Lil Jon and Crew Make Me Blush Again!

As a part of going through CDs, I've been stuck listening to Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz. I've played one, maybe two, of their songs - the ones that made it mainstream and were almost bearable for the ears. I started with the newer of the two albums that I have, Crunk Juice, which was probably bought on a gamble. It was jam-packed with cusses to a beat. After listening to a couple of 50 Cent albums, which were fully-loaded with cusses and gunshots, this was a bit more bearable. You see, after the initial blushing of my cheeks (I've been listening to a lot of these CDs at work, on my headphones, so nobody else hears.), I grew numb to it all. But as you can tell from the title of this post, something had to give.

Today at work, I popped in an older album, Kings of Crunk by Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz and all their crew. I'm surprised the Parental Advisory label isn't larger! I blushed even more and actually had to take a break from my desk to calm down. There are a couple of songs on this album that are sexually explicit to the extreme. I almost vomited from some of the descriptions and I was infuriated that one of the female singers was actually promoting unprotected sex! Despite the policies surrounding the Parental Advisory labels, younger teens are going to listen to this stuff, especially if they're buying the album for the song "Get Low," which they probably heard a very edited version of on a Top 40 radio station. The album also promotes smoking weed, but what gangsta rappa doesn't anymore?

As a DJ, I give my crowd what they want. Unfortunately, if it's an unedited version of "Get Low" (for an adult crowd only), I'll play it and try to forget what "skeet" means.

Learning the Blues and Remembering the Old School

I've been asked to DJ an event in a couple of months where the music selection will be a challenge, once I get into the specifics. The genres of the music will be pretty much all Blues, R&B, and some funk and old-school hip-hop. I listen to this type of music on occasion, but I'm certainly not familiar enough with it all to select 5 hours worth of it - not yet anyway. While I'm still sifting through CDs, I'm also taking note of songs of interest for this event, and I'm doing a lot of online research. Soon, I'll hit up the libraries and bookstores. Of course, I'm working with my client for particular artists and songs, which helps a lot.

The hardest genre for me will be the blues, but on the plus side, I know a lot more of the modern R&B and as for the hip-hop...let's just say it brings back some real good memories of my preteen and early teenage years. As I listen to Coolio's "Fantastic Voyage," the warm fuzzies all return. I miss the fun hip-hop, but more on that later.

Another Day, Another Bunch

For the past 2 weeks or so, we've been going through all the CDs and records we have, checking for skips, fuzziness, and any other uglies. I don't want any surprise skips or blips during a gig, even though that could happen from time-to-time. I take care of CDs pretty well, but things happen; they will get dirty and scratched. I guess that's better than what vinyl can do.

Between Jon and myself, we're maybe halfway through it all. In the meantime, we're buying more CDs and listening to those for the first time. This is one of the many tasks that go on behind the scenes for a DJ. It's one of the easier tasks, because it's not so intrusive. I mean, I can do this at work, in the car, and while I'm chilling or doing chores at the apartment. Besides, it's not often that I can mix hip-hop with country!

A Reintroduction to Country Music

I’m currently going through and listening to every single CD in my collection to check for any that will need to be replaced. Right now, I’m listening to some of the country music that I have. I don’t normally listen to much country, but a lot of it is actually kind of relaxing for a change, especially compared to pop compilations. This morning, my ears made friends with Gary Allan and Clint Black; yesterday it was George Strait. George was a good reintroduction to the genre, Clint had a lot of crossover (fine with me!), and Gary is an “alright guy.”

Laptops Cramp My Style

When I start talking about mobile DJ equipment with people, two questions tend to arise.

Q1: Do you use laptops to spin tunes?
A1: Nope.

Q2: Will you ever use laptops to spin tunes?
A2: Nope.

And the conversation continues from there with me explaining that the only place laptops will have in my rig is for people to type up requests. Sometimes, it can be difficult to read writing, especially in a darker setting, but a laptop with a low screen light is visible enough without being a distraction.

I prefer CD players over anything else. They're not as heavy as vinyl to carry and they're more durable. Practicality aside (because I know laptop lovers find MP3s to be more practical than CDs), I want to spin the tunes myself. I love to put a CD in a machine, find my cue, and use the slider on the mixer. It helps get me into the music more.

With laptops, I'd just be pressing Enter and using predetermined playlists for a gig. To me, that takes the art - and the fun - out of everything. When I'm behind the board at a gig, I don't just sit and watch the crowd, I observe them and meld with them. I'm talking about the fusion of the crowd with the music through the DJ (in this case, myself), all enhance by my lighting and sound equipment. I don't just run a business, I create an artful masterpiece.

An Introduction

Good evening! I'm Anna Pentikis and I own a mobile disc jockey (DJ) service called AMP Indiana. Although I've been involved in mobile DJing since I was a kid, I'm just now getting my own business on its feet. Speaking of which, the website will be coming soon. With this blog, I plan to share my own experiences from behind the board as a DJ. (To protect my clients and other DJs, names and specific locations will be left out.)

Since this is my first post here, let me tell you a little bit about my business. It is based out of Lafayette, Indiana, near Purdue University's main campus. I'll play just about any event: college parties, weddings, proms, picnics - just name the assignment. I'll travel, too. I'll go anywhere in Indiana and surrounding states, and if you really want me for an event, I'll travel even farther.

The name, AMP Indiana, comes from my initials and the origin of this, my first business. My mission is to use the best of my skills and talents at this art of DJing to create memorable events for my clients. And yes, I really do believe that DJing is an art first and a business second. It's very expensive to get in to, and I think that a person really needs to enjoy it in order to get into it.

More's coming, so stay tuned!