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The following are two articles that appeared
in the Fresno Bee. The first is from the Neighbors Section on October 24th,
2000 and the latter is from the Small Business Profile section ran on Sunday,
February 14th, 1999.
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By Daniel Roberts
ARTS COORDINATOR |
DJ Revels in making people happy...
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How did you get started in the DJ business? |
I started when I was back at Fresno State. I had been a musician all
of my life and I decided to kind of put together my skills and talents. I
figured as long as I was a musician, I could spin a few records, Right?
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What's your most frequent job? |
Wedding banquets.
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How many events do you do in a year? |
We do about 300.
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What is your most requested song? |
At weddings, I'd say it's "From This Moment" for the first dance. Definitely
that one.
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"From This Moment"?... |
Yeah. It's a Shania Twain song. We also play "Celebrate"(Kool & The Gang),
"Old Time Rock & Roll"(Bob Seger) and "Mambo #5"(Lou Bega)
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Do you get sick of hearing those at all? |
Well ... when I'm not playing anything, I listen to
talk radio. And what we play ... kind of depends on
their age and ethnicity. You kind of have to be up
on everything.
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How many CDs do you own? |
Gosh. Are you going to make me guesstimate? We've got tens of thousands of
tracks. I'd say we have thousands of CDs.
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What's your most non-requested song? The one people tell you never
to play? |
Well, there's one song that goes down either way. It's "The Chicken Dance."
Either you love it or you hate it.
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Is there anything you hate playing? |
Vulgarity just kills me.
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That cuts out rap... |
Yeah, but you have to separate rap from hip-hop. Someone like Will Smith
is OK ... but if it's vulgar, we don't do it.
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How was the DJ at your wedding? |
Actually, they pulled a little prank on me. I told the DJ to play a slow
song for the first dance. But my wife had told him to put on "Carribean
Queen." I turned around and was like, "Hey, you're playing the wrong song."
But my wife just told me to dance.
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Strangest wedding? |
I wasn't there, but my company did it. The groom passed out first,
then they got him up and the bride passed out.
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What song was playing at the time? |
We weren't actually involved in that [incident]. Nothing was on.
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What's the best part of your job? |
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Making people happy. And being part of their beginning. Sometimes I'll
see a couple two or three or four years later and they're like, "Hey, you DJ'd our wedding." That's pretty cool.
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By Jim Steinber
FRESNO BEE |
Tyrone White -- one time trumpet player, Tulare Union High School drum major
and student body president, and Fresno State drum major -- now sells
parties.
He is now business owner Tyrone White, 32, who runs Party "DJ" Party, a disc
jockey service specializing in wedding receptions and special events.
He began his business in 1991 and now provides disc jockey service to 250
events per year. White's company also offers sound equipment, slide
projectors, overhead projection and related services.
He has his own gospel record label, Sikio Marika -- "Ear Mark"
in Swahili -- which is promoting pop and gospel singer Lea Transfeld of
Germany.
Music has been White's focus since sixth grade in Tulare: trumpet and bass
guitar.
White's business ideas germinated at California State University, Fresno.
He was a senior residence hall adviser and wanted to improve togetherness
among students in his dormitory. He announced a hall party with a sound system
rented from Fresno State. Fellow students brought music tapes.
"We had such a good time," White says, "that the word got out." The
word was: Check out Tyrone White for a good party.
"It was never my intention to become a DJ," he says, "but it was just the
Lord -- how it all worked out."
He learned from experience to be picky in choosing which parties to entertain.
He learned from experience that he lacked adequate control at fraternity
parties, so he doesn't accept that work. White recalls one fraternity party
where he did his DJ thing from a balcony only to see a big fight break out
down on earth. Police responded, including a police helicopter, to restore
order.
"I had nothing to do with it. " White says, "I packed up to get out of
there."
He likes entertaining at weddings.
Their emotional, serious yet joyous essence
fits his services.
White's music selection is varied, to say the least.
Guy Lombardo? He's got it.
Hip-Hop? He's in.
Clients pick between music from the 1920s through today. The big thing now
is swing.
"I come prepared with everything, no matter what age," White says.
He belongs to the National Association of Recording Arts and Science, the
Gospel Music Association and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
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