Monthly Archives: August 2016

SONG CREDITS BELOW: I hope you enjoy my Funky Jazz and Chill Worthy EDM mix! I feel very lucky to play music by these amazing artists! This is my first run of my mix that I am preparing for our “DJ and Drums” to perform for a private event at the Howard Theater in September (Recorded on my Iphone). You’ll hear me mess up towards the end! That’s why they call it practice! I’m still working to perfect it, but I am feeling happy with my song selections (The theme is TrendDC. The planner asked for Rod and I to play a mix of funky jazz music). These are some of my favorite songs! While I am recording this mix to send Rod (the drummer I play with for our “DJ & Drums”), I ALWAYS Mix LIVE! Yet, recording yourself is a great way to practice! (I also do the same for Lisa when she and I perform our “DJ & Violin”. It’s so much fun to play with other artists when we perform our DJ & Instrument combos!). To see videos from our events, visit the Sounds By Shelly YouTube Channel. If you like our videos, please don’t forget to subscribe! I appreciate your support!

Rod and I will be featuring our “DJ & Drums” during a networking event for professionals in in entertainment industry at the Howard Theater in Washington, DC. I had off this Saturday night. So what am I doing? What any good DJ would do – Practicing! Plus, since Rod lives in DC and I live in Philly, the three hour driving distance makes it difficult for us to meet for practice. What I do is record my mix and send to Rod. Most of these songs are not in their original BPM. Rod also needs to have an idea of when I’m transitioning.

While I did pre-record this mix, I always MIX LIVE! You’ll hear me mess up! If this had been live, I just would’ve went with it! We all make mistakes! Sitting here hanging out with Chewbacca (my little puppy), I started day- dreaming as I was recording!! I forgot to switch my BPMs. Since Rod needs to practice also, I stopped and re-recorded the mistake.

I have a lot of beginner DJs ask me, “How do you know what to play?” Or “How do you know when to mix the songs?” The answer is – I research, prepare, and practice. The event this month at Howard Theater will be a networking event. Rod and I are playing for cocktail hour. Since this is not a “dance type” of event, I can pretty much play whatever I feel will go well – without really having to change it up that night. For “dance type” of events, I normally prepare a number of different playlists. This way if something isn’t working, I have other ammo prepared! And of course, I get inspired from the crowd! The more events you DJ, the easier it is to feel out the crowd and select music you know they’ll like!

The theme of the Howard Theater ILEA DC event is “TrendDC” (aka What’s trending in DC). The event planner, Jenny Langer, has requested funky jazz, european type cocktail music. I’m pretty happy with this mix so far. Yet, I am still working to perfect it before the event! I still have about another 30-45 minutes to fill. If you like Funky Jazz and Chill Worthy EDM, join me on my Sounds By Shelly facebook page and let’s talk music!

What I also included in this mix video are photos taken of me by Bert’s Eye View. Why? I want to show you how I’ve grown my mobile DJ business. One of the best decisions I made was to try and bring a professional photographer along with me on events. Or, just have professional photos taken in general to use in my marketing. I used to take photos and videos on my iPhone. An iPhone (or smartphone) does not compare to a professional photographer! I can’t thank Bert’s Eye View enough for helping me to grow my business through his great photos!

During the mix, you hear me flipping my notes. Yes! I take notes! Everyone has their own way of doing things. If you’re a beginner DJ, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you – do what works for you!

The songs I used in this mix are below:
Pela Janela (Through THe Window) feat Gigi Rezende – The Cosmic Game – Thievery Corporaton
The Puma – Leaves of Brass – Afternoons in Stereo
Driving to Montenegro (Mr. Confuse Remix) – Afternoons in Stereo
Esquema da Sophia Pt. II – A Jazz Odyssey – Afternoons in Stereo
Samba Love – Reboot – Notes for the Next Generation – Kaskade
Sunrais – Aural Pleasure – Afternoons in Stereo
Party at Mimi and Dick’s The Science Between Phrases – Afternoons in Stereo
Book on The Beach – Tunnel – Crackazat
Mantra (Axwell Cut) – Michael Feiner
Whatever Lola Wants (Gotan Project Remix) – Sarah Vaughn & Gotan Project
Shine (feat Freddy Verano & Linying Extended Mix) Felix Jaehn
One Thing (Nora en Pure Remix) Me & My Toothbrush
This Girl – Kungs & Cookin on 3 Burners
I Took a Pill In Ibiza – Instrumental Your Voice on Fleek – DJ So On Fleek
Turtleneck – Aural Pleasure – Afternoons in Stereo
1976 – Since We Last Spoke – RJD2
MetroSexual – Aural Pleasure – Afternoons in Stereo
Percussions – Leaves of Brass – Afternoons in Stereo

Hope you enjoy what I’ve been working on so far! I hope to bring you some video footage of the actual event! Thank you for your support!!! – Michelle Lee (aka DeeJay Shelly) “Get SHELL Shocked”