DJ PEARL

New Year’s Eve 2011

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:40:33 +0000

Everybody is celebrating New Year's Eve at Holiday Inn Itasca!

Well… here we are at another New Year’s Eve! Wow, time goes so fast. This New Year’s Eve we were very glad to be asked back to DJ at the Holiday Inn in Itasca for the second year in a row. We really enjoy it there. The staff is very friendly and it’s always a very nice crowd that attends the celebration. Oh, and they love to dance and have a great time also which always helps!

When we got there we saw some familiar faces from last year. It looks like this is a yearly event for some of the guests. As soon as we got set up and played the first song some of them were already dancing. As they began filling onto the dance floor we could tell that this was one crowd that wouldn’t need extra encouragement to get out there and dance! It was a nice mix of adults and kids, with whole families out there on the dance floor having fun!

Dj Pearl and her "crew" get everybody shufflin!

Of course I would like to think we were asked back to DJ because of my musical talent! And while that may be partly true, I have to give credit where credit is due. Last year my two sons performed a Michael Jackson dance for the crowd at Holiday Inn. Everybody loved it so much that they called the hotel and asked to have them perform again this year (see bottom of this post for this year’s Michael Jackson dance). The boys were thrilled that they had so many fans!

Before the boys performed they helped me warm up the crowd with a little “Party Rock” shufflin number. They also helped lead the “wobble”, which is a newer line dance and a few of the guests even introduced their own line dances. The dance floor was filled throughout the evening and way past midnight into the early morning. I think they could have danced all night!

Balloons fall on cue at midnight!

And then there was the fabulous balloon drop at midnight. The hotel staff worked tirelessly all day on the balloon drop and all of the necessary preparations in order to make sure it worked correctly (I did mention that they were very nice didn’t I?). As the New Year approached, there was a little suspense and anticipation in the air. Then, at the stroke of midnight, the balloon drop went off without a hitch and everything worked perfectly. Nice job guys!

And now, without further ado, here is this New Year’s Eve Michael Jackson dance performed by my two sons. Enjoy!

[See post to watch Flash video]

Karaoke Battle USA

admin — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 02:11:32 +0000

This summer I tried out for the new ABC Karaoke Reality Show, "Karaoke Battle USA"! I competed and won a spot in our local karaoke contest held in Lisle Illinois to get a shot to compete in the State Finals and try out for the "Karaoke Battle USA" show.

The Illinois contest was held at The House of Blues in Chicago. It was very exciting, but also nerve racking as well, as there was talent from all over the state competing for a spot on the TV show. One of the judges for the State Finals was Jim Peterik, from the band Survivor (who sang "Eye of the Tiger" for the Rocky 3 movie). It was also broadcast live by WLS DJ Dick Biondi. In this contest we had to sing with a live band. I warmed up backstage and then came out and performed Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary”. After everyone else sang the judges made their decision and guess what? I won a spot in the State Championship to try out for the new ABC show! How cool is that?

DJ Pearl wins a medal for Karaoke Battle USA State Championship

That win gave me a chance to compete for a regional spot on the Karaoke pilot show on ABC. This regional contest was again held at The House of Blues in Chicago and drew karaoke singers from all over the Midwest. The judges for the Midwest finals were singer/songwriter Carnie Wilson, Joe Levy from Rolling Stone Magazine, and 2009 National Karaoke Champion Brian Scott. Talk about pressure…! The host was Joey Fatone from the band N-Sync.

When it was my turn I came out and sang my best. Then I sat and waited and cheered on all the other contestants. There was a lot of very good singers from all over and the competition was fierce. After the singing, the judges made their decisions for the top two singers, who would be featured on the TV show in a couple of weeks. Sadly, I missed out. But the two singers that won certainly earned their spot on the show as they were both awesome!

Even though I didn’t get featured on the "Karaoke Battle USA" show it was a very exciting and rewarding adventure. I met a lot of great people and loved every minute of it!

Senior Citizens Go Hawaiian

admin — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 02:06:21 +0000

Pearl leads the line dancing

We were at the Senior Center this morning in Yorkville Illinois! The theme for this party was Hawaiian and everyone came dressed to celebrate.

After a great Hawaiian themed lunch I performed a couple of Hawaiian and Tahitian dance numbers to warm the crowd up and get them in the mood to party! Then, after singing a few songs for them, the dance floor was opened up for everyone to come out and show their dance moves.

It looks like everyone had a great time and I thoroughly enjoyed myself as well!

DJ Pearl sings and entertains the crowd.

2010 New Years Eve Party!

admin — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 14:07:08 +0000

2010 New Years Eve at Holiday Inn Itasca

We had a great time entertaining a high energy crowd at the New Year’s Eve party at Holiday Inn Itasca! Even with such a diverse group we were able to accommodate everyone’s music request. In the beginning of the party, people usually request the typical line dances, like “Cupid Shuffle”, Casper or Electric Slide. It helped to have a request list on the table for guests to write in. I rotated different decades, current top 40, as well as different genre of music. This worked quite well and we kept everyone happy. Since this was a family event, we had games for the kids as well. Timing is of the essence when you are doing the kids games. There should be plenty of dancing in between and even an occasional slow dance.

My Sons Entertaining the Children

My two sons (with the white hats) helped me out as well. In the beginning of the party, they did a full costumed Michael Jackson performance. Here they are entertaining the children, giving dance instructions, later that evening. We played a dance off game, where all the kids (and even adults) would follow their MJ moves. This was the favorite game of the evening. The proud parents were taking pictures and video. We gave out 3 prizes , and I made animal balloons for consolation prizes, so that none of the kids would feel left out.

Hardest Working DJ on New Years Eve!

Of course, being the DJ on New Years Eve means I’m usually the only one working. But, I have a lot of fun and really enjoy interacting with the crowd. The Balloon Drop was funny and exciting at the same time, as it was all caught on my video (I would call it multi-tasking galore). As I announced the last 2 songs, the crowd was having such a good time they requested management to extend the music another half hour. Another year and another mission accommplished.

Walken in WGN Studio!

admin — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:06:35 +0000

Well it’s that time of year again. Yes that’s right, it’s Christopher Walken’s birthday. The reason I know this is because my friend from the WGN Studio, Jeff Hoover, contacted me and asked me if I could supply some Walken music for him. That is, songs with the word “walking” in them. Jeff was going to do a parody of Christopher Walken singing songs with the word walking in them in honor of his birthday. How crazy is that? Of course I said yes!

Well I supplied Jeff with a list of songs and he selected his favorites. I showed up at WGN to set up my equipment and waited for Jeff to get ready for his show. Now I’ve worked with Jeff before and I know to expect anything at anytime. Sometimes I’m not even sure if Jeff knows exactly what he is going to do until he does it. So believe me, I was ready for anything.

When Jeff was ready he went through his costume changes and sang his “Walken” songs. Of course it was hilarious! Afterwards he gave me a video of the show which I’m going to share with you. I hope you enjoy it. Happy birthday Christopher!

[See post to watch Flash video]

Karaoke in WGN Studio!

admin — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:32:05 +0000

Picture of Me with Jeff Hoover (AKA Stan Diamond). View video at bottom of post!

A couple of years ago I was approached by Jeff Hoover, from WGN Channel Nine news, to DJ for a Welcoming Party for Ana Belaval, the “Around Town” reporter for the WGN Morning Show. Well, that sounded like it would be very exciting, so I jumped at the chance. There was singing and dancing, and there were a lot of impersonators on hand.

In case you haven’t heard of Jeff, he’s the Segment Producer of the WGN Morning News. He produces, and stars in, those comedy sketches you’ll see during the morning broadcast. If you do a search on Youtube, I’m sure you can find a few of his classics. (jump to WGN karaoke video)

Well, I guess Jeff liked the way I DJ because he’s asked me back on several more occasions. He had me DJ for him when he did a Jerry Lewis parody on the air and again for a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration at Emerald Loop Bar/Grill downtown Chicago. He also hired me to DJ for his birthday party. He’s such a nice guy! I always have a great time when I work with him.

One of these occasions he asked me to work with him on was a karaoke gig where Jeff does his Neil Diamond “impersonation” live on the air. Now, Jeff is a serious Neil Diamond fan, but he does a hilarious parody of him. A few months ago, Jeff was kind enough to email me the video. I decided to put it up on my blog because I think it ‘s very entertaining, and hopefully you’ll enjoy viewing it. One word of caution though, if you’re a Neil Diamond “purist” you might want to turn away now!

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[See post to watch Flash video]

Party at Reza’s

admin — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:09:53 +0000

I Just did a party at Reza’s restaurant, 5255 N Clark St in Chicago. It was a small party of 80 guests from Accucare Home Health. They were welcoming the new Director of Nursing as well as celebrating a combined employees Birthday party. I set up my equipment in a back room that they have for this type of occasion.

After eating at the wonderful buffet, it was time to work off some of those calories. They were a little shy to dance in the restaurant at first so I got out on the dance floor and encouraged them to do a couple of line dances. After that they loosened up and danced the night away!

If you’re having a small party, your neighborhood restaurant can be a good alternative to renting a larger hall. Many of them have a separate room that they can provide for these type of events, often at very low cost. All you have to do is ask around!