I began collecting music at a very young age. Beginning with my mother's old LPs, 45s and a portable plastic record player (the one with the orange pop-up 45 adapter spindle) my love of listening can be traced back to the early-to-mid 1970's. Mom had Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, The Beatles and even a couple of obscure Phil Harris "sides" that were hilarious. Dad had a bunch of 7-inch reel-to-reel tapes that he had recorded while stationed overseas. Creedence Clearwater Revival, early Bee Gees and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass were to be found in this collection, not to mention drummer Sandy Nelson. All of it was readily consumed by my unbiased ears with a voracious appetite for new sounds. Using a turntable and a gigantic vacuum-tube-powered Akai tape deck I discovered ways to record music and play it back in any order I wanted years before iPod playlists. These were the beginnings of what was to become a lifelong passion.
In the spring of 1981 I informally began my disc jockey career by volunteering to provide music for my 6th grade end-of-year dance at the Pleasant Valley Elementary School in South Windsor, Connecticut. This was to be a special treat for the graduating students who were to move on to the middle school the following year because it was the first time the school had ever tried/allowed anything like this. Pizza and subs were provided that day instead of the normal drab cafeteria fare. I was allowed to set up my home stereo (featuring a Craig 8-track cartridge player and fully-automatic wooden-base Dual 2000 turntable with all four speeds: 16, 33, 45 & 78 RPM) and spin some tunes for my fellow classmates (and some of their parents) in the school gymnasium. Popular selections at the time included "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC and "One Way Or Another" by Blondie, not to mention anything and everything by Pat Benatar. The K-Tel collections "Hitline" and "Sound Waves" were also sources of material, not to mention many 45s purchased with allowance money. I distinctly remember having to play "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang (on the blue De-Lite label) twice because my buddy Mike's mother loved it so much.
The funny thing about 8-track tapes though because they're in a continuous loop they don't have a reverse setting a feature which can be quite problematic during the cueing process. I recall losing some sleep the night before the "dance" because of cueing 8-tracks. Needless to say the event was a success. People danced, made requests and had a pretty good time. I was bitten by the bug. As they say, "the rest is history".
Ten years later in 1991 I began my professional mobile DJ career by working for Salt City Entertainment in Syracuse, New York. Under the guidance of Jay Goldberg I learned the ropes and figured out what it really means to be Master of Ceremonies at a formal event. From the smallest banquet halls to the Hotel Syracuse grand ballroom, I gained valuable experience in working with photographers and banquet staff as well as the brides and grooms and their families, learning how to run a smooth show.
While performing at dozens of weddings in the area I also found club work at Tucker's, a notorious (now-defunct) oldies bar in the heart of downtown Syracuse. While spinning everything from funk and disco to sing-along oldies (not karaoke, friends) and lost new wave classics, mostly on vinyl 45s, I honed my talent for reading the vibe of the crowd and responding to their energy by playing just the right mix of tunes to keep the place hopping. The girls dancing precariously on the bar and and lines down the block waiting to get in were indicators of a successful night.
Life happens and along with that comes change. 1996 brought me to the Capital Area where I began spinning tunes for C&A Entertainment in Saratoga Springs. I got to know the region and many of the area's finest banquet houses. Continuing to build my list of references over the next five years throughout the Saratoga region especially, I decided that it was time to begin a business venture of my own.
Advantage Sound was officially born in the Spring of 2001 with the mission of providing the highest quality mobile music service available at a reasonable price. After doing things "someone else's way" for so long and making the obligatory mistakes during the learning process I now could do things my own way...the right way...NO inflatable instruments...NO enforced line dancing...NO obnoxious announcer voice making tasteless remarks...just great, high-quality music and a personal touch with a party attitude.
