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The recording industry hacks out product and throws it against the wall to see what sticks. As with any business, the bottom line is king. Do it as cheaply as possible. You don't spend a thousand dollars on a hundred dollar act. Not every track released to music services will sell. The industry...

Software is cheaper than session musicians. I agree. Rap should have died long ago but it has managed to stick around for some reason. I guess anyone can talk into a mic. Singing requires talent. :)

It's old-school now but Selena always went over well.

We avoided any venue where stairs were the only access. That's not a concern much anymore. The Americans with Disabilities Act pretty much rendered stairs-only venues obsolete. Also, unsupervised youth parties were a no-no. Any business can be sued and underage drinking is a lawsuit waiting to...

After rereading the original post I can relate. It's a wise man who knows his limits. Gotta respect Mike for that. This crazy biz isn't a good fit for everyone. I loved being a mobile DJ, ran the biz for 19 years. But we grew older and it had become more work than fun. Toward the end, by the...

Requirements seem to vary, depending on where you live, or your business is located. When I lived in Virginia DJs weren't required to obtain business licenses. We were in the same class as Boy Scout groups, etc. In Delaware, DJ companies are supposed to have a state biz license. If you live...

We ran a Carvin rig for many years. Never had an issue. Carvin gear owners used to say you can pay a lot more for a little more amp with other brands. Most folks know Carvin as a guitar store. They've always sold direct to the consumer. Without dealer markups they can keep their pricing low.

Oh yeah... I sure remember "those" house managers. :( Adding a contract clause about necessary space or location is all well and fine. However, you're contracting with a client, not the venue. A house manager is under no obligation to honor an agreement that he or she is not a party to...

We had all gear in SKB cases, speaker covers from the manufacturer. Many a night that equipment rode on the back of an open pickup through rainstorms and was loaded in/out in foul weather. Never a drop of rain got through. For outdoor shows we had a set of carpet mats to place the larger...

I don't see why not. Two 8-ohm speaker systems connected in parallel is a 4-ohm load. This is a recommended practice. You'll get more SPL from additional speakers. I'd recommend setting the unit up at home first with the extra speakers and put it through the paces. Nothing beats peace of mind...

For $175.00 I probably wouldn't show up either. ;) Honestly though, no-show DJs can be especially stressful for any event organizer. A lot of time, expense and work go into organizing these gigs. And when you say there's gonna be a DJ and there isn't one, you're the bad guy. I still remember a...

Long, boring speeches or what used to be called toasts, I agree with. The bridesmaid's or best man's toast was once just that. A brief word of encouragement and best wishes for the future. Toasts have become roasts. Honestly, does anyone really care that the bride fell off an amusement park...

Oh yeah... I sure remember that. Good times, great food and lotsa single women. And oh, how the money rolled in. :) Scheduling doubles was tricky, had to account for load out, travel and load in time before I could contract. On the days I did, I made sure there was sufficient time to get to the...

EAR Push Ins. Best I've ever used, been wearing ear plugs for over 30 years in manufacturing. Other brands can be painful to wear or a hassle to use, or both. The Push Ins are comfortable and reusable. These are corded; non-corded are available also. I prefer corded as I can hang 'em around my...

What Country music needs right now is another Marty Stuart. :) Dan, if you haven't heard his music, you might enjoy it. The Marty Party Hit Pack is a great collection of his popular tracks, available at Amazon for download. Today's Country is similar to pre-disco '70s - early '80s pop music...

I'm sorry to hear (no pun intended). Hearing loss ain't no joke. It can't be fixed, it doesn't heal. My father and his father suffered with hearing loss for much of their adult lives. Pop was in the Army as a young man, around aircraft a lot. Granddaddy was around noisy machinery as a younger...

Back in the day we ran a tri-amped rig with all 4-ohm loading, 2 of the amps bridged. One 20 amp outlet was sufficient for the entire rig. Amps were 1500, 2000 and 2500, ratings for a 4-ohm bridged load. The 2500 pulled the lion's share of current as it drove the bass bins. The only time we...

CDX is (or was originally) marketed to dance instructors and non-reporting radio stations. Cost was $80.00 per quarter at the time. They never raised their price. I was a CDX subscriber for over a decade. Great service for years. If it was Country music, it was on CDX. Then they started missing...

Well... I abandoned Facebook long ago - it was becoming a time sink. My account is still active; the SheWolf uses it to play her games. But I haven't logged in there in years. Don't miss it neither. :) There are so many productive ways to use one's time... I don't understand this obsession with...

We semi-retired from the DJ biz several years ago. Kept it going as a scaled down operation doing mostly weddings and other upscale shows. The drawback was this: There wasn't enough money coming in to justify the expense. Music subscriptions, new lighting effects, biz license and the rest. So we...

In 19 years of running a DJ company we relied on clients for just one thing: electricity. Everything else we provided. This was mentioned in our service agreement. No need for clients or venues to provide tables or chairs for our use. The rig was set up so we didn't need a table. Essentially a...

Biggest purchase regret was a Gemini CD coffin rig. Paid close to a grand for it back in 2000; it never was all that great. Wouldn't play some discs, the mixer mic preamp started cutting out a couple years later. Unloaded it on Fleabay for less than half what it cost us. Best purchase was a...

Heavy duty Harper hand truck. Converts to platform truck with the push of a bar. Large knobby rear tires, rolls easily on pretty much any terrain. Found it at Sams one day while on a provisions run. Sams still carries 'em but the new ones have smaller wheels and don't appear to be as strong.

An attorney should be hired to review any legal document before it's used for business purposes. Any business can be sued and anyone who agrees in writing to provide goods and/or services is conducting business.

The main difference between live sound and program, or recorded source is peaks. FOH speaker systems marketed to live are generally designed to handle power peaks such as kick drum or when your lead guitar yanks that G string 2 inches off the fretboard and lets it slap. Live sound boards offer...