INTERVIEW Part 2: About Jay R, Owner of Selective Sound Entertainment

If you could go back in time would you still be a DJ?
Without a question! Only, I would……. 

Favorite place you’ve played?
Probably the cruise ship we guest DJ-ed on during the Millennium New Year cruise.

Favorite song/artists to play?
WOW! I think I actually can say I like the newer hip-hop and adult contemporary music, because it’s not the same music I hear all the time.

What song do you wish you never had to play again?
Probably Celebration or Love Shack. But, they are both crowd pleasers (most of the time.) What we hear every week, some guests only hear once a year, if that!

What is a “go to” pack the dance floor song?
If I could tell you the answer to that for every wedding, I would be lying. Every reception reacts differently. If we create the right atmosphere of fun, we can play many different songs for a “go to” pack the dance floor song. We do, however, open the dance floor with a slow song (usually Van Morrison’s Have I Told You Lately?”) We pack the dance floor EVERYTIME; and I will bet you the cost of your wedding.

What is the craziest song request you’ve ever had?
Probably a Prince song that I couldn’t list the title to here, but you would hear it at clubs in the 90’s and the second part of the song’s name is “control.” This could be a blog within itself; I have so many crazy requests.

What is the craziest attire request you’ve ever had?
A Toga!

Best DJ experience?
Of 5000 plus events in 23 years, it’s difficult to really nail one down. But, probably a wedding we did back in 1999 when just as we started to have dinner, the fire alarm went off, followed by the sprinkler system.. it ruined everything and everyone.. I was able to be in such a spot where my equipment wasn’t damaged. The wedding was over,, we were packing up and I heard the bride and groom were inviting everyone over their house to have a backyard reception, and would order in some food.. Without their knowledge, we followed them to their house, set up in the garage.. and played the rest of the night. There were 150 guests out of 250 that were at this house and I will honestly tell you we stayed till 1am playing music, even though we were supposed to be done at 11pm.. It was one of the most surreal weddings we every did. The bride and groom and their families loved the fact we automatically came without being told.

Worst DJ experience?
Weddings in the weeks after 9/11/01. Of the 4 weddings in the month that followed, over 70% of guests could not come because the airports were closed. All guests did was talk about 9/11 and it was our job was to get their mind off of it.

What’s your favorite part of wedding receptions?
At the end when more than half of the guests are still there dancing. Also, when a bride and groom both give you a hug and thank you over and over again for exceeding their expectations.

Next: Part 3: About Selective Sound Entertainments information?

How long has Selective Sound been in business?

Since 1987. We started the company with the name “Music in Motion” and changed in 1989 to Selective Sound.

Where did the company name come from?

Honestly, I can’t remember!

What is your role at Selective Sound?

I am the marketing director, accountant, human resource manager, scheduler, promoter, performer, worker, operator, technician and… owner!

Why did you start to DJ in Cleveland?

In 1987, I joined a youth group because I was able to play the music on the sound system at the youth group school dances. By the touch of a button I was able to make 300 people go crazy and by that same touch of a button I was able to also calm them down. For a moment I felt like a god.

How did you get your company started?

I bought my first mixer/amplifier and rented speakers. I was using cassette tapes. I made $25 for my first gig, $60 for my second gig and the rest is history. We’ve done over $2 million in gross sales since then.

Where do you DJ now?

In Northeast Ohio for private affairs. Ninety percent of our business is weddings but we also do corporate events and bar/bat mitzvahs.

How many DJs do you employ every weekend?

We can do a maximum of five weddings and two other events per evening. Our busiest weekends are usually holiday weekends and we’ve done up to 19 events in one weekend!

How many weddings does your staff work in a year?

We average about 160 weddings per year.

What does your set-up consist of?

We are more refined in the DJ world. We use the new Bose l1 series 2 systems and a few Yorkville Unity systems (for the big events), a few wash LED lights and a compact computerized touch screen DJ system. Our systems are designed to blend into the decor, not be gaudy or noticeable.

How/where do you buy music?

Once a week we get CD with the top songs from each category from TM Century Prime Cuts. We own every song we every play.

What is a common misconception about your work?

That we just show up and play music. People don’t know about the 5 to 6 hours, pre-planning, coordinating, and music programming and so forth that we do before we even set up a speaker.

next week: part 2.. About the Jay r (CEO) of Selective Sound Entertainment.

Wedding of : Denise La-Riccia and Jeremi Woodruff
Location: Casa Di Borallys
Date: February 20th, 2010
Photographer: Perfect Image Photography

What an amazing and fun wedding this turned out to be. I mainly worked with Denise in the planning at the beginning, however when we met with Jeremi and Denise together, Jeremi became very involved. Here is their story.

We arrived at about 4.30pm to set up and as soon as we had our equipment loaded in, I looked up and guests started arriving. We were a little confused, but after about 10 minutes of set up we had some music playing so they had some form of entertainment.  After completing our set up at about 5.10 we sat down with our friends at Casa Di borally and went over the evenings agenda.

The evening was set up to be very unique food service wise. When the wedding reception officially began, they Borally’s hand passed their famous pizza for O’deuvre hour.  Dinner, however was going to be a bit unique, because they did Heavy O’Deuvre stations around the room.  There was to be an amazing spread of finger type foods of many different varieties including a Borally’s famous  chef carved Beef Tenderloin. These stations were to be set up around the room, to avoid the “buffet” style type dinner.

After the Bridal party arrived we met everyone and lined them up for the grand intro.  We did not seat the guests, because we did not want that type of atmosphere with the O’deuvre stations.

The grand introduction was high energy as the bridal party walked into Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne After the introductions we went into the cake cutting with the song Adam Sandlers When I grow old with you Following that, we had 2 Toasts from the Best man and Maid of honor and then into A blessing. We then announced for the guests to visit the O’Deuvre stations at their leisure.

Twards the end of dinner, Borallys cleared the Head table off the dance floor so we could get started right away.

First dance was done while guests were still finishing up eating and we went into Denise and Jeremi’s first dance together as husband and wife. Their First dance song was Making memories of Us By Keith Urban

We followed that with a Father daughter dance to Heartland I loved her 1st and then to some Kenny Rogers and Through the years for the mother son dance.  After the formal dances we got started right away by inviting all the guest to the dance floor to join them for a slow dance. The entire floor was packed 1st song of the night.

We then went into an array of dance music for all age groups and there was dancing the entire night. This group of guests were incredible and we played everything from the Twist to Bone Thugs and Harmony. Great Couple to work with and play for. They were very energetic and fun the entire night. Borallys was great to work with and they were very accomadating. The Bar is on the 2nd floor in that room, which is a perfect placement in my opinion. Special thanks to Greg and Kathy from the Perfect Image Photography for allowing us to post their amazing work.

Another great wedding in the books. Amazingly enough we are doing the Maid of honors wedding in October as well. She called us and didn’t even know we were the DJ’s. Here we come Nicole.

Perfect Image photography

BCR studios

Elizabeth Pruitt photography

Jeff Jones Photography

RAD photography

Rich Pappas

Andrew Jordan

Tom Forrest

Genevieve Nisly

Johns Photography

Cirino Photography

Z Media

LCD photography

Christopher Norris Photography

New image photography

Finest Moments

The Beautiful couple toasting

Name of couple: Daniel and Jennnifer Reider

Date of wedding reception: Feb. 13th 2010

Photographer: Scott from Cirino photography

Venue: Pine Ridge Country club

Summary:

This was an amazing family to work with. Dan and Jennifer met in Las Vegas 2 years ago. Dan has 3 beautiful and very well mannered kids. We were hired by Dan’s father, without ever meeting the bride or groom. Mr.and Mrs. John and Judy Reider were amazing and very friendly on the phone.  When we set up the meeting, they were able to sign on through our online planning site and have fun with the music and planning. Dan and Jennifer were married on December 30th, In beautiful Hawaii in front of close family and friends. While I didn’t get to attend the wedding, I surely got to see video and it looked like an amazing time.

After our meeting with Dan and Jennifer, (and Mom and Dad as well) we helped and aided them in planning the entire events of the evening. It was planned to be a fun but tasteful reception where everyone including the kids were included. After a few phone calls and help with some details we were set to go.

THE RECEPTION: When we arrived at Pine Ridge Country club we had not had the chance to have been there since they have re-decorated part of the upstairs. It is absolutely breathtaking. They freshened up the pre-function areas with brand new carpet and paint. It has a very warm, inviting feeling to it.  The guests were greeting by Dan and Jennifer in the front area as they were invited in to enjoy cocktails and appetizers which were passed and on the tables. When we invited the guests into the ballroom, they were met with a variety of Hawaain songs to re-create their wedding.

The dance

After a few acknowledgements the bride and groom performed the jumping of the broom ceremony and then  we had 5 toasts from various family members and the parents. Dinner was amazing as the staff at Dino’s (The inhouse caterers for Pine Ridge) are quick, gracefull and truly amazing. The salad was a mixed green anti pasta with house Italian dressing. Delicious as always. The main course had a choice of Chicken/Fish or Filet Mignon. I always chose what was left over and this time we got lucks with the Filet. It was perfectly cooked and mouth watering. This would be the same type of quality of filet you would pay for at Morton steak house.

the dance

on top of the world.

After dinner we went into the formal 1st dance,which we re-created from their wedding ceremony back in Hawaaii. The song was from 50 first dates and it was Israel K.s version of Somewhere over the rainbow. after the 1st dance we invited Dan and his mother and Jennifer and her father. It worked out beautifully.  After those dances we packed the entire dancefloor for the 1st song of the night. We went into a host of fun dances and they guests enjoyed themselves the entire evening.

We certainly enjoyed being the Cleveland DJ’s of choice at their wedding reception.

Special thanks to Scott from Cirino photography for these pictures. Please see their website and Cirinophoto.com for more great photos.

Looking for another great DJ in the Cleveland area

Ted from TKO DJ http://www.tkodjs.com/ He runs a first class operation called Total Knockout Entertainment or TKO entertainment.  TKO Entertainment has been in business for over 25 years. TKO Entertainment specializes in a variety of different events From Wedding to Mitzvahs.  They have many top honors in this city, which is an amazing feat!

TKO entertainment is one of the leading Cleveland DJs here in the Northeast Ohio area. They are a full service wedding dj company.

http://www.tkodjs.com/

If you do not choose anyone else for your cleveland wedding dj entertainment, I would check out TKO Entertainment. They are very interactive and will plan your cleveland wedding to ensure you are happy. We certainly wish Ted and his staff all the best of luck with their business.

TKO entertainment is a great choice here in Cleveland Ohio

http://www.djislandentertainment.com/ Island Entertainment is another amazing DJ company in the Cleveland and Northeast ohio area

Island Entertainment  http://www.djislandentertainment.com/He runs a first class operation called Island Entertainment.   Island Entertainment has been in business for years.  Island  Entertainment specializes in a variety of different events From Wedding to Mitzvahs.  They have many top honors in this city, which is an amazing feat!

Island entertainment is one of the leading Cleveland DJs here in the Northeast Ohio area. They are a full service wedding dj company.

contact them: http://www.djislandentertainment.com/

If you do not choose anyone else for your cleveland wedding dj entertainment, I would check out Island Entertainment. They are very interactive and will plan your cleveland wedding to ensure you are happy. We certainly wish their staff all the best of luck with their business.

Island entertainment is a great choice here in Cleveland Ohio

Looking for a great DJ in the Cleveland area

Pete Troia from Troy entertainment was the former director of entertainment from the flats in Cleveland. He runs a first class operation called Troy entertainment. Troy Entertainment has been in business for over 25 years. Troy Entertainment specializes in a variety of different events. They were surprisingly chosen and #! on the Cleveland Hot list, which is an amazing feat!  I really don’t know how they did it.

Troy entertainment is one of the leading Cleveland DJs here in the Northeast Ohio area. They are a full service wedding dj company.

www.troyentertainment.com

If you do not choose anyone else for your cleveland wedding dj entertainment, I would check out Troy Entertainment. They are very interactive and will plan your cleveland wedding to ensure you are happy. We certainly wish Pete and Kim Troy the best of luck with their business.

Troy entertainment is a great choice here in Cleveland Ohio.

Looking for a great DJ in the Cleveland area
kerry mccullough from Final Touch Entertainment is one of the pioneers in the Cleveland DJ industry here in Northeast Ohio. He runs a first class operation called Final touch entertainment. Final touch Entertainment has been in business for over 30 years. Final Touch Entertainment specializes in a variety of different events. In addition to amazing DJ services they also do rentals of equipment and inflatables. They have been very involved in the DJ industry here in Cleveland are are very well respected. Final touch entertainment

Final touch entertainment is one of the leading Cleveland DJs here in the Northeast Ohio area. They are a full service wedding dj company.

kerry mccullough

If you do not choose anyone else for your cleveland wedding dj entertainment, I would check out Final TouchEntertainment. They are very interactive and will plan your cleveland wedding to ensure you are happy. We certainly wish Kerry  the best of luck with their business.

Final touch entertainment is a great choice here in Cleveland Ohio.

When looking for a cleveland wedding DJ the best thing to do is go to google and type in the phrase cleveland wedding disk jockeys. Its the best way for you to find your cleveland DJ.. A cleveland DJ doesn’t necessarily mean your going to get the best for your money by getting a northeast ohio wedding dj to do your wedding reception. TKO entertainment is a great choice for your wedding reception. Selective Sound Entertainment is a great choice for your wedding DJ. Troy entertainment is another great choice for a cleveland ohio wedding djs. Going a bit farther, The DJ company is also another great choice in cleveland for wedding disk jockeys. The Marino brothers are an amazing cleveland DJ. I also had the pleasure of working with Final touch entertainment, who is an amazing cleveland DJ company. Another great cleveland wedding dj company is the Beach boyz entetainment Djs. Freddie james dj’s have been in the business for years and are leading the cleveland wedding dj market. Billy J dj’s are a new company in cleveland DJ. Audio extremes DJs are amazing. Academy DJ’s are an amazing cleveland wedding dj company. Rock the house RTH entertainment is one of the newest and most upcoming wedding DJ companies. RTH group is amazing. Pro disk entertainment is a great choice for cleveland wedding dj. Jerry bruno production is a good choice for cleveland djs and cleveland wedding djs. Music & more has also been in the cleveland wedding dj business for years. 5 star cleveland wedding dj’s have been in the business for a long time. rjgoody is also a great northeast ohio wedding dj. island entertainment has been in the cleveland wedding dj business for a while. Dj packy Malley is also a great cleveland dj cuyahoga county choice. solid gold sound is another cleveland northeast ohio wedding djs company.

executive caterers is a great choice in having your wedding reception. Executive Caterers has been in the catering business for years and do an amazing job on weddings. Executive caterers has beautiful grounds for your ceremony and reception.

a taste of excellence catering is a great choice for cleveland weddings.

Marigold catering is one of the hottest names in catering now.

THe cleveland airport marriot is another fantastic wedding choice

Wyndham hotel is a great chioce for a bride to check out for her wedding.
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THe Marriott Key center for weddings and the Marriott downtown Hotel for wedding receptions.

Harvard rd. marriott does a great job for wedding receptions.

Embassy suites beachwood is another great venue for wedding receptions.

Michaudes town and country has several rooms to choose from for wedding receptions.

Wagners country inn is a great place to host your cleveland wedding reception.

Borally’s is another fantastic venue for a wedding reception. We DJ there on several occassions and they are located in cleveland

LaVera Party center is an amazing reception facility for weddings in cleveland

La Malfa is a place where we DJ at many times in Mentor Ohio and La Malfa goes out of there way to accomadate us as cleveland dj’s

Normandy party center is another great venue for weddings and we love to work there.

THe Patrician party center is another great wedding venue

The Hilton Garden Inn is an amazing choice to host your wedding reception. We DJ at the Hilton Garden inn on many occasions and is a favorite choice for us in NOrtheast ohio djs.

THe Bertram inn and conference center hosts weddings and is an amazing wedding reception venue.

Landerhaven is a great choice to have your wedding reception. Landerhaven has been in the business for 30 plus years and we prefer to DJ there on a regular basis.

PIne Ridge Country club is amazing to have wedding receptions at. Pine ridge country club has a very unique facility and it gives you a warm welcome feel. The acoustics at pine ridge are great to DJ. We do many wedding receptions there and Dinos catering compliments the facility with amazing food.

St. Noels is a great wedding reception facility. Randy and his staff are amazing and really go out of there way to make your wedding reception amazing.

Croation lodge in eastlake is a very large wedding reception venue.

Signature of solon is a very upscale and unique wedding reception location. Having your wedding at Signature of solon is going to keep your guests talking about your cleveland wedding reception for years.

La Centre and La Center are in westlake and are one of the highest caliber quality places to have your wedding reception. We DJ there many times over the years and they always do a great job.

St. Michaels woodside is fun to DJ a wedding reception at.

St. Savas is a place we have fun doing cleveland dj work.

Weymouth country club is very unique for a wedding reception.

Check out the Cleveland wedding guide at mywedding.com

Five StarEntertainment is an very good choice for DJ entertainment here in the Cleveland area.  Don Paul is a fantastic cleveland DJ here in Northeast Ohio. If you do get lucky enough to have Don or any of his staff at your reception you will be dealing with years of experience. One thing people forget about is that talent and experience is what plays such a vital role in your wedding reception.

Five Star Entertainment Djs here in cleveland ohio are a great choice. With as many years as they have in the business, they sure are one of the better choices here.

We wish Don Paul and his staff all the best in the future. we hope to keep a great business relationship. Thank you Don.

Why you should hire Selective Sound Entertainment

1. SOUND – We bring a FULL RANGE concert sound system powered by an intricate number of COMMERCIAL GRADE amps, eq’s and compressors for sound that is big, clean and clear (people will not complain that it is too loud!!) *BACKUP EQUIPMENT BUILT IN* Most other dj companies bring 2 small vocal speakers on stands which do not offer full range sound. They probably do not use outboard eq’s which leads to the blaring sound that makes eardrums hurt, And NO backup equipment.
2. LIGHTING – We use colored wash lighting which is crucial in setting the proper mood and atmosphere on the dance floor and also gives us the ability to work with your venue to dim the bright white lights over the dance floor areas. Most other DJ companies- Either no lighting at all or cheap effects lights that move around the room, where your guests are trying to enjoy themselves.
3. EXPERIENCE – Selective Sound Entertainment has been in business for over 21 years and has been a part of over 4000+ unforgettable wedding receptions. We know how to adapt and handle the possibility of changes at your reception because we’ve experienced it more. All of our DJ’s and MC’s have extensive training and experience. We are members of the National Association of Mobile Entertainers. Most other DJ companies have been around less than 7 to 8 years (their company is relatively new and not as experienced with handling pressure situations and making proper judgment calls on the fly). Most companies have not had any training and learn at various wedding receptions.
4. PRE-PLANNING – We customize and tailor every reception to your tastes. Our full time office staff works all week extensively preparing your details and music. We are100% aware of everything that is going to happen at the reception. No surprises! We spend approximately 5 to 6 hours pre-planning and ENSURE all of your special requests and dedications are taken care of for you.
5. QUALITY – The overall quality, experience and knowledge of our DJs and our company far exceeds most companies in the area. We have attended numerous DJ conferences, taken numerous training courses and network with DJ’s across the country to keep up on latest trends and ideas. WE SHARE IDEAS with YOU to make your wedding unique.
6. STAFF – Our staff contains trained, seasoned veterans who have been coordinating and Emceeing wedding receptions for over 18 years. We are extremely tasteful and classy and give your reception a shot of class, style and fun. No other DJ staff in Northeast Ohio can offer the same consistency and value for your money than we can. We use the best people to deliver the best product. We feel that after 21 years we are one of the most experienced and leading DJ companies in this area.
7. PRICE – Our price is worth every penny. We have the ability to make a good reception great and a great reception phenomenal. When guests are telling you that your reception was one of the best they’ve ever attended, you will realize it was money well spent.
8. VALUE- If things aren’t running smoothly and things aren’t getting done and it seems like your reception is taking forever to get started, guests will leave early. With all that money spent, you want them there ALL NIGHT LONG. With Selective Sound Entertainment and our experienced Reception coordinators as part of every package, you are ensured that we will keep everything running smoothly and on time as best as we can to keep the guests from being bored. Add the element of great music at the right time and your guests will be dancing all night long. As your guests are staying longer, you realize that the entertainment is what kept them there having fun. The value that we offer is priceless when your dance floor is packed at 11.30pm

9. Ask the other companies this… … Do you carry liability insurance? (We do, up to 3 million) Do you have a legal music library that isn’t burned off the internet? (We do, almost 6,000 cd’s since 1987) Do you have references that are recent and we can contact? (We do, hundreds on file, just ask) Do your prices include state and local taxes (ours do) Will you get music for me if I cannot locate it? (As long as it is in print, we take care of and handle all special requests)