I get asked regularly, “DJ Michael, why are you a digital DJ instead of turntables, since you are such a professional DJ purist, an ‘Old Skool-type DJ’?”

“Simple. I can honor the requests live of pretty much any genre or song a guest may ask.  I would need to bring with me thirty or forty racks of records to even come close to covering the diverse musical requests that a professional DJ needs to have access to at an event. Also, it is a lot easier on my back and body, not to mention there is such a smaller margin of error with digital equipment than turntables and CD players.”

When I was younger, I knew it was always possible to deal with needles skipping when someone was having too much fun near the DJ Station. I knew records would get scratches and grooves in them. To a much lesser extent, I experienced some of this with CDs, although not nearly as much. I do not have any tech problems these days. Nothing.

I miss using vinyl. I miss its natural sound and the feel of the records in my hands. I even miss the liner notes I used to read to learn about the musicians and the album. None of these are worth sacrificing technical perfection and the ability to honor nearly 95% on-site requests. For a true Club DJ that only plays one genre and does not lug gear with them from gig to gig; vinyl is a great option. I am not that kind of professional DJ. I need to be ready for whatever genre someone wants to hire me to play. It might be Top 40 and Hip Hop one night or 80’s the next or Oldies and Top 40 the day after. I have performed at weddings with Celtic, Reggae and Calypso on a Sunday afternoon after playing Top 40, MoTown, Soul, Disco and R&B the night before. I appreciate the opportunity to play diverse playlists and the challenge of hunting down obscure tunes that a couple may want during Cocktail Hour or a First Dance Song of a couple celebrating their 50th Anniversary and renewing their vows that had the local band play at their wedding in 1961 as a professional DJ! And I will find it. This is fun for me.

I’ll keep using my MacBook. I like the ability to be more creative than I could have imagined when I started out many years ago.  Time to finish preparing for a wedding on Saturday night with Rock, MoTown and Top 40:)