» Listings for February 2010

1. Website, great books and flashing aviation.

   Posted on 11:04am Thursday 25th Feb 2010

   Hi again. I think I should be having a party. I built this website
   In June last year as I was so fed up with my previous web software. Since that time I've had over 30,000 hits. Not bad. I  set my hit counter on the home page whenever I installed it at the then total in my dashboard web stats page. I've just looked at the same result now and it's showing 59,136 hits. So either way I've had at least 30,000 and possibly a bit more. Lord knows which one is right but the important thing is that actual customers are complimenting me on the "impressive website" so it seems the hard work is paying off. If you too like the site then please leave a comment the Guestbook/feedback page. You don't have to have been a customer. Just do it if you found it helpful or entertaining.
   
   Speaking of which, I haven't got a lot to say this week about mobile deejaying or much else really. I can however recommend some of the books I've read lately. I've just done two of Ben Elton's: "Stark" About the environment (and who really pulls the strings on planet earth) when it wasn't quite such a hot topic and yet he knows his subject well. A bleak but riveting drama. Also "Meltdown" about a bunch of pretty well off friends and what happens when the financial crises hits... Toward the end of 2008 if I recall. Good story and food for thought. More time changes than "back to the future" but it works ok.
   I'm reading Richard Branson's Second book now so I'll let you know how it goes.
   
   Just got a booking last night from a bloke who wants to celebrate his 60'th with a theme of aviation through the ages.
   He's going to project images onto the ceiling of the dance floor of all the various aircraft. Around the edge he's having the uplighters to try and avoid using the horrible strip lights that are the only other source in the particular village hall.
   
   I don't for the life of me know why so many village halls don't have more subtle lighting. I would have thought it was obvious wouldn't you?
   Still, I've got my controller now so it should be a great spectacle with the whole room changing colour both quickly, slowly and in the case of strobing; very quickly! 
   
   Anyway, as I mentioned, not much to say this week so I'll leave you with this thought: if a woman falls over in a forest with no one else around; is it still a man's fault?
   
   Here's an absolute peach of a sketch:
   
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLVBBPw_6P0&NR=1
   
   See you next week. have a great weekend!

2. Customer praise, open heart and secret plans

   Posted on 12:05pm Monday 15th Feb 2010

   Hi all. I'm working on something really juicy right now and I'm itching to tell you about it but damn! I haven't quite finished yet so I'll have to sit on my hands. Good job I'm not really fat, as it could play havoc with my circulation. Stay tuned in the weeks to come for more info.
   
   Got a glowing testimony from customer Billy yesterday. He's been busy since I did his party in January but the review was well worth waiting for. See it on my Guestbook page.
   
   For the first time in about two years I was asked by two separate couples if I could go and see them regarding their wedding discos. I don't mind doing this at all if it's not miles and miles away from Barnham so I went and saw them both on Saturday. If you're reading this folks: Lovely to meet you all. A special thanks to Leanne and Mark for commenting on how entertaining my blogs and videos are. It's great to know that it's not just my mates that read and watch them. It's quite strange sometimes. You get talking to a customer at a gig and they start talking to you about stuff which you wrote and forgot weeks ago and you're thinking: How the hell do they know about that? Hey it goes to show you can't be a liar if you're a blogger.. You'd be exposed as a pillock every time!
   
   Finally I took the bull by the horns today and got hold of a DMX controller for my uplighters. This means that from tomorrow (presuming I don't miss the postman) I should be able to change the entire colour of any venue at any point of the evening just by sliding a fader or pushing a button. Oooh the power! I can't wait!  NB: You have to have the uplighter package of course!
   By the way. What does NB stand for? The literal translation of the Latin "nota bene" is "note well" Just looked it up on yahoo answers via Google. What did we do before t'internet?
   
   Well I hope you had a good valentines day yesterday. Becky and I had a slight falling out due to a tactless blunder on my part on Saturday (well I am a man) but it was a milestone moment in our relationship in the end. I realised how much it hurts to be given the "cold shoulder" and how much in love we are and I am. I've learned my lesson and we're closer than close (as Rosie Ganes once sang).
   
   Ok well after finishing on a slightly mushy note I think we should have a laugh don't you?
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkxm5UTe-Xg
   
   Have a great week!
   
   

3. Saturday Night Tomfoolery

   Posted on 11:28am Monday 8th Feb 2010

   Hi all, Well I'm not going to spend too much time on here as I've got a video to get done. I haven't even seen the footage yet so I can't tell you what it's going to be like.
   
   My web company's servers appeared to go down this morning for some bizarre reason but luckily it didn't seem to last too long. They haven't called back yet and the phone went onto BT call minder which doesn't inspire great confidence! Still it's always been great until now so as long as this isn't a new trend then touch wood it'll be ok.
   
   Finally I get to play at Farbridge farm this week, which I've been looking forward to for the last few years since it was built. I won't bore you with the details as it's all on the link page but suffice to say it's been a long time coming.
   
   I'm getting calls from some of the lovely folks I met at the wedding fayre now so it's nice to see that a bit of extra promotion and networking has results.
   
   I must recommend Peter Kay's latest book by the way "Saturday night Peter". I'm reading it at the moment and it's a laugh a minute. All the acts you get to work with in this business are an eye opener sometimes as he says. I have to say the lookalikes are the strangest. I once worked with a Clint Eastwood lookalike who got £500.00 for just walking around looking like his "Fist full of dollars" character. Mind you he really DID look just like the guy. Then there was the Ricky Jervais guy who actually did an act as well. I was talking to him before hand (He complemented my music - Nice) and because he had the same voice too, it felt like he was the real deal. Spooky!
   
   back to Peter though talking about a guy called Pete Loaf (Meatloaf) who had this great entrance planned whereby the track "Bat out of hell" blasted through the PA for a relative eternity before our man roars through the firedoors at the back of the stage on a borrowed "hells angel style" "easy rider" motorbike. To deafening cheering he dismounts in time for the vocal and as he picks up the microphone nothing comes out! always check the sound system before hand and don't leave an unexperienced girlfriend in charge of the mixing desk! Three times it happened and finally after an onstage argument with said girlfriend the impact was well and truly lost not just by the fact that after all that he didn't even sound like meatloaf!
   Excellent book packed full of anecdotes and other comedy related stuff.
   
   Ok now I've got you in the mood here's that routine, you know the one - Family weddings. A real treat:
   
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA0q_vkeoDA
   
   See you next week. Have a great time and don't take it too seriously....