on the car. They loved it. Six months later, we got transmission problems and this and that and that and this, right? Later you go, Oh man, that was a bad choice. Sometimes brides when they go, well, this guy’s 100 cheaper, 200 cheaper. We’re going to go with him or he’s giving us uplighting for free.

Uplighting is not going to make your events. Yeah. Look at the reviews. If you are hiring a DJ who works with somebody else, first thing, you’re a company, you’re getting someone who works with somebody else, make sure that they’re within your budget, that you can pay that guy.

And if not, just become really good friends with him. But if he is going to work with you, just tell him, leave the ego, DJs, you know, the best thing a DJ can do is leave the ego. When you work with somebody else don’t say yes to working with that guy if you don’t think you’re going to get paid enough money.

You’re still representing somebody’s business. And we should always work with pride, you know what I’m saying? Absolutely. And going off of that, that’s why I think it’s so valuable to be checking out people’s Instagram. If you’re going to hire an emcee or a DJ, look at their social media posts.

How are they commanding the room? How are they expressing themselves on their microphone? Are they having? Confidence issues when they’re talking on the microphone, then maybe they might not be perfect for your event, or maybe they’re just enhancing their skills. They’re, they’re getting there. maybe two years, from now, they’re going to have that. , that’s why looking at social media, I think is so important.

DJ Social Media Tips

And for DJs that want to be hired, make sure your work is getting on social media, because that’s how you’re going to be relating to the, here’s another thing. I love the guys who love to take pictures of themselves, and I love the guys who just take a picture of them with the bride looking really cool behind the system, but you never see her dance floor unless it’s a Cha Cha Slide in the Cupid Shuffle.

You never see a first dance from these guys. I post the first dances. I suppose quick clips first dance. I’ll post songs that I haven’t played in a while and it’s got the crowd going crazy. I’ll post little posts about those quick little things constantly on my Facebook page and my feeds.

So people are seeing that. Brides enjoy that more than you taking a picture and looking really cool in front of your gear. It’s not about you, it’s about a pretty girl in a white dress. If I’m showing a pretty girl in a white dress doing her first dance and how everything is perfect around that, she’s going to want that.

If I’m showing that girl dancing with all her friends on the dance floor, that’s what she’s going to want. You being so cool behind the system is not making that happen. It’s that pretty girl in the white dress or whoever it might be as the couple. Absolutely. So my tip for those DJs that are listening is the best picture is of you.

Your face is in the picture, but everybody dancing behind you, that’s the picture that you want. If you’re not going to do video. But that picture just tells not only all couples, it tells Google, it tells everybody you’re a wedding DJ and you’re making that dance floor hop. Correct. I think that’s a good tip.

Good tip. Matt’s got a good one there, people.

Learning to be an MC

Is there anything that you would give as far as tips on learning to be an MC? I went to school for broadcasting. And you were taught how to speak on a microphone. I also was in the army and during basic training, we had to sing cadences and we have to be loud.

As an MC, you should listen to the way that I’m speaking right now. You should take your time and say each word so people can hear what you’re saying. I get a lot of people, you’re not from Atlanta, no, I’m from New York, you know, how you doing, all that good stuff, but take your time and, and make sure people understand what you’re saying, and sometimes you need to say it two or three times.

So everyone hears what you’re saying. Now here’s a great tip in which I heard from that guy who was on Joe Bunn. Right before you do your toasts, you get on the microphone, you get out there and you go, all right, ladies and gentlemen. I need all the side conversations.

To be lower or end at this time, because the young man or young girl who’s going to speak on the microphone may not have a voice as strong as mine. So we want to make sure that you can hear him or her. Once in a while, you get someone who goes, well, this person the DJ doesn’t know how loud I can be and you get a laugh, or you do get that person who doesn’t know how to speak on the microphone.

They’re talking like this, and you really can’t hear them, and you got that volume all the way up. Take your time and say what you have to say, but know what you’re gonna say beforehand. That’s where that practice comes in. Practice, practice, practice, practice. Even at home. Do you know how DJs will practice?

Guys will sit there, oh, I practiced two, three hours a day. How many times do you practice what you’re going to say? Because if you say something so many times, it’s just going to come right out the way you’re supposed to say it. Constantly over and over again. The muscle memory from your brain is just going to come out with that.

Ladies and gentlemen, in 5 to 10 minutes we’re going to be having our toast. Make sure that you head over to the bar and go get your drink. Fill it up at this time because we’re going to be doing our toast in 5 to 10 minutes. Head to the bar, and get your drink. Everyone knows, ooh, I gotta head to the bar and get my drink.

It just didn’t come out that way when I first said it. But it took a couple of times for me to get it right. So practice the way that you emcee. Even if you have to listen to yourself, that’s another thing. Listen to yourself. Record yourself saying something. So now when you have to hear it, close your eyes and listen.

Ah, I could have said it differently this way. I could have said it that way. Grammarly might be a great way. Take what you’re saying, And put it online, and it might come up a totally different way the way you’re supposed to say it than the way that you’re saying it, so it’s grammatically correct.

Unless you want to be a guy who sounds like he’s from New York, and then that’s the thing that the people want when they buy it. I was just going to say, I think that’s really important because what you’re really expressing is you never stop learning your craft.

Pronouncing Names

And even though you’ve been doing it for 18-plus years in Atlanta, you’re always learning, you’re always trying to get better. It’s just like pronouncing their names. I can’t tell you how many DJs will be driving to their events and you know what they’re doing? They’re practicing the pronunciation of the names because they want to make sure that they pronounce the names correctly.

Yeah, I’m dyslexic. I didn’t know until I went to broadcasting school, that I was dyslexic. So I write things phonetically. If your name is Peebles, I’m gonna write it down, Peebles. So I’m saying it peaballs instead of just seeing it and seeing it as people spelled people, but it’s people’s. That’s something that you should also do.

Here’s a good tip. Don’t be afraid to head outside and line up the bridal party. Line up the bridal party. Totally agree. Even if you get rid of their last names. Okay, it’s Mark and it’s Jenna. No, it’s Jaina. Okay, I’ll make that change. Jaina. Okay, Jaina? Jaina. So now you said it three times so it’s fresh in your mind.

Line up that bridal party. Because it will help you, one, become a better emcee, because now they know when you’re talking to them, it’s important. And two, now you know that what’s on that list that you have is what’s going to be coming through that door. So there’s a good tip. I love it because I actually heard that out on another podcast once and I’m like, when I was DJing, I should have been doing this.

That makes total sense. No brainer. So if you’re going to line up the bridal party, I’m going to give you a tip. Number two, aligning up the bridal party. Let everybody know at the event that you’re heading outside to line up the bridal party. Family and friends, I am going to be heading outside, lining up the bridal party, get your cameras ready on your phone, get ready to scream, get ready to yell, because when I come back inside, we’re doing the grand entrance.

Now people are waiting for the entrance to hit. So when you go, are you ready? They’re ready. There’s a twofer in that one. Love it. Love it. Just to close it out. Is there anything else you want to talk about emceeing or DJing or anything else? We could talk about a bazillion things if you want to.

I mean, if you want me back to talk about music, we can do that. If you want to talk about gear, we can talk about that. I just know here in Atlanta, I don’t know what it’s like in all the other parts of the nation is that we’re playing a lot of stuff that’s older. We’re not playing new stuff.

MC Confidence

That’s a lot of fun things that can happen there. As an MC, just be confident in yourself. You are your worst enemy when it comes to being an MC. Take your time and hone your craft. And I know that anybody can be an MC. You just got to believe in yourself and as a DJ. Even the best DJs train wreck.

Don’t let people know that you’re train-wrecking. Just get done with it real quick and go to the next song sometimes. How about this for, this is a tip for everybody. Sometimes it’s not you. Sometimes it’s the crowd. Sometimes you do a wedding. And you can’t get anybody to dance, or it’s just not as crazy.

And you’re doing the same stuff as you always do. Sometimes it’s not you. Sometimes it’s the crowd. That’s where that ego has to be thrown out the door because that can destroy you. A lot of young DJs. Can’t get destroyed from that one crowd. Absolutely. I remember DJing a wedding and the wedding couple came up to the booth and said, we’re going to open gifts now.

I’m like, am I really that bad of a DJ that you’re going to open gifts? Yeah. Can I open gifts? I had that once happen to me, but it was actually, I was DJing my cousin’s wedding. Oh, here’s a good one. Don’t work for people that you know. Because it’s easier to just do your job. If you know the people, you are going to try to do more.

Then actually you can do what I like working for people. I do not know because then I could just do my job. I’m not trying to do more tonight than I actually possibly can. That’s the final tip. That’s it. And they don’t expect more.

Contact Lou, SE Events

How can people contact you and find you? Well, they can check us out online at www.spectrum-ent.com for entertainment. We’re on Facebook at @seeventsatl, and Instagram at the same place. Or if they’re here in Atlanta, I bet you they can just go to that venue that they’re going to. And they can ask what’s the DJs that you want on the preferred vendor list.

And we’re probably going to be on that vendor list. if there are any DJs out there who want to talk about music, who want to talk about emceeing. My line is wide open. You might teach me something I don’t know, and I might teach you something you don’t know. It just makes us all better. I wish there was more of that community effort and just sharing ideas and there’s always something to learn. Always. Thank you again for letting me be on here tonight. It’s a lot of fun. Awesome. Thanks, everybody. Thanks, Lou.

Stay tuned for next week for another great episode of the Wedding Songs Podcast with an interview with another wedding professional. Thanks for listening and have a great day.