As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., I was always encouraged by my mother to be a good person, to share, to give, and to help. I inherited my father’s ability to talk to anybody about virtually anything. Whether it was volunteering at a nursing home, or visiting hospitals on Christmas Day to bring a little light into the patients lives, I always wanted to make people smile, and I still do.

In 1982, one of my high school graduation gifts was a home stereo system. As any 18 year-old-kid, I immediately thought “How can I use this to my benefit with the girls?” The answer: Mix tapes. So, with some money I had saved up, I bought a second turntable and tried to make the tapes. Needless to say, it did not work, and I did not have the internet to help. After calling up every electronics store in Brooklyn, I found out I needed something called “a mixer.” So, my sister Marsha bought me a mixer and now I could create those tapes. Fast forward a few months later and my family moved from Brooklyn, N.Y. to New Windsor, N.Y. My career was about to take off. One morning, a neighbor asked me if I knew of any DJs that could play at her daughters Confirmation party. Fortunately for me, I did not. So, I offered up my services. When she asked what my price was, I said “Twenty five dollars and feed me.” It was my first “professional” DJ gig: A Confirmation in a church basement. On the way to to the church, I stopped at Radio Shack to buy a microphone and the “Shack’s”  professional speakers, I also hit the record store to pick up the latest and greatest tracks to get me through the event (thank you K-tel). That twenty five dollars and baked ziti cost me over two hundred dollars! I am sure it was not my finest performance, but people had a good time as I was not shy on the microphone, and was able to get people to dance and laugh. It was not until the phone started ringing and people were asking me to do their parties that I thought “Hmmm, I might be on to something.” 

In the 1980’s, there was no internet, no DJ associations, no “How to become a DJ” books. I was on my own and needed some help as I had booked my first wedding for a whopping $250. Then I had a brainstorm! I grabbed the VHS tape from my sister Marsha’s wedding and watched it from start to finish with a pad and pen. Every time the bandleader said or did something, I wrote it down. Because of this, I was able to fool people into thinking I knew what I was doing. This led to more and more work.  The real turning point in my new career was when I went to a prom with a young lady and met my mentor, Freddy Greene of Digital Visions Re-Edits. He was the DJ at the prom and I spent more time talking with him than with my date (which might explain why things did not last). He was willing to take me under his wing and bring me out to some events. 

Mike’s Memories: The first event Freddy took me to was a dance at a local church. It was there that I realized that I need to think before I speak (it’s a daily struggle that I still have to this day). Freddy introduced me to Father Tom and I said “It’s very nice to meet you, but I am not comfortable calling you Father, can I call you Dad for short?” It was then that I was told to go behind the equipment and not speak to anyone. 

Ten years later I felt I was just about done with this industry. Although clients would change I felt like I was doing the same event, over and over. As I was about to hang up my headphones I received a call from Freddy Greene telling me, not asking me, that I was going to DJ his wedding. He would not take no for an answer.  I explained to him that I was in a rut and every wedding was becoming the same, same music, same people etc. He told me that I could do whatever I wanted at his wedding, even get a little crazy. He was right. I started thinking outside the box. I changed things up and approached everything differently and it made a big difference. My batteries were recharged and my approach to weddings and all celebrations has been personalized for every client ever since. 

It was an eye opening experience to see the power, control, and effect over a party that a DJ could have.