Why Feeling Uncomfortable Is a Good Thing. Do This the Second You Walk Into a Venue. To Make an Impact, Do Something Different.

On this episode of the Grow My DJ Business Podcast Cream & Gary W Discuss:

• High prices for drinks at events can deter attendees from consuming alcohol.
• The integration of games and social spaces in nightlife is becoming popular again.
• Energy and character are essential for successful performances.
• Engaging with the audience can significantly enhance the nightlife experience.
• The evolution of nightlife requires adaptability and creativity from DJs and venues.

Join the Grown My DJ Business Discord Here!

Follow or subscribe wherever you are listening.

Try Digital Music Pool for $9.99
DMP is the ultimate record pool for pro DJs looking for the hottest exclusive tracks updated daily.

Chapters

• 0:00 Vegas Experience and Sphere Show Recap
• 15:33 DJ Performances and Nightlife Insights
• 24:06 Creating Multiple Revenue Streams in Nightlife
• 25:12 The Importance of Performance in Nightlife
• 30:53 Navigating Different DJ Environments
• 35:04 Innovative Approaches in Nightlife Venues
• 40:15 The Evolution of Live Performances in Nightlife

Transcript

0:41

All right, what's up guys? Welcome to the hundred and seventy eighth episode of the grow my DJ business podcast. My name is Cream Gary W here. think we're gonna take this episode to sort of recap all the different things that sort of have happened with both of us lately. There's no like crazy announcements or anything, but just some travel, some cool shows, some different venues. And yeah, and sort of approach it in that way today. So let's talk about your last weekend. You went to experience the Sphere for the first time. So what was that like? so a lot of thoughts before I kind of dive into the actual show portion of it. I am not a Vegas person by no means. I want to just put that out there right now. I went there 20 years ago. I never went back, never felt the need to go back. You know, I lived in the New York City area, never really felt the need because like a lot of the same restaurants, like I don't gamble, so like. just nothing for me. know what I mean? Yeah, the nightclubs are mega and that's awesome, but that's what we do for a living. That's not what I'm trying to do on vacation. You know what I mean? So that's why Vegas was never a Even when Denning Company did their first run there last year, I didn't go and that's how much I don't like Vegas. I hadn't missed a dead tour in nine years up to that point. Finally this year, I got Denning Company tickets for opening night for... Christmas gift, which was sick. And I was like, I have to go now. you know, it's opening night, like I can't miss opening night. Like that's going to be it'll be awesome. I had to since they did a second run, I was like, I'm definitely going to go because who knows who knows if they're going to stop touring one of the members of the great the original Grateful Dead just died a couple of months ago. So like, it was like, got it got to go. went and like the whole Vegas portion of it was exactly what I remembered and what I thought. Thank God right across the street from the hotel we stayed off the strip. Actually I stayed in this hotel, the same hotel 20 years ago. It was called the Hard Rock back then and they used to have a Sunday party called Rehab. Remember that party? It was a huge party and you like couldn't get in. It was like crazy minimums brought back so many memories and they used to have crazy minimums to get into. Me and my girlfriend at the time really wanted to go to the party. So we were like, let's just stay at the Hard Rock. And then they give you a wristband to go in. So we stayed there. And then as I get in the cab to go down to Sphere, night one, we're talking to the Uber driver and he's like, oh yeah, that used to be Hard Rock. I'm like, get out of here. No way. And I had no idea. It looked completely different. Virgin took over the space and now they're going to build that pool back up because I saw them doing a lot of running, which was awesome. Thank God I had a Hofbrau house across the street, German place, threw down a couple liters, went over to the show. Yeah, you seem like more of an old Vegas kind of guy, like Fremont Street kind of guy, you know? Is it Fremont or Tremont? never heard of... You're an old Vegas kind of guy. leave my deadhead bubble, if you will. My deadhead sphere, I didn't leave it at all. We did the, we did Shakedown Street, which is like the hippie flea market before the shows that everybody's vending, they're selling all types of dead merch, and then we finally went into the show. Mind blowing. It was absolutely, mind blowing. We sat up in the 400s and I'm telling you guys, if you go, the sounds not going to be good up there, but you get like full spectrum of the visuals. And that's what, that's what I was told prior to this. And then the next two nights. So I went all three nights, figured if I'm out there, might as well go and do it. I mean, I'm trying to do two dead nights in a row anyway, no matter what. So the three in a row and I moved around the arena every night and it was a completely different perspective. So if you're gonna go out there and you are lucky enough to see a band like The Dead, where every song, there's no songs repeated for each weekend. So they played, let's see what they did, like 18 songs, 16 songs, and like 18 songs. So however many songs, there was like 55 different songs played last weekend. So it's all different, they did a lot of different visuals. Now they have the experience and they have a backlog of visuals, so then they did new visuals for this tour. Super sick. But like I said, if you're up in the 400s, you could see the entire place, you get the whole perspective. And the sound's not so good, it sounds like they're singing into a tin can kind of a thing. Like it's very like, I'm like, can somebody turn the treble up a little bit because it's, the highs are terrible. feel like that's gotta be something that they're planning on improving, you would think, like, there are speakers up there, but I don't feel like they were on during the show. I think those are like for when they do like the video, like you can go see the video during the day. I think that's what that's for, because there's sound for the concerts. So anyway, I was just trying to comprehend how they make these visuals so clear. like so vivid and so clear at such a massive scale. was like I said, just mind blowing craziness. And then they, the Dead have a portion of every single show that they call Drums in Space. And it differs every night. The guys just go on and they kind of have like a drum circle in there with these big, with all their whole big drum setup. And then it goes into a synth section, which is called Space. And you sit down and the seat haptics pop on. So the seat vibrates with the drums and the synths that were happening. So every bass line that hits, it's giving you a massage. is every does every seat in the building have that You know, I went and sat down in the 100s on night two, which I was out in the corner and I had a little overhang ahead of me so I couldn't see the top of the sphere and I sat down during drums in space and it didn't vibrate and I was super disappointed. I don't know if that was because, I don't know if that was because of where the seats were or those seats were technically not sold. We had moved over a section because there was nobody over there. Could be. Yeah, maybe they just weren't turned on type thing. Right. Like I wonder if that conserves energy or whatever the case might be there. What I will say outside of all of the entertainment aspect of it, I mean, really sick, they didn't do and allow anything in the lot, in the parking lot outside. So it was just kind of like a bland parking lot. obviously staying in the hotels and stuff. So everybody's just kind of walking over. And when you get inside, like where the concessions are, how absolutely high everything is. Cause you got to think about it. Like I said, to you, it's think about one side of old Yankee Stadium and how steep that was and like one section and that's exactly all, that's all it is. And then it looks down onto this little area at the bottom, which would be like home plate, you know? So when you walk in, you're behind those seats. So it is a massive, space. The one thing I did realize though is that, to get up to the 300s and the 400s, there was one escalator. I was like, if this place goes up in flames, everybody's done. Everybody's dead. I don't even understand. Yeah, there were stairs. There were stairs. Because right by the section I was at by the bathrooms, there were stairs that went downstairs. we actually were in like seat 21 and 22 where we were. And then there was a little like landing area next to us. And you would think there would have been like a door right there. There wasn't, it was literally just the landing area. You had to go all the way down like 14 rows and then go out the 300s in order to go to concessions. couldn't get back. I would have had to go through 20 people to get back out the other way. I feel like some of the setup was like, meh. was, some of the setup was. I was like, what were they thinking here? There's obviously reasons behind it, but like, it just really impressive. If you can go and if you can find a band that you're really into, absolutely go into it, experience it. Really awesome. Well, yeah, think most people listening to this would be going for DJ stuff because like we've seen, you know, a bunch of DJs now play there. Well, the Eagles are playing there. I know people are younger, but people are into different kinds of music and they're bringing in different acts. yeah, Eagles and then Emma and then what we're going to get into now, what was just announced this week, unless you have any other questions about the dead portion of it. Yeah, they just announced that Tomorrowland and who's the other company? Insomnia? Was it? I think it was. I think it was Insomnia. I didn't bring my phone. Shit. but let's look as you talk. Go ahead. So yeah, they announced that they're gonna come in and do a quote unquote experience, and it was like sound, sight, and something else. I know we're gonna, we'll read the post. Yeah, it's called Tomorrowland Unity and it's Insomniac and Tomorrowland. right Do you have the post like that you could read the their blurb? entertainment venue sets the stage for this groundbreaking experience. Multi-sensory celebration of music and mind altering visuals, a gateway to another world where reality blurs and the magic of Tomorrowland and Insomniac become one. Transport to a new dimension as you travel through Tomorrowland's enchanting themes of... I'm not gonna say the three words. Random... Whatever they've created, these three worlds. Right. Insomniac's Vibrant Universes of Beyond Nocturnal Escape Countdown in EDC. So, okay, so that reminds me. So like at the beginning of The Dead Show, they have a big backstage visual, and then that opens up with like the Grateful Dead bolt, and then all of a sudden you're in front of the Grateful Dead house that they lived in in San Francisco, and you lift off from there, and you lift off into space slowly. So like you're above San Francisco, then above California, then above the United States. and then you're in space and then it flips you through all of these different visuals and then you land back there at the end of the show. Did you see anybody freaking out? Like people gotta be tripping balls and freaking out, no? said deadheads. are professional LSD takers. These are professional psychedelic. These people do psychedelics in the middle of the week. everybody's chill. I was talking to my buddies, but my buddies, people I met at the airport and I wound up seeing in the arena. And they were all tripping, having a great time. I did nothing. I barely even drank. Let me tell you, I barely even drank because the fucking prices for drinks were nuts. Double whiskey Jack Daniel's was $30 before tip. I got. it's a Dolan-owned Madison Square Garden-owned thing. What do you expect? should know because my double whiskey at MSG is $30 when I go to the Ranger game. And then I got the souvenir cup. I got a Guinness before I left to the airport. I had to leave at the end of the first set, third night. And I bought my Guinness because I wanted the cup and it was $27. I'm like, this is crazy. I was like, I get it, I get a cup, but it ain't fucking worth it. But it was expensive. I limited myself to two drinks. I'm like, this is waste of money. But yeah, man, would, I definitely go check out. I'm sure that tomorrow and stuff is gonna be insane. let me read the last slides. I think this is the most interesting part of it. So basically what it is, it's a dynamic selection of tracks is curated from the history of dance music with the addition of an orchestra and electronic instrumentation that brings this journey to life. Every Unity show will conclude with a crescendo with world renowned artists joining us for a final closing set. The special guest for each show will be announced closer to the event. So basically you go and do this crazy visual audio experience and then at the end you get a set from probably all the legends. So I would assume like Armin and Tiesto and like the classic headliner big name people. That would be my guess. That classical symphonic portion of it, I'd be super, super down. I'd go for that. That'd be awesome. like the Eric Pritz tracks and the Daft Punk's and probably all the classic EDM dance music tracks over the years. Deadmau5 and like just the classics. He'd probably be another one that would be a great act for that. Yeah. His music really would play into that as well. Yeah. yeah, that would be great. That sounds like a great time. I'd be interested in that. So just like, just to sort of wrap where we talked about this six months ago or a year ago, when they first started announcing some of these other shows that were happening at the Sphere, like we're really starting to see what it's capable of. And I think we're going to start hearing like our DJs and our friends being like, yeah, I'm going to the Sphere for this show. Just like people go to various places for festivals. It's going to be like that level of planning and you know, hype. around stuff that's happening there. I didn't even think about this before we put a bow on it. I didn't even think about it until the Dead announced their second run and then the Eagles as well. I think it's right for them to do repeat performances this way that artists and bands can do their first visuals and then add onto it as well. This way it's ever-changing. Yeah, I mean, I think every act that gets booked there is creating visuals specifically for the sphere because I'm sure there's technologies and visual things that you you can't achieve with a regular with regular visuals. So number one, that's super expensive. So if you're going to spend all that money to create the visuals, you might you're going to want to get booked multiple times to be able to utilize those visuals because you might not be able to utilize them at a regular show with a normal screen. So that's probably part of it, right? Like, if I'm going to spend $250,000 on visuals, like I need to play a bunch of shows to recoup that money or at least break even kind of thing. Yeah, because as deadheads always do, they bitched about the price of the ticket. I'm like, guys, you think this is cheap to make these visuals? Then I just set up speakers here in a stage. This is pretty in-depth. It makes sense that the cheapest ticket's 200 bucks. Right, it's not your normal stage and sound. It's completely revolutionary, so. Big shout to the girl that was sitting next to me. And I won, gave me tickets for night three. Big shout for free. Like, miracle'd me. I was really super pumped about it. And then we got to, she gave us four tickets for the next night as well. And we got to miracle people. We got to give people. That's what Deadheads call it. They call it miracle-ing people. You just go outside and you give out the tickets to people standing outside. That's cool. That's a cool part of the community, I must say. and Yeah, that's cool. Love that. So you were out in Vegas this weekend. was home in New York both nights. I was with RM and Sean Kramer from Boston Providence area. They were down for the weekend. had RM play birch on Friday and Sean played downtown social in New York. And then on Saturday, they were both playing slate and I happened to be off. So we went out there to grab some dinner, hang out. I got to catch, you know, both at least the first. part of the night with both of them playing. And like, I wanna talk about a couple things. First and foremost, Shout to RM, my boy, you we've become really good friends over the last couple years. You know, similar mind state to everything that we do. And just like, a crazy, ridiculously talented DJ. And I was saying to you earlier, like, I've heard Ryan play a bunch of times, but this was really the first time that I got to see him in like, a big stage and, and be in the crowd and like sort of experiences as a customer. And I said, like, he just came out swinging and, didn't stop. was just pure energy. was no breaks, no rest, like song to song, and it all fit together and worked well. And like, you know, he's a very technical DJ. So even when playing electronic music, he's, you know, word playing tracks into in out of each other and just like, Super impressed by RM. I was already knew how good of a DJ he was, because I've heard him and played with him before, but like, it reminded me, you know? And it was great to just see him go and perform. that man preps, he prepares hard, and he does his homework, he prepares, and he practices at home, like still. And obviously, because when you have ideas, you have to hear them in practice, right? Because in theory, they sound good, and then you go to do it, and it's like, that's absolute dog shit. But he does those three things very, very well. And that's just a lesson for every DJ, not even young DJ, every DJ. Like if you prepare and you practice, then you can execute, right? Like it's just the way it goes. Yeah, it's interesting too, because he's sort of now putting that he you know, he has all these ideas and he makes sort of personal edits and he's learning as a producer. But like, as soon as he's his producing skills, get up to a point. Like watch out for his edits, because they're all good. It's just like when his technical ability in Ableton reaches his knowledge of music and ideas, like once they're equal, like he's just going to keep pumping at it. I'm sure be on the lookout for him on record pools or a patron on or whatever he decides to do because it's coming. know it's coming. So huge shout to RM. Also, know, Sean is a younger DJ, but like, clean, also prepares. He did a great job got to hear him both nights. So shout to Sean. You know, he sort of holds down the fort at Sport and Leisure in Providence. And that's where I first met him. So I just want to really shout those guys out first and foremost. But just to talk a little bit about Slate New York. So for those that don't know, it is not just a nightclub. It's two floors. The first floor is sort of like, it's like a game. It's like a Dave and Buster's, but more catered towards nightlife. There's always a DJ. The vibe down there is a little different from the nightlife vibe. It's more like classic New York hip hop, R &B, reggae. It's not a whole lot of house music. but it's the perfect compliment to like what else is happening in the room. Like it's super New York, which I love. There's like every game you could possibly think of, bowling, like everything. You name it, they have it. And it was like crazy busy. And in a time where we've been talking about this slower time for nightlife, like it was really cool to see it busy for both the pre-party time and then nightlife time. So. Super cool to see and experience and I've played there a number of times and they're always improving. Improving the sound, improving the stage, improving the lighting and it was just cool to see. I haven't been there in a minute, so. That basement is something that, it's one of those ideas that they've had in place forever where it's a very social space, they have all the games, they have good drinks, you could take the slide from upstairs to downstairs, like a literal slide. I used to have the DJ booth when I DJed there next to the slide, was hilarious. But like, feel like that interactive portion of nightlife kind of went away for a little bit. And now it's like fully back, like, you know, the nightclub portion we keep saying is dying, even though we're gonna go into how good it was there that night. But like, I feel like those social spaces are back in a big way. And that's why, that place is the most amazing happy hour spot. Like if I was at an office job in New York City and me and my coworkers were gonna go somewhere, like, we... know each other loosely but want to get to know each other a little better like that's a perfect spot because just like so many different games that you can play so many different things. Heck yeah, yeah it's just it's a great spot and like it is super I know we're talking about like a game room but it's like this high-end game room like it's like it's a lounge with games. Right. And it's not like arcade games. It's like bowling and like nice ski ball. I'm trying to think the all like golf simulator, all those simulator games, they have all the different bays with different simulators. So yeah, they added all that stuff, which I thought was super cool. We mean, R.M. and Sean were like playing on them because we like we were holding off on opening upstairs like, fuck it, let's just play some games. You know, it's funny, we've seen a couple bars here in the central Florida area right outside of Disney do the same thing. They were a little slower, so they start to put the game simulators in, and it's attracting a lot of customers. So I think that whole kick's coming back a little bit. It's just being able to have a space that can do multiple things. You have multiple streams of revenue. You can do corporate events. You could do dinner. You could do date night. Or you could do bottle service and nightlife that's open till four in the morning. So when you're creating these multiple streams of revenue, it gives you more of a chance to be successful. It is a very large place, right? So you have to have bodies in that place. Yeah, I can't imagine what their rent is right now. It's got to be insane. It's over, is it 100,000? It could be. I don't know. to be, it has to be because I know one of our friends plays is that was astronomical and that place is like 50 times the size. You know, so it might be, but let's go into the night portion. a big part of, so that was like the downstairs game portion. Also big shout to DJ Cams. I met him, he was playing great, like he was awesome. was like great to experience a DJ just hanging out playing games, like having dinner and stuff. then, so he was dope, shout to Cams. So as we moved upstairs, the other part about Slate is they spend a lot of money on other entertainment, right? So. dancers, they have like the aerialist, they have all kinds of extra shit to create this atmosphere. Part of that is they have Anthony Lamont, who hosts the party. We've talked about Anthony on this. I've we've both worked with Anthony a lot over the years. He's legendary in New York City, longtime drag host, party promoter. I like, you know, he's he's got a huge resume. been part of every iconic nightlife party and spot in New York City for the last, for as long as I've been going out. And he was there, know, hosting the night. So we were talking before the night kind of started and like the big takeaway for me is as long as I've known Anthony and I walk into a place where he's working and he's working, whether it's me, whether it's his best friend, whether it's a random person he's never met before. He was like in makeup but not dressed yet, but he was already like performing, right? He wasn't on the clock, so to speak, but he was performing. And I just really wanted to bring that up because I think for someone who's been so successful and done this for so long, we sort of have to have a similar mind state, right? Even if we're not DJing, like you have to be in character and that character can be you, but it's your stage character, right? The way you interact with people. You're outgoing, you're shaking hands, you're introducing yourself. I thought that was my biggest takeaway of the weekend. I, it's funny, I didn't think of this before the podcast. But like when I was teaching, there was there was regular Gary, then when Coach Gary walked in the room, like I was on, I'm like a completely different person. And I wasn't mentally turning it on. But like I knew that this is the type of performance that needs to be put on in order to keep my students entertained, to keep my students engaged. You know, and I, is the same thing when you walk into, and when I walk into a nightlife spot before a gig and you're shaking hands and saying hi to everybody, like there needs to be a heightened energy, right? You can't walk in like a mope and like, you don't want to be there because you're usually the highest paid person in that room. So you better walk in with a lot of energy because you're going to then you're then attempting to make everybody else in that room, a lot of money. So like you're the focal point. So you need to act like it. And you you need to, we always say this, you have to dress the part, you have to act the part, and then you have to execute the part, right? And that's a huge part of what we do. We're entertainers, you know, at the end of the day, that is what it is. Right, and those other parts that have nothing to do with the music are important. They're very important. Like, look at Martin, right? We shout Martin out a good amount, but he is a performer. He's a better performer than most DJs. And on top of that, he's a great DJ, but he gets booked, not just because he's a great DJ, but because he's a great performer and host and creates an experience for ticket payer or whoever, for customers that like the average DJ does not. provide. So if you guys are out there, like you can't just be standing there like you got to do something beyond just standing there in the booth with like a puss on your face kind of thing. Yeah, it's, it's, you know, we do talk about Martin a lot, but I do think about Martin as the modern day DJ. Like that is, that is the avatar for the modern day DJ. You want to be a successful DJ in 2025. Look at what Martin does. And that's it. That's exactly the way you're going to do it. And I feel like we've always said that about Nico. So too, like entertainer, like entertainer first, but then also a very good DJ, both of those guys. and not everybody has the personality to be that big, but do it in your own way. You have to create some sort of energy and a vibe from your performance. Do it in your way, right? It doesn't have to be the way that Martin or, or Nico do it, you know? recall my by his old name Marty Dunston, Or Marty Marvel. for everybody who doesn't know. just trying to clarify. you know, Marty finishes his set and he steps down and it's like a like, he's sweating, he just performed, right? Like, are you performing? Are you just going up there and standing there and DJing? There's a big difference. And I think if you treat it more like Marty treats it, you might be in a better place and get more bookings because of it. I don't want to do any of that. That's so against my personality. But you have to perform. You have to put on a show. So whether you like it or not, you got to figure out ways in which to put on a show. It is what it is. I feel super uncomfortable a lot, but I just do it because it's necessary. And even in smaller rooms, you can create and energy with a mic, you can create a vibe just by your facial expressions, your body language. All that stuff can create this energy we're talking about. I'm going to shout out one more person from our team, Nilla. Nilla played one of our small bar spots, local bar spots. And I went and played there two, days later and the manager came up to me and goes, that Nilla is amazing. He's like, he's on the mic telling everybody to put their hands up. He had the whole place involved. So you're right. You can create a lot of energy and still be a performer by just using the mic, even if it's in the local bar spot. And then that will set you apart from the next person that's just coming in. and standing there and playing music. Like I did. Like I did that Sunday. So, big shout to Nilla. So yeah, I just wanted to kind of talk about Slate and everything they're doing over there. And I took away a lot from having that night off. The night before, I DJed a party in New York at the DL rooftop. Super dope room, long time New York City downtown spot. in trying to prep for the set, I was told, you know, like it's pretty like... It's pretty mainstream, like right down the middle, like fastballs down the middle type thing, like, and I'm like, all right, sure, but like, I'm gonna go do my cream thing and like, we'll be good, like, you know, I just go do what I do. And I got up there, it was the first time in a while I felt a little uncomfortable where, like, every time I strayed away from that, right down the middle lane, I would like lose people from the dance floor. And I'm like, fuck, this is not good, like, it really is right down the middle. So, obviously I pivoted. you know, it was more of an open format set up and down and like had a really successful night. The manager thanked me and you know, wanted to back all that stuff at the end. But it was just like one of those moments where like, wow, I am, I'm a little uncomfortable here. It's like not what I'm used to doing lately where it's like, yeah, we can play the vocal that everybody knows, but maybe I could play it in a different way. And like that was not flying. Like I'm playing like flow, right? I get low, like the original or like a remix that was not aggressive type thing, you know? not an abrasive, edit of it. Yeah, like the We Found Loves and the Since You Been Gone's and like, that's what was working. Drake, Rihanna. Yeah, yeah. I haven't done that in a while, but it was awesome. It was refreshing, it was fun, I had a great time. that spot that you were at, DL Rooftop, I think I've been there, I think I played there, I don't recall, but that's, you're gonna get like some tourists in there too, right? And you think that kind of affects or what? college crowd, it's tourists. You know, got your promoter tables that are requesting like Playboy Cardi and I'm like, dude, not the place or time. Like, it's typical New York, you know, it's typical New York where everybody wants something different and it's like, you're pleasing managers and promo tables and then tourists and downtown, the downtown cool crowd, you know. Yeah, it's a weird mix in there, but a good mix nonetheless. fun. was a little different from what I've been used to doing lately. So that was cool. It's good to have those and kind of sharpen those knives, little bit sharpen those skills. to have a moment where I'm like, shit bro, I'm like a little uncomfortable right now. It's been a minute since I really felt that way. I felt that way on that party that I was just talking about. was like local bar. We thought it was going to be blown out in a big thing and it wasn't. And it wound up falling flat on its face a little bit. We should have probably did the DJ on Saturday afternoon instead. And they had a band outside and like I'm there like DJing for like, you know, my family's there. So like 15, 20 people. Like, so at least we had them. And then like I knew everybody else in the bar, which was fine because I'm originally from that town. but was only like another 10 people. And I'm like navigating like Bruce Springsteen and like still playing some Drake stuff and then still playing, you know, some house music and still playing some Irish music. And it was like, it was wild time. This is why you book good DJs because good DJs figure it out and make it successful. Yeah, yeah, definitely. But kind of funny, you don't get that feeling very often where it's like, shit. I know I was with my boy Tommy from one of the DJs and guys from Downtown Social and like I looked at him like, I gotta step my game up right now. We're gonna change it up right now. the Hahaha! Yeah. fun times. What do we got on deck next? What are we going to talk about? know we're gonna have a shorter podcast, Gary's gotta run soon, but you wanna talk about the Jonas Brothers? You wanna talk about Neo? I want to talk about the Jonas Brothers and could round out with Neo because that's at one of our at one of our venues, little teaser there. But yeah, the Jonas Brothers, they were Joe's Pizza, weren't they? And I saw it and I cringed a little bit and like somebody else put in threads like this is the end of the, you know, pizza slash coffee shop, not nightclub era. Like it's over now. Fucking Jonas Brothers are playing. in front of Joe's pizza and like, you know, all the hate obviously was pouring out from this. I saw like three or four hate hate, you know, big hate posts about it and like. No idea, man, no idea. Do all three of them perform? Isn't one of them like an actor now? I know nothing about the Jonas Brothers. Know nothing, literally. I was kind of shocked. Yeah, yeah, I mean, that is what they are. But apparently somebody's DJ. So but it just does that exacerbate the topic that we had two podcasts ago is that are like these ideas getting played and everybody's just doing this. I get it, like you said in that episode, like, is this a great way for like a non-existent pop? I can't say that because I don't know how popular they still are. or were pretty popular at least. Well, they were very popular, but I'm saying currently, like, I don't know how, I can't speak to how famous they still are. They're still very, very famous, obviously. But like, has it gotten to the point where like everybody's just gonna jump on and do these types of events now? Like, no matter who it is, whether it's the Jonas Brothers or it's Joe Schmo DJ from down the block. I think just like anything else, right? Like the people that do it best and are that that fans are most interested in are going to be successful. Dom Dalla DJed in an Australian bar on the bar top the night before one of his shows when he was in Madison Square Garden. Like, I don't think anybody was saying that that was whack or any bird his mom. Like, I don't think anybody was saying that was whack, but maybe like the Jonas Brothers, it seems like they're trying to jump on the trend. No, like You and I don't even know that one of them is a DJ type thing and they're trying to do this Joe's pizza thing. If it was Fred again, wouldn't we be talking about how cool it was? I don't know. Right. just hope it doesn't cheapen the thought of the event. But you're right, it depends on who's doing it. The artist is going to drive a lot of it. We always talk about that, right? Like if the artist is popular, it's gonna be more successful than if it's somebody that the normal person thinks is jumping on a trend. Yeah, I think people know when to eye roll at this point, right? Like if your market has three 360 parties and another one pops up, it's like, it's just another 360 party, like then it starts to feel played out. But if you're the first one to do it, maybe it doesn't feel that way kind of thing. So I think it's, it's on a market by market basis and also as an artist basis. Do people want to come see that person or group? one to pivot and no one it's just when it's eye roll worthy. to Tommy Farrell and Justin who also DJ that event. they were out and about this weekend. pretty sick. But let's talk about one of our venues who's doing something big and not I roll worthy. I actually I actually was like, no way. And I was going to DM you and be like, is this real? And big shout out to Mad Hatter, who is bringing Neo in for a performance, which I was like, I just saw him at Jazz Fest two years ago and he was awesome. Like such a performer. sounded great. Love the, he's at banger after banger. He's just extremely entertaining. And he's going to be at Mad Hatter. Mad Hatter had, who was just there? Trunk Kingston. May know that they're doing big things over there. They're really trying to move the needle in Hoboken nightlife as far as bringing in these guests, these little guest acts for like, you know, for however many songs that they're gonna do. They're smaller sets, they're club sets. But at least they're trying. At least the ownership's putting their best foot forward and trying to get, and not even trying to get people into it. They're getting, they're selling out all of these events. So it's like get your tickets early, make sure you're on top of all their social media so you can be alerted when they announce things. Because now it's like, all right, well what are they gonna announce next? Kind of an idea, right? I think it's a perfect example of when everybody's going right, go left. Everybody else in Hoboken's doing the DJs and 360 and Afro House day party and whatever else. And they said, we're gonna do like mid 2010s artists that were popular and cater to the older crowd and sell out because no one else is doing that. and no one's bringing Sean, well, Sean Kingston's a little different. He's been all over the place lately, but nobody's bringing Sean Kingston and Neo to our market, that's for sure. And now that they have some success and they've seen this lane that's kind of working, like I'm excited to see who else they bring, right, out of this sort of lane. It's such a something that was pretty regular back in the day in the clubs. You always had like a it wasn't always a guest performer, but maybe at a guest host. Sometimes you had a guest performer. It was pretty normal, like almost every weekend you could find a club in New York and even in Jersey had a lot happen in Jersey as well. And It kind of went away and you're right. You're right. When everybody went one way, you know, got to go the other because we haven't seen this, this concept in a while. and, and it's proven to be successful so far. Yeah, like, I'm, hope one of our DJs DJs it too. They didn't announce what day it was. Well, Sean, big shout to Sean. He's been the resident over there forever. So I know I'm sure he, you know, he's the trusted guy over there. I think he kind of gets first crack at all these, but. Hopefully one of our guys can go over there and kind of like hang out and close, open or close. But yeah, big shout to Sean. He's an awesome dude. example of a venue that like doesn't accept no for an answer, right? They're not just accepting the fact of like, there's less people going out. It's not that busy. It's like people aren't drinking as much. It's like, all right, well, let's fucking figure it out. Let's figure it out. And any venue that is trying new things and improving their venue and improving the sound and trying to bring artists in and spending money, I got your back because 95 % of venues aren't doing shit. And I respect people that are trying to make their business successful. And it's crazy to say that, that people aren't, but many venues just open their doors. Brian does an incredible job over there. That DJ booth has moved and changed so many times. It's ridiculous, but they're always trying something new. You're right. They're trying to improve the sound. They're trying to improve the experience in the place. You know, they brought games in, they brought games out. At least they try. They're trying to do stuff. Right, they were booking EDMX for a little while, and I don't know if that was super successful, but now they've sort of found something that has been super successful, and I'm excited to see where it goes. And like, do we see a 50 cent? Do we see even bigger names come in there? Like, 50 lives in Jersey, you know? He's got connections to Mike, who's a part owner and works there. So like, who knows who they could bring in? We'll see. We'll see. Excited to see. Alright, Gar's gotta run. A little unorthodox episode for us today, but it was good. I like talking about all this stuff. Little entertainment, little things that we've seen on social media and things we've been talking about. like pop culture, you know, DJ Gary W, DJ Cream stuff that happened. refresh. Like it. Alright guys, thanks for listening to this episode and we'll talk to you guys soon. Peace. Right up against it. Man, I don't know how long...