SCE ‘s Jason Jani, struck a nerve with a lot of the attendees when he said that “75% of the people on this earth aren’t doing what they love everyday… That sucks.”  “Don’t just chase the dollar, chase the dream…  Don’t settle…”  It was clear why artists like Jay Z and Kanye West call on Jani when they are on tour.  His passion for “doing cool things for cool people” is currently unmatched in the mobile entertainment and event production field.  I loved the way his question, “Are you making excuses or are you all in?” came up in conversation and on twitter the rest of the day.  As I said on my Twitter… “I’m all in JJ!”

EPMEN 2012 Inspired by Instagram.... From Top Left- Glenn Roush, Strato Doumanis, Jay Thomson, Vincent Velasquez, Sean McKee, Erik Kent. From Bottom Left- Marcello Pedalino, Jayne Hallock, Mike Walter, Jason Jani

Lorenzo Araneo, host of Rockstar Podcast and devout Twitter fan, shared some heart-felt personal stories about why he and his family are loyal to particular brands in his Art of Social Marketing presentation.  After he and a few others in the audience got a little choked up, his points were easily made and accepted.  I really liked how Lorenzo wasn’t shy about sharing his affection and respect for his Italian heritage.  Araneo tells it like it is.

Always a crowd favorite, Elite’s Mike Walter, brought his usual dose of well-prepared wit and wisdom in a seminar called, 10 Things You Can Do To Have A Better Day.  In addition to stressing the importance of waking up early, exercising and eliminating distractions… he earned a tweet-worthy moment with “Health and fitness IS a time management solution.” Amen Michael!  Neen James would be proud.

After a post-EPMEN steak dinner, we did our best Reservoir Dogs impression. Strato Doumanis, Vincent Velasquez, Tony Tee Neto, Marcello Pedalino, Glenn Roush, Jeffrey Scott Gould, Mike Walter, Jason Jani

Many of us got to meet WedLock’s Jayne Hallock for the first time and picked up a few nuggets from her seminar on Blogging.  One in particular was the Yoast SEO Plugin recommendation for Word Press users.  Another was how to use Pinterest as a source for content and inspiration.  Jane also had some heads nodding when she said, “Your website is your business card; your blog is your personality.” And, when you are blogging, “sometimes about 100 words is enough.”     (-maybe next time. )  Hallock and seemingly everyone else in the entire world except me was dialed-in to Instagram too.  (Some of the cool filters that app offers was the inspiration for this entry’s photos).

Up and coming stars of the photography and cinematography world, Vanessa Joy and Rob Adams, offered some great tips for capturing event footage and testimonials with the latest DSLR equipment, software and technology.  Since MMP still uses a video camera from 1997 to record comments from our clients at the end of events, this seminar was extremely informative and timely.  We’ll be taking their advice soon and  upgrading to a DSLR camera with a 50mm 1.4 lens and a manfrotto 561bhdv-monopod.  Rob and Vanessa also shared ways to offer instant gratification to your clients.  This dynamic duo is making quite an impression on the workshop circuit.

If you were interested in Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience before the actual sale, Alan Berg had you covered.   Alan has a remarkable ability to take anything you do or say and within 5 minutes advise you how to do it and say it 10 times better.  On top of that, he knows how to take whatever you are currently doing for your prospects and rethink everything-  from the way you contact them initially to the way you respond to them when they call you back after shopping around.  Mr. Berg has some serious skills.

EPMEN 2012 B.I (Before Instagram) From Top Left- Glenn Roush, Strato Doumanis, Jay Thomson, Vincent Velasquez, Sean McKee, Erik Kent. From Bottom Left- Marcello Pedalino, Jayne Hallock, Mike Walter, Jason Jani

The country’s most lovable Emcee, Sean “Big Daddy” Mckee, took a day out of his ‘8 gigs a week’ schedule to host the festivities.   Show producer, Adam Skuba, deserves major kudos for the caliber of Monday’s line up and the over-all production;  especially considering that this was only his sophomore effort.  Special thanks to Adam, the EPMEN team, and all the sponsors (NJ Wedding, Bride Live, Elegant Bridal, Hurricane Productions, Screaming Lunatic, NJDJN, Sherman Specialty, NAME and ADJA) for their hospitality and support.

See ya next year!

Adam Weitz, CEO of A-Sharp Production and Reigning DJ Times 'DJ Entertainer of the Year

Atlantic City, NJ –  Kudos to the competitors and congratulations to the all the winners of the 2010 DJ of the competition.

Contestants competed on the Casbah night club stage in front of their industry colleagues this past summer at the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino.

NJDN member, Betsey Fischer, who was featured on the MMP blog in January 2009, was awarded the DJ of the Year Runner Up and Best Dance while fellow member George Kramedis took the prize for Best Use of Choreographed Dancers. 

Adam Weitz, from A-Sharp Production, a big supporter of the NJDJN, was awarded the coveted title of 2010 Dj of the Year for thinking outside the box and performing a situational routine that wow’d the crowd and impressed the judges.

This quote, taken from Adam’s website, shows his enthusiasm for originality and dedication to his craft… “With my experience in entertainment, I bring color and excitement to you. We create each affair to be original & special. I take my career seriously because I love what I do! We only reserve the very best in entertainment. Having fun and making it memorable is the most important formality. This is my dedication to you.”

Marcello Pedalino received the Night of Champions Plaque

Earlier that week, MMP founder, Marcello Pedalino, and other previous winners of the DJ of the Year Competition, were recognized for their accomplishments and contributions to the mobile entertainment industry.

Marcello earned the Dj of the Year title in 2001, 2002 and 2006 and then received the ADJA’s Peter Merry Leadership award in 2008.

Zek Storm, Jim Cerone, Chuck Roberts, Mike Walter, Kelly Farmer, & Brian Snyder

A big thank you to our friends from Nashville, Tennessee, who hosted the DJ Retreat last Tuesday.  Even though they talk with a funny accent, they were a pleasure to work with and ran a smooth operation.

Kelly Farmer and the members of the Music City region are certainly giving this ADJA chapter something to talk about. After 10 days in a row of rain in the deep south, the sunshine made a welcomed return just in time for our visit.

Weddings That Wow!

The event was held at Nashville Shores at their outdoor amphitheater location.  The gorgeous weather and natural setting added to the unique and desirable experience for Mike and I as well as the attendees.

Mike presented, “Weddings that Wow”, The Methodology of Entertaining the Masses, I presented “Bar Mitzvah TNT”, Traditions and Techniques for an Exceptional Celebration, and then we teamed up for our interactive keynote on “Balance”, Personal Evolution for the Mobile Entrepreneur.

Based on the e-mails and texts so far, our presentations were well received.

Bar Mitzvah TNT

I think it’s fair to say that Robin and Linda Knowles went home happy.

Marcello and Mike,

…”Your unbelievable energy really reached out to even Emcee Show Veterans like myself.  We listened again to everything you and Mike said all the way home to Memphis that same evening with our digital audio recorder.  We really learned some terrific things from you that we will certainly add to our shows!  It goes to show that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!”…

Robin and Linda

Rockin Robin’s Dj’s, Memphis TN.

Mike & I with the Perfect Host, Jim Cerone

Sunset on the water, a nice way to end the day, Life Is Good!

Special thanks to the event’s producer, Kelly Farmer, for extending the invitation and making sure we had everything we needed, to Brian Snyder for his entertaining city tour and taking us to the best steakhouse in Nashville, Fleming’s, to Zek Storm for his sound engineering services, to Chuck Roberts for complimenting the river cruise with his musical selections, to Mike Durham for providing the delicious cuisine, and to our good friend, Jim Cerone, for a nice evening at Mad Donna’s and for sharing his candids for this entry.

Many of the attendees drove over 3 hours to join us.  We certainly appreciate everyone’s efforts and taking the time out of your busy schedules to make the trip in.  It was nice spending the day with you all.

Man, we’re fixin’ to go back and visit y’all real soon. 

Nashville, Tennesse Skyline

My good friend and MMP contributing blogger, Mike Walter, and I will be presenting three seminars in Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, September 29th.

The topics will include;  personalized entrepreneurial strategies, award-winnng performance techniques and life balance guidance via health and wellness.  The event is being sponsored by the American Disc Jockey Association and hosted bv local businessman and chapter President, Kelly Farmer

Mike & I are looking forward to a productive day and to networking with some of Nashville’s finest.

For additional information and reservations, click here.