Will you meet with me personally to discuss the needs of my event?
Yes. We feel it benefits you and us to meet in person. We are able to see what you are like and how we can best shape our service to meet your vision and needs. There is no extra cost for a consultation, and we plan on emailing back and forth tons of times. We understand that you don't know the agenda for your event the day you first contact us, or even during the consultation. Your big day will take shape slowly and we expect that. We have had brides change the entire schedule 3 minutes before the event began. We roll with it and are able to quickly adapt.
Will you take requests?
Yes. We are pretty good at reading a crowd, but sometimes there is 'that one song' that the group holds dear to them for numerous reasons, and being informed is always welcome. It's also nice to interact one-on-one with your friends and family. We love talking with people of all ages.
Do you use professional equipment?
Yes. If there was a rating system for just the equipment DJs have, we would be at the top of the stack. We have done extensive research to find the best quality equipment available, no lie. Look at our equipment list and ask anyone. What does this mean to you? Crystal clear sound with no distortion or feedback. Have you been to a club or concert where they have enormous bass, but you can't hear the words to the song? Our sound is balanced so songs sound the way they should. It also means dependability. We have had one major equipment failure; yep, here it is, the truth. We were entertaining at an outdoor company picnic, and we regretfully plugged into the caterer's generator. The idle was not adjusted properly, and after 20 or so minutes, all four of my beautiful Mackie 1530s popped, smoked, and lit on fire! It was like losing 4 family members in 10 seconds. I quickly drove to the equipment shop I got all my gear at, and borrowed 2 other speakers. I returned, plugged into a wall outlet, and continued. I was of course thinking I was the worst DJ in the world, but when it was over, they all thought I just took a break. They didn't even notice! I got my 4 Mackies fixed and they have sounded perfect for years since. Good equipment is the only way to go.
Are you fully insured?
Yes. We have a $1,000,000 Liability and Comprehensive policy. Most venues require it.
Do you require a contract?
Yes. Avoid vendors who do not require one. It's protection. Our contract outlines exact information so there is no misunderstanding. It assures you that we know when, where, and how long we are allowed to entertain.
How much does your service cost?
We feel we have a top quality service and we charge accordingly. A DJ is like gasoline; he supports combustion. He is not 'the life of the party'. You and your guests are. The best DJs know how to read a crowd. They know what to say and what not to say on the microphone. They are classy and you should trust them. They also know what to play, when to play it, and how loud it should be. A DJ should also be good with people of all ages without being 'over the top'. You truly get what you pay for in this business. It would be impossible to put general rates on here because we personally evaluate every event. Your event is unique, and we like to personalize as much as we can. But know you will be getting our full ability, attention and energy.
What else should I look for in a DJ?
Ask all of your vendors if they have a business license. (Yes we do.) Ask for references. Make sure they don't drink alcohol at the event. Of course, we don't drink, but some do!
RANDOM TRIVIA FACTS ABOUT CANAAN SOUND AND LIGHT.
As of 2011, Furthest Journey to a Paid Event: 386 miles to Pasadena, CA for a wedding reception.
As of 2011, Shortest Journey to a Paid Event: 2 miles for a Rotary Club Crab Feed.
Longest Event of Playing Music Without Repeating a Single Song: 14 hours. 8 am to 10 pm for Rancho Cotati High School Walk A Thon. This was also back in the days of actually using CD's before laptop automatic playlists were used.
Shortest Paid Event: Played one song for a wedding reception, and a live band played the rest.
Longest Booking for an Event: 19 months for a wedding reception in Fort Bragg. In fact, the bride booked us before she was even engaged. She said when he asked her she would say yes and then quickly notify him of the date.
Shortest Notice for an Event: 45 minutes. A woman called and asked if we could provide sound and a microphone for a softball league major event for only 20 minutes.
Smallest Audience: A wedding ceremony and reception with only 25 people.
Largest Audience: Live sound for over 14,000 people at the Convoy of Hope event at Cal Expo November 2011.
Northern Most Event: Fort Bragg, CA
Eastern Most Event: The Hideout, Kirkwood, CA
Southern Most Event: Pasadena, CA
Western Most Event: Did videography for a wedding anniversary ceremony on Maui, HI
Biggest Disaster While DJing: 4 speakers catching on fire all at once due to the caterers generator.
Scariest Moment, But Really Fun Event Anyway: 300 people on the second floor of an old building in China Town, flexing the floor to House of Pain's 'Jump Around'.
Most Complicated and Difficult Load In/Load Out: 32nd Floor of the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Just getting the equipment to the room we were in took 1.5 hours. Second place was 3 events on Blue & Gold Fleet in San Francisco. Loading onto a boat with a short amount of time is not easy.
Easiest Load In/Load Out: An annual fundraising event for REACH in Santa Rosa. We set up in the parking lot and the truck and trailer stay right there.
Other Than Money, Best Currency Paid For Doing An Event: Multiple helicopter rides from the REACH Organization. We are also Lifetime REACH Members.
Best Line-up of Entertainment Other Than Us At The Same Event: A wedding reception in Lincoln, CA had 600 guests who were entertained by a 12 piece Mariachi Band for an hour, then a 10 member Mexican Band on a stage for an hour, and then we DJ'd for an hour. It was a 6 hour event, so we all played twice.
Most Interesting Venue for a Wedding Reception: A 3 deck paddle ship on Clear Lake. No elevator, and the dancing was going to be on the third deck.
Most Unique Place To DJ: Sacramento Zoo.
Most Wobbly Dance Floor Event: Blue and Gold Fleet on the SF Bay. 500 people dancing while going under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Venue That Felt Like DJing Inside an MRI Machine: Nicholson Winery in Napa. The 150' long wine cellar that was built like a cave under the winery. All 120 guests sat at the same looooooong table.
Coolest Wedding Rental: A 30' ferris wheel.
Most Beautiful Venue: It's a tie, The Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, and Carneros Winery in Napa.
Biggest Indoor Venue and Event: The Best of Sacramento Annual Party usually has 8,000 guests and is held in the Sacramento Convention Center. We simply did the Niello display. We have done Maserati, Porsche and Audi.
Biggest Outdoor Venue and Event: A little over 14,000 people at Cal Expo. We provided sound for the main stage at the Convoy of Hope event. 10 music acts made for an exciting day. We also invested in our JBL VRX Line Arrays for this event.
Smallest Venue and Tightest Space to Set Up In: The basement of a home in downtown Sacramento for a wedding reception. I think we had 9 Sq. Ft. to set up in.
Furthest Distance to Run Power To: Bear Flag Farm in Davis CA has a ceremony site in their lavender field which is around 1,600 feet from the generator. We usually only have about 103 volts at the end of the 12 awg cable run.
Longest Dedicated Client: The Niello Company. We first DJ'd for them in 2005.
Most Expensive Car To Put Trussing Over: It was actually 5 cars at once. A Ferrari Enzo, A Ferrari California, A Ferrari F430, A Maserati Gran Tourismo and a Maserati Quattroporte. Total value for these cars was over $2 Million.
Worst Song Requested at a Wedding Reception: Witchy Woman by The Eagles.
Oddest Mother Son Dance Request: Take Me Out To The Ball Game.
Trickiest Events for Multiple Reasons: High School Reunions.
Most Emotionional Events: We have provided audio visual service at a few Memorial Services.