DJ Rob Rocks The House

Posts Tagged ‘Costa del Sol DJ’

The release of this year’s Brit nominations got me thinking.

When I was a teenager and just ever so slightly obsessed by music the local weekly newspaper ran a column featuring a mix of local and national music news and gig guide. Pre internet, this was a really valuable source of information for people like me. One quiet news week, round about end of year review time, the whole column was turned over to “1984: A Bad Year For Music”.

According to the article, musicians in 1984 hadn’t delivered the goods. Pop music had been weak, gigs had been disappointing and so on. AND some previous years had been better. The argument was music was now boring.

I didn’t agree with the writer. I wrote a reply in longhand then still wound up by him, rang him up and dictated it to him. I pointed out music from different genres from 1984 that I thought was good and told him why. I asked him to listen to music without preconceptions and to enjoy good music wherever it was found. I was a bit naïve…

The following week he printed my ‘article’ word for word. My career in music journalism was off and running.

The next week he replied. He took issue with most of what I said and repeated his belief that music now wasn’t what it used to be. Some time later I realised what he was doing. He was trying to generate some interest in what was a pretty sorry corner of the paper by having a row with me. But at the time I was upset, disappointed that he had a fixed opinion that wouldn’t change, even when I showed him the error of his ways! Told you I was naïve.

I never had a career in music journalism, but I still like listening to music from 1984 and from any other year, come to that. Good music is good music. Full stop.

My reaction to this year’s Brit nominations is not: “2011: A Bad Year For Music.”

Rob

I’m a producer and presenter at Spectrum Fm in Spain www.spectrumfm.net 

I dj at weddings and parties and at bars and restaurants on the Costa del Sol.

www.robrocksthehouse.com

Just before Michele Obama put Villa Padierna on the world tourist map in the most spectacular fashion, I djed at another wonderful wedding there. My role that day was to play the music during the blessing, music during dinner and then ROCK THE HOUSE at the end.

Tony Manners and Jayne Cavers’ big day was always going to be memorable after Tony walked down the steps of the  Amphitheatre to AC DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’. Luckily Jayne had chosen more traditional, and more beautiful music, for her arrival. 

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The last two weekends I’ve djed at two different kinds of events.

Last Friday night I played at la Sala de exposiciones Mare Nostrum in La Cala del Moral, Malaga where Lilian Berg opened her Art exhibition. There was a good turnout of guests and plenty of tourists and locals came to have a look at her art as well. The exhibition is on til 23 8 09. You can see more of Lilian’s art at www.lilianberg.com. I played some  chilled out music in a range of different styles and with flamenco, arabic, asian and indian influences. Towards the end of the evening I played some more dancey stuff finishing off with Depeche Mode and Yazoo, ONCE A FAN OF THE EIGHTIES, ALWAYS A FAN OF THE EIGHTIES!

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Last Saturday I had loads of fun djing for Jason and Sarah at their wedding.

During the meal I played a really laid back mix of background music that included Anita Baker “Sweet Love”, some Take That, Michael Buble and some Stevie Wonder that the bride and groom said had become their favourite album of the last couple of weeks.

The dance music went across lots of styles but some of the most cheered were the classic 80s and 90s soul and hip hop and I reckon the Mary Jane Girls with “All night long” and Cameo’s “Candy” just about took top honours as the most popular.

Frankie B sang on the terrace and in the main room.

Thanks to everyone who made such a fantastic evening possible.

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We had a fantastic evening on Friday at Paul And Stan’s birthday party at Aloha Golf.

First up was Jo Nugent who sang some great Soul and Jazz. Then I played some jazz, a bit of swing and some other songs that mixed in with this plus a bit of Il Divo and Andrea Bocelli. The food was delicious. After we had speeches and then Paul and Stan were presented with their vehicles as befited their new status.

You can see clips of them riding their new chariots at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiIjvCdQS-8

After that there were almost non stop requests that mixed up the 60s, 70s, 80s and the latest dance music too.

more pics are at Facebook

Last Sunday I djed at the 22nd Anniversary Summer Party for Children with Leukaemia at the magnificent Villa Tiberio in Marbella.

It was an incredible evening, from the stunning gardens where Sandra sang so beautifully to kick off the evening to the host of stars from London who’d come over to sing.

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My husband and I booked Rob for our wedding in May this year. He was a real pleasure to work with from beginning to end. Nothing was too much trouble. Me being the picky bride asked for our own playlist to be used, Rob had no qualms with this and followed it to a T on the night (unlike some of our friends who recently got married and spent a fair bit of time compiling a playlist only for it not to be used by their DJ on the night).

Rebecca & Rodney Andrews

Last weekend I was lucky enough to play at the Hotel Cortijo Bravo in Velez Malaga. Perched on top of a hill overlooking the sea, the countryside and the lights of the pueblo you could be forgiven for thinking you were on the top floor of a skyscraper.

Rebecca and Rodney chose this venue and brought their families and friends out to a stunning venue to share their big day with them.

Rebecca had clear ideas how she wanted the wedding to take place and she sent me a fantastic playlist with music in a wide range of styles to suit the people there. It was a real joy to sequence the music that she’d sent me because time after time when the next tune started different people cheered as another song that was important to them got played.

It was fantastic that as soon as the last notes of the first dance faded away, loads of the guests started dancing, and they stayed dancing throughout. The hotel staff brought the festivities to an end well into the early hours.

We had a great mix of pop from the 70s to now, some country music to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rebecca’s aunt and uncle, R & B and some poppier dance music. There was time for some rock music too then later the music went into funky house and a mix of old school and more recent house music.

The energy on the dance floor was amazing. The only complaints I got were from the bridesmaids when I played (as requested by the bride) a couple of slower songs and they wanted to get back to the dancey stuff. But they soon cheered up when the next song was Finally by Bart B Moore Vs Oliver Twist to wish bridesmaid Jennie a happy birthday.

Thanks to all those who made the evening such a great success. Joan Carabini-Parker at www.spanishweddingplanner.com ran a smooth and friendly ship on the day and the staff at the hotel went out of their way to help me throughout the event.

I look forward to playing here again. The lights of the city in the distance and my lights in the foreground created a dazzling backdrop to a great night.

http://www.hotelcortijobravo.com/en/

Planning any event requires a lot of thought. If you’re going to be doing it in a country that you don’t live in then it’s going to need even more careful consideration. Your key decisions are things like when will it be, where will you hold it and who you’re going to invite.

If you were planning an event where you live, then you’d already know a lot about how these events would work and the rules and idiosyncrasies that you’d have to work with. If you’re doing it in a place that you’re less familiar with, then you’ll need to find out these things.

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I love Radio. OK, The TVs on a lot in the background, but I listen to the Radio. There’s nothing better when you’re doing something you have to do than finding something to occupy your head while you’re doing it. I’ve got lots of jokes here about mundane activities and listening to music, but it’s too early to get distracted so let’s focus only on the theme of Radio.

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After all the anti-rain dancing, a lot of discussions and sky gazing (and a last minute and probably very) expensive decision to cover their garden in Marquees), it didnt rain during the party on Friday for Steve’s birthday. But it had rained during the day and there were some big black clouds swirling around all day so better to be safe than sorry.

The party was fantastic, everyone had taken the dress glamorous theme to heart, and being greeted by the flashbulbs of the photographer and walking down the red carpet was fun. And the champagne flowed. Their garden made for a stunning setting, and the first time i’ve ever djed on a covered swimming pool. There was a good vibe from the pianist when we arrived and later Laura the singer got almost everyone up and dancing with her big Welsh voice and little black dress.

At a party organised by two people who are such brilliant planners you would expect every detail to be just right, and it was, with the table settings and the flowers all looking lovely. The food from Terrasana was fantastic, a barbecue with a great choice of meats and other dishes, all full of flavours and puddings to die for. Steve and I had talked a lot about the music beforehand and I played a mix of old and new dropping in more spanish music than i was expecting from requests made by guests. ‘Sex on Fire’ kicked off a very bouncey bit of the night which, bearing in mind how much water was under what i was playing on, and they were dancing on, was a bit scary for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!! One of the guests, Lester and I, demonstrated an almost Derren Brown ability to choose the same next song, which was funny for a while, then a bit scary…

I think everyone was amazed how long we carried on for, without any complaints from the neighbours. It was brilliant seeing people enjoying themselves listening and dancing to a wide variety of music over the hours. i even managed to play Morecambe and Wise when i thought everyone was too drunk to notice what they were dancing to anymore. One of my highlights was getting a complaint from one of the guests of honour, and having to explain that the song she didn’t like had been requested by her son!!!

So, happy birthday Steve. Thanks for asking me to DJ for your birthday and well done for finding a way to stop anyone jumping in the pool. I’m really looking forward to seeing Phill Coe’s photos even though when Fiona lit up a flash behind me i thought my gear had gone up in smoke.