Poster from New Year's party 2009
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A trip back to Great Falls for Thanksgiving was in the works when I got a phone call asking if I wanted to DJ for the New Year's Eve Bash at Club Bighouse this year. I agreed, as I have done so for them year after years since they opened their doors. I told them I was also going to be in town over Thanksgiving weekend, and they offered up their Saturday Night gig. So again, I agreed, looking forward to seeing the old crowd once again.
Thanksgiving itself was wonderful as usual, with a great spread of delicious food, as well as great company with both family and friends.
Saturday Night came quickly, and Ladies Night at the Club turned out to be a tremendous success. It didn't take much coaxing to get the crowd going, and the dance floor stayed packed for the entire evening, right through the last song of the night. It was refreshing to be back in a club scene again, and I'm really looking forward to going back down again for the New Year's Eve party at the end of the year.
Well, Halloween has come and gone already. I spent Thursday, October 30th, DJing for MSU Billings for their Annual Halloween Dance. A couple of hundred young students slowly trickled in at about 8:00pm, and we had them covering the dance floor soon after. I had a great time with a responsive crowd of eager collegiates. The costumes were fun to observe, and awards were given out to several categories, including Scariest - Krusty the Clown; Prettiest - Eve; and Best Overall - Chicken Cord on Blue (someone dressed in a blue suit, with a cord and a rubber chicken attached).
The summer is truly flying by, as it seems to do every year. One weekend was filled with two nights back in Great Falls at Club Bighouse, which was definitely enjoyable. It was great to see some of the old crowd, and to spend time back in the booth.
July really went by in a blur of active weekends, taken up of course by a number of Wedding Receptions.
The month started off with a reception just South of Buffalo, Wyoming. It was at a very nice ranch and the guest list was huge. The set-up was amazing, with an extremely large tent covering quite an expansive area. The Bride and Groom rode in on a horse drawn buggy to a warm applause from the gathered crowd. Everything from then on went off without a hitch, and the only difficult part was shutting down at the end of the evening. The crowd kept chanting for more music, and I finally pulled the plug when the Ranch owner called it a night after 8 hours of music.
The last couple of weekends were spent out of town yet again. First was a Wedding Reception down in Worland, Wyoming. I wasn't sure what to expect when I drove into town, as it had been raining and this was to be another outdoor event. Everything turned out perfect...the clouds went away and the sun came out...even the bugs weren't much of a nuisance. The groom's family was of Mexican descent, and had a good time swinging to Salsa and Merengue music, as well as Country music with the rest of the family. There were also lots of requests for Hip Hop music for the younger crowd. The Generations Dance went over extremely well, as the Bride's Grandparent were the oldest married couple there at 58 years together. It was definitely touching moment as they approached the new couple to give them advice on how to stay together in a happy and commited relationship.
This past Saturday was at a small ranch just outside of Bozeman for a small Wedding Reception. There were only about 50 people in attendance, and most were from different States, ranging from Louisiana and North Carolina to Wisconsin. It was nice to see people flying in from all over to spend time with old family and new for such a special day. The ceremony went smoothly, and the rest of the evening progressed nicely as well. The sky turned cloudy and it started to rain at almost the exact time I was scheduled to shut down, at yet another outdoor event with another great family.
I'm traveling back down to Wyoming this coming weekend, for another reception at another ranch. This one is on the outskirts of Sheridan, and looks like it will be another good one.
Club Bighouse Summer 2008
We traveled down through Wyoming this past weekend, all the way to the South of Ten Sleep. Our destination: The Red Reflet Ranch for a Wedding Reception. The drive down was pleasant, and when we arrived at the ranch, we were definitely surprised to find an absolutely gorgeous location. The scenery was breathtaking, and the building that the reception took place in was very nice, with a great view of the surrounding area. We were a little thrown off at first by the initial meeting with the owners of the property, as they were very difficult to work with. It seemed like an imposition for them to have to accommodate our needs, which were honestly only a six foot table in the reception area, and a table to set our equipment on for the outdoor ceremony. The owners were made aware of our request for tables weeks before the event, but feigned ignorance. We ended up finding a way to make things work on our own, and everything turned out even better than expected.
The reception itself went almost without a hitch. The cake sliding off of the table it was set up on and one third of it smashing on the floor was about the only thing that went wrong, and I have to give credit to the Bride...she shrugged it off and continued celebrating her big day.
The dancing started a little late, as the wedding party and the happy couple wanted to capture some pictures with an amazing backdrop as the sun was going down. But once the dancing started, it was nonstop for the rest of the evening. Everyone had a great time, and it was one of those crowds that we wish could take part in every reception. They were all there to have a good time, and were all smiles for the whole evening.
All in all, the family was wonderful, the friends were a blast, and the location was perfect.
Another Wyoming Wedding Reception, this time down in beautiful Buffalo. Absolutely everything was wonderful, from the food and atmosphere, to the dancing and the company. The family was so welcoming, that we wanted to stay long after the reception was over. The crowd started dancing as soon as the party music began, and didn't stop until it was time to shut things down.
There was such a large variety of music requested, and we had a great time watching as the crowd adjusted to genre after genre of music. They danced to all of it, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. We would definitely travel back to Buffalo to help this family out with another event, or even to simply spend a day hanging out together.
What a crazy year it's been. Back in June of 2007, I moved to Sheridan, Wyoming to further my career with my day job. Of course, my summer was booked with Wedding Receptions, mainly in the Great Falls area, and I spent most of my time driving back and forth from Wyoming to Montana and back again. I worked with some wonderful couples through the end of the year, and would spend my time traveling to work with them all over again.
As my luck would have it, I was asked to move back to Montana, this time to the Billings market, and find it refreshing to be back in Big Sky Country. Once again, I find myself traversing distance to work with more amazing duos, and am very happy that the length is much shorter this time. I'll be performing in Sheridan, Buffalo, Tensleep, the Red Reflet Lodge, and of course, Billings throughout the summer. I do have some dates still open for booking, and would welcome the opportunity to meet more people and help bring everything together with them at their wedding reception.
Now that I am located in Billings, and should be here for quite some time, I'll be able to effectively cover a much wider range of locations. I plan on traveling to Laurel, Big Timber, Livingston, Bozeman, Belgrade, Red Lodge, Miles City, Great Falls, Sheridan, Buffalo, and anywhere in between. It feels good to be centrally located. We're settled into our new place, and I really do feel at home in Billings, MT.
Here's to another great year in music and lasting relationships.
