Ask Alfred
Scaring Up More Gigs
Here’s a scary thought… what if you didn’t get enough gigs, or enough good paying ones this October? That would be a bad “trick” to play on any DJ this Halloween. After all, this isn’t just the season of pumpkins, witches and goblins, it’s also the time of year when DJs should do be doing a booming business.  Alfred Gonzales, National Sales Manager of American DJ, believes that more DJs can reap the “treats” of better paying gigs on Halloween if they add an extra twist or two to their seasonal light shows.  Alfred explains why in this interview.

So Halloween has always been a good time for DJs, but you think it can be better; why is that?
“As you say, Halloween is a busy time of year, which is of course great, but I think some DJs can get better paying gigs by taking a step outside the box and creating light shows that do a little more than what customers typically expect from seasonal shows this time of year.  Halloween parties and dances have become incredibly popular in recent years, which is good for DJs. However, this also means that a lot of people have already been to a lot of Halloween parties so they’ve become accustomed to seeing all of your traditional Halloween light shows. People like these traditional shows, but because they’re standard you’re only going to be able to get a standard fee for them. If you want to get a higher fee you have to do a little more.”

Do you have any examples of what you’re describing?
“Sure, one thing that comes to mind is that instead of just having your black lights and UV lights, you can create a more varied and interesting looking Halloween display with something like our ADJ Flash Rope, which you can use to outline objects walls and decorations in brilliant strobe lights. This creates a more interesting scene at a Halloween party or dance.”

Can you tell us more about the ADJ Flash Rope?
“It’s a plug-and-play strobe rope with 12 flash capsules that really generate some lighting excitement with a one flash per second flash rate.  A cool thing about it is that you can use it at outdoor Halloween events too. It has a built-in O-ring for easy hanging or it can go on the ground.

“This is an example of a new kind of light that you can use to enhance your Halloween light shows, but there are also new versions of traditional  Halloween lights that use advanced technology to do more. The bottom line is when you use these new version lights, you create a much better show, which gets you better gigs.”

What examples are there of new versions of traditional Halloween lights?
“Nothing is more traditional Halloween than the black light. You can really step up your black lighting with something like the ADJ Black-24BLB.  This  is a two foot  black light with reflectors that really enhance the output to create a surreal atmosphere at a Halloween event.”

You mention black lights symbolizing Halloween gigs and another icon is the UV light. Have there been improvements in that area as well?
“There sure have been. If you want an example, take a look at the American DJ  UVLED BAR16. It represents the fusion of UV and LED lighting at its finest!  It provides a fantastic mood setting color wash at Halloween or anytime.”

Can you describe it?
“The UV LED Bar 16 has 16 one-watt UV LEDs. You can position this fixture on the floor or hang it from the ceiling with its dual bracket system.  It has a  10° vertical and 40° horizontal linear beam angle so it gives your great coverage – and since the LEDs have a 50,000 hour estimated life and the fixture has no moving parts, it’s going to continue working for you for many Halloweens to come.”

You mentioned the Flash Rope, which is a strobe effect, earlier; strobes are also an essential part of Halloween. Have there been technological improvements in them as well?
“Yes, our ADJ Mega Flash DMX strobe is a good example of this. This is a powerful DMX-compatible strobe light with a whopping 800 watts of output. Compact and pocketbook-friendly, the brilliant Mega Flash DMX outstrobes similar fixtures in its price range by as much as a brightness factor of four. Another thing that makes it stand out are its DMX capabilities. It has two DMX channels for speed and dimming, speed and dimmer control knob on rear of unit, 0-100% dimming and sound active control with built-in microphone.

“So again, this is a strobe, which is as traditional for Halloween as a carved pumpkin, but because it has all these features, it allows you to add a lot of interesting elements to your Halloween light show, which makes them more entertainment—and really that’s what Halloween is all about. People are looking for fun things and different things at Halloween. They’re always looking for new ideas in costumes and parties, so you don’t want to give them the same-old same-old when it comes to lighting. Give them a different look in light shows and you’ll get more treats than tricks this Halloween!”

For more information Contact American DJ:
U.S. Office - Tel: 800-322-6337/+1-323-582-2650 • Web: www.americandj.com
E-mail: info@americandj.com