This week’s DJ LIFE Mobile Monday DJ spotlight shines on John Jones (DJ For Your Day), originally hailing from Bangor, Maine.
Originally hailing from Bangor, Maine, John Jones began his DJ career in 1999. Shortly after high school, John moved to Burlington, Vermont, and from there, his work and passion as a DJ only intensified. According to Jones, founder of DJ For Your Day, “being a mobile DJ has been and always will be the greatest job in the world.”
When DJ LIFE caught up with John Jones, he filled us in on DJ For Your Day, how he first got his start as a mobile DJ, go-to gear and setup, and much more…
DJ LIFE: What does being a Mobile DJ mean to you?
John Jones: Being a mobile DJ has been and always will be the greatest job in the world. Whether it’s being tapped to provide an experience for two people’s biggest day or just set the room for a corporate crew ready to cut lose, being trusted to provide the vibe at any event is the biggest honor there is as a DJ. Hundreds of happy people, smiling and dancing, seriously, you can’t find a better office environment! But it doesn’t come without hard work and vision.
DJ LIFE: How and when did you get your start as a Mobile DJ?
Jones: I started out my DJing career in 1999 in Bangor, Maine, with an old set of Gemini XLs and a pair of speakers my parents begrudgingly bought me from American DJ. I don’t know if they were more worried buying something online at that time, or that the first record that showed up in the mail was Master P Ghetto D.
Shortly after high school, I moved to Burlington, Vermont, for college and quickly got an internship at a local alt rock radio station (WBTZ 99.9 “The Buzz). I never wanted to be a radio DJ but DJing in any sense was better than spreadsheets and real work.
I was green lit to an on-air position quickly and spent the remaining college years as an on-air personality for a commercial radio station servicing Vermont, New York and Montreal, Canada. Though this made for an unbelievable college experience it wasn’t going to buy me a house or pay off any of my college loans anytime soon.
One day a listener from upstate NY called into the station and asked if I would DJ/MC their wedding. I was DJing local clubs on the weekends for extra cash but had never thought about weddings until this point. We talked through the details and the price point, and my first gig (and my future) was booked.
It wasn’t long before word got out and my calendar got stacked. At first it was a lot of requests for smaller venue lower paying gigs which actually great because it gave me the opportunity to cut my teeth, fail fast and get together a routine that worked.
The following two years, events became higher quality, higher paying, and the path to running a successful multi-op became clear.
DJ LIFE: What’s some of your go-to gear?
Jones: We’ve come a long way from the 1999 Gemini decks. Today, the standard DJ for Your Day experience for over 90% of our gigs (average gig 80 – 180 people) is:
QSC Sound Centric (buy in bulk and save!), Couple 12’ PA speakers, BLX24 Wireless Mic is the non-negotiable PA set up for our team (this keeps the sound consistent across all our events).
As for controllers, our DJs are encouraged to use whatever they feel comfortable with. Many of our guys still use the classic MKII’s with Rane 72 and quite a few have transitioned to controllers. The most popular so far this year by far has been the Pioneer REV 7. What a beast!
QSC K12.2 12″ Powered Active DJ PA Speakers + BLX24/SM58 Wireless Mic System (H9 Band).
DJ LIFE: Are there any cons to being a mobile DJ?
Jones: Ask any DJ a peeve about our life… number one answer, sacrificing weekends! However, the joy of bringing happiness and soul into someone’s life far exceeds losing a couple nights at the bar.
Another con, more of a frustration is watching a couple getting married but more time and energy into the placement of the salt and pepper shakers on their guests’ dinner tables than the music and flow of the night. It can be scary having to make unguided assumptions because of lack of focus on the music from a couple.
DJ LIFE: What else can you share with DJ LIFE about your experience?
Jones: I wanted to start a Mobile DJ company that had the best DJs Burlington, Vermont had to offer, while also keeping the community that embraced me musically top of mind. There is no shortage of absolute killers in our community but many club DJ’s have strong opinions about going to a Mobile DJ company… aka “the other side.”
We opened a brick and motor store front in downtown Burlington, Vermont, in 2015 as a DJ school and classroom (at the time called Studio 5, now undergoing some rebranding). [This was great] for anyone in the community to learn DJing and for established DJs to learn the Mobile DJ scene. We partnered with local non-profit youth centers to give kids without a lot of music in their lives the opportunity to see what it’s all about. It provided for such a dynamic and fun positive environment.
At the time we were bootstrapping a Mobile DJ company and DJ training school. It was wild, our equipment consisted of a couple sets of MKII’s (our crown jewels) to some belt drive Panasonic decks from the 80s – really anything we could get our hands on. But in the end, the elbow grease was worth it. We now had an environment that helped us refine local talent to align with DJ For Your Day standards while providing an opportunity to develop new talent.
Today, our business model of contracting local talent, providing training and then sending them off to crush has proven successful. Our crew is happy because they are paid (treat your DJs right Mobile Owners!) and they are continuously learning skills that they can use in their career for years to come. Above all, our customers love having full time DJs that do this for a living vs. a guy that sells used cars five days a week handle the vibe on their biggest day. It’s the DJ For Your Day way, yo! Learn more at djforyourday.com.