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Q. How much do you
charge? A.
Obviously, the most often-asked, and
first-asked question. We strive to keep
our prices
competitive with other DJ's in our area
with comparable equipment, experience,
etc.Before
continuing, please take a
moment and go to: "A Typical
Wedding" (use "back" to return here when
finished) There are different packages to choose from, depending on your type of function. For Weddings & Anniversaries, parties that require Emcee work $549-Basic 4-hour DJ & Emcee $584-Deluxe 4-Hour DJ & Emcee with NH Justice of the Peace services (Note: Karaoke is for "karaoke-only" parties and not available for weddings & anniversaries) $100-Justice of the Peace only (no DJ services) Other Functions (Karaoke Parties, birthdays, etc.) $400-3 hours $500-4 hours Addition time in all cases is $100 per hour/$75 per 1/2 hr.
For Karaoke: nearly 3000 different songs! (4/28/07) It would cost at LEAST $75 to rent a machine on your own, there is a very limited song choice (500 songs or so) and you would need someone competent to run it. *Note:
Karaoke
alone is also available at
$400 for 3 hours, or $500 for 4 hours.
For more information on our Karaoke
Services,
Click Here!
TravelI am willing to travel. I often travel 1 to 2 hours away from home to do functions. Travel outside my local area (local is detemined by me, but is 25 +/- miles from Dover, NH. Naturally, charge depends on how far I have to go.For more information on Travel, Click Here! Q. After the balance of the contract has been paid, is a gratuity customary or expected? A. Absolutely not. Sometimes clients offer a tip at the end of the function, and this is graciously accepted. However, once the contracted amount has been paid, no further gratuity is expected. Q. Can we have you as our officiant as well as DJ & Emcee? A. Sure. For your complete wedding & reception package! JP is included in the Deluxe Wedding Package. (only $35 more that the Basic DJ & Emcee package!) Q. We are in need of a Justice of the Peace only. If we already have our DJ or not having a DJ at all, are you willing to be our officiant? Sure, but with a few differences and limitations. If your date is soon (2 to 4 wks. away) and I have the date available, I'd be glad to. For JP service on weekdays, I will book JP services in advance. Justice of the Peace services, with no DJ services involved, is $100/local to Dover, N.H. I also have online ceremony passages to choose from at no added cost.I consider my primary wedding function as a DJ & Emcee. DJ/Emcee packages begin at $549. It's for this financial reason I choose not to book $100 JP-only dates too far in advance. If I have no DJ date within 2-4 wks. of any date I probably won't, and be glad to officiate at yours. Q. What kind of music do you
have? A.
We
have a wide variety of music on hand,
whether it be for a wedding, or an
anniversary party. Generally, a good variety,
especially of dance numbers, is
needed. If a list of "please be sure to play" is submitted to me within a week or two prior to your function, I will make every effort to acquire them. Q.
Do you take requests from our guests as
well as ones we may
want? A. Yes and Yes. It's our
aim,
of
course, to please you and as many of your guests
as possible. After all, from a business
point of view, there could be future
clients in the audience. We also try to
play them as soon as
possible. Q. What if we have some
special songs we want
played? A.
Provided the song list
is sent (online wedding form, email,
faxed, or regular mail)
at least one
to two weeks prior to your
function. This would give sufficient
time, if needed, to acquire a few we may
not have. Q.
Do you work with us, or do you have a
set way of doing things? A. My attitude is always
that
I'm being hired by you, and I do what
you want to have done. This is
YOUR wedding
or function. I'll be glad to make some
suggestions when we meet prior to the
wedding, and certainly if you need ideas
or guidance, I've been to and played at
many weddings
in the past 25+ years, and I see how
others like to do things. In the
end, though, I make it YOUR
decision as to what we inevitably
do. Q. Do you keep things
"rolling"? A.
Absolutely. Some good examples are
making sure the toast is being poured by
the time the entrance of the wedding
party is made. Another would be briefing
the photographer and caterer at the
beginning as to the
format I've worked out with you, so they
are ready to take
pictures, or checking that food and wine
toasts have been set
out and ready to be served so as to not
have
any "down-time" You will see me "roaming
around" a lot, speaking with the
photographer, caterer or kitchen people,
co-ordinating happenings. Not the
usual
thought-of
responsibilities of the
DJ/MC. For more on this, go to
"A Typical
Wedding" Q. Do you typically provide props or are you a more low key act?
A. I don't provide props, or any other what I will call "gimmicks". I believe on allowing the music to "speak" for itself. I also believe that folks want to dance, not listen to a DJ tell jokes and dress up in silly garb. After enough times of hearing a heckler from the audience shout, "Shut up and play some music!", you get the idea. I would hardly consider what I do a low key act, though.![](goldbarbella5.gif)
Q. Do you need a down
deposit for us to retain your
services? A.
Yes. A $150.00 retainer would be needed
to retain your date in our book. The
deposit is not refundable, but is
applied to and subtracted from your
original, agreed-to fee. The retainer is
expected, along with the online contract, (see blue sidebar) within 5
mailing days from when you called or emailed me to
inform me of your decision to book. I will hold
the date for you for those next 5
days--guaranteed.
Once the retainer is secured, if anyone
else calls for that day-time, I simply
inform them I'm all set with that date.
A check or money
order may be
sent to and payable to:Rick
Tate 93A Washington St.#2 Dover,NH
03820-3745
Email Me or phone
603-742-4470
Q. Do you have a
contract? A. Yes. When I receive your intitial "Request For Services" I will send you an emailed price quote, and then you complete the online contract, and mail with the retainer. I will send you a copy back. To view my contract Click Here (you need Adobe Reader to view this PDF file--download it free here.) Q. Do we pay any extra for
your set-up and tear-down
time? A.
Absolutely not. If your function is
1:00pm to 5:00pm,
that is what your 4 hour contracted
period would be. We generally arrive 1-1.5 hours prior to, in this
example, the 1:00pm to 5:00pm contracted
time, and are ready to begin playing
music at 1:00pm. I don't believe in
"nickel and diming" folks to
death. Q. What are the terms for the remaining balance? Can it be paid in advance of the function? Remaining balance is due 10 days prior to your function. About a month before your function, I will email you a reminder. A personal check, money order or a cashier's check is fine. You may make your final payment any time after the contract signing. I can set up a payment plan with you, also. Just email me. Q.
How long have you been DJ'ing weddings
and functions? A. I (Rick) first
started
DJ/MC
work for weddings in 1977, at the ripe
old age of 23. Before that, I had some
good training by way of my then
mother-in-law, who was the lead singer
and "Mistress of Ceremonies" for
weddings. I (Rick) have been a karaoke
host since working for another karaoke
company, in 1992. ![](goldbarbella5.gif) Q. Do you drink alcoholic beverages while working? A. I never drink alcohol on the job--period. It's my own personal view, but I view it as unprofessional to do so. Although often times I have a GREAT time doing weddings, I see myself there as doing a job that I get paid for, and not to drink and party. ![](goldbarbella5.gif) Q.
Do you have a video or audio
tape? A. No, and for what I
think
are good reasons. I think wedding video
or audio demo tapes can be so
misrepresentative. In
such a
video or audio, most people would base
their
opinions of the DJ on the first 2 or 3
songs.
Which 3 songs would be featured? Pop? Country? Classic Rock? Of
course, it would be edited to show
footage of times when the dance floor
was full--see what I mean? I could shoot
4 different videos to send out,
depending on that individual's musical
taste and send the video that most closely matches their musical tastes--would that be really
representative? It only would show my performance according to one of my client's tastes. If you were to see me do or play something that you didn't want at your function, you would probably not want to hire me. The point is that the style of my performance will reflect your desires. I will play the songs you want, while avoiding the ones you don't. The level of personality and audience interaction will be at the right "temperature", too. I do have
streaming video on many of my web pages of myself introducing the various pages, to give you an idea of what I look like, sound like, and perhaps even a glimpse of my personality. Q. How many different units
do you have? A. One unit. The person
who
wrote this (Rick) is the person to sign
the
contract, and to DJ and MC or Karaoke
host at
your
function. Q.
Can
we come see you at a
function? A.
The vast majority of work we do is
private functions, such as weddings.
Although I have invited others to
someone else's function in the distant
past, I find the practice to be rather
tacky, on my part. After all, you wouldn't want
uninvited strangers coming into your
function,
would you? Q. Do you have any written references? How about a brochure? A. Yes, both. My
references
are online-some with email or phone contact as
you go further down the page. For online
references:
Click
Here! Q. What kind of equipment do
you run? How
powerful is the sound
system? Is it O.K for a small reception
of, say, 80 people, as well as one with
250? A.Our
amplifier and speaker system has a maximum
rating of 260
watts per channel @ 8ohms, more
than enough
for any
indoor setting (reception hall,
gymnasium), as well as with any
backyard, outdoor
reception. I also have subwoofers. That does not mean we
will
"blow the walls" off a small room.
High-powered systems sound even clearer
at low volume levels.For more
information about our equipment,
including pictures, Click
Here Q.
Do you have back-up
equipment? A. Yes. All electronic
components have backup systems. In
addition to the amp previously
mentioned, we have a Gemini XG3000
200-watts per channel @8ohms as a backup
amp. We also have packed a spare mixer,
and the karaoke player, which is built
in to the cabinet, can also be used as
an emergency backup CD player. *Maintenance and
re-purchasing
of equipment has always been important
to me. In over 20 years, I've never had
a major malfunction that caused music to
cease permanently. Pretty
good track record, huh!
Q. What attire do you
normally wear? A. I own a
tuxedo and several suits. I feel comfortable wearing the tuxedo, but I will certainly wear an appropriate suit
and tie, when asked. Q.Can we
book karaoke only, for say, a birthday
party? A.Yes. Karaoke Party rates
are 4 hours for $500 and 5 hours for $600. Karaoke parties are booked separately from DJ Services, and can not be combined with DJ services.For a list
of all karaoke songs we currently have
(nearly 3000, including new
releases!)
Click
Here! Q.If we
decide to have a non-church wedding
ceremony, can you marry us? A.Yes! For your complete wedding ceremony and reception package! I am a NH
state-appointed, commissioned NH Justice of
the Peace. The wedding ceremony only needs to
take place within the boundary of NH (with a NH marriage license) For Justice of the Peace service information, Click Here! ![](goldbarbella5.gif) Q. Do you attend the ceremony rehearsal? A. No. All of my ceremonies are very simple "repeat what I say" passages. Most of the time spent at rehearsals have to do with who walks with who, where, and at what time. All I need to do is read. Any small details can be discussed prior to the ceremony. I get to the site 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior. To view the ceremonies, Click Here To view the "Justice of the Peace" page, Click Here Tips on Selecting a
Disc Jockey
Asking the following
questions will help you to decide which
Disc Jockey you're most confident
with:
How much
experience does the D.J. have?
Does the D.J. have a professional/proper
appearance?
Does the D.J. have a tentative format as
to what order the events of the
reception should occur?
What kind of sound and lighting does the
D.J. carry?
Will dinner music be included in the
D.J.'s price?
Will the D.J. set-up before your guests
arrive free-of-charge?
Do you feel confident with the way the
D.J. presents himself/herself?
Will the D.J. meet with you personally
before your wedding date?
Please use our
"Request For Services" form
WE
WANT TO BE YOUR DISC
JOCKEY!
Links to
other
pages within our
website
If you have a question or
concern not covered on this page, feel free to
Email Me I'll be
glad to answer you, and usually within
1/2 day!
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