One of the best and easiest ways to enhance your special event is to add music. Yet, it is easy to become confused about what kind of musical entertainment to choose, how to find it, what to look for, etc. Upbeats, rhythms, melodies, tones, and beats all make up a musical composition. Music in its most simple form is to entertain. When you have the right DJ spinning for you, it can even be magic.
Recipient of WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Award™ 2011, Fonix Entertainment is a sought after addition to any slamming party! Fonix Entertainment has been recognized by countless Event Planners and Facilities as the best Entertainment Group for their clients. Industry leaders call Fonix Entertainment because they know they are prompt, courteous, experienced, and will make them look good! The Morrow Center is proud to partner with Fonix and we have seen them in action!
Recently I caught up with Travis Gilbert from Fonix. What a great interview! We learn a little about Travis’s back story, amusing details of the biz and lots of helpful information about selecting a DJ for your event. Here’s what Travis had to say.
How did you get started in the entertainment business?
College Radio! It was my 2nd year of college and my high school sweetheart and I broke up. I was devastated and started listening to dance music. To get things off my mind I started playing dance music on my own show on Album 88. A producer for another show loved my style and asked me to start spinning for their show, which was a huge dance radio show! At this time (1998) I had only been spinning for 2 months so this was a huge jump for me! Before I knew it the show, called Planet 8, blew up to the biggest college dance radio show in the nation and I was spinning with some of the world’s best DJ's flown in by party promoters. I also helped host the show and this is where I got my voice! After I graduated with flying colors in Urban Planning, I still had a desire to DJ and a mobile DJ company contacted me for pool parties. Instantly, my agent noticed I had an amazing chemistry with the crowd and playing music the guests wanted to hear! From this point on my success just out grew my original college career and I haven't looked back since!
How do you work with brides when helping them plan their reception? It’s all about developing a great relationship with the Brides. I tell DJ's all the time you have to realize you are providing a service for one of the biggest days of this person life! Understand what the Bride likes, how she grew up, and cover all the details of the wedding such as working with other vendors and requirements of the venue. A great tool I use is on-line planning forms, time-lines, and access to our music database. The whole idea is to review all the details of the wedding a week before the big day. This will make the DJ look more professional and flexible with on-site changes. So many DJ's wait till the last minute to prepare and this is where Fonix Entertainment is so different by really being there for the client and developing a great relationship to get that amazing review!
What are some of the corporate events you've had the pleasure to host?
Over my 12 years experience I have hosted all kinds of corporate events. Especially during the Holidays when corporate parties happen the most. City Government Parties, Networking Events, Company outings are just the brink of what I have hosted. If you were to ask me my personal favorite it would have to be the 2005 Hooters International Swimsuit Competition in South Beach. And yes, it was technically a corporate event, lol!
What are a couple of the classic, must have songs that always get people
excited & dancing? Gosh I could go on here, but some true wedding party songs are Brick House, September by Earth, Wind and Fire, Love Shack by B52's, Brown Eyed Girl, Shout, and most recently Raise Your Glass by Pink and I Got a Feeling or The Time by Black Eyed Peas. No one really knows this but a lot of Black Eyed Peas songs are great for weddings because they are new, fun, and the parents always like them too!
What sets Fonix Entertainment apart from other DJ's?
It’s developing a relationship with the Bride & Groom and really providing excellent customer service. Behind the scenes, our DJ's are TRULY qualified for weddings. I was a DJ for many years for many of my competitors and one problem I kept noticing was the lack of qualifying their DJ's. A secret in my industry is a lot of the really good wedding DJ's in this town freelance for a lot of companies, almost like a DJ pool. You will never hear this repeated because no one wants to admit it. I look at this process differently and tell my clients this situation because I want to illustrate to them how we qualify DJ's. Just because a DJ works for a competitor and has his own equipment does not make he/she good. Plus we offer continuous training for our DJ's so they can stay above the rest. It’s really important to our company that we employ the best of the best and this is why we only have 4 DJ's with amazing reviews. Right now we have to turn away a lot of business on key dates because we will not book an event without the client having the ability to meet the DJ before signing a contract. Our DJ's are entertainers and it’s their career. This means performing events is their livelihood and their performances have to be spot on to be successful. You would be surprised how many of our competitors call us up to sub-contract DJ's we book and want us to mentor their DJ's for a fee. Were happy to do it because let’s face it, someone is getting engaged every hour in Atlanta!
Any funny situations that have happened to you while working an event?
Hmmm there is too many. Two of the funniest moments I can think of is one where the guest got so drunk and a bridesmaid fell into the cake with the third layer landing on her…literally a cake sandwich! To top it off they had a cake fight afterwards and the venue kicked them out. For me it was hilarious to watch! Another is again when some guests had one too many and the grand exit favors were not bubbles but roman candles!!! It made for great pictures but watching the best man being chased around by the groom with a roman candle was enough for me to start crying with laughter! If only I had video of it!
What do you enjoy most about your job? Making people smile and having a great time. Being a kid that moved around a lot made me the outsider a lot. I didn't have a best friend till I was 16 and the over powering joy of having good times with friends stuck with me. This is what I try to re-create at every wedding…that everlasting moment of pure joy and happiness. Live, Love, Laugh, Dance!
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