After ring announcing with WWE wrestling, “The Prince of Passion” transitioned into one of the best Wedding DJ’s in the area. Ranked #1 on google and winning “BEST OF” titles from Capital Region Living Magazine and Metroland, DJ Kenny Casanova is always booked solid with multiple gigs every weekend.  Visit TheDJservice.com for wedding reception information for Albany Weddings. For booking information, call 518-506-3305.

Steven Tyler Starts American Idol

One of my earliest rock memories was sitting on a dock in summer camp listening to “Dream On.” I remember first hearing of a band that the DJ on an old transistor radio called, “The Bad Boys of Boston,” when I was probably six or seven. I remember the camp counselor saying that song wasn’t their current hit and I really needed to hear “Walk This way,” which later became one of my all time favorites. I remember him praising the group. “These guys are ahead of their time. Some people call Steven Tyler a “Mick Jagger” rip-off, but they will all be wrong, because Aerosmith is a bad-ass local band that will rock forever.”

He was right. Forty years later, they are still touring hard. However, Tyler’s new gig is making heads turn.

Some question now whether or not Steven Tyler is softening in his old age, accepting a chair to sit behind a different microphone with no trademark scarves, at the table at American Idol. Can the Boston Bad Boy live up to his “Screamin’ Demon” image, saying words of encouragement to pop star hopefuls? So far, he isn’t at all as tough as Simon. Is his style okay for the show?

Stephen Victor Tallarico, better known to the rock world as Steven Tyler, has one of the most distinct voices in the music industry. He is a credited songwriter, with more hits than most bands will ever see. His high-energy performances in bright, colorful outfits with trademark scarves hanging from his microphone stand pump the crowd like no other. Can he sit and make comments on the next William Hung act, and still keep his hard rock legendary status?

He has been on the record to say he will never just tell someone, “You suck!” in a Simon kind of way. What will he be like then?

Time will tell. In my opinion, it could be really cool for Aerosmith fans to see him in a different light.

Office Parties are Better With Door Prizes

Door prizes rock. They create anticipation, excitement, and also increase the amout of guests. It is not unheard of for office parties these days to charge a little bit more for their party admission so that door prizes can be given away, in raffle form, and people are willing to pay it.

My partner in crime, Maria DJ (of MariaDJ.com), she just did a great one for ITT where they gave away a laptop and iPods, and all kinds of cool gadgets! There isn’t always that much left over revenue for super high-end prizes, but with a little planning, door prizes can still happen and they can still be fun.

Last weekend, I was the disc jockey for a real fun party with gift certificates to places like Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, and Target. People ate them up, on the edge of their seats, waiting for me to read the winning numbers. We also did a Twist, Macarena, Electric slide and Limbo contest with prizes for the best dancers.

There is a fine line, however, between giving out LOTS of door prizes so that everyone gets something, and also watering down the prizes too much so that they are not appreciated.

At a recent office holiday party that I DJ’ed and MC’ed for, they tried something new this year. Rather than giving away 4 or 5 gift certificates at about 20-25 a piece for various locations, they gave away a load of 5 dollar ones.

In the end, people didn’t seem to care as much and weren’t excited, as the give-away was kind of drawn out and with not much pay off.

Just a thought!

(PHOTO CREDIT: NBC)

At This Willy Wonka Theme Birthday Party - Character Photo Opps Were Available!

First off, let me say my sister is nuts! So, when she recently called me and asked if I could draw an Oompa Loompa without a face on a foam board, it didn’t seem like an unusual request from her. I completed the task with ease. Little did I know that she was planning a ridiculously huge theme party for her two kids’ birthdays: WILLY WONKA STYLE!

Willy Wonka? You mean the creepy chocolate guy? That’s right, and it was a huge success!

Below is a valuable link to planning tips for her recent Wonka Birthday party that she threw for her kids – complete with invitations, Wonka Bars, the Contract, Games, Party Supplies, Coloring Pages, Cakes, Pictures, Music, Soundtracks, Golden Tickets, Lickable Wallpaper, Trivia, Wonka Decorations, Thank You Notes, Prizes, Pinatas, Wonka Candy of all kinds. You name it, and it is here!

Rather than to try and write up everything I saw, here is some of what my sister, Kathy Bechand, wrote up about it – with photos:

CLICK HERE TO GET INFO -> How to Throw the Ultimate Willy Wonka Birthday Party.

Karaoke DJ at Large...

Look out! If you come to see us at Villa Valenti Pub Troy, NY – every Friday & Saturday for THE KARAOKE JAM – you may find yourself on Facebook.

Why? What do pictures have to do with fun dance music, and tipsy people singing? We don’t know!

Look for updates once a week to the www.facebook.com/kennycasanova page to see what you were doing when the karaoke madness was going on!

Come see why we are the #1 karaoke in the Capital District, by Albany, NY!

Not our Facebook friend yet? Befriend us for access to all the mobile DJ musical status sweetness! We have contracted out to many brides for wedding receptions, and also people looking for other events like birthday parties, etc… We are a great connection to have!

P.S. We are also offering a great Digital Camera package at all of our events! Don’t forget to ask!

-Ken
www.theDJservice.com

Come check us out for yourself… Every Friday and Saturday. Starting at 1opm!

http://www.karaokecrocodile.com

(Some Saturday nights the fun starts an hour or so without me, as I have many weddings to DJ. But fear not… If you are showing up for the Karaoke Jam – DJ Kenny Casanova will be there shortly.)

Personality. It is something your karaoke DJ either has, or doesn’t have. You cannot learn this. The reason we get booked for a lot of weddings and sweet 16 birthday parties is I have potential customers come to public gigs and test us first. It seems we seem to pass with flying colors. They tell us that we are funny, and fun and keep the party going. We don’t get on the mic and attempt stand up comedy. We know that people want to hear music, not speeches, but a little bit of quick mic work in the appropriate places after or before a strategic song can be classic. We mix our party DJ success with the karaoke.

Timing is everything. No dead air, is important to us. When it happens – I CRINGE!  Have you ever been on a dance floor and there is a space between songs? What do the dancers do? They either freeze and stand there like deer in headlights, or go and sit back in their seats. BOTH OF THESE OUTCOMES ARE NOT GOOD! We try our hardest to keep everything moving and leave no room to sleep for the karaoke audience. Admittedly, we end up trying to pick more of the fast songs that singers want to sing first, but do leave room for a couple of slow dances, where necessary.

So that’s it. Book us for your next party and add karaoke! You will love it!

www.karaokecrocodile.com