Lake George, N.Y. – Though he does much of his business in a town of less than 4,000 full-time residents, Mark Brenneisen’s entertainment company – ALL WE DO IS EPIC – is certainly branded in a way that guarantees attention.
Located in upstate New York at the base of the Adirondack Mountains, beautiful Lake George is a major tourist destination that hosts a multitude of weddings and a variety of other events. But outside of the area’s seasonal peaks, Brenneisen has found related sources of revenue… as a wedding planner/venue manager, as a travel agent, and as a music-festival producer.
With his EPIC company, he DJs and/or MCs about 150 events per year, and at this year’s DJX in Atlantic City, N.J., he’ll present “Say It Different: Modern MC Skills for Today’s Weddings,” which will share his on-mic secrets to show attendees. We recently caught up with Mark Brenneisen, 55, to discuss life and work upstate.
DJ LIFE: Where did you grow up and what got you first interested in music?
Brenneisen: I grew up right here in Lake George, N.Y. It is an amazing piece of historical gorgeousness. But I also grew up in the 1980s with MTV, and that is probably what laid the foundation for my love of music and video.
DJ LIFE: What got you into DJing?
Brenneisen: In 1996, my girlfriend’s younger sister was dismayed about going to the student-council dance, and I asked why. She said because all they do is fight over what CD would be played next – the kids brought CDs to play. I offered to go and be the moderator, take the CDs and play them in order I received them to be fair. Next thing you know, it’s 2026…
DJ LIFE: What’s the story behind your mobile company?
Brenneisen: So, I’ve been going since 1996… that’s 30 years, but different names/rebrands. I started by myself, but we eventually launched Adirondack Weddings in 2006 and rebranded the DJ portion to Epic about 10 years ago.
DJ LIFE: Are you full-time DJ or do you have a regular job?
Brenneisen: I’m a full-time DJ, but also a wedding planner/venue manager and travel agent. Having three angles on income like this helps the slower periods. For example, winter time there are less weddings and events, but people are traveling and booking venues for the next year.
DJ LIFE: How many events do you do each year?
Brenneisen: I would say around 150 currently, as I get older!
DJ LIFE: What’s your percentage breakdown of events?
Brenneisen: I’d say, 30-percent weddings, 50-percent club/bar/game shows, and 20-percent social, as in birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
DJ LIFE: How does your company market itself?
Brenneisen: We still use web sources, Instagram and Facebook. Much of our wedding business is straight referral or comes from the wedding-and-events venue we manage – The Barn at French Mountain.
DJ LIFE: What DJ gear set-up do you usually use?
Brenneisen: Personally, I still work with my Denon MC-6000 when I am by myself. It’s compact and easy for me to manage. Being an old-school DJ, I still enjoy my 16-32-beat mixes, scratching and vocal posting. Both myself and my DJ use Serato. At weddings and club work, I usually work with a younger DJ, who uses stems and a more modern controller, which I am getting used to and enjoying it! We use Electro-Voice EVOX and QSC PAs, Colorado Light & Sound and few others for lights, and Shure wireless microphone systems.
DJ LIFE: So, when you’re just doing MC work, who’s on the decks?
Brenneisen: My employee, DJ Mike B, is my main wedding DJ – he’s always with me at weddings. For social events, if I can book him somewhere else, I will. For example, recently on Saturday he was at Saratoga Performing Arts Center working the Tim McGraw pre-and post-event parties for that concert for Live Nation and I was at Painted Pony Rodeo hosting that venue’s after party. He and I also do a lot of B2B at local bars where we split the show – I use his gear and love it! For larger events like festivals or our Latin nights in the village, I will being in other DJs and MC for them. Always trying to share the love any way I can, if it fits.
DJ LIFE: Tell us about some of the summer festivals you’ve done.
Brenneisen: FÊTE ADK Lake George DJ Takeover Festival is our pride and joy. We started it four years ago – it’s Memorial Day weekend every year in our town. And new this year was the Lake George Freedom Festival, which we also produced this past July 11. I’ve always told younger DJs: Don’t try to get into a festival, produce your own!
DJ LIFE: What have you been playing recently?
Brenneisen: I honestly cannot say one song that really stands out this year, but I have been enjoying tech-house remixes of classics and festival remixes of bangers. Personally, I don’t play a lot of newer hip-hop/rap. When I am DJing at my age, I’m pretty heavy in the ’80s, ’90s and early Y2K decades, while sprinkling in newer music here and there. It’s been working for me.
DJ LIFE: What events do you most enjoy and why?
Brenneisen: I am split evenly between weddings and open-format gigs of any kind. At weddings, I am more of an MC traveling with my main DJ. There’s something about a microphone and being a host I thoroughly enjoy. Making the experience the best it can be is a priority for me and my clients. I’m going to share a ton of this at DJX this year.
DJ LIFE: Right, you’ll be doing a tutorial at DJX’26 in Atlantic City – “Say It Different: Modern MC Skills for Today’s Weddings.” What can attendees expect from your presentation?
Brenneisen: Those who sit in with me are going to get solutions to the same-ole/same-ole stuff that DJs do all over. I can predict what many are going to say, or repeatedly say at a wedding. It’s acceptable, but horrible. It can be better; it should be better. Having taken many MC workshops over the years, coupled with a desire to want to be different/better, I created a flow that is polished, seamless and commanding. I owe much of this to connections/workshops/seminars at DJX. I always say a great DJ already has the music component down, now it’s time to elevate not only your events, but the industry as a whole. We can be better, and great MCs can create careers for themselves. I often get hired to MC events, where musicians are providing the music or another DJ even, but the client wants my planning and speaking abilities… and they will pay more for that.
DJ LIFE: How has the business changed in the past few years? What have been its challenges?
Brenneisen: We’ve dropped in the number of weddings, but increased in the social events/bar sectors. We’ve also increased our travel bookings – including DJing for groups/weddings we’ve booked in the Caribbean – and also increased the venue bookings. Marketing the DJ biz for me, being older, staying in tune with how certain socials work, different platforms, etc., have been the biggest challenges. Again, I have told DJs who ask me about why we do less weddings… one reason is I can make five-times the money selling travel, and then get to stay home on the weekend with my wife.