New Jersey’s personalized DJ entertainment company, Hurricane Productions, launched a prom website for all NJ high schools.

NewJerseyPromDJ.com will serve as another DJ entertainment brand that Hurricane Productions will manage for music, photo and video montages, next-day Facebook photos, and web design.

The company created NewJerseyPromDJ.com because it wants to show its growing client base its versatility in the teen and young adult market. Hurricane Productions is a leader in Sweet 16 DJ entertainment as well as the official DJ for Rutgers University events like Dance Marathon and other philanthropic functions.

“We’re there for their Sweet 16s, their proms, and when New Jersey students choose to stay in-state and attend Rutgers, we’re there too,” Vincent Anthony, a Rutgers University and St. John Vianney High School alumnus said.  “We are the only DJ company that I know of that has the ability to reach clients on three distinct entertainment markets in their young lives.”

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Relive the DJ Times’ 2009 International DJ Expo in Atlantic City, NJ!

'DJ of the Year' Steve Moody

Aside from DJ Expo photos featured on the Hurricane Productions Facebook Fan page, you can view other Facebook photo albums from this year’s event at the following locations:

• DJ of the Year courtesy of Hurricane Productions
• DJ Expo Mobile Kickoff Party courtesy of Hurricane Productions
• International DJ Expo 2009 courtesy of Mike Walter of Elite Entertainment
• DJ Convention Part 1 and Part 2 courtesy of David Friedman of Elite Entertainment
• 2009 International DJ Expo courtesy of the ‘DJ of the Year’ Steve Moody
• Atlantic City Part 1 and More AC courtesy of Ryan Levin of 4Sure Entertainment in Chicago
• DJ Expo and More! courtesy of Brad Gertz of Chicago’s Charizma Entertainment
• DJ Convention 2009 courtesy of Elisa Burg

To be added to this DJ Expo photo gallery list, please leave a comment on our blog with the link!

Hurricane Productions not only performed the Apache-Slide, its original instructional dance, last night at the DJ Expo’s ‘Mobile Kickoff Party’ at the Casbah, but the NJ DJ company also took photos at the event.

Mike Walter of Elite Entertainment hosted the event and it featured a variety of mobile DJ performers, including nominees for this year’s ‘DJ of the Year’

All of the photos are available on the company’s  Facebook Fan Page.

Each summer DJ Strato, of Hurricane Productions DJ Entertainment, compiles his list of musical hits in the Pop, Hip Hop, and Top 40 genres.

“These playlists give me an easy way to find the best music out right now,” says sixteen year old Maxine Ross. “It’s perfect for a backyard party, I can throw this list on my iPod and just have fun and not worry if the music is going to be good.  I liked their music so much I decided to hire them for my Sweet 16!”

[Read More Testimonials]

If you haven’t already, check out HurricaneProductions.com for details on hiring DJ Strato to mix these hits LIVE at your Sweet 16, Graduation, or Private Party.  The Summer 2009 Season is coming to a close so get those pool parties in while you can and enjoy this playlist:

[Read Full Article to See Song List]
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You can now follow Hurricane Productions on Twitter!

Hurricane Productions continues to be at the forefront of DJ and entertainment in terms of social networking and Web 2.0 technology.

The NJ DJ company is also available on Facebook, YouTube, and NJ.com

Hurricane Productions entertains all private affairs including New Jersey weddings, NJ Sweet 16s, College Graduations, Anniversaries, Mitzvahs and more!

You can follow Hurricane Productions and its entertainers on Twitter by visiting the following pages:

Hurricane Productions: www.twitter.com/HurricaneDJs

Vincent Anthony: www.twitter.com/VinDJ

DJ Strato: www.twitter.com/DJStrato

DJ N9NE: www.twitter.com/djn9ne

Did the turntable replace the DJ? Then why should the iPod pose any more of a threat? Both are tools in which DJs use to orchestrate the perfect party. Whether you are throwing a Sweet 16 party or celebrating your wedding day, a good DJ will know what to play and when to play it. The DJs at Hurricane Productions entertainment in New Jersey specialize in finding the perfect balance between music genres and tempos for all events including Weddings, Sweet 16s, and more.

There are countless situations where a good DJ needs to make important decisions throughout any event. Decisions about song choice, volume level, guest requests, equipment failure, timing issues, and so on. If apple releases and iPod that can do all that, we’re all in trouble.

The simple truth is that iPods CAN NOT fulfill all the abilities that a seasoned DJ possesses. However, some still argue that the iPod poses a true threat to the mobile Disc Jockey. For the most part, these people do not know what they’re talking about and won’t understand until they really try running an entire party off of an iPod.

The major negatives in attempting to replace your DJ with an iPod are as follows:

• iPod will not mix your music for you!
  That’s right! You’ll have to listen to every second of every song on your playlist. That is, unless you run behind your makeshift booth and abruptly end the song by pressing the next song button.
• iPod will not make good choices!
  A simple click of the shuffle button has very little chance of running a successful music set. And what happens if you accidentally added “Loving You is Easy Cuz You’re Beautiful” to your dance playlist? How embarrassing . . .
• iPod has no concept of flow or party rhythm.
  DJs are born with a 6th sense for music flow and rhythm. I don’t think iPods ship with that feature.
• Volume, volume, volume.
  Did you know that all songs are not recorded at the same volume level? Your iPod may try to compensate for this variability with its Volume Check function but this function is less than reliable, ESPECIALLY if you have pirated / stolen music on your iPod. The dirty people that rip original CDs don’t care about your Sweet 16 and that Flo Rida is now bumping at half the volume the previous song was.
• Feedback anyone?
  Without someone manning audio levels you can run into some real challenges if you plan on hosting a speech or toast at your engagement. The only thing worse than feedback is a bad DJ and with using an iPod you risk the chance of having both occur.
• VALUE!
  If you STILL feel like an iPod is a viable solution to your party’s entertainment needs then it must be a money issue. Please take a step back and think about what you will need to rent in order to supply your iPod with the necessary sound reinforcement. High quality audio equipment can cost as much as $500-$700 per day.Most DJ companies will supply experienced individuals to run your party, as well as all the equipment, for under a thousand dollars. Take a look at Hurricane Productions Super Sweet 16 Package for an idea of what true DJ entertainment value is all about. This package includes 3 staff members, web photo package, lighting show, high quality sound system and tons more. Your iPod certainly can’t do all that.

For now the iPod will remain nothing more than a music storage tool and private music player. Not a DJ replacement device.

Check out Hurricane Productions LLC, an affordable DJ entertainment company based out of New Jersey that focuses on continuely adding value to their already fantastic product.

Related Content from other excellent entertainment companies:

iPod Wedding Guide – Fourth Estate Audio (Chicago) shows you the pro’s and con’s of putting on an iPod wedding reception.

Whether it’s a private gathering or a corporate function, holiday parties are a great way to celebrate that special time of year. No holiday party is complete without the right music to raise festive spirits. That being said, here is a list of the current top 25 holiday songs that should be included on any holiday-party playlist. Or if you rather leave holiday party music and entertainment to the professionals, consider hiring a DJ. Professional DJ companies are experts when it comes to planning and entertaining all kinds of events for every occasion.

If you are located in New Jersey check out Hurricane Productions DJ Entertainment and get a free holiday party price quote from them online right now.

Friends and fans are constantly asking me where I get my music from and to be honest there is no one single location. Some of my music comes from subscription services, like Promo Only. Other places I get music from include iTunes, Crooklyn Clan, and Beatport.com. The music resource I would like to talk about today is Beatport.

Beatport is a US based website offering digital downloads for DJs and dance music fans alike. Apparently this site is the “first authentic digital music store designed to service the evolution of the digital music culture, redefining how DJ’s and enthusiasts acquire their music.” They aim to do this through negotiating deals with an immense number of record labels and then offering those labels tracks to download on their site.

Beatport is an adobe flash driven website which is sometimes hard to pull off if you have a lot of user activity (e.g. downloading, logging in etc.), but Beatport manages to maintain a sleek and modern look while also implementing unparalleled functionality and ease of use. For a first time user it may take 10 minutes to learn how the site is laid out, but once you have a feel for how it is setup — you’ll realize how easy and efficient the site really is. As an established user I can log onto the site and find music that I want to purchase within just a few clicks. The website is can sometimes act a little sluggish if there are a lot of users connected, but for the most part it is very quick. The website also occasionally suffers from some glitches from it’s flash design. Again, this is pretty rare and is definitely being ironed out over time.

Beatport designers keep their features nice and simple. You can browse the music by genre, which is pretty standard. There are a lot of genres and sub genres to choose from, including: Breaks, Hardcore, House and Trance. There is definitely something here for every lover of electronic dance music. I personally prefer the House and Electro House genres.

The charts are also very handy. There are a number of regular DJs that publish their music charts on the website, and if you manage to find a chart that you like, you will constantly find a good supply of music here. This is especially helpful in unearthing those hidden gems. Personally I’ve found a few classics which when played out, people are desperate to know the name of. The website makes it simple to “favorite” your … well … favorite artists, genres, and labels. Each time you log in, Beatport remembers your favs.

Download Formats

When you choose to purchase a track from Beatport, you get a choice as to how you wish to receive it:

* 320kbps CBR MP3 – This is the best quality MP3 download they do. It is pretty much identical to CD quality.
* 192kbps VBR MP3 – The quality of this MP3 is also good, but it is a fair bit less than CD quality. There isn’t really a need to download at this quality, unless you’re trying to save on disk space a bit. But with the costs of hard drives these days, you’d be mad to want to sacrifice on quality when the price is still the same.
* WAV file – This can only be received through the mail. However it offers the best audio quality out of the three options. I’d suggest that this is for those moments when you want a superb copy of a track. WAV is the highest quality digital audio format. MP3 compresses sound information to save space where as WAV files offer NO compression which usually results in HUGE file sizes.

A great feature that you’ll find, is that once you’ve purchased using your card once, it will store your card details for you. This means that next time you go to buy something, you only have to add it to your crate, choose the format, and then click purchase. Your card details will be recalled automatically. Very handy and it saves you from having to type it all in every time. And if you are concerned about safety and storing your card information on their servers, don’t be. As an experienced web designer I can tell you Beatport has a very secure system.

If you order MP3s they are available to download instantly, as soon as your payment is accepted. You will be redirected to the download page. If you aren’t, simply ensure you are logged in and click on “My Account”. This will allow you to see the records that you have not yet downloaded.

Legal Issues

Obviously some users will be concerned as to legal issues of downloading MP3s, no matter which website they are downloaded from.

All of the MP3s on Beatport are legal and you are licenced to use them for your own personal use. Essentially it is just like buying a record from the record store. The same legal implications are in effect. Beatport has taken the time to create agreements with all labels involved.
You can be sure that both the label and the artist will receive royalties for each track that you download.

Once you’ve downloaded the MP3s there are no watermarks or devices that will stop you from burning them to CD, so that you can DJ with them or listen to them elsewhere.

Overall

This website is a fantastic resource for DJs and dance music fans alike. If you’re a DJ or a dance music fan and you’re looking for a place where you can legally download upfront music and promos, Beatport is a great resource to have access to.

Go Girl, The Anthem 2008 is a new Hip-Hop / House mash featuring DJ Strato / Alex Gaudino Pitbull, Flo-Rida, Lil’ Jon and Cisko Brothers.

The original house instrumental was produced by Cisko Brothers and remixed by Alex Gaudino. The original house instrumental is called “Guaglione”. In 2008 DJ Strato picked up the track and remixed it again, this time adding lyrics from various hip-hop and reggaeton artists including Pitbull, Flo-Rida, and Lil’ Jon.

This mashup has seen huge success at Sweet 16s, graduation parties, and other teen oriented events including Rutgers University Convocation. The evolution of this track is finally complete with the release of the official music video produced by DJ Strato.

DJ Strato reflects on how he has developed his style of remixing:

The thing that I love about mashing popular hip-hop lyrics and house / electro beats is that it combines two areas of popular culture that regularly exist among young audiences. During any teen oriented event there is usually an obvious duality amongst the crowd. Usually, half of the audience enjoys dancing to hip-hop and the other half enjoys dancing to club and house. By combining the two genres in a mash, it allows the hip-hop enthusiasts to sing along and participate in something familiar while it also satisfies the club/house enthusiasts taste for heart pumping bass lines and gradual momentous buildups.

With the entire world of music at our fingertips, made possible by our friend the internet, it’s relatively easy for DJs to amass an extensive music library. As a mobile disc jockey this is a fantastic realization. DJs no longer have to buy expensive records or even CDs and what’s even more appealing is that two hundred pounds of records has now been shrunk down into a half-pound external hard drive. Services like iTunes and Real Rhapsody make it possible to legally download huge amounts of musical data right from the comfort of your home.

Despite all the conveniences the internet brings to the mobile DJ table it is still very possible to incur massive holes in your music library! Let’s face it, even the biggest external hard drives cannot hold all the world’s music. So what do we do as DJs? We try to make sure we have the top songs from popular artists and try to anticipate what requests might be for each individual event.

That being said, there is always a chance you make not have the song, best man Jim Johnson wants to lip sync at his best friend’s wedding. Or perhaps a brand new song has just aired on the radio, it slips under your DJ radar, and someone requests it at a Sweet 16.

Well as a DJ, the words “I don’t have that song” NEVER want to leave your mouth. To combat such statements from even entering the forefront of a DJs brain, a few core values must be bent. Most DJs are honest, passionate, friendly individuals — but when it comes to the embarrassment of not having a song, honesty sometimes takes a back seat.

That brings me to our list of the Top 6 DJ Excuses for Not Having a Song Request:

1.) I’m sorry, the version I have is not edited — and I can only play clean music.
2.) That song is a little too up-tempo for right now, I’ll play it when the music gets “dancier“.
3.) Bah! This is terrible… the CD with your song on it is scratched.
4.) I know I have it, just give me a minute to find it.
5.) It’s almost dinner time, I can only fit a couple more songs in.
6.) I have about 11 requests to fulfill before yours, be patient [...hopefully forget about the track...] and I’ll play it after the other eleven songs.

Now, only a couple of those excuses are backfire-proof. Most of the excuses rely on the guest either forgetting about their request or simply not wanting to bother the DJ again. However, there are always a few persistent guests who return to the DJ booth three, four, or even five times nagging the DJ until their song gets played. In that situation you’ve got to be resourceful.

Most venues have a wireless internet connection that a DJ can tap into in the case of a music request emergency. Also, the majority of our DJs have made the cellphone switch to the iPhone and with the iPhone you can download a song from iTunes virtually anywhere in the world.

As easy as that sounds, it is still quite a hassle to take your concentration off the mix — find the appropriate wire for the iPhone — plug it into your AUX port — download the song — and somehow smoothly mix into it from the iPod. Wireless internet technology is improving every day and the hope for DJs is that in the future we will never have to make up excuses for not having music — but until the technology becomes faster, more convenient, and easier our list of six will continue to sustain disc jockey pride.