07.24.10

DAVID AND CANDACE WEDDING, BEAR FLAG FARM, WINTERS, CA.

A very special couple with a very spontaneous nature. Some of the details of this event came together the day of the event. A few musicians added for the ceremony, a challenging officiator, giving up my chair under the umbrella next to my mixer to a grandmother, the quickest bouquet announcement and toss ever, and a surprise playlist from the bride all made for a rewarding event. The couple hired an amazing band called Bluegrass Stomp, and they were a blast! They played a little for the ceremony, then a keyboardist played, and for the recessional, two friends played another song. The band then played for the cocktail hour, the first dance and a little after dinner. We then played for the rest of the evening and the crowd was really friendly and fun.

07.23.10

NIELLO AUDI QUATTRO CUP, THE RIDGE COUNTRY CLUB, AUBURN, CA.

This is an annual fundraising event sponsored by Niello Audi to benefit Diogenes Youth Services in Sacramento. Once again, the event was amazing. The tournament roster was full and the chosen golf course was beautiful. On first glance, I thought I could set 2 speakers on the balcony to project the morning kick off announcements and music. I walked down below and discovered the dozens of carts were under the balcony overhang. I had 30 minutes before start time so I set up 2 more speakers down below. The Placer County Sheriff's Department brought their AStar B350 helicopter and parked it on the first tee box prior to the start of the event. After the participants' shotgun start, I set up the sound in the main event room for the evening dinner, raffle and auction. It was a long day, but a really good time. I am pictured with Megan and Summer of the Niello Company and the picture was taken by Matt N. Did I mention the Audi R8 V10 parked out front? Why did I not get a picture of it?? A big welcome to Matt Phelan, the new General Manager at Niello Audi.

07.14.10

EL MACERO CONTRY CLUB HOSTED 80'S EVENT, EL MACERO, CA.

This was one of the most challenging events we have ever done. We started set up around 2:30 and it was around 99 degrees. The event was taking place on the pool deck which was not covered. We had plenty of water but had a lot to do. We set up two truss towers with lighting, 3 speakers with one being in the inside bar, 2 subwoofers and a large rear projection screen for playing 80's music videos. We had never done a DJ event with music videos, so this was a new experience. The client supplied me with a ton of DVD's, but some of the labels didn't match the discs. We were scrambling to find the songs the client wanted all night long. We rolled with the challenge and the crowd had a great time. We even had a group of folks dressed up as Devo. It was awesome.

07.14.10

INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CHAPLAIN CONFERENCE, DOUBLE TREE, SACRAMENTO.

We were asked to provide sound and lighting for a memorial service honoring 250 fallen officers from around the world. There were around 500 chaplains from all over the world in attendance. We set up 8 independent up lights to individually light up uniformed officers on risers. We also flooded the stage with lighting with solo ellipsoidals on the podiums. Part of the program called for us to playback a music track while a guest sang the vocals live. 1/3 of the way through the song, our computer decided to fade the song out into nothing. If your production company claims they never have failures, or unexpected technical difficulties, find another company who is honest. The vocalist rolled with it and continued the rest of the song acapella. Instead of trying to start the song over, or try to catch up, we just let it roll forward. No one in the audience really noticed. They thought it was part of the show. The event was rather emotional. Hearing all 250 names of fallen officers from last year was shocking. It was a special event and we were honored to be there.

06.27.10

NIELLO BMW, ELK GROVE.

Eurosunday is an event that happens once a month in the Sacramento area. It is a collection of European car enthusiasts. Niello BMW and Nugget market teamed up to make this particular Sunday a memorable event. About 200 people showed up with a lot of very nice cars. We played music over 3 speakers to fill the parking lot. We made a bunch of announcements and played a lot of European artist music like Rolling Stones, Clash, Gipsy Kings, etc. The special car of the day was the 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG with gull wing doors. That car literally took my breath away. The morning started at 7:30 and we were packed up and driving out at 11:15 am. Great way to start a Sunday.

06.26.10

LAND ROVER ROCKLIN AND LAND ROVER/JAGUAR OF SACRAMENTO.

The Niello Company was running service clinics at both Land Rover dealerships with one being a Jaguar dealer as well. Vehicle owners would bring in their car, would get a free 30 point inspection and then the service technicians would answer any questions about maintenance and vehicle care. In Rocklin, customers were given the opportunity to drive their Land Rovers on the off road track in the back with appropriate supervision. The Niello Company had a full omlette bar for breakfast and then offered great box lunches in the afternoon. We provided sound at both locations with speakers in the showrooms and speakers out in the service area. We hired Scott to run the music in Sacramento while I ran the Rocklin location. It was a rather mellow and easy going event.

06.19.10

MELISSA & RAMIN, BEAR FLAG FARM, DAVIS.

If there was a Hollywood wedding in the Sacramento area this year, this was it. The wedding was a traditional Persian ceremony which was beautiful. The crowd of 150 then moved to the cocktail area under a small tent. The reception started a short time later. The bride and groom hired a 60' ferris wheel which was a huge hit, and it was the first time we had seen one at a wedding. They also hired a famous silhouette cutter from Los Angeles. His skill was incredible. The meal was Ahi Tuna or Buffalo which was delicious. Melissa and Ramin hired a band from the bay area called WALL STREET. They were really good. The covers they did sounded just like the original songs. We played multiple songs for the ceremony, then for the cocktail area, and then we simply played their first dance since it was a choreographed dance, which was very cool. This was an event we will never forget. Congratulations Melissa and Ramin.

06.12.10

SHANNA & MIKE, GROOMS PARENTS HOUSE, FORT BRAGG.

We were booked for this event almost 2 years prior to the event. In fact, Shanna booked us before she and Mike were even engaged! She was at a wedding we did in Fort Bragg and her mind was made up. We were honored to be invited back to Fort Bragg. It's a 4 hour drive, but the weather, the trees, the ocean air and the people are all spectacular. For this event we did sound for the ceremony, sound for the cocktail hour, a slideshow presentation, and then of course DJ'd the rest of the night. We were scheduled to end at 11 pm, but there were still 50 people on the dance floor, so we went on until 12:15 am. This event was a total blast and we think Shanna and Mike are a beautiful couple.

06.5.10

MAGGIE & TAYLOR WEDDING, BEAR FLAG FARM, DAVIS.

This wedding was a really fun time. I was asked to play a lot of songs for the ceremony including a tire screeching sound effect when Maggie was walking from the orchard to the ceremony lawn as soon as her and her dad stepped on the grass. At that point, I switched to Chapel of Love at which point Maggie and her dad busted out into dancing down the lawn to the ceremony alter. It was really cool. The alter itself, was 15 of their friends holding folliage. The flower 'girl' was a 24 year old male friend who really hammed it up by tossing clumps of flowers from his basket and then stuffing petals into some pockets of guests while skipping down the aisle. It was hilarious, yet classy. Maggie and Taylors first dance was like a broadway stage dance. This was a very energetic and fun crowd. It was also one of the most beautiful receptions we have seen. Congratulations Maggie and Taylor!

05.30.10

KATIA & BRIAN WEDDING, FLYING CLOUD FARM, PETALUMA.

My younger brother Scott has known this couple since elementary school. He was asked to be their civil ceremony officiator, which made this event even more unique and fun. The event location was great, but the venue was not an easy place to be a vendor. The ceremony was outside in a beautiful lawn area. The crowd was then asked to go inside the building to the bar for cocktails. The ceremony area was then changed over to a dining area. The people changing it over were wearing tye dye shirts, jeans and flip flops. Once the crowd assembled again in the dining area, dinner was buffet style back inside again. After dinner, the dancing would be in a tiny room inside so it took a very long time to try and get the crowd back inside again. We set up two sound sets and the event was a success, just sort of spread out. Congratulations Katia and Brian and good job Scott!

05.29.10

EMILY & JESSE WEDDING, BEAR FLAG FARM, DAVIS.

What a beautiful day this was. The weather was perfect with a delightful breeze. The bride and groom hired a string quartet for the ceremony, so we simply did sound for the officiator. That small set up allows us to hide everything in a row of lavender bushes. The reception was a blast as well, the crowd was great. Congratulations Emily and Jesse!

05.22.10

KATE & KEITH WEDDING, BEAR FLAG FARM, DAVIS.

This was a unique event. We were only really doing live sound for the ceremony and then the reception as well. The ceremony had a 3 string trio and a trumpet player, along with a few people doing readings. The wind was at the farm again, and you can see the cello player holding his music stand down with his foot. The bride hired a band from the east bay that was A W E S O M E! Their name is SUREFIRE and they were full of talent, and empty of attitudes. We set up 3 stage monitors, and used 12 channels for their instruments and vocal mics. We set up 3,400 watts with two QSC K10's and QSC 18" subs. The sound was great and everyone had a great time. When the band went on a few breaks, I played DJ by playing music. It was sort of weird for me to not make a single announcement all night long, but Alan and I had a great time.

05.19.10

LAW ENFORCEMENT CHAPLAINCY DUI SENTENCING, RIO LINDA HIGH, RIO LINDA.

We are excited to be a part of this unique program. We are responsible for setting up a court room for the sentencing of a DUI driver in front of 800 juniors and seniors. We set up the day before which takes around 4 hours. I hired Don from American Audio Visual Center at the Radisson and hired my brother in law Robert. We chain lifted 24 feet of trussing with 16 Par 64's. We ran two 100' long 50 amp cables into spider boxes which would only power the 8,000 watts of lighting. We used a 10.5 x 14 rear projection screen and two panels of pipe and drape. Behind the stage area were 4 QSC K10 1,000 watt speakers on stands. For audio, we set 2 Shure table mics, 1 lav for the judge and 2 wireless Shure hand helds. We did seamless video switching on my Macbook Pro and once again, gave them a good show.

04.25.10

JULIE & RYAN WEDDING, BEAR FLAG FARM, DAVIS.

What a beautiful event this was. Bear Flag Farm is located right between Davis and Winters which is practically in the center of the Sacramento Valley wind tunnel. On this day, the winds were around 20 mph for the duration of the event, but we made it work. The ceremony area is out in the lavander field, and the reception is around 1/4 of a mile towards the farm house. This was a really fun wedding because the crowd was so easy going and fun. Ron from Monkey Glue provided all the lighting and the Zephyr tent looked amazing. Congratulations Julie and Ryan!

04.25.10

2010 REACH RUN/WALK, SANTA ROSA AIRPORT.

This is our 8th year of providing sound for this event, and it keeps getting bigger. This year was estimated at 800+ people. The weather was beautiful and the morning started out with two hot air balloons flying over head. One of which barely cleared the REACH hanger. In one of the photos you can see a triangle of yellow tape with stanchions. There was a small Killdeer bird sitting on an egg next to a small shrub. This became a bird sanctuary and attracted a lot of people and cameras. We played music for around 3 hours with that little bird sitting there. At the end of the event, we turned the music off and once again, there was silence. The little bird started to chirp loudly and we heard another bird starting to chirp from another part of the airport. They found each other and the far away bird came over and took over sitting on the egg while the one that had been stuck there for 3 hours went to get some food. It was a very interesting bilogy experience.

04.22.10

LAW ENFORCEMENT CHAPLAINCY DUI SENTENCING, HIRAM JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL, SACRAMENTO.

For many years, M.A.D.D., CHP, and other agencies have been involved with the 'Every 15 Minutes' program all over the country. That impactful tool towards preventing DUI accidents is now being taken a few levels up. We were asked to provide a lot of lighting, sound and big screen video for an actual court sentencing of an individual guilty of DUI, in front of the juniors and seniors. This event was at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento. I hired Mike and Alan to help with this set up. We had access the night before and it took almost 4 hours to set up. We hung 30 feet of trussing with 16 par 64 cans with chain lifts attached to the I beams 24' up. We then set up a 10x 14' rear projection screen with a 4800 lumen projector and 23 feet of pipe and drape. We had 2 wireless hand helds and a wireless lav for the judge. There were a few video elements to show as well. The event started at 9 am and concluded at 10:25. It was perfect. I really have to compliment Angela Kellogg from the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy who did an incredible job of organizing an event with so many agencies. Rumor has it, there will be 11 more of these up to September 2011.

04.12.10

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS RALLY, NORTH STEPS, STATE CAPITOL.

We had about a week's notice for this event, and that wasn't a problem at all. The rain was continuing from the day before at the Ranch Run. We were aksed to provide sound for 500 people on the north steps of the State Capitol Building. It was pouring down rain, so we had to take measures to protect the speakers. We used 4 Mackie SRM-450's on stands and had two wireless mics. The whole crowd was really cool, and super loud, so our volume had to be louder. Half way through the event, the big giant doors to the building opened and two CHP officers came out. They walked right up to me and told me nicely they had sound complaints, and needed me to turn it down. No problem. I still think it was the 500 people screaming as loud as they could, but to say we were louder is a compliment. The event lasted about an hour and we packed it all up.

04.11.10

THE 2010 NIELLO VW RANCH RUN, RIDE TO WALK RANCH, LINCOLN.

The big event for the ranch. 4 bands and over 1,000 people. The event begins at Niello VW around 6:30 am. With a CHP escort, the hundreds of cars drive caravan style to the ranch. We were responsible for the sound on the stage. The forecast called for a lot of rain, so this year, the main event was held inside the covered horse arena. Since we were in a smaller space, and power was very limited, we brought the smaller subs and only 2 of the large mains. The stage was 20 feet wide and 6 feet deep which made for a challenging set up. We got the job done and the event went off without a single problem. Until it was time to pack up and reload. That is when the rain REALLY came down. I used our 10x10 canopy to cover the trailer ramp and fought the sand and dirt in the tent and the rain outside. Mike helped us with this event and did a fantastic job as stage manager. We have taken sound check to a new level of speed and efficiency. Looking forward to next year.

04.09.10

THE NIELLO VW RANCH RUN KICK OFF, OLD TOWN ROSEVILLE.

Ride To Walk is a ranch in Lincoln that use horses as therapy tools for children with physical, or developmental disabilities. Niello VW sponsors an annual event benefitting Ride to Walk. This year, Niello VW chose to close a few streets in Old Town Roseville and hold a car show to kick off the weekend of events for the ranch. We were doing big sound and lighting for this event. Mike and Alan helped with set up for this event. There were a lot of people and the evening was really fun. The city didn't have power available so we needed the trailer generator.

04.01.10

LEUKEMIA AND LYMPHOMA SOCIETY FUNDRAISER, NIELLO AUDI, SACRAMENTO.

For the last 14 years, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society holds a Man/Woman/Teen of the Year competition to who can raise the most money from April to July. This was our 4th year of doing sound and video for the kick off event. We are really pleased to be involved with the Niello Company and love the sponsorship they give year after year for this worthy cause.

03.19.10

STEPHANIE AND SHAUN WEDDING, SACRAMENTO GRAND BALLROOM, SACRAMENTO.

This event was a blast. Shaun and Stephanie both work for the Sheriff's Department, so there was a lot of law enforcement in the house. This was also the first event we have done at this venue. What an awesome place! It is gigantic inside. The ceremony and reception were in the same room and both were beautiful. A fun crowd and an awesome couple.

02.15.10

MINITHUNDER, THUNDERHILL RACEWAY, WILLOWS, CA.

We went out to Thunderhill Raceway with Niello MINI to video capture a big track day with lot's of MINI's. Since I used to sell MINI's, I have a special passion for these cool cars. This project was a lot of fun. The yellow classic MINI in the photo, lost his hood on turn 9. We were moved around the track in Matt's Land Rover and were asked if it could be picked up by us. We weren't sure, but when we got to turn 9 and saw it was the size of a cookie sheet, we found it wouldn't be a problem. A really fun day at the track. Check out Niello MINI.

02.14.10

CAROL AND DANIEL WEDDING, CITIZEN HOTEL, SACRAMENTO.

We love doing events at the Citizen Hotel, and this event was no exception. Carol and Daniel chose to be married on Valentines Day, so of course that added romance to the mix. We did sound for the ceremony on the first floor. They had two vocalists with two guitars. There happened to be a bridal show going on the 7th floor, which was in the room we were doing the reception in. We had an hour to break down all the ceremony sound and then used the small elevator to the 7th floor to set up for the reception. It was a busy hour of cables, and gear. The ceremony was a really fun time as we overlooked the capital. Teresa K was the photographer and we can't say enough about her personality and skill.

01.16.10

MYLANG AND DAVID WEDDING, ASIAN PEARL RESTARAUNT, SACRAMENTO.

This was a fantastic experience. We have never DJ'd an actual Chinese wedding. There were 300 people at this event, with another 250 in the next room for another wedding. They had a 12 course meal that was unbelievable. They fed us a ton of food and were great to work with. We did sound for guitars, singers, and a keyboard. We also ran sound for the laptop presentation. This event required an MC and a translator. At the end of the reception came some really fun dancing with a super fun crowd. Congratulations Mylang and David!

01.29.10

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR LEONA WEISSMANN, ADVENTURE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, ROSEVILLE.

My close friend Mike was hosting a memorial for the passing of his mother. I was more than eager to do what I could to help out. It was an emotional filled service with musical performance, talks, and video presentation.