Tag Archives: booking

The History of the DJ

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Whilst everyone knows what a DJ is, few people know the rich history regarding the rise of the DJ over more traditional forms of live music and entertainment. What most readers definitely aren’t aware of is that the history of the DJ goes back to the 1800’s before radio’s were even invented.

The precursor to the DJ was the invention of the phonograph, the first device ever invented to play music. Invented in 1877, it was closely followed by the gramophone records in 1892. Soon after, these records went into commercial production and marked the first time ever the public was able to purchase music.

The tipping point happened in 1906, when the first ever radio transmission was sent. This was not only a defining moment in the world of the DJ, but in human history itself.

1909, however, was the year in which the 1st ever DJ spun a record. Ray Newbie from California is officially recognised as the 1st DJ to ever hit the airwaves (and that is a pretty cool name to have by 1909 standards.) Although just 16 at the time, Ray or “DJ Newbie” used to pump the music, as him and his team kept the music going 7 days a week, with the exception of a bit of downtime during World War I.

It wasn’t until 25 years later, however, that the term DJ or Disc Jockey was ever coined. Prior to then, the guys behind the scenes were called “record men” instead of DJs.

Up until this point, the DJ was in charge of selecting music, not mixing it. What brought the DJ out of the shadows and into the mainstream however was the growth in bars, nightclubs and discotheques, as well as the fact turntables and DJ equipment became cheap enough for average people to afford.

Shortly after, DJs were transformed by the Hip Hop culture by Afrika Baambaata who invented the 5 pillars of hip hop music and culture, of which DJing and turntablism is one. (For those who aren’t aware, the 5 pillars are DJing, rapping, breaking, graffiti and knowledge.)

Today, however, the best DJs are from the electronic music genre, in particular trance music with DJs such as DJ Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, and Paul Van Dyk.

Wanna your track to be heard by thousands of people? Club Dance Mixes gives you the opportunity to promote your music!

Keep the party going

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The ceremony has come to a close, the food’s finished and it’s time to crack open another bottle of bubbly and get the party started. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy having late night private or corporate events in a hired venue. Even having an event in a hotel, you might find your night winding to a rather quick close when the music is turned off to accommodate the other guests.

First things first, you need to pick the right party location. Here at Red Masque we can recommend some top music friendly wedding and party venues in London.

Smiths of Smithfield
This venue is perfect and is only ten minutes away from Chancery Lane station. Right next to the City of London it’s conveniently located in the bustling hub of the city. The restaurant’s two private rooms can be opened out for larger parties and – most importantly – it is licenced for live music right up until 1am, so you can keep dancing as long as you’d like. The restaurant is even a short walk away from some amazing London clubs so, if you really aren’t ready to stop, you can head on over to keep the night going.

Southbank Centre
Ideal for any celebration – This world famous multi-art centre is known for its unparalleled festival programme, reaching 6.25 million people a year and featuring 5000 events by world-class artists.

The Level 5 Function Room is the largest of their events rooms; it comes with free Wi-Fi, a fully integrated PA system and can be opened out onto a balcony for incredible views of the London skyline.

The room is accessible by lift – so you won’t have to worry about lugging heavy speakers up and down stairs – and comes with a variety of optional hired extras. These include: A sound technician to set up, two radio mics, a plug in and play system for background music. The room is licenced for entertainment until 2am, so the party doesn’t have to end.

Islington Assembly Hall
Outside of weddings, this venue serves as a live music hall so is a great place for any concert lovers or festival fans to throw their big celebration. The hall has a wide range of technology available, for those of you who want to really amp up your wedding entertainment, and their incredible grand stage serves as the perfect place for your band or DJ to set up.

Unlike many other festival halls, they don’t insist on you using their in-house entertainers or DJ, so you have complete freedom when it comes to picking out your party band. Whether you’re into classical rock or are planning to book a world renowned DJ there’s no doubt that this venue will have all you need to accommodate your music tastes.

Bush Hall
The talking point of this venue is definitely the famous faces that have graced it in the past. The venue has hosted such music legends as Adele, Amy Winehouse and The Killers. The hall’s curtained stage is an ideal place for your band and, if you’re planning on using the stage during speeches, the backstage area is perfect for storing the band equipment until you’re ready for them to setup.

Making the right choice

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Red Masque will help you filter available options. You can get several options when thinking of hiring party bands, singers, musicians, comedians and other artists. You may be confused especially when you don’t know any of the artists in person. You can save yourself the trouble by ensuring that Red Masque only advertises the very best and whatever choice you make will always be the right one.

We understand exactly what you want. You are able to contact various artists of your choosing and meet if you so wish to choose suitable music or songs for your event.

With a reliable entertainment directory, you can get suitable price for hiring a band. You can also get the right price for other artists you may want to hire.

You can save enough time and energy when you engage a good entertainment directory in most cases, we have taken care of the brain work you would have carried out, and have the best unique and highly acclaimed artists in the business.

To locate us, you have to come online; which is the first step. There are several agencies offering unique services on the internet, but you need to consider some factors when looking for the right agency. You have to compare several agencies before making your choice. You can look on the reviews. Or you can also arrange a private interview with each artist. This will help you make the right choice.

Beach Blanket Babylon

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Is a decadent venue in trendy Shoreditch perfect for exclusive events and celebrations with an impressive capacity of up to 800 people. The venue has a number of opulent event spaces on offer that lend themselves perfectly to stylish corporate networking events, cocktail receptions, corporate event dinners, gala events, conferences and fashion shows.

The Champagne Lounge is ideal for private parties of up to 300 guests with rich wooden surrounds, decadent mood lighting and unique decorations. The Gallery offers a versatile self-contained space, with rustic wooden floors and white walls it is the perfect blank canvas for conferences and exhibitions and can hold up to 175 guests. The Mezzanine and The Bar are both gorgeous spaces; The Mezzanine elegantly holds up to 70 guests while the vibrant cosmopolitan bar holds up to 250 guests.

To complete the look and enhance the atmosphere Red Masque entertainment have a few Swing and Jazz bands on our books from London provide standout musical entertainment that will.

The Floating Cinema
This is one of London’s top 8 coolest art venues in 2013, the floating cinema is now available for private hire offering a unique event space for product launches, corporate away days, film shoots and special occasions.

This intimate venue has a capacity of 12 passengers when cruising and 20 people standing while static. The Floating Cinema is a purpose-built wide beam barge with a flexible ‘whitespace’ auditorium that offers a unique and original experience for guests. The space can be easily reconfigured to accommodate meetings and team building sessions. As a cinema it offers state of the art high-spec lighting and surround-sound facilities, a fully equipped cinema auditorium space and a stunning central viewing deck from which guests can enjoy a new perspective of London’s most iconic views.

The Warner Bros Studio in London
Home to Harry Potter film sets – offers an exciting event space not just for fans of the Harry Potter franchise. Corporate event organisers can choose to host exclusive dinners and award ceremonies in the Great Hall, sip cocktails and tankards of butter beer in the Three Broomsticks, and host networking events in Dagon Alley.

What better entertainment to accompany a corporate event in the place where Harry Potter was filmed than a string quartet that will create an atmospheric setting fit for the Harry Potter films and could even play the film franchise’s iconic theme tune!

Shop Promotions

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Most shops always have the same monotonous music playing in the background so why not switch it up a bit and hire a DJ. The public will hear different music and will also experience first-hand a DJ playing live in a shop, now that’s not something you see every day. Get the DJ to play various styles of music to attract different types of customers but also make sure it suits your shop. If you have a unique boutique then trance music would not exactly match the surroundings. Your shop will have that wow factor compared to others around it so it is definitely worth a try!

Many businesses now enjoy and thrive off shop promotion. Whether it’s opening the shop for the first time or your first year anniversary shop promotions can attract new customers and keep existing customers. It can also help increase sales which is probably the most positive factor of all businesses. Shop promotion entertainment can help with every of these aspects… if done properly.

Street performers are a great idea to entice people of the street and into your shop. The performers will attract attention to the facade of the shop and can even hand out leaflets to the public. Once your street performer starts performing and letting everybody know about the shop, then how can the customers resist not going in for a little look. Various street performers could include stilt walkers, fire performers, dancers and even musicians. This is a very cost effective way to add excitement and positive chit chat around your shop.

Food is well known to be the way to anybody’s heart. So why not have some sort of unique catering outside your shop to attract customers to your front doors. A few ideas which are very simple yet very effective include hiring a fish and chip van for the day.

It could be packaged in a traditional box with your brand on it, so when your customers sit down to enjoy their food they are reminding on your company. During the summer months you could hire an ice cream van or cart and if they spend a certain amount in shop then on their exit they get an ice cream. It may be a simple idea but this can be very effective. To finish up, your shop just needs to be jazzed up a bit. Make it fun and intriguing and do your research. Don’t hire entertainment which doesn’t match your shops style. And shop around and hire local artists of possible, this will reflect very positively on your shop.

Make your office party the greatest

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The office party can be looked upon with dread or with happiness. Of course it all depends on what the office party will include. Office parties have a few main principles; these include food, entertainment and drink. We are going to give you a couple of unique extra ideas on these areas and they are sure to keep you onto an office party winner.

Your party entertainment depends on your budget and also party style. In most cases office parties have quite refined budgets which can make it quite tricky to find top class entertainment.

Do not cut corners when it comes to your entertainment. Research what others office parties have and shop around your area for the best. You could hire a DJ to come into your office to really get the party going. Most DJ’s will also know various party games, so again this is an extra bonus.

Another unique idea would be to hire a fun casino. The fun casino will come into your office venue and set up various casino tables for you and your fellow employees to play. Games include Blackjack, Roulette and Poker. Each casino table will have a trained croupier dealing the cards who will also explain each game to your team. This is fun source of entertainment and also a great ice breaker.

Jazz your office party catering up by hiring outside catering. Your food should taste amazing and memorable so why not hire a fish and chip van. The fish and chip van could arrive at your venue and serve all your lovely team with scrumptious traditional fish and chip food. This is a fun twist on office party catering and nothing creates positive talk than good food.

Your drinks will depend on whether your office party is consuming alcohol or not. But whether your drinks or alcoholic or non-alcoholic a perfect source of beverages is to hire a cocktail artist. The artist will set up your personal bar in your venue and make fresh and unique drinks and even serve them to your guests. This is the perfect idea to make your drinks really stand out from the crowd.

Restaurant events

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Restaurant Entertainment can be quite tricky as it has to create the right ambience. If you want to hire a band or musician, be aware that the music can’t be too loud or your customers will not be able to speak amongst each other, and that might be awkward. Make sure your entertainment fits into your venue as you wouldn’t want to hire a big 6 piece live jazz band, only to squeeze them into a corner. So it is better to ask how much space they need and then work it into your restaurant layout.

1. Magicians – Magicians are great restaurant entertainment as they can meet and greet your guests. The magician can also walk around and do some table magic which your customers would thoroughly enjoy. It also means they would not have to move about much and can enjoy the magical party entertainment from the comfort of their own table with their family and friends.

2. Live Band- Whether your band range from a 2 piece to an 8 piece, hired live bands are a great source of entertainment. Your customers will love listening to some smooth jazz, or even some modern hits played live in the background. Having a live band may also keep your customers at the restaurant after they have had their dinner. Offer them a seat at the bar, where they can order more drinks and
listen to the band, even dance to the band if they wish.

3. Solo musicians. Give your restaurant that classical elegant and sophisticated feeling by having a solo musician play beautiful music in the corner of the restaurant. You could choose from a solo saxophonist, a solo classical guitarist or the beautiful sounds of the piano. All would suit any restaurant as this style of music is pleasing to most people.

4. Dancers – Dancers can really bring your restaurant to life with the vibrant colours, the fast paced music and of course the exciting dance moves. Have your dancers situated outside the restaurant building to make your customers experience start from when they literally walk in the door. Plus, think of the exposure you will get from the public taking photos with your restaurant logo behind.

If you choose Restaurant Entertainment you will most definitely see your customers happier and even your staff happier. It will bring a new lease of life into your restaurant and should attract some new customers. So give restaurant entertainment a go, you never know what it could do for your business.

Toga Party

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There are only a few requirements for throwing a Toga Party. First and foremost: dress code. No Toga, no party. To create your Toga, you will need white bed sheets, rope sandals, and an ivy headdress. Cut, wrap, and tie your bedsheets into a Roman-inspired dress. This is a universal look, but creativity is expected. Construct an ivy halo from materials found at your local craft shop. Throw on the hippie rope sandals you’ve been saving in your closet since freshman year, and you’re ready to go!

Organised games for your party-goers are a must. Expect your guests to be three sheets to the wind at this point, so keep game rules buzz-friendly. Choose games like Chariot Races, where participants will pair up for a piggy-back race to the finish line without spilling their beers, or Still As Roman Statues, where your party-goers will pose as Greek statues and see who lasts the longest. Beer Pong and Flip Cup are also acceptable.

Although Grecian-inspired games and drinking contests are entertaining in their own right, it’s best to have multiple forms of entertainment for your guests. Book a DJ or Band to keep the party alive all night long. Hire a Bartender to serve up Roman-inspired cocktails and beer.

Togas, drinking, and Roman-inspired games – it’s pretty hard to mess this up. Just have fun and drink responsibly, and don’t forget Toga! Toga! Toga!

Tower of London event venue

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For nearly 1,000 years, the Tower of London has stood as a landmark for visitors to the capital to enjoy. In service to the monarch, thousands of people flock to the Tower of London each year in order to experience a true feel of Britishness; from the ravens walking around the grounds to the colourful Yeoman Warders (that’s Beefeaters to you and I) waiting to greet you, there’s a lot to enjoy. And that’s even before we get to talking about the Crown Jewels!

When you hire an event venue like the Tower of London, it’s clear you’re going for the spectacular, looking to really impress your guests. What you might not know however is that the Tower of London has a whole host of rooms and spaces that are available when you decide to hold your party there. This event venue sits right on the bank of the River Thames. But what else can you expect from this fabulous venue?

Whether it be a reception, dinner or huge event, you can pick from a variety of different rooms that hold just 12 people right through to The Moat, which can hold up to 2000.

You might wish to dine in the White Tower or enjoy a drink or two in the New Armouries – whatever you desire, the Historic Royal Palaces team will seek to accommodate your request if it is at all viable. Do not worry about having a private view of the Crown Jewels either; this is all part of the experience when you hire such a famous venue! You can even experience a special Yeoman Warder and witness the ancient and world famous Ceremony of the Keys.

Hiring a venue like this is naturally an opportunity to hire the best entertainment for your evening as well. But what works at the Tower of London? You’ll be glad to know that pretty much everything does! Caricaturists, singing monks, classic function bands, string duos and even lutists play in this very special of events venues.

50’s Party entertainment

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Ladies, break out your A-Line skirts, and guys, slick back your hair. It’s time for a
1950s Party!

Think Grease for ladies, the 50’s look was longer skirts with collared blouses or T-shirts, a coordinating scarf tied around the neck or ponytail, and ankle socks with sandal shoes. High ponytails with tight curls are a classic girly hairstyle. For guys who want a tough look, pair a leather jacket with tight jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Don’t forget the greased pompadour! For a more conservative look, tuck a short-sleeved collared shirt into slacks and add a bow tie. Part your hair to the side and you’re set.
Old Hollywood costumes are all about the sparkle. Beads, sequins, glitter, and form-fitting dresses were “in” as women started embracing their curves. Throw on a feathered boa or sheer shawl to top it off. For guys, tuxedos are perfect. If not, a tailored suit will also work!

Entertainment
Keep your guests talking about your party long after it’s over with a little 1950’s Entertainment. Fake Faces can offer you a whole host of lookalike celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley will add excitement to the party, while Party Entertainers or Party Bands can get your guests up and dancing!

Food and Drink
Serve the classics! Hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes are great for a retro menu. Toss some glass bottles in ice, and don’t forget the red and white striped straws! Fill old sweets jars with classic candy like gumballs or liquorice, and set up a ginger beer float station to complete the vintage vibe. Or just add a 50’s twist to classic desserts like cupcakes, cakes, or cookies.

Photographs
Hire a Photo Booth and provide some ’50s-themed props (cat-eye glasses, paper soda jerk hats, bow ties, scarves, boas, sunglasses, etc.), or set up your own. You could also provide photo ops with larger cut-outs, like convertibles, Hollywood premiers, or vintage signs.
Games like the limbo, hula-hooping contests, and hopscotch were all popular back then, so set up a space to hold some friendly competitions.