Sticky Boots' News

LEGO Madness

2011-12-02T11:37:00.001-05:00

November is always one of my favorite months for many reasons. First and foremost, it's my wedding anniversary month, which is awesome. Secondly, it's my birthday month, and unlike a lot of DJ's, I certainly don't dislike growing older. In fact, some of the best in the business are a lot older that you realize. My fellow America's Best DJ nominee (and this year's winner I might add), Kaskade, is actually 40 years old and at the top of his game, so birthdays rock if you ask me.   November is also one of my slower months in terms of gigs, so it's a great time to relax a bit, fix what's broken, and recharge my OWN batteries a bit by spending more time with my family.   Thanksgiving is pretty cool too.

All that being said, I had the opportunity this year in November to spin for two very unique events which I think are worth mentioning. I was asked by two local educational foundations to emcee and provide energy for their "First LEGO League" qualifying tournaments.   If you're interested in knowing more about what that is, check out www.firstlegoleague.org for details, but in brief, these are groups of extremely passionate kids in grades 4-6 who design and build robots out of LEGO to compete on a course of obstacles and tasks. They are scored on not only their time and tasks completed but also their engineering and teamwork abilities.

These kids are some of the best and brightest in their schools, so it was so much fun to see them working together to solve challenges and of course building complex robots out of LEGO. I've always been a nerd at heart and huge LEGO fan anyway, so this is right up my alley, plus how often do you get to mix loud house music while being the official starter of all the robot matches?! I never got tired of yelling "3, 2, 1...LEGGGGOOO" into the mic, hahha.

The team spirit and support was also amazing to see from not only the kids, but the parents as well. It was also great to see many teams actually cheering for their competitors. In a time when things are so polarized in this country and people are soooo competitive, it's cool to see that kind of cross team support.   Props to all the qualifying teams who will now go on to State level competition in Indianapolis. Well done! Events like these are a welcome change of pace from the dark and often dirty world of nightclubs, and I'm looking forward to coming back next year!!!

And now, for me, it's on to an uber-busy month of December with a ton of corporate, private and school functions to finish out the year. If I don't see you out at a party...see you in January right back here. Have a safe and Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!

Fall Update

2011-11-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

It’s been a busy wind-down to the summer and start of fallalready for me, and there’s plenty more to come, but here are some highlights.

As usual there’s been plenty of private events that I’vebeen a part of all summer, from school dances and homecoming parties to sweet16’s and even several incredible weddings, but I’ve also been privileged to be a part of several charity events aswell, including an amazing fundraiser for Loveway, an awesome outdoorbasketball tournament with ADEC as part of Goshen’s First Friday event in August,and finally providing musical motivation for hundreds of walkers participatingin the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk. Great organizations and great people all around!

Speaking of walking, I’ve been doing a lot of walking latelystarting with a fun event my wife and I took part in with our dog, Zoey. It was a short 1 mile fun walk around a localcounty party to benefit our local small animal rescue. The walk took place at the height of the fallcolors on a gorgeous morning, so the scenery couldn’t have been nicer. Since Zoey is a rescue herself, it’sawesome to participate in events like this.

A few weeks later we then continued the fall walk vibe byparticipating in the “Maple City Walk” which was a 13.1 mile half marathonalong the scenic and very rural “Pumpkinvine Railroad Trail”. This ‘rails to trails’ project traces thepath of an abandoned rail line in Indiana, and once again we had fantasticweather on a chilly morning which made the 3.5 hour walka fun experience though the fall kissed countryside. It was such a great experience in fact thatmy wife and I decided to walk it AGAIN the next weekend, this time minus the150 other walkers and with a little more stretching and warming up than theweek before.

And finally, just this last weekend, my wife surprised mewith tickets to the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in South Bend. We’ve been so blessed to have had severalperfect Saturday’s in October, which is not only great for many of my exclusivewedding clients, but makes for textbook football weather. We had seats with a great view, althoughthey were on the Navy side of the stadium. Not a bad thing though as Navy had little to cheer about with a 56-14Irish victory, although it’s always great to be in the presence of the dedicatedactive duty and retired members of our military. Navy had a LOT of fans in the stadiumincluding hundred of active duty members in uniform, and there was even amultiple F-18 flyover of the stadium which was ground-shaking. Much respect to Navy.

America's Best DJ Results - 2011

2011-09-06T20:50:00.000-04:00

After a long summer of voting, the results are now back with the final standings for America’s Best DJ. I ended up once again in the Top 20 in the country thanks in large part to all you fans reading this. THANK YOU so much for your votes and support over the summer! Everyone says it, but I have the BEST fans, and I appreciate all the votes, love, and even creative ways that people helped get the word out to Vote for Sticky Boots this summer. Thecompetition was considerably tougher this year with some big time DJ’s flexingtheir muscles, so to finish top 20 is incredible. For those curious, no, sadlyI did not beat DJ Pauly D, from the "Jersey Shore" but he also didnot win or even get into the top 10(much to his amazement). Although all thosemillions of MTV viewers make a difference, they still can see who has the besttalent. That DJ this year was the dance music producer and DJ, Kaskade. When he’s not inciting riots in Hollywood,Kaskade is quite respected with a huge fan base, and makes some pretty dopemusic too, so congrats to him on this year’s crown.

I'll be back next year asking for your vote again, so start thinking now of creative ways to help promote my nomination. The best will definitely be rewarded :)

GirlTalk After-Party @ ND

2011-08-29T12:09:00.000-04:00

My staff and I were privileged this year to once again be apart of the Notre Dame B1 back to school "Block Party" concert series on campus. This year’s concert headliner was my fellowAmerica’s Best DJ candidate, Girl Talk, who put on one of the highest energy, strangest,simplest, whirlwind performances I’ve ever seen…think of a guy with a laptoppogo'ing up and down for an hour while playing pre-produced mashups. Bizarre. And the ND crowd of 5000+ LOVED it,haha…awesome. I also provided theconcert text-to-screen system which we ran between acts on two 30 foot mobileLED displays. Over 7,000 texts weresent during the course of the evening, so it was a good time to say the least.

After the show, I was the headliner for the after-party atLegend’s of ND and GirlTalk certainly handed me a crowd that was amped andready to continue the party. Legends isa really fun, private club venue right on campus and we had a capacity crowd in theclub with everything from football players to bookworms rocking out to my ownblend of high energy mixes.

Thanks ND, you guys ROCK...can't wait to go back next year!

DJ Expo & Summer Sessions

2011-08-11T23:37:00.000-04:00

As usual this past August found me making my annual pilgrimageto the Jersey Shore to kick it with my guido brothers in Atlantic City for theDJ Times International DJ Expo and the Promo Only Summer Sessions.

The DJ Expo caters to every type of DJ there is from bedroomand club jocks, to mobile wedding reception DJ’s, so it’s a good way to meet aLOT of people and get a slice of the state of the industry. It also has an insane vendor exhibit hall,were all the DJ’s can overdose on all things loud and bright. In all over 5000 DJ’s from around the worldattend. There’s never any shortage of Jersey guidoshanging out on the boardwalk either, and you couldn’t walk five feet withoutseeing some sort of Jersey Shore swag in a T-shirt shop. Hell, we even ran into Jersey Shore rejectcastmate, Angelina, on this trip. Seriously.

Summer Sessions in contrast is a private, invite only eventfocused on the dance music and dance radio industry. Only about 150 or so people are involved,and they represent the cream of the industry crop from record label CEOs to thedirectors of programming for AOL Radio, BET, MTV and Clear Channel. There are also quite a few artists minglingaround, with this year’s highlights including 50 Cent, Iyaz, Jason Derulo,Clinton Sparks, Kreayshawn, and Lil’ Jon all seen in the building. Ialso happened to be nominated this year at Summer Sessions for the “SyndicatedMixshow DJ of the Year” award, and although I didn’t win this year, it wasstill pretty awesome to hear Lil’ Jon read my name amongst the other greatnominees. Check out my YouTube page fora video of the award nominees.

Both events end up coming together for the final night ofthe shows with the Promo Only concert at the House of Blues on the Boardwalkwhich sees up close and personal performances from up and coming artists likeDaCav 5, Jada, and Kreayshawn, established artists like Jason Derulo and Iyaz,and even classic artists like Crystal Waters. It’s always fun to bounce between the VIP balcony and backstage and hobnob with the stars, especially when you never know who will blow up down theroad. Two years ago Lady Gaga performedat this show and was hanging out with all of us….6 months later….well, you knowwhat happened :) I also had a blast kicking it with my guys from ggggG-Unit in their suite before the concert...Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo, and of course the man himself, Fifty who also introduced us to his new artist on G-Note record, Hot Rod. Props to Fifty and Clinton Sparks too for there tweets about me on Twitter!

My wife was once again with me for this trip and we had agreat time seeing old industry friends, meeting new people and artists andchecking out all the new gear. It was ahighlight for her too when my buddy Clinton Sparks asked to see her personally,haha. I even came home with some incredible newmoving head fixtures for The Music Place, Inc. so if you’re local to theMidwest, you’re likely to see these out at a private event near you!

Q93 - Alexandria

2011-08-09T14:00:00.000-04:00

Big welcome to all my new listeners in Alexandria, Louisianawho just signed on to get Sticky with the HyperMiXx. Currently mixes are airing at 8:00pm onweeknights on Q93, so if you happen to be in the Alexandria area, be sure tocall the station or hit up their facebook page and show some love.

Elkhart County 4-H Fair

2011-08-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

Well another gigantic Elkhart County 4-H Fair is in thebooks, and as always it was another amazing week. My duties on-site this year were a bitexpanded, with not only hosting the Cheerleading and Queen competitions, but Iwas also the official emcee for Wednesday’s “Kid’s Day” which saw thousands ofkiddies swarm the fairground with their parents for rides, food, safety showsfrom the fire department, and a ton of fun with contests like the WatermelonRoll and Bubble Gum blowing contest.

Of course, I also was out in full force to represent thebrand at my company’s commercial booth, and it was awesome to see so many fansand supporters stop by to say hello, pick up mix CDs and of course, cast theirvotes for America’s Best DJ. This yearwas also the HOTTEST in recent memory with temps near 100 on several days. It was so hot in fact that for the first timeever, we were forced to move the Cheerleading Competition off-site to FairfieldHigh School for the safety of the cheerleaders and the fans. The Queen Contest was back on the Grandstandmainstage as always, but I can tell you, wearing a full tux under the stagelights in 90 degree temps is a challenge to be sure!

Already looking forward to a great year next summer (andhopefully a cooler one too!)

ABDJ Tour - San Antonio

2011-07-19T22:13:00.000-04:00

Following up on my America’s Best DJ Tour stop this July inSan Antonio for those that didn’t catch the play by play on Facebook andTwitter. In short, FANTASTIC show. The host club, COCO-XO, was awesome in everyway, the food, the service, and of course the staff. For once my wife was able to travel with meto TX, and we were overwhelmed with how nice of a venue COCO is. I would describe it as more of an“ultra-lounge” than a all out-nightclub, but that’s exactly what I like. Capacity is still over 500 in all the areas,and both nights I played were packed.

After arrival at the Hotel Contessa on the famous Riverwalkin downtown San Antonio, we made our way to the club for dinner, which wasoutstanding. COCO is known for chocolateinfused French cuisine and the they did not disappoint. Perfect steaks and the most deliciouschocolate specialty drink I’ve ever had. The venue is divided into restaurant and club space with a spaciousoutdoor patio. After 10:00pm therestaurant opens up to the club by way of a moving glass wall and they wholevenue radiates with energy. Being anultra-lounge concept, a heavy emphasis is placed on VIP bottle service with I’dguess over 20 VIP tables available. VIPsare treated to flaming bottles, LED-lit menus, and of course, impeccableservice.

I played both Friday and Saturday nights, and although itwas a slightly different vibe each night (with Saturday being moreelectro-dutch) the response from San Antonio was awesome. There was brisk voting taking place allnight too, so thanks to everyone who attended and voted for me (as for thosefew Skrillex votes…haha…I still got love for ya, even if I hate dubstep) Another big thank you to Frederic, Javier,Julio and the entire staff at Coco for making me feel welcome. Some of the pictures were featured in the September issue of DJ Times Magazine; and I’ve got a couple pics here, but check outFacebook for many more.

America's Best DJ Tour

2011-07-01T13:14:00.001-04:00

As many of you know, my mix show, “The HyperMiXx” is syndicated in markets all over the United States from GA to CA. One of my biggest markets is San Antonio, TX and I’ve actually been on Mix 96.1 there for many years. San Antonio also has some of my most passionate fans, so it’s ironic that up to now, I’ve never had the opportunity to play in SA live. Enter the good people at COCO-XO, one of San Antonio’s hottest ultra-lounges.

I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be playing a 2-night set at COCO-XO on the north side of San Antonio, July 15 & 16 as I finally bring the high-energy HyperMiXx sound to south Texas. Even better, that weekend will be an official Tour Stop for the much-publicized “America’s Best DJ Summer Tour”. You will be able to vote for your favorite DJ nominee (hopefully that’s ME) and maybe even get your picture featured in DJ Times Magazine! I’m honored to have the only tour stop going thru the entire central southern US, and the only stop in the Republic, so we are going to set it off right!

If you’re in the San Antonio area, be sure to stop in, but get your table reservations now! Capacity is limited, even with a show on Friday and Saturday night, so watch for long lines. This is a “bottles and models” type crowd so be sure to dress it up. I’ll have a full report on the tour when I return!

AMERICA'S BEST DJ - I Need Your Vote!

2011-06-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

I'm very excited to announce that I just received my 4th consecutive nomination for "America's Best DJ" by the editors of DJ Times Magazine. After solid top 20 finishes the last three years, I'm once again a major contender in a strong field of big names.

The America's Best DJ Contest, now in it's sixth year, is sponsored by DJ Times Magazine, and Pioneer Pro DJ, along with Marquee Nightclub in Vegas, and seeks to crown the best dance music DJ in America via a National Tour, club-specific promotions, and online fan voting. This year's list reads like a who's who of the industry with names including: Diplo, Bad Boy Bill, A-Trak, Amand VanHelden, Jazzy Jeff, Girl Talk, Laurent Gartner, Z-Trip, Skrillex, Vice, and the legendary Grandmaster Flash. I'm very honored to be considered in their company.

I'd really appreciate not only your personal vote at www.AmericasBestDJ.net, but any additional help you can give me this summer would be awesome, (you could post links on your Facebook/Twitter, blog entries, or a simple email blast to your contact list asking them to vote.) Everything needs to direct people either to www.AmericasBestDJ.net to vote, or to my site, www.DJStickyBoots.com, where there are links to vote on my homepage. The easiest way to help is to "Like" my page on Facebook and there's a direct link on the left hand side of the page to vote….I’m easy to find, just search for “Sticky Boots”.

The online voting is taking place now thru Labor Day and is open to any age group, but those over 18 are automatically entered into a contest with over $25,000 in prizes including trips to Vegas for the award ceremony and party in September. You may cast one vote per email address, so please vote multiple times if you can! And of course, if you have already voted, THANK YOU!!!

Vote NOW by clicking on this box:

I already know I have the BEST Fans, so please don't put it off...take 5 mins of your time, go cast your vote and then post a link to the site on your facebook and ask your friends to do the same. Free Beatport downloads for everybody and a chance to kick it with me in Vegas...can't beat it! ****by the way, I'm listed as "Sticky Boots" without the "DJ", so make sure you scroll down the names to the "S".

I GREATLY APPRECIATE your support!

Spring Wrap-Up

2011-06-01T13:00:00.001-04:00

So it was a busy spring as always here around Sticky Studios, in fact, the Spring is normally my busiest time of year. Gearing up for the summer tour season, hitting a few industry trade shows, playing proms all over the Midwest and of course finding time to get the house ready for summer always makes for a full plate.

This spring was no exception as I made a quick trip to Las Vegas for the Mobile Beat DJ Show with a few of my boys, and made it back in time for my company to provide entertainment for over 16 proms and senior dance events, rocking somewhere around 10,000 students in the process! We also introduced ambient room uplighting to many of our prom clients this year, which in conjunction with our TextLive text-to-screen video system made many of these proms just that much more memorable. We’ll have a video compilation of the 2011 prom season up on YouTube soon, but in the meantime, enjoy some of the pics below. If you’re interested in getting YOUR school on board for Prom 2012, hit me up now!

On a personal level, spring was great as well. My wife and I were finally able to get everything finished including stain and landscaping on the awesome deck we built on the house last summer, finished lots of other projects around the house, and even snuck in a 4 day mini-vacation to Las Vegas to soak up some early summer sun. Bring on the SUMMER!

Hacienda Charity Fiesta

2011-04-28T14:11:00.003-04:00

I’m excited to announce that I’ve teamed up with Hacienda Mexican Restaurants and several amazing local charities to bring you Hacienda’s “Charity Fiesta” as part of their weeklong celebration for Cinco De Mayo!

On Monday, May 2, I’ll be playing live from 7-10 PM upstairs in the Cantina at the Hacienda “House” on Lincolnway in the 100 Center in Mishawaka. We’ll have tons of fun activities, drink specials, and of course all of Today’s Best Music live in the mix, but the best part is, the more you eat and drink, the more you can help out your favorite charity.

For this one day only, Hacienda will donate 20% of your check to one of four charities that you choose: American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life; Logan Center; The Samantha Hickey Foundation; or Hello Gorgeous. All you have to do is pick up a special charity coupon, circle you choice of charity, and hand it to your server when you pay! Super easy AND it doesn’t cost you anything extra!

To make it even more simple for you, I’ve posted the coupon below that you can simply download, print, and bring in with you. Make sure you pick up or print the coupon NOW, because they will NOT be available on site at Hacienda on May 2….only in the days before. Visit www.HaciendaFiesta.com for the complete details.

Hope to see ALL my local peeps at the 100 Center Hacienda on Monday!

Dolla Outta 15 Cent Mixtape

2011-04-20T11:39:00.003-04:00

Although I’m not generally known as a hip-hop “mixtape” DJ, this spring I was asked by the President of Jake Records to work on a very special mixtape project for an San Francisco Bay area rapper on the rise, BINC. BINC is a young member of the legendary Digital Underground crew led by Shock G. If any of you old school Peeps remember “The Humpty Dance” or “Kiss You Back”, these are the cats I’m talking about. Digital Underground’s seminal album, “Sex Packets” and later “Sons of the P” were some of my favorite records back in High School, and DU was also the group where 2Pac got his start. Needless to say, I was pretty stoked to work with guys like this.

BINC has a unique sound all his own, which is definitely Bay-influenced, but as he says, his “Rhymes is different”. My guy at Jake sent me over all the unreleased material and I got busy in the lab assembling what I think is a pretty dope mixtape that showcases the versatility of BINC and his crew. The official name of the mixtape is “Dolla Outta 15 Cent” and it can be found on Amazon.com, iTunes, and there are even some free downloads at a handful of influential hip-hop blogs if you dig around.

Please check it out and holla at me on Facebook with your thoughts!

February Update

2011-02-10T14:09:00.013-05:00

The word of the moment is FRIGID! Living in Northern Indiana is always a challenge, year round. From 100 degree summer days with 90% humidity and tornados, to 10 below with 2 feet of lake effect snow, we get it. In fact they always say around here, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour and it will change” Right now though we are in the deep freeze and I can’t stay warm…yuck. To add insult to injury, my wife’s car has heated leather seats and steering wheel; my coupe does not. I’m always saying I don’t NEED heated seats and think they get too hot, but today is one of the 4 days a year I start to rethink my position!

Anyway, got several cool things to update everyone on, so here goes:

NEW STATIONS

The HyperMiXx is once again expanding both on-air and even on TELEVISION. First I’d like to welcome listeners in Springfield, Illinois as 99.7 KissFM just picked up my show in a major way. Springfield is about to get much Sticky-err, starting February 19 with four hours of the HyperMiXx on Kiss from 9:00PM-1:00AM and also during the week from Monday to Friday at 6:00PM. If you live around or Springfield or know anyone that does, be sure to tune in for the best Top 40 hits every week.

Along those same lines, listeners in Grand Rapids, Michigan are also about to get a lot more of what they love as HOT 105.3 greatly expands the show on its station with four hours of mixes on Saturday nights and a full hour every weeknight as well. Grand Rapids is an awesome city and has shown me a lot of love over the last few years, so I’m excited to give something back!

And finally, I’m super excited to let you know that my show is now also available on TV via the AT&T U-Verse service. I personally can’t even get U-Verse where I live, so I apologize for being a bit ignorant to how it works, but you can now listen to the HyperMiXx as one of your “music-channels” on U-Verse, similar to how Music Choice works on other cable systems. Just look for something like DJ Mixes, Top 40 or Dance and you should find me playing there. If YOU have U-Verse for your cable, hit me up and let me know how you like it. I’m interested to see how it works from someone that actually has the service.

SUBMIT YOUR UNSIGNED MUSIC

Also in coordination with my mix shows, I was recently asked by UPlaya.com to be a celebrity judge in an upcoming new music contest they’ll be starting soon. I’ll be evaluating tracks submitted by UPlaya users and picking out the best which will win an awesome prize package and a chance to move their music to the next level. I’ll pass on more details as they become available, but for now I’m super pumped to be working with UPlaya.com on this project. If you are an aspiring musician, definitely check out www.UPlaya.com and see all the cool things they have to offer with their “Hit Song Science” technology that can help spot the hit potential in YOUR music.

NEW MIX CD

As promised in the last post, I’ve just released my newest Mix CD for February, with another 70+ minutes of non-stop energy from today’s best artists. Visit my website at www.DJStickyBoots.com and go to the MIX CD page for a complete track listing and to place your order. I’ll also have samples from the CD up on Soundcloud soon. For all your DANCE music lovers, don’t forget that copies of any of my monthly dance-format shows are available on CD as well as a “custom order”. Hit me up via email or Facebook for details! You can also listen to my monthly dance show via your cell phone or at one of several online stations and on demand at FocusOnTheDJ.com.

EVERYTHING ELSE

In other news, I finally made it back from Las Vegas after getting stranded for a bit there due to the Blizzard that swept thru the Midwest last week. My original flight was cancelled (along with 20% of every other flight in the USA), but I was lucky enough to get one of the VERY few flights into Chicago the second morning of the storm and also caught the very first train up and running back to South Bend from the Loop, so I was fortunate to get back when I did. Vegas was pretty cold, although not out of the ordinary for this time of year, with lows down into the mid 20’s at night. Brrrr….but although not tropical or warm, it was still better than being buried in snow I suppose. My time in Vegas was successful as a lot of my industry friends were in town for the Mobile Beat DJ Convention, so it was great to catch up with everyone and get re-energized with some great ideas for this spring and summer.

Rather than give you a ton of glizy club pictures from Marquee or something, here’s some more quirky ones documenting the trip, starting with a place in Vegas which, in my opinion, is the only must-visit property in the city…hahaha. If only I lived in So Cal! I also saw this freaky cat laying on the fake grass on the Strip right in front of the new Wynn Encore tower entrance. This kitty was literally 6 feet from the sidewalk right on Las Vegas Blvd, just sunning itself in the 40 degree temps without a care in the world. That’s the life! And finally, even though almost every flight was cancelled at O’hare that day, I made it back to Chicago and took a quick shot walking down Randolf Street near the Wit and Chicago Theater. So much snow in the street you could barely see the sidewalks!

Other things on the horizon here are lots of Valentine’s Day parties and a killer upcoming prom season. All my clients are starting to get their prom juices flowing now and I’m excited to have some really cool things in the works for this year’s prom season with Text To Screen, ambient up-lighting and of course more exclusive remixes and sickness that makes a Sticky Boot’s prom one of a kind. I also still have a couple openings available, so if your school doesn’t have a DJ yet, get at me NOW!

If you’re looking for more random issh, fun stories, cool links, and up to date info with all things Sticky, I really encourage you to link up with me on Facebook where I post daily goodness. I have two pages actually, my main profile page, and my fan page. Sometimes I put info on just one page or the other, so connect with both to be sure. Search for “Sticky Boots” and “Blake Djstickyboots Phillips” to find me!

January Update

2011-01-30T14:14:00.005-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope that everyone is having a great start to 2011! Things are certainly busy here at the Sticky Studios, so before I head out to the airport for a trip to Las Vegas, I wanted to take a minute to announce some very cool things happening.

This week I'm very excited to announce that my mix show, The HyperMiXx, will now be carried in both its Dance and Top 40 formats on the Verizon Cellular Network, under the channel "mSpot Radio". Having had a long standing relationship already with AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, and Alltel, the addition of Verizon now means that my show can be heard, on-demand, on every major US carrier, opening up millions more potential listeners to my show. Verizon has already rolled mSpot Radio out on 60 of its 3G phones with more to come! If you are not streaming my mixes to YOUR cell phone in the car or wherever, definitely check it out or hit me up on Facebook for details. Can you hear me NOW?!

I also found out this month that I was nominated for “Best Radio DJ” by the South Bend Tribune’s “Readers Choice” Awards. It’s quite an honor considering I’m the only Mixer, nominated amongst a lot of great on-air talent. Thank you to everyone for your votes :)

In other award news, as many of you know, I own a mobile entertainment company called The Music Place, and have a fantastic staff of DJ’s who spin for all types of events from Sweet 16’s to Weddings, to Proms. We are very excited to announce that we have just been awarded the “Bride’s Choice Award” for 2011 by WeddingWire.com. This very prestigious award is based on extremely high reviews of our services by our clients, and is only given to the top 5% of bridal professionals in the industry, across the entire country. It’s an extremely important award because it comes from the clients themselves in a former where they are allowed to rate us honestly and openly. If you or someone you know is getting married anytime in the next 18 months, please get in touch with me to find out more about our entertainment solutions. We are available nationwide!

I also was just featured in another DJ Times Magazine article in the February 2011 issue regarding Wedding Wire and what an outstanding resource it is for couples getting married. DJ Times is more of a trade magazine than a mainstream publication, but it's still humbling to get ink in what's considered the premiere magazine of the DJ industry. Props to the writer, Jeff Stiles, on another excellent article!

In personal news, my family and I had a very nice and relaxing holiday season, and I hope you did as well. Major props to my amazing wife as well for always knowing the perfect gifts for me even before I do. Among other things, she surprised me with a brand new iPad loaded with all of Season 2 of “Fringe” which is one of my favorite shows at the moment. Thanks again babe! You’re awesome!

I’ll have a new Mix CD out in February by the way, which will be overflowing with new music as FINALLY some hot stuff is in the pipeline for the new year. Definitely sign up for my “VIP CLUB” to get my monthly newsletter and be the first to know when the new CD drops. You can find the sign up near the bottom of my homepage on www.DJStickyBoots.com

Now I’m off to Vegas for a short trip to attend a national DJ conference and support some of my boys who are spinning an insane 80’s video party this week on the Strip. Should be a great time, and the iPad should make the travel part of the trip a ton more enjoyable.

Cheers!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-31T14:23:00.000-05:00

This will be my last blog post of 2010 (although the HyperMiXx will continue uninterrupted thru the end of December for all your listeners), so I wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone for all their amazing support this year of my show and me personally. Even in tough times for radio, The HyperMiXx picked up some big affiliates, not to mention I ranked once again in the top 20 in DJ Times' America's Best DJ and was nominated for Best Mix Show DJ at Promo Only's Summer Sessions. Thanks to everyone for their votes; to my syndication network, Nineball, for their passion; and to all my affiliate PD's, MD's, fans and listeners, and Facebook and Twitter followers for their devotion to what I do. Dance music is making a strong comeback to the airwaves, and I'm happy to have been an influential part of that trend. Also a huge thank you to my wife, family, and friends for their undying support, feedback and love...I truly can't do it without you guys. It has been a very good year.

2011 looks to be even better, so a very happy holidays to you and yours, and I wish you continued success and prosperity in the new year! Until then, be safe, have fun, and take your vitamins!

Summer Wrap-Up

2010-10-05T23:32:00.004-04:00

Well summer is nearly over, and although I spent countless hours getting slizzard on my new deck and playing “Angry Birds” on the iPad, a lot of actually cool, productive stuff happened too. Read on….

First of all a great deal of the summer was caught up in promoting my nomination for America’s Best DJ which included shows all over the Midwest, my trip to the Atlantic City DJ Expo, and quite a bit of time on Twitter and Facebook. You can read more about New Jersey in a previous blog, and get the results for America’s Best DJ rankings in another past blog as well. I would again like to say a sincere “Thank You” however to everyone of you that voted, re-tweeted, FB’ed, blogged and otherwise supported me this summer. Shouts too to a few special artists who showed a little extra love in their support of me this summer, including Kaci Battaglia, Mike Posner, Bruno Mars, Ke$ha, Chris the Greek and Sophia Cruz, Chris Willis, and my current hero, Mr. Clinton Sparks. You want to be professionally inspired? Look at Clinton Spark’s story…wow…that is hustle and intensity rarely seen. I also have to give extra special recognition to my infinitely amazing wife who supports not only my career, but my soul with a passion that’s endless!

This summer was also anchored with some really great gigs and shows here and there, not the least of which was the fantastic Elkhart County Fair, where I was privileged to once again hold down MC and DJ duties for the Cheerleading Championships and Fair Queen Pageant. With over 5,000 in attendance, I had a blast once again, even in spite of feeling like an episode of Discovery’s “Storm Chasers” was being filmed as we were trying to crown this year’s Queen. Where’s Reed Timmer when you need him?

In addition to all the clubs and special events this summer, I was honored to play for several big weddings in the Midwest for some really amazing couples. Congratulations to all the couples I worked with this summer and if YOU are getting married, please let me know. I can help you create the one of a kind reception of your dreams. I spin weddings on a very limited basis for the most discerning couples who are looking for something unique, high energy, and contemporary. If you dig the Chicken Dance, don’t even bother calling, haha. Seriously though, I’d love to hear from you about your special day! I travel worldwide.

While on the gig tip, I also have to give props to my boys at Nicolini Media in South Bend, who had me come out at spin their epic Tailgate party at the Notre Dame-Stanford game. How many people do you know who have a TV commercial for their (private) tailgate party? While I hit the 1’s and 2’s, hundreds of people showed up at our little slice of heaven in the ND parking lot and crazy-ness was experienced by all. So much so in fact, they brought 30 cops on horses to shut it down once the game started. If you weren’t there, you missed something special. See you next year!

And finally, my mix show, The HyperMiXx, continues to grow with new affiliates this summer. If you think that YOUR local Top 40 station needs to improve their current mix show, or doesn’t even have a mix show on weekends, please suggest they check me out. My show is a complete mix show package for Top 40 mainstream stations and can fit perfectly into a station’s weekend or daily programming. Any program director or on-air host can contact me directly to get their station “Sticky”.

It’s been a great summer, and I’m looking forward to a very busy fall. Indiana and Michigan High School Homecoming dances and Halloween Parties have begun and I’m also lining up fall and winter nightclub bookings. Stay tuned to my Facebook and Twitter for updates, pictures, and stories!

New Station to Hear the HyperMiXx

2010-10-02T09:03:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce that another Dance format affiliate has signed on to air the HyperMiXx! A huge welcome to 24/7 Dance Radio who is streaming today's best dance music around the world at www.247DanceRadio.com.

My hour long dance version of the HyperMiXx will air on the station every Sunday night at 9:00PM EST / 6:00PM PST and can also be heard via their extremely popular free iPhone app. A Droid app is also coming soon, and I'm excited to be a part of a channel that embraces new technology and transmission mediums in a time when smart phones are the hottest devices out there. You can already hear my show via nearly every cellular network in America, btw, so tune your phone it today!

247DanceRadio.com will air the dance music version of my mix show, The HyperMiXx every Sunday Night at 9:00PM Eastern Time (that's 6:00PM for those of you on the left coast). You can stream the show from their site on your computer, but an even better option is to simply download the 24/7 DanceRadio free app on your iPhone and listen where ever you are. An app for Droid will also be available very soon, so keep checking the site for updates.

I'm super stoked to be a part of 24/7 DanceRadio and their strong mix show lineup. Whether you are a true house head or your tastes lean more progressive, this station features some of the best dance music out there. For those of you that haven't heard my dance format mix shows, this is an awesome chance to experience something new and discover great dance music as I spotlight the hottest artists and remixes every week. There's definitely more to music than Ke$ha, haha. Please tune in and let me know what you think!

Atlantic City DJ Expo

2010-08-22T23:52:00.002-04:00

Just returned from the 20th Annual DJ Times DJ Expo in Atlantic City, NJ. This year’s Expo was held once again at the Taj Mahal hotel and casino on the Boardwalk and featured some of the brightest stars of both the
mobile DJ and club DJ world in 3 days of seminars, panels, product showcases and gear demonstrations. I’ve been attending and speaking at this convention for over 15 years, but this was the first year that Promo Only Promotions also held a concurrent conference, the “Summer Sessions”, next door at the Showboat hotel and casino for an invite-only group of VIPs in the dance and pop-music industry. This made for a very busy 3 days of seminars, luncheons, dinners and parties, but a very productive one as well.

This was also the first year that my amazing wife was able to make the trip with me too, so she was a huge help in spreading the workload between seminars at the Expo itself related to our mobile entertainment business, and the Summer Sessions panels related to my music and mix show career. We also decided to drive to NJ this year, which is an 11 hour trip in the car, so major props to my wife for making the long drive a million times more enjoyable! And yes, even the wrong turn in Lebanon PA which resulted in dinner at Mr. Friendly’s on “Kids Night” complete with “Balloon Man Stan” and a cast of bizarre small-town Pennsylvania mountain folk. Good times.

The Expo is always an opportunity to meet up with old friends in the industry and make some new ones as well, and this year did not disappoint as I had a chance to talk shop with tons of visionaries in the industry. Artists and stars were also plentiful at the Expo, as we personally were hanging out with people like The Jump Smokers, Travie McCoy, Chris Willis, Kaci Battaglia, Shaggy, Tino Coury, Salt n’ Pepa, and Lillian Garcia (of WWF/WWE wrestling fame…I guess, haha. I haven’t watched wrestling since jr. high when Gorilla Monsoon, Randy Macho Man Savage, Andre the Giant, the Junk Yard Dog, and Ted Million Dollar Dibiase were around).
Sunday night after getting into town, we hit the best kept secret in Atlantic City, The infamous Irish Pub just off the boardwalk, for dinner with my some of my boys, Terry Moran and the Crown Crew from Boston, and DJ Toad and his posse from Cincinnati. Cheers-like history with NJ style and a 24 hour liquor license…always a winner. After the Pub it was a late night stop at the Taj with my good friend, Steve Moody, the 2009 Mobile DJ of the Year from last year’s Expo.

Monday night was a private cocktail party for Promo Only at the exclusive Foundation Room of the House of Blues. Tons of power players in the room, but it was somewhat surreal to be having drinks with Kelly Rowland, Chris Kirkpatrick and Joey Fatone. Here is about 1/3 of both the biggest boy band (NSYNC) and girl group of the 90’s (Destiny’s Child) standing around the bar with us discussing the merits of “Angry Birds” for the iPhone. Weird. At least DJ Flipside (v-scratch of the Jump Smokers and B96 mix master) was holding down the turntables like a champ. Much respect for Flipside btw…He’s one of the best DJ’s I know. After the Foundation Room, we bounced next door to the Taj and hit up the Denon party at the Casbah Nightclub where my boy Jason Jani was kicking off the party on the showcase stage. Great set from J which led right into another mind blowing video set from Roonie G.

Tuesday was another day of seminars and panels and also so an impromptu private performance from Chris Willis and Alexis Jordan. We were preparing for a the evening out at the big Promo Only/Pioneer all star party at the House of Blues, when I got an email from one of my boys from NYC inviting us to dinner with him, Mike Posner, and the incomparable Clinton Sparks. Luckily they were dining downstairs at the Showboat where we were staying so we met up with them and DJ Riddler and enjoyed a fantastic Italian meal at the Casa de Napoli getting to know Mr “Cooler Than Me” and Clinton. Posner is a nice guy for sure, and if you don’t know who Clinton Sparks is…I won’t do him injustice by listing his career accomplishments here on my blog, but just google the man, read his Wiki and be impressed. This was my first time meeting Clinton and I’ve seldom met an individual with as much drive, vision, and passion as him. Quite the inspiration to say the least. He was in the studio late the night before working on new tracks with Kanye, Jay Z and Swiss Beats, so it’s good to know he took the time to come down from NYC to kick it with us for an evening. Class act.

After dinner it was up to the H.O.B. VIP area to watch the acts for the party and catch up with more old friends. Promo Only and Pioneer always put on a good show and it was fun to see old school acts like Shaggy and Salt N’ Pepa tear up the stage sounding as good as ever, while enjoying excellent performances from new artists and even seeing Mike Posner perform live for the first time with a live band. He rocked it. This is the same show where I saw and hung out with Lady Gaga in 2008 before anyone had heard of her, so there’s no doubt one of the artist from this year’s showcase will blow up in the next 6 months.

Wednesday was a quieter day occupied primarily by a long 3 hour luncheon, but I also was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had been nominated by my peers in the record industry as one of four “Mixshow DJs of the Year” for the Summer Sessions awards. This was the inaugural awards presentation, and to be nominated in the first group of industry professionals, especially among such strong competition as Flipside, Rizzo and the Riddler, was a sincere honor. Props to the Riddler especially who actually took the award home!

Check out a few of the pics below…probably more to come as they trickle in.

Get Sticky To the Greek

2010-08-04T23:39:00.001-04:00

The Greek Isles are the birthplace of the Olympics, the cradle of western-style civilization, and it’s capital, Athens is even attributed with the invention of Democracy. Now Athens can claim one more first: The first city to get Sticky in the Mediterranean!

I'm excited to announce the addition of MANGO RADIO URBAN, based in Athens Greece, to my roster of HyperMiXx Top 40 Affiliates! Mango Radio Urban is one of the largest and most popular internet stations in the Mediterranean and boasts hundreds of thousands of unique listeners from Greece and beyond each month looking for the best in American Style rhythmic and Top 40 music. The HyperMiXx is anchoring two hours of prime listening time on Friday nights between 10p-12a local time (3PM Eastern time in the States) The show has been airing for the last month and already the listener response via Facebook and email has been amazing. The crew at Mango are amazing too and staff the station live thru much of the day…hell, they even have an in-studio webcam. Check it out sometime yourself at www.MangoRadio.gr !

Voiceovers and Drops

2010-07-30T23:50:00.000-04:00

People, and especially other DJ’s, ask me frequently, who does that “voice” in the HyperMiXx? Is that you? Where do I get voiceovers like that for my mixes?

First off, no, the voice is not me…I use several professional voice over talents for my “drops” as they are called in the industry. Most of my drops have been produced for me specifically by my affiliate radio stations, and my celebrity artist drops are often done for me as a favor by the record labels or artists themselves. The official voice of the HyperMiXx is currently my buddy Todd. He specializes in all types of reads for radio and TV commercials, on-hold messages, corporate presentations, and of course, DJ Drops. He’s done work for Disney, the History Channel, FOX, ABC, and PBS, Motorola and BMW. If you’re looking for an affordable, hi-quality source for drops with quick turn-around, visit the LINKS page of my website where there’s a link to Todd’s portfolio and contact information. Just tell him Sticky sent ya!

Call Me!

2010-07-22T23:49:00.000-04:00

I just set up an account with “Say Now” which is a sweet new app that will let me connect directly with YOU. Now you can hit me up directly to let me know what’s on your mind, give me ideas for new songs in the HyperMiXx, let me know what’s going on for the weekend, or holla at me about hot spots in your area. All you have to do is call my cell at 317-495-9470 and if I don’t answer, you’ll get a quick update of what’s new with me and can leave me a message so I can get back to you when I’m available. You can even text me by texting @djstickyboots to SAYNOW (which is 729669) I want to hear from you….so get in touch!

Find me on TWITTER and FACEBOOK

2010-07-02T16:32:00.000-04:00

So quick note here, in case you didn't already know....I'm on Twitter. I have to say I really don't get what is so cool about Twitter, but I've added "tweeting" to my daily list of things to do, and occasionally I come up with something clever.

So if you have a Twitter account...follow me and I'll follow you back. www.twitter.com/djstickyboots

And while you're at it...please "like" my fan page on Facebook. You can find me easily by searching for "STICKY BOOTS" or simply go to my website www.DJStickyBoots.com and I have links to Twitter, Facebook and MySpace all right there for you! I have a regular profile page on Facebook too, just search for "DJStickyBoots" and you should find it or visit facebook.com/stickybootsnews.

Besides this blog, Twitter and Facebook are excellent ways to keep up with me from Day to Day!

WELCOME TO THE BLOG - Audio Message

2010-06-30T10:21:00.001-04:00

Always wondered what my actual voice sounds like? Well, here's the audio I recorded a couple years explaining what my blog is all about. This was back in the days of Xanga and MySpace of course, but the message is still the same. If you are reading this here on Blogger, congratulations....you've found the right spot! Now click on the player and listen to my goofy voice.

How to Get a Radio Station to listen to YOUR Song

2010-06-29T23:15:00.000-04:00

I recently received an email discussing the facts and myths of how to get your music to a radio station to and how to actually get them to listen (and potentially play) it. I'm not sure why I personally received this article, but it's good information and I thought worthy of posting here in the blog.

I receive emails almost every week from aspiring rappers, producers, singers and other artists asking how they can get their song on the radio, and what it takes for me to play their song in my show. There are many factors that go into into the programming decisions of a typical Top 40 radio station and my show in particular, but this article is a good starting point and should be required reading if you are thinking of "servicing" radio or mix show DJ's and record pools with your music. It was written by Bryan Farrish of radio-media.com, an independent promotion company handling airplay, talk-radio interviews, and gig promotion. I've just copied it below in the same format I received it. I don't specifically endorse their services and I have no connection with Mr. Farrish, but I do agree with much of what he says in this article. Please do your own research when choosing who to hire in promoting your project.

*******************************************************************
RADIO AIRPLAY 101
DIGITAL SERVICING MYTHS

One of the new tricks to confuse artists is "digital distribution" or "digital servicing". This is a service where the following is supposed to happen: You pay a small fee to have your audio sent to radio stations, then the person at the station listens to your track, plays it, and the service then tells you who played it. Problem is, it's very misleading.

First of all, you have to understand the difference between "servicing" radio, and "promoting" to radio (read the article called "Why You Have To Promote To Radio".) Promoting to radio means you have dialog/conversation with the person at the station, and this requires phones calls and emails. After all, you want to actively talk WITH the person about his/her activities, gripes and stories. That is promotion. Just getting the music to them is simply "servicing" (which is a subset of marketing).

Now, we don't have anything against digital delivery itself; we provide it to every client for free (it's called email). But the real problem with those digital delivery services is what they allow you to believe. We hear a lot of artists who said, "I paid $200 and my song was sent to 2000 stations, and the report said that 600 of them played it on air!" If you are believing this kind of stuff, your career is going to be having a multitude of problems.

First off, no commercial PD is going to be playing anything from "just an email". It must come from a person/group that he is talking to or has talked to in the past, be it you, a promoter, a label, or an uncle. From just this group of people, the PD is already overwhelmed by many thousand of releases that he could never play because his playlist is already packed. He would never need to add to this universe by clicking on some email.

Second, even non-commercial MD's primarily play stuff that comes through "a person/group that he is talking to or has talked to in the past", although that person/group may be roommates, workmates, bandmates, schoolmates, drinking mates, etc. Now these non-commerical MD's might actually open the email, but then again they might just instead open the mp3's sent to them by "the group" first, and never get to the distro email.

Continuing: How many songs do you think are in those digital distro emails? Answer: Every one who paid to be in them. That's right, the more popular they become, the more drowned out you get. In 2003 you thought getting your music on myspace was a low-cost answer to promotion, but now there are millions on there. It's kinda like having a phone number: Every radio station and label in the world can call you, but how many do? In comparison, when we send out our "digital servicings" (an email) for a client, there is always the same number of artists in them: One.

And how about the "reports" that tell you how many listened and/or played the track? Well, if the reports ARE telling the truth, then an "opened email" can simply mean that the person simply "previewed" it by accident (still counts as a "read"), without really opening it. And if he did open it and started hearing it, he rarely gets all the way through it (just like when they review CD's... they know from the first few seconds if it's for them or not). So a "listened" on the report could really mean "damn that track sucked". Lastly, IF he really heard all of it, what are the chances of him actually using it? He first has to get to the tracks recommended by the people in his "group".

The real problem, however, is that some of the services are just plain lies. Since they control the reports, they just fill in the numbers to make you happy. No, they'll never admit it, and they'll defend to the death that they'd NEVER make stuff up on your report. So here's what to do: If a report says it was "played on air", then contact some of the people at those stations and ask them. Contact at least 20% of them. Also, check the station's website for their playlist, and for your track on it. Don't let the digital service people tell you which ones you can check into, YOU go check without telling them.

Let's look now at practicality. Why is an email (with tons of tracks) on it of any interest to anyone, when you have this thing called the web available that has cool sites like CDBaby, MySpace, etc.? Radio stations (and everyone else) has access to basically every song ever made, instantly. Getting more on top of this is just not needed. What radio DOES need is some indication of growth of the song: Gigs are happening, press is printing, sales are occurring, other stations are playing, etc. And they expect this information to come to them through the usual "group" that they usually get this info from.

Digital only: Some folks are now attempting a "digital only" release. We, personally, don't really care how the stations get the track, as long as they do. We know that they are only going to play it if we have a good phone/email conversation with them anyway. However, physical CD's (and anything else physical that can be mailed) do stand out more, and are easier for them to "recall getting" than just our email we send. So we recommend making CD's, if for nothing else, to sell at gigs as well as send to radio.

Lastly, would we recommend a "digital delivery service" if used along with a regular (human) promotion campaign? Well, it wouldn't hurt, but it won't help, other than MAYBE (for college radio only) them seeing it one more time, and thus MAYBE remembering it a bit more. But so far I've not seen this happen: Any action/results that a client achieved was due solely to our calls/emails alone, and the digital service was never even mentioned by the stations.

More Radio Stations Get Sticky

2010-05-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

It’s been a great spring for my HyperMiXx Top 40 radio mix show I’ve added several new FM radio stations to the cities where you can hear my show. I’d like to give a huge welcome to all the new listeners in Memphis, TN; Sioux City, IA; Abilene, TX; and most recently in Tulsa, OK. If you’re passing thru any of these cities on a weekend night, be sure to tune in OR you can catch their web streams anywhere you happen to be. Peep all the info below, and be sure to call in to these stations and let them know you’re digging the show! You can also see my entire roster of FM, cellular, and Internet Radio station mix shows on my site at: www.DJStickyBoots.com/mixshow.php

Q 107.5 – Memphis, TN – www.Q1075.com
106.9 K-HITS – Tulsa, OK – www.KHits.com
KISS 107 – Sioux City, IA – www.KissAt1071.com
95Q – Abilene, TX – www.95Q.fm

SEXYDOLL JEANS

2010-03-03T00:18:00.000-05:00

I’m very excited to announce that I’ve been chosen as the OFFICIAL DJ of SexyDoll Jeans! Based in Los Angeles, the SexyDoll brand is an insane new line of hand-made couture denim that’s guaranteed to bring the sexy back into you or your girl’s wardrobe.

The vision of SexyDoll is simple: It’s creators feel that “Sexy” exudes confidence, it’s an attitude that brings with it a certain look. SexyDoll Jeans are designed to be an extension of confidence in a woman. The jeans are constructed from denim that allows women to feel sexy and comfortable with their bodies and well-dressed at any special occasion. Today most women understand the well-being of their body and image. Loving your body means being happy with yourself, and that is exactly the idea that SexyDoll brings to the denim industry.

I was approached by the President of SexyDoll to design the “sound of SexyDoll” and provide a soundtrack for not only their website, but upcoming fashion runway events and product debuts in major cities across North America. As time goes on, I’ll be working directly with the brand to develop new ways to expose sexy house music and my sound to more people while keeping today’s women looking and feeling amazing!

SexyDoll is on sale now online and coming soon to an upscale retailer near you. Get sexy now at SexyDollJeans.com and enjoy my exclusive mixes from me while you shop!

STICKY CATCHES A CASE

2010-03-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

How many of you reading this are DJ’s or musicians, or even just students who WISH they could find a decent bag to carry their gear, instruments, or just stuff around in. You need to check out this awesome San Francisco based company called MONOcase. MONOcase has a new line of awesome DJ bags available that offer everything a DJ could want, especially for DJ’s use Serato or another popular laptop-based software in their performances. I’m happy to announce a new partnership with MONOcase, as they have hooked me up with one of their awesome “365” case from the DJ EFX line.

The 365 is perfect for everything I need when I’m on the road, which places for my Macbook pro, my headphones, harddrives, cables, Mix CDs, flyers, business cards, Serato records and even my shades (so I can be cool and wear sunglasses inside in the dark). Even though the bag is large, it’s very comfortable to carry and can even be worn as a backpack. Best of all, it STANDS UP on its own when you set it down, which is more than I can say for any other bag I’ve ever used.

MONOcase has a great line of products for all sorts of musicians too with everything from guitar cases to drum cases and all their products look hot and are nearly bomb-proof. But don’t just take my word for it, read a review here: DJ Tech Tools

STICKY GETS THE PITCH

2009-12-02T15:05:00.001-05:00

Many of you I’m sure are familiar with the Discovery Channel show, Pitchmen, which stars the late Billy Mays and fellow infomercial king, Anthony Sullivan. I’ve always been a fan of infomercials honestly, but Pitchmen brought the business of selling a low-cost “why didn’t I think of that” products into a whole new light.

Even in the wake of Billy Mays' un-timely death, Sullivan Productions continues to be a leader in the direct response marketing game, Sully can move a product like no other. I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with Sully and his incredible producer, Arwen Saxon (who you also often see on Pitchmen), who facilitated Sully reading some amazing voice drops for my mix show (which you can actually hear in my new MIX CD). In thanks for her hard work, I’ve made Arwen and honorary Sticky Chick, and she sent me pics to prove it. Props on getting Sticky, Arwen, and much continued to success to you, Sully, and your entire crew!

SUMMER / FALL WRAP-UP

2009-12-01T12:54:00.001-05:00

So as usual it’s been a while since the last update. So here is another big entry covering the second half of the summer and fall. So many great things happening in the mix right now, it’s hard to keep up, so my #1 suggestion if you are an avid blog reader, is to FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER (just request to see my tweets) and BECOME A FACEBOOK FAN. Also join my VIP CLUB…you’ll get a monthly newsletter and be the first to hear about new Mix CDs. There are links to all of this at my website: www.DJStickyBoots.com. Both of these are updated daily and will give you a great view into what’s new with me. Read on here though for the highlights of the last 4 or 5 months.

AMERICA’S BEST DJ TOUR AND RESULTS

The first highlight of the summer was my very own tour date on the America’s Best DJ Tour which was sponsored by DJ Times Magazine and Pioneer Pro DJ. The tour crossed America over the summer and allowed fans to not only see some of America’s Best DJ’s, but vote for us too! My date was in June in Ogden Utah, just north of Salt Lake City. The event was held at The Vault, one of Utah’s premier young adult clubs, and was sponsored in part by my good friends at 97.1 ZHT radio. AJ Carson himself came out to host the show, and we had a blowout crowd. The club is housed in an old bank building from the 20’s and is authentic right down to a VIP lounge in the old Vault. Check out a few pics below. The show was also written up last month in Club World Magazine so the tour stop had great press coverage.

The results are now back in the voting for America’s Best DJ, and I ended up once again in the Top 15 in the country thanks in large part to all you fans reading this. THANK YOU so much for your votes and support over the summer! The competition was considerably tougher this year with some big time DJ’s flexing their muscles, so to finish top 15 (#14 actually) is incredible. Props to DJ Z-Trip who won this year….amazing turntablist and actually one of the developers of the new DJ Hero video game. Impressive!

SUMMER GIGS

ABDJ Tour was not the only game in town this summer, as I kept busy with a ton of private events each week and a few other notable club appearances, including my annual pilgrimage to Tippy Dance Hall for their “Hollywood” night. I’m not exactly Hollywood, but it’s always fun to roll out the red carpet and see 1000 Indiana teens flock to the middle of nowhere on Lake Tippecanoe to get sweaty to my dirty beats. DJ Hef throws a great party, so if you are under 21, get up with Tippy next summer.

I was also happy to once again be heavily involved with the Elkhart County 4-H Fair hosting both the Cheerleading competition and the Fair Queen Pageant. Another energetic batch of young ladies competed this summer the be the prettiest, smartest, and “cheeriest” and it was a lot of fun as always. Thanks to everyone who made it out to the fair to say hello.

In August I played for the 2^nd annual “On the River” Festival in Downtown South Bend which featured 1,500 Tons of sands dumped in an empty lot on the river bank complete with a tropical island bar, a huge stage, sand volleyball tournament and amazing music all afternoon and evening for an entire weekend. Thousands attended, and I was pleased to be the headlining act right before the fireworks on the last night. Great times for a great cause as the entire event benefitted the South Bend Center for the Homeless.

Shortly after that festival I was part of the event production team for the “B1 Block Party” back to school concert event at the University of Notre Dame. This featured one of the largest portable stages I’ve ever seen, a light rig that rivals most outdoor concerts and 2 giant LED video screens (think Las Vegas) with a 5 camera HD video rig all focused on some killer college bands. The headliner was Jewish rapper Matisyahu, which I have to admit, is a little ironic at a Catholic University, but he killed it and 5000+ students rocked the show. I supplied the Video text-to-screen system, and we processed over 6000 texts in an hour of use at the show. Pics below.

Finished up the summer with a great Monday night show in Cincinnati hosted by my buddy DJ Toad. “Toad Wars” featured myself, Toad, Terry Moran from Boston and several other of Cincy’s top jocks battling for galactic supremacy at the biggest Monday night party on the Levee. Jefferson Hall was the venue and the packed house went home rocked in more ways than one. Thanks to Toad for the invite!

As a side note, during the week this fall I started hosting a couple of new team trivia nights at local venues for something different. Team trivia is a lot of fun, free to play, and a great way to blow off some midweek steam over beer, awesome music and the game. Plus you can prove definitively to all your buddies how smart you really are. We do trivia now at Olive or Twist in Elkhart, IN, and soon at Legends of Notre Dame in South Bend, so if you are local to N. Indiana, come check it out. You might win some great prizes and you are guaranteed to have some fun! Visit the facebook group: Michiana Trivia Nights for more info.

NEW AFFILIATES

My mix show, The HyperMiXx, continues to pick up affiliates, this time thru alternative platforms from traditional FM radio, as I added a handful of cellular and web radio stations. You can now hear my show on your AT&T cell phone directly using AT&T Radio (those of you with iPhones can already get the show with a variety of apps including iHeartRadio and Move-Radio) and on the web the show can now be heard at HitzRadio.com, and 1Dancefm.com PLUS my schedule has been expanded on the very popular iDanceRadio.fm. I had been a monthly featured mixer, but you can now enjoy my show every weekend on the station. Check out www.DJStickyBoots.com and the MIXSHOW page for complete listings and links, and consult each individual station for air times and schedules.

NEW MIX CD’s

As always I continue to release a new mix CD with “best of” segments from the Top 40 flavor of The HyperMiXx, and this summer has been no exception. Please visit the MIX CD page of www.DJStickyBoots.com for a complete listing of my newest CDs and songs. December 2009 is out NOW with some of the biggest hits of Fall, so get on it! Plus remember to follow me on Twitter and Facebook for exclusive offers for free mixes and sales. Followers get all the perks!

PERSONAL

On a personal note, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is enjoying the start of the Holiday season…whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the winter solstice, or just a break from school, it truly is a wonderful time of year. My Thanksgiving was a quiet one spent with my wife and family, but I’m ready now to finish 2009 strong thru the rest of the year. The Christmas tree is up, my dog Zoey and cat Picasso are trying to figure out how to knock it over, and all is right in the world.

It’s been a busy year around the Sticky household with some major projects started and finished over the summer, most notably, the start of a complete basement framing and finishing in my new house. We have been finishing off 1500 square feet of basement into a couple bedroom, a large family room, storage areas and most importantly, the brand new home for my personal studio. The studio is a custom built space, specially designed for my mix show and production work and is shaping up very nicely now. We’ve done all the framing and construction ourselves with the exception of finishing the drywall and laying the carpet, so it’s been a LONG project. There’s still at least of month of work yet to do, but I will post pics of the completed studio as soon as it is….uhhhh…complete. Stay tuned! Next summer’s project is a huge deck on the back of the house, but after this basement project, that sounds easy! Many thanks to my wife, and pets who have put up with a lot of frustration, noise, inconvenience, sore muscles and evil drywall dust on every conceivable surface.

Speaking of sore muscles…have you tried out P90X? Holy crap this is an incredible total body home workout program! You may have seen their infomercials on TV or ads in Maxim and other magazines, so you might be skeptical, but let me tell you, my wife and I have been doing the 90 day classic program now for 5 weeks, and it’s results city. The program is incredibly intense, so if you’re a wuss, don’t bother. I’ve always been serious about my fitness, but as I get older and my schedule is tighter, I’ve been looking for a program that I can do anywhere, with simple weights and equipment. P90X is the solution and will completely work you over and shape you up. I even took it out on the road this summer on tour…awesome. Tony Horton is an evil genius (and I think he’s in love with Dreya Weber), but don’t hold that against him. Check out P90x.com, do your best, and forget the rest.

And finally I got to send props to Moosejaw.com for the love they showed me last week. I happened to find a small mistake in their current catalog and since they are an uber-fun, progressive minded company, I tweeted them about the error. They were great sports and did a Twitter vote with their followers as to what free gift I should get for finding the mistake! It was a lot of fun and was some killer cross promotion for both me and Moosejaw…plus I LOVE their product line. If you need warm, comfy, awesome outerwear, check out MooseJaw. You’ll love it!

AMERICA'S BEST DJ TOUR

2009-06-16T16:37:00.000-04:00

For all of you in the Western half of the US, I'm happy to announce that I've been given an official tour date on the massive America's Best DJ Summer Club Tour!

Friday, June 19th, I'll be playing at The Vault in Salt Lake City, UT in connection with my HyperMiXx radio affiliate out there, 97.1 ZHT. I'm super excited about this opportunity as I've been wanting to get out to Salt Lake for quite some time. I have some really great fans of my show there and so it's awesome to get the chance to play live AND get on-site votes for Americas Best DJ.

The Vault is an incredible brand new venue as well. It's built in and old bank building, complete with the .....wait for it..... VAULT that's open as a VIP section. It's also 18 and over, and this show will be an all ages show, so for everyone that always complains, "I'm not 21 yet"....get on a plane for Utah, haha. The Vault brings true Las Vegas style to Salt Lake, so this party should be off the hinges.

You can buy your tickets NOW, at a big discount: $12.50 at www.VaultUtah.com Get them now as cover will be $20 at the door. Doors open at 10:00PM and I rock the wheels of steel until 2:00AM. Capacity is limited so get there EARLY!

The next week, on June 27th, I'll be making a tour stop on the beach in Hilton Head, South Carolina and the world famous "Monkey Business" My good friend DJ MXM is hosting this night and it should be a blast. More details to come!

If if you can't make it to one of these June dates, you can always vote for me online at www.AmericasBestDJ.net!

Thanks for all your support :)

NEW WEBSITE

2009-04-19T17:18:00.000-04:00

After a long period of development, the new www.DJStickyBoots.com is finally live, and it was worth the wait! Make sure you visit today and check out the awesome new intro video, streamlined design, photo gallery, new Mix CDs and mix show info. There's also booking information if you'd like to get me to spin at your next party or event, and even the ability to sign up for my exclusive VIP Club and network with me on all the hot social sites.

Speaking of social networking, check out my new homepage for links to my MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook. Besides this blog, all these sites are excellent ways for you to connect with me directly. Holla at ya boy!

Special thanks to www.NicoliniMedia.com for their hard work on creative development of DJStickyBoots.com 2.0. If you need video production or website development, definitely get at these guys...awesome work!

NEW HYPERMIXX AFFILIATE

2009-04-11T17:23:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce that another major radio station will be airing The HyperMiXx this spring -- Kiss 107.1 in Sioux City, Iowa. Welcome to all the new listeners who will be getting sticky in the Midwest. If YOUR local station is still not down with the sickness, tell them to get to www.DJStickyBoots.com and get The HyperMiXx on the air.

ROLLIN' IN MY 6-4

2009-03-25T00:38:00.000-04:00

The time has come to sell one of my toys. And it's your chance to get a little piece of history! Below are the details on my classic, 1964 Chevy Impala SS. Yeah, it's that car, the one that every rapper since the 80's has rhymed about, the lo-lo of the low, the home of the triple-gold dee's, the car from all the Snoop and Dre videos, made most famous by Eazy-E and NWA, and yes, it's the same car who's trunk Coolio emerged from in the "Fantastic Voyage" video.

So why am I getting rid of her??? It's my second '64 and unfortunately with my crazy travel and DJ'ing schedule, I simply don't have time to drive it anymore...someday I'll get a drop top 6-4, but for now, it's up to the highest bidder. If you are interested, simply email me: sticky @ djstickyboots.com (no spaces) and let's talk! I have lots of pictures of the car. SERIOUS people with real money, please....I don't have time for nonsense.

1964 Chevrolet Impala SS 2-Door Hardtop Coupe

White with white/teal leather interior. Newer 350 V-8 crate motor, professionally installed with 2-speed PowerGlide automatic transmission. Original Chevy 283 and PowerGlide transmission included, as well as steel wheels, and other assorted spare parts.

Interior, engine, transmission, radiator, tires, Crager wheels, paint, weather stripping, insulation, and stickers/badging have all been recently replaced. Complete turn-key package in excellent condition for everyday driver or ready to be fully restored to show quality.

$$$ Make an Offer $$$.

EURO TRIP 2009

2009-03-24T17:26:00.001-04:00

Early in March my wife and I embarked on our latest adventure, a two week long spring break getaway to Europe. The trip included several days in both Paris and London, and although I've been to Europe in the past, these are both cities that are new to me. Very exciting.

GETTING SCREWED

First we had to GET there. The trip started in Indiana at the South Bend Regional Airport, a small, but efficient airport. Upon making it thru security I was in the gate area, putting things away in my carry-on backpack when I made an unusual discovery. There were two, not one, but TWO Craftsman Torx-head screwdrivers in one of the front pockets of my bag. Oops! This backpack is one of the dope new In-Case laptop backpacks (thanks to Sobe Lifewater for hooking me up with it!) and it has a million crazy little pockets and compartments. I use it daily to take my P.O.S. Dell laptop (see earlier posts) back and forth all the places I go. I had taken these particular screwdrivers from my studio to my house the week before to try to install the license plate on my wife's new Benz which has those weird star-shaped screws for some weird German-engineered reason. (My guess is that if the Sham-Wow had screws, they would also be Torx.) Anyway, I had forgotten the screwdrivers were in the bag, and screwdrivers (even non-pointy Torx-head ones) are definitely NOT allowed on airplanes.

I'm happy to report however, that somehow the TSA peoples in South Bend don't care or can't read the X-Ray machine, because I sailed right threw, oblivious to my cargo while my wife had to completely disassemble her carry-on because she happened to have some powder makeup in a glass container that they said "looks like liquid or cream on the x-ray" Apparently two large metal screwdrivers don't look like anything.

So it was onward to Detroit and then Amsterdam in the Netherlands. After a 7 hour flight, we touched down in Amsterdam and proceeded to go thru the minor customs screening they have there which involves looking at your passport and asking some random questions to make sure you are not some sketchy American. (for instance, a car mechanic/DJ who brings screwdrivers on planes). Amsterdam is a weird airport, and I've been there a couple times, but I don't recall having to go thru any other security measures besides the passport check.

Well not THIS morning, because while waiting in line for the customs guy to quiz me, I see that just beyond the checkpoint we are required to again x-ray our carry on's and walk thru the metal detector thing. Great...I sense a full-cavity search is in my future when they find my screwdrivers. It's at this point I look down and there on the floor is a little plastic baggy with blue pills in it. On the floor, just laying there. Lots of people are walking right by it with no concern.....this IS Amsterdam after all...feel free to do as many drugs as you want. Do NOT attempt to fly with Torx screwdrivers however.

We get to the screener and after walking thru, a large female security official asks in her thick Dutch accent, "Iz theez dour bhag?" "Yes" I say, already knowing what's next…..bring on the screwdriver-sniffing dogs. "Would you open it please?" she commands. I unzip it and she proceeds to look thru the contents. I think at this point, I'm good to go as she hasn't found any contraband, but then she gets to the thin front pocket. She reaches in, and pulls out one screwdriver. She looks at it, puzzled, then looks at me. "Theesh arrr naught alloud" I say, "OK, but now I won't be able to fix my Vespa." This comment is obviously too clever for her, and she throws the innocent tool in the massive "no-no bin", where scissors, knives, lighters and other banned items go to die. The good news is my bag is once again in my control, I put my laptop back in, and we walk away, still carrying one clandestine screwdriver. Again, the crack international security team has failed to rid the friendly skies of my menace, and I travel on to Paris strangely satisfied. Final verdict on Amsterdam...public drugs OK, screwing not. I put the remaining screwdriver in my checked luggage for the return trip to the States, and promised my wife I'll do a better job of cleaning out my backpack before I fly next time.

PARIS

Our driver met us at the airport and we headed off into Paris to find the apartment we had rented for the week. I have to say that at least initially, outside the airport, Paris looked no different than Indianapolis. Same weather, same looks, drive on the same side of the road. The city also seems to have a significant problem with graffiti, as basically EVERY surface in the commercial parts of town are covered with it. Some is cool, most just looks bad. Our driver said that for a time the government had fought it, but then just declared it “art” and gave up.

The Indianapolis vibe disappeared quickly as we continued driving into the historical section of the city, called the Latin Quarter and into the 7^th Arrondissement. Paris is divided into 20 districts called arrondissements which supposedly tell people where they are in relation to somewhere else. All I know is that not a single street is in a straight line in Paris and just because we were in the 7^th arr. it’s not any easier to figure out how to get from point A to B.

The apartment was awesome to say the least. Top floor of the building (six stories, but they call it the 5^th floor since the ground level is “0”) on the corner building with a wraparound 18^th century balcony and a killer view of the Eiffel tower. (peep the pictures). The downside is it’s a spiral stairway all the way up, which will completely exhaust you. There is an elevator, but it’s smaller than a phone booth and you are only allowed one person and one bag per trip.

Here’s a brief description of sites we saw for those of you who are still reading. I'm not going to give you history lesson at this point since you can look that stuff up yourself…these are more personal observations.

Eiffel Tower:

Obviously this is the most recognizable and famous site in not just Paris, but all of France, and it is just as impressive as you might imagine. Huge and overpowering is more accurate, actually. I find it hard to believe the size of many of the structures in Paris, considering they are all at least 120 years old, and some way older than that. The Tower is massive and yet strangely accessible, which is even more remarkable. We chose to climb it on foot using the stairs to save the long line for lazy people who can take a lift all the way up. There are two “floors” before the final ride all the way to the top and about 700 steel steps get you to the second floor. We had a bite to eat in a café on that level then boarded the elevator to the very top. There ARE stairs to that point too, but they are closed to the public and since it’s more than 600 more feet up, the elevator is the way to go anyway.

The view was fantastic of course, and it was super windy. Definitely a must see if you’re in Paris. The other awesome thing is that since the millennium celebration in 2000, the Tower glitters at night with strobes they installed all over the skin. This happens every hour after dark for about 5 minutes and our crib had a perfect view of it. At 1:00AM they shut off all the regular lights on the tower and run the strobes only….then it goes completely dark for the rest of the night. Very cool. I gotta say it’s pretty amazing to be sitting on the couch and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle every night.

The Louvre:

Another Paris staple is the Louvre. It was originally a fortress in the 1100’s then a palace in the 1700’s and now the world’s largest museum. You might be familiar with it from the movie The DaVinci Code…this is the joint with the glass pyramid out front. Again the scale is immense and we walked over FIVE miles inside just trying to see everything. It’s primarily full of paintings both small and giant from master painters, as well as a ton of ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian statues and antiquities going back as far as 7000 years. Interesting stuff, but once you’ve seen one giant room of paintings or statues, most of them naked in graphic detail, you’ve seen them all, so we tired of it all after a while. This picture WAS curious though, as somehow they managed to combine an anatomically correct baby, a lion, and a woman who just happens to be experiencing a wardrobe malfunction all in the same painting. The Louvre needs more like this.

The most famous artwork at the Louvre is Leonardo DaVinci’s greatest painting, the Mona Lisa. It’s surprisingly smaller than you would think, but is pretty impressive that she looks good after so long. The Venus de Milo is the most famous Greek statue there…it’s about 2000 years old and has no arms, yet people are in love with her nonetheless. I took a picture.

The final stop at the Louvre was the old apartments of Napoleon III who was some crazy guy related to the original Napoleon, who declared himself “emperor” of France and lived for a while in the Louvre. If you are into lots of red and gold, these are the rooms for you. Nice place to visit but I’d never want to live there.

Notre Dame:

This is, at least for me, is my favorite landmark in Paris. The Eiffel Tower and Louvre are impressive of course, but this building is simply amazing. First it’s sheer size is enormous, and considering they started building it in the 12^th century, I can hardly imagine what it must have looked like rising on the bank of the Seine 800 years ago. The main towers are immense and the rest of the cathedral is equally as inspiring with its long nave and choir area all supported by the famous “flying buttresses”.

My wife was confused initially as to what flying buttresses were, thinking they were some sort of gargoyle type thing with wings perched on the building. Although Notre Dame has hundreds of gargoyles in fact, the buttresses are simply support walls shaped kind of like bridges, and unless you are into architecture, are not all that interesting. She was massively disappointed by this reality, but life is full of disappointments so she’ll recover.

Inside the cathedral dazzles all the more with amazing gothic details, massive vaulted ceilings, 32 side chapels dedicated to various saints and the enormous rose windows on either side that are the only remaining 13^th century stained glass left in Europe. (they apparently knew how to make them some good stained glass back then) I’ll save the history for you and Google, but suffice it to say, even though I’m not Catholic, Notre Dame de Paris is one of the most inspiring places I’ve ever been. Never found a golden dome though…strange.

Sewer Rats:

So the sewers of Paris…you’ve all heard about them. Paris has the world’s oldest and most famous sewer system, and now it’s most technologically advanced. It was a long, nasty processes getting to that point and the sewer tour is the average person’s opportunity to see the sewer itself and learn about its history. And it’s the REAL, working sewer…smell and turds included! Paris has over 3000 miles of sewers beneath it, so this tour only shows a tiny fraction of what’s out there, but I found it to be really cool.

You climb down under the Rue St. Germaine near the Seine and begin your journey thru the tunnels, reading the history, seeing the tools of the trade, and watching the active sewage as it travels along. Interesting fact is that once a day clean water rushes OUT of the sewers and floods the gutters in the street to keep things clean. Kinda weird to see water bursting out of a storm drain. The sewer tour was one of my favorite things in Paris and well worth the time…plus they have a gift shop at the end…who can beat that?

Sewer Suit:

Another interesting fact, all the sewer workers wear these bright blue jumpsuits, which just happened to match the bright blue spring jacket I wore on the trip. My wife had picked this jacket out for me prior to our trip, assuring me it fit my style and would be perfect for the weather in Europe. Well…it was perfect for the weather, true enough, but unfortunately everyone in Paris seems to wear black, and as if I didn’t look American enough with my Etnies skater shoes and Oakley sunglasses, the blue sewer coat, certainly completed the look. I was sure that anytime some Parisian was going to run out of building with a plunger in his hand, asking me for answers.

Sacre Coeur:

This is another of Paris’ amazing Catholic churches, and although architecturally not as breathtaking as Notre Dame, it is perched high atop the city on a ridge. It was built in the 19^th century out of gypsum, the stuff that’s found in drywall, but looks much, much older, and is especially striking on a sunny day as the gypsum is bright white.

We decided to walk up to Sacre Coeur towards the end of the day, which may have been a mistake as we already had 7 or so miles in, and the walk is nearly all uphill. The payoff was there though as the site is stunning with a view equally as good as the Eiffel Tower. The inside of the basilica was amazing of course, but unlike Notre Dame, you are not allowed any pictures, and strangely, we also could not find any pics of the church online. They are apparently VERY serious about the no photos deal. So, you’ll just have to see it for yourself someday, but it’s definitely a don’t miss site.

Montmartre:

Also cool is the vibe outside the church where all the students, stoners, and hippies gather on the steps overlooking the city and just chill. There was some crazy rastafari guy there with an acoustic guitar and mic singing Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and even some Bobby McFerrin, in English, while the crowd sang along. “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was a highlight, so we took the time to hang out and join in.

The walk down from Sacre Coeur led us into the Montmartre district of Paris, which unbeknownst to us, is also the “red light” district. I don’t think this area compares to Amsterdam, but the French are not shy in putting on display what they sell in their shops…sex included. It was getting dark at that point and the block was hot, so we dipped out as quickly as possible and back to safer areas near the river. The famous Moulin Rouge is located in this area by the way, for those of you interested. It has a neon windmill….discuss.

Walk for Life:

As I mentioned, we did a LOT of walking on this trip…an average of 10+ miles per day and over 100 miles for the entire vacation…the majority of this walking was done in Paris, since it’s a fantastic city for just wandering around. There are surprises on every street and we never got bored of just looking around. Plus you will never go hungry in Paris (as long as you have money). There is literally a café on EVERY corner if not three, so baguettes and other overtly French cuisine is only a few steps away at any given time.

We spent a lot of time just walking along the historic Seine River which leads to all the landmarks of the city more or less. Most days we’d just set off in a particular direction from the river and see where we ended up.

Sites included the Jardin du Luxembourg which is one of the biggest parks in Paris. Movie stars are often seen strolling in the Luxembourg Gardens, but unfortunately we saw none of them…the most we saw were some jr. high kids getting jazzed about sailing remote control sailboats in pond, and little kids playing on playground equipment that would be deemed far too dangerous and fun to every be allowed in the USA. We also wandered into the park at three different separate points in one day without realizing we were in the same park. It’s that big. Too bad you have to pay to use the toilet in every public place in Paris.

Several days we roamed around the Place de la Concord. This is the famous square where over a thousand Parisians lost their head to the guillotine but is now mostly a giant traffic snarl which separates the Tulleries Gardens in front of the Louvre and the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which is probably the most famous street in Europe.

Bumper Cars:

Speaking of traffic, streets and cars….holy crap…traffic in Paris is like nothing I’ve seen since Tijuana. If they have traffic laws in Paris, then they don’t enforce them…there are cars, and more significantly giant mopeds and motorcycles stuff everywhere. Streets have no lanes and people just drive (and park) wherever they please. They seem to have rules and parking spots marked out, but no one follows them, and although I saw traffic and parking tickets occasionally, I have no idea what for.

Mopeds dart in and out of traffic constantly¸ wherever they can fit in, and cars will park in ANY open space that fits them, curbs, sidewalks and the end streets included. The park half on curbs and always within inches if not actually touching the car in front or behind them. I was curious as to how they leave these spots. The technique I saw over and over again is to back up until you hit the car behind you turn sharply and then repeat until you are free. Having a car that’s only 4 feet long helps of course.

There are nice cars too (BMW’s, Mercedes, Audi’s, etc.) but the small, mini-cars rule here, with Citroën, Peugeot, and Renault’s everywhere, and the micro-sized Smart Cars being super-popular. It was nothing to see a smart car driving down the sidewalk looking for a parking place amongst the hundreds of mopeds, and pedestrians were just forced to move out of the way. With France being so nationalistic, it’s not surprising that we never saw an American brand of car the whole time in France, besides a handful of euro-model only Fords. Even Japanese cars were in small number.

The scooters were pretty cool though I must say, and for urban transport, ideally suited. My favorite were these Piaggio scooters that have TWO front wheels, side by side, and one in the rear. Pretty pimp and no need for a kickstand. I have one on order for cruising the hood back home.

Arc de Triumph:

The driving insanity culminates at the end of the Champs-Élysées, where the Arc de Triomphe is located. This gigantic limestone Arch is another famous symbol of Paris and was built by Napoleon as some ode to victory. We spent a few minutes walking in and around it, but mostly watching crazy tourists and the circus of little French cars buzzing around the enormous traffic circle the rings the monument. Picture a ring, 8 lanes wide with about 200 cars all going mach one in different directions with no apparent order. This is the French traffic system. Amazingly I never once saw an accident the entire trip, but I also never saw a car parked that did NOT have a million scratches and dents on the fenders and bumpers.

From the Champs-Élysées and all its famous shopping like Chanel, Max Mara, Gucci, Burberry, and the flagship Louis Vuitton, we also saw some crazy stuff, like an impromptu popping and locking street performance near the Arc de Triumph. Maybe it’s just cuz it was France, but this was the most vanilla display of popping, locking and amateur breakdancing I’ve seen outside of a middle school dance in Kosciusko County. These dudes had a huge crowd assembled though to watch their dancing so maybe Europeans just don’t know the difference. They also can’t keep a beat…the dancers would try to get people to clap to the beat…they would get them started and the crowd would just start clapping like applause. Pretty lame. The performance was played out 25 years ago and one of the guys couldn’t stay off his blackberry long enough to really dance, so we lost interest after about 3 minutes.

Other days while walking we saw the original 19^th century Paris Opera House, and the Grand and Petite Palais and the original Palais Royale (for those of you in Michiana, get the feeling that South Bend has French envy with Notre Dame and the Palais Royale? Maybe U.P. Mall will install an Eiffel tower in the food court)

I See Dead People:

The most interesting walks we took however may have been to see dead people. Not in a Bruce Willis kind of way, but rather trips to the Catacombs and the most famous cemetery in Europe. Back in the 1700’s, a LOT of Paris’ population was dying from the disease. This was due to the fact that they used the river as a sewer and a water source (see the sewer description above).

The problem was that with over 30,000 people dying per year, the cemeteries were full, so the leaders came up with a plan to dig everyone up and move their bones, en masse, to abandoned limestone and gypsum quarries 200 feet below the city. The result was the catacombs…a vast deposit of unidentified bones beneath the streets of Paris.

It was about a two mile walk thru the city to find the entrance to the maze and of course we got lost as it is barely marked. We eventually found it though and descended a creepy and small spiral stone stairway. A tiny, dark tunnel leads at least half a mile beneath the streets into the death chambers where row upon row of strategically placed arm, leg and pelvic bones are laid into neat stacks interlaced with human skulls. It’s deathly quiet down there and very surreal knowing that life is going on way above you, but these people are spending eternity stacked up like 40’s in your fridge. Occasionally there are crosses, altars and chapels carved into the stone walls, but basically the graves are unmarked. The bones are loose too, and you can easily pick up the top sets, if you wanted to actually touch them. It’s estimated there are millions of people stored away down there.

If you are into more traditional means of burial, you can still buy a spot in the Père Lachaise Cemetery which is the largest and most historic cemetery in Paris and home to everyone from famous authors, poets and statesmen (none of whom I’ve ever heard of) to Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors. We took about a 4 mile walk out to this cemetery and spent most of the time trying to find Jim’s tomb, which was no easy task considering there is absolutely no rational order to this cemetery.

All of the graves are above ground in various types of tombs from ancient ornately decorated mausoleums with creepy rusted half open doors, to shiny new granite crypts for recent residents. Plots are just thrown in any order and separated only by small crooked streets. In order to get to one tomb you have to literally walk on top of others, so privacy is slim.

Apparently when you buy a space here (about $8000) you only get it for 100 years. After that, your family can renew the term if they want (for another huge chunk of cash) OR, the cemetery dudes will remove you and send you to the BBQ, their on-site crematorium. We talked to some guy that worked there and they said they have at least 10 “BBQ’s” a day. Not surprising though as this cemetery has over 70,000 residents. It’s big. We finally found Jimbo’s grave after much searching, and it was a major disappointment. Just a tiny little stone with is name on it, and about 5 random groupies, smoking weed and taking pics of themselves climbing the temporary steel barriers they have up around the grave.

Paris Conclusions:

So after all this walking and site seeing there are several interesting things about Paris worth mentioning. Here they are in no particular order:

It’s massively expensive there. The French use the Euro currency, which is just like the Dollar except more valuable, making everything that’s already expensive, even more expensive -- $12 box of Cheerios or $25 hamburgers anyone?
They actually eat French Fries. I thought this was an American invention, like microwave pizza, but just like tacky Hawaiian shirts in Hawaii, real French people like French fries.
Everyone speaks English. I pretty much knew this already from other travels to Europe. Europeans are generally more educated than us, and most speak multiple languages, partly because the languages are similar and because countries are so close to each other in Europe (imagine if Ohio spoke a different language than Indiana, which was different than what they speak in Michigan). Regardless, they do NOT seem to like you trying to speak French, so don’t bother. They already know you are American…you reek of Yankee.
Foreign people are rude. I know this is offensive to say and certainly just my American perception and arrogance, but oh well—( I think people in New Jersey are rude too.) Everyone we ran into was always in our ‘personal space’ and up on our butts. It’s very uncomfortable.
Cobblestone streets look awesome but suck to try and walk 10 miles on. Ouch.
Doorknobs are in the middle of the door, not the opening side, and all their doors are massive. It can be a challenge to get doors open.
Everyone smokes. I mean everyone….walking in Paris is like hanging out in the smoking lounge at the airport. Cigarette butts (or “ends” as they call them) are everywhere too. Gross.
If you are a female and don’t own a pair of fancy leather knee-high wader-boots, leave the country. This was obviously the height of fashion, and did look ok on the right person, but every woman has them to varying results. It made our running shoes stick out even more.
Basically everyone is skinny. This is not an exaggeration, as I was hard pressed to find an over-weight person anywhere. Maybe it’s all the smoking, or maybe it’s just because fat people don’t fit on a moped or in a smart car, but it just emphasizes the fact that American’s are grossly out of shape. It also makes it easier to wear these skinny tall boot things.
People are very well dressed. Across the board, the French people are attractive and they all dress like they are ready for a fashion show. Every day. It was a nice change of pace from shopping at Wal-Mart in Indiana.
American Pop music rules the airwaves. Everywhere we went Kanye West, Pink, and Beyonce was playing in stores. It’s unusual to be in McDonalds, struggling to order your quarter pounder with ketchup only while “right round” by Flo Rida is playing in the restaurant. I wondered if they understand the words, but then again, most Americans don’t.
Speaking of McDonald’s, the Quarter Pounder really is the “Royale with Cheese”, just like in Pulp Fiction. They also serve beer (as they do in most foreign McDonalds) and they have this fantastic dessert called “Mousse au Chocolat” which is the best thing I’ve ever tasted. My wife assures me that it is no different that chocolate mousse at home, but I don’t believe her. It comes in painfully small containers and is sprinkled with little chocolate turd-looking things, but is awesome. I’d love to get it at home, but McDonalds guards the formula with more firepower than the Colonel’s secret recipe in Kentucky.
The French love dogs. Dogs are everywhere, including in the stores. They also let their dogs poop everywhere so when walking, if you aren’t stepping on a cigarette butt, you are more than likely stepping in dog crap.
Grocery stores are definitely NOT supermarkets. Our apartment had a kitchen, so to save money (and to actually eat food I liked) we cooked most dinners in. There was a “Supermarche” market across the street where we shopped and it was the most cramped store I’ve ever been in. After walking in and stepping over the 3 or 4 dogs tied up near the front waiting on their owners to finish shopping, we made our way around to find our items. It’s difficult to find American equivalents to spaghetti sauce, cheese, and most notably milk. Apparently they don’t have real milk in Paris, because we had to buy this stuff that doesn’t require refrigeration and is good for at least a month. It tasted like milk on cereal, but I can’t trust a country that doesn’t milk actual cows.
Ham is the official meat of France. At least in my mind it is. All sandwiches have ham, and the ham section at the tiny supermarche is at least 20% of the store. Ham is good, don’t get me wrong, but can I get some chicken or turkey once and a while?

We left Paris via high speed train thru the French countryside and under the English Channel to London in the so called “Chunnel”. The ride was very pleasant, but completely uneventful. The Chunnel, although technologically amazing, is basically just a black tunnel. You pop inside, it’s completely dark out the windows, and 30 mins later you appear in England. Very easy trip.

LONDON

We spent less time in London, although wanted to pack in as many activities as possible, so we had very little downtime. The spring weather in London was awesome, which was a welcome change from the classic rainy and grey weather England is known for. Days were near 60 degrees and sunny, so we couldn’t ask for more.

In London we chose to ride the subway (which they call the ‘tube’ or ‘underground’) to most locations since the subway system is extensive in London. It reminds me a lot of a major US city subway system, but just cleaner and better laid out. Having said all that, we DID have to completely evacuate a tube station at one point for an undisclosed reason other than cops ushering everyone out while announcements told us to leave urgently. People were running and nervous, which was a bit scary, but whatever it was, they let everyone back in 15 mins later.

We first saw Kensington Palace, a giant royal residence on the edge of Kensington Park, which was most notably the home of Princess Diana. Kensington Park was only about a 5 minute walk from our hotel and besides the palace, the park itself is beautiful, especially with it being springtime. Two interesting sites next to Kensington Park are Hyde Park and Kensington Palace Gardens, which is a street, closed to public traffic, which contains the bulk of all the foreign embassies in London. It’s a picturesque street with fantastic mansions and foreign flags.

Hyde Park on the other hand, although equally beautiful is full of freaks and weirdos. It’s an enormous park in itself which also has a large boating lake. You can rent paddle boats and cruise the lake or just enjoy an ice-cream cone on a walk. The main thing we saw was one particular road in the park which apparently is the roller-blade center of the galaxy. It was filled with all these hard core roller-blade “artists”. These guys set up tiny cones in a line and then run thru the cone line with their roller blades and high speeds, crossing their legs over each cone. It’s hard to describe, but just imagine the gayest thing you can on skates, and this would be it. The dudes are super serious about what they are doing and a lot of people look on, perhaps aspiring to one day don the skates themselves.

Another day we went took the Tube to Piccadilly Circus which is basically an intersection of roads in downtown London similar to Times Square in NYC. From Piccadilly we visited most of the big central London sites including the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (which strangely was right above us and actually striking 4pm as we exited the Tube station), Westminster Abby, and St. Paul’s.

These two cathedrals were impressive and the scenes of Royal coronations, weddings, and funerals, but honestly after seeing Notre Dame in Paris, couldn’t really compete. On the walk back to the hotel, we saw Harrods, and spent a couple hours at the British Museum. Our final stop was the famous Buckingham Palace, home of Queen Elizabeth. Although we didn’t get the chance to see an actual changing of the guard, it was pretty cool to see the palace guards that were there doing their little stiff-legged march in front of their stations.

Family Jewels:

The biggest highlight for me in London was the tour we took of the Tower of London. This is one of the oldest structures of the original London. Construction began in 1066 by William the Conqueror on the site of an ancient Roman temple to Jupiter, and the 1000 year history of the Tower is long and bloody. Many people, including several queens lost their lives to the executioner’s axe either within the Tower’s walls or on Tower Hill next to the complex, and our Yeoman Warder (popular known as a “Beefeater”, the tower guards) did an awesome job of bringing the stories to life.

After the tour, we were able to see the British Crown Jewels, up close and personal. They’ve been on display in the Tower for over 300 years, and I must say….this is the biggest display of ice and bling in the world. If you’ve never seen a 370 carat diamond, this is the only place to do it (well, short of your local Kay’s Jewelers). The Burger King never had a crown like these.

After the Tower of London, we had some lunch and walked across the Thames over the Tower Bridge. This is the big tall, bridge that many people seem to think is “London Bridge” although it’s Tower Bridge. The original London Bridge is now in Lake Havasu, Arizona, and there is a new London bridge downriver in London, but I digress. The bridge was cool and offers a nice view of the Tower of London, the rest of the city and even the huge “London Eye” ferris wheel that was built for the Millennium celebration in London in 2000.

Drivers Wanted:

So my wife and I were feeling pretty good about the start of the new year…we’re on this amazing trip, spring is here, we both have solid jobs in our chosen careers, we’ve lived a full year in our new house, and we both just got new cars…another BMW and Mercedes no less. Well leave it to London to take us down a notch and back to reality. We both love our new rides, but it’s somewhat discouraging to see that our cars are used as Taxis and Police cars in Europe.

In Paris we had seen a lot of nice cars of course, a million Mercedes, BMWs, and even to at least equal to a day out in S. California. Nothing however (at least that I’ve seen) can compare to London. Ultra luxury and exotic cars are everywhere, as are the dealers for such brands. It would appear the “average” person drives a BMW, but a LOT of people have the “M” sport versions. Just walking from the tube station to our hotel I saw at least 3 M5’s and 4 or 5 M3’s on the street. Jags, S-class Mercedes, Ferrari Modena’s and Bentleys are everywhere too.

The ultimate however was a 3 hour walk between Hyde Park and the British Museum that we took one afternoon. In the course of this, we saw all the requisite BMW/Mercedes stuff, and even an Aston and a Bentley Continental GT following each other in a left hand turn on a side street, but as we neared the entrance to the Dorchester Hotel, the ante was upped.

Pulling out of the hotel was a Lambo Murciealago, and sitting in the valet lane were about 3 Bentleys, an Aston Martin, a Maybach and a Rolls Royce Phantom. That’s probably $2 million plus in cars in the driveway.

We were discussing this interesting bit of trivia and how it beats out even the valet line at the Palms in Vegas, when we crossed a few streets, walked in front of some non-descript hotel and there in the front drive was one of the 300 or so remaining Ferrari Enzo’s in the world. This one was red and of course spotless…just sitting there as if it’s owner had run in for some fish and chips. Nice. I did see a guy’s Bugatti Veyron at a gig once…which pretty much trumps the Enzo, but nothing looks as mean as old man Ferrari’s namesake. It’s also quite a change of pace from all the tiny Smart Cars and mini-coopers clogging the Paris curbs, each parked half an inch from each other and dented from every angle. Obviously Londoners care much more about their rides.

Observations in London were far fewer than in Paris as London is more similar to the US in many ways. They speak English obviously, they like fast cars and they don’t dress nearly as well or as skinny…it almost like home, except that they drive on the wrong side of the road. Good place to be.

Return to Glory:

The trip home was uneventful and smooth as silk. We even got to fly over Greenland on a sunny day, and I could see the massive glaciers 40,000 feet below meeting the ocean. Since we flew completely on my frequent flyer miles, we were stuck with several connections, but no problems whatsoever, other than a grandma flight attended on the leg from Heathrow to Minneapolis, who I swear was one of the Golden Girls. She couldn’t hear and said everything is a crazy smoker, old-lady voice, so it was kind of unsettling. The pilot announced at one point that one of the attendants was retiring after 40 years and this was her last international flight. I sure hope it was this lady…she deserves a rest.

Overall we had a blast and I’m looking forward to going back to Europe soon, whether it’s to spin or just for pleasure. For now though, it’s good to be American and back in the amber waves of grain.

DELL SUCKS

2009-03-15T17:32:00.000-04:00

So if you've been following my previous story about the lame-o new Dell laptop that I recently bought, you're in luck, because here is an update. After fussing and fighting with the Dell tech support and customer service people for litterally hours...I was able to negotiate them sending me a completely new laptop. It arrived and I spent more hour once again moving all my data, installing programs and configuring email and settings the way I like them. And then what happens? You guessed it, the damn thing starts doing the same thing with the 'ctrl' key that the LAST one did! grrrrr....

At this point I have no clue what to do, and Dell will not replace it again (nor would I want them to), so I guess I'm just stuck trying to figure out how to get it fixed on my own, or thru a sheer stroke of luck if I get a dell tech "specialist" on the line in India that actually has a clue about bizarre hardware issues with legacy keyboards. So frustrating. If any of you reading this think that you have a solution, PLEASE let me know. And in the meantime, do NOT buy a Dell laptop from their "Studio" line. Buy a mac. Seriously.

To further illustrate this point and rub in my current frustration with the PC, my wife just got a brand new Macbook Pro, which is as gorgeous as she is. It's still quirky the way all macs are, but it's working out great for her, and besides the high cost of entry, I do wish I'd have gotten another macbook instead. Oh well, another time. At least I just got a brand new BMW coupe to make me feel better, haha.

FEBRUARY NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

2009-02-16T17:33:00.001-05:00

So this latest blog will serve as a catch up for all of you since the last time...and there is plenty going down. Let's get right into it!

First of all…I have a new mix CD available for February! It’s got 24 tracks from today’s hottest artists including Lady Gaga, TI, Beyonce, and All American Rejects. Plus, this month’s CD has been SUPERSIZED with nearly 80 full minutes of flava. Makes a perfect gift for your valentine! Check out my website, www.DJStickyBoots.com for a complete track listing.

NEW STATIONS

Now, onto more Sticky News: First and probably most exciting is new stations and affiliates for my mix show, the HyperMiXx, which help to extend my international reach, north this time. I'm happy to announce that the HyperMiXx can now be heard in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada as part of the weekend dance show on CKLU with many of my friends and colleagues from Sirius Satellite Radio including Mike Bordes, Dom Armano, and Jason Jani. Props to Mike for hooking the deal up! The HyperMiXx is now heard from Canada to the Carribean so I'm happy to be an International man of mystery. Or something.

Students at Oklahoma State University are also slightly more Sticky this month as KQCX, The Point, brings the HyperMiXx onboard for students there. I hope to make a trip down there one of these days soon and see if OK State knows how to party or not!

CELL PHONES and iPHONE APP

For those of you who check me out on your cellular phone, I'm excited about a new cell carrier streaming my show...Alltel Cellular is now on-board. Over 12 million Alltel subscribers now have the option to access the HyperMiXx via "Alltel Radio" on their web-enable phone. If you have Alltel (Sorry I have the iPhone) hit me up and let me know how it sounds! Don’t forget you can also access the HyperMiXx if you are a Sprint/Nextel or US Cellular subscriber…just check out the radio features in your web-enabled phone.

Speaking of iPhones, the new Move-Radio Network that I'm a part of is quickly moving out of its beta stage and is now streaming my show over new Nokia phones worldwide, and will have it's awesome iPhone App available for free via iTunes within days. This is very exciting news. Look for an official launch of Move-Radio this spring, but in the meantime, get a sneak-peek at www.Move-Radio.com.

PRESIDENT OBAMA IN MY 'HOOD

In other exciting news, the City of Elkhart (which is just next to my home base in South Bend, IN) played host to President Obama this week on his very FIRST trip outside of the beltway and first major trip in Air Force 1. Unfortunately the reasons bringing him to Elkhart are nothing to brag about as Northern Indiana, and Elkhart County currently has the highest unemployment in the country after having one of the lowest only 18 months or so ago. Obama spoke at Concord High School where I have played many times and gave a truly inspiring speech. I prefer to leave politics out of the conversation, but I have to say my impression of him grows each week as he attempts to navigate this minefield of an ecomomy we are all dealing with. Besides all the national news programs and cable political talk shows, Obama's visit to Elkhart, also made the "Daily Show with Jon Stewart" so that's pretty sweet.

NEW COMPUTER?

So I decided I needed a new office laptop back around Christmas time. I'm definitely a fan of Macintosh, and use a Mac in the studio and a Macbook Pro when I play out with Serato Scratch Live, BUT I've always had Dell PC's in the studio for easy and compatibility with business apps (databases, accounting software, etc). PC's are also a hell of a lot cheaper of course, so I decided upon a shiny new Dell Studio 15 notebook. Slim, trim, and even has a fingerprint reader. Well, it arrived and right out of the box, the keyboard is jacked up. Randomly while I type it's as though the "ctrl" key is being held down giving me all kinds of screwed up commands as I type. Obviously not cool. Oh and did I mention I could only get it with Windows Vista?! Don't get me wrong, Vista is a slick looking OS, but trying to get all my stuff migrated over from XP and get 4 other XP machines and printers in the office to talk to it....crap. Soooo a VERY long story short, and after literally HOURS on the phone to Dell, and TWO service visits from a tech which included replacing the entire motherboard....breath....Dell has determined they can not fix the laptop. I still can't type correctly so next week a replacement laptop is arriving and I can start the entire process of moving all my junk over again. :( This sucks. My recommendation...buy a Mac and figure out how to run your stuff on it with BootCamp or something. It sure beats my experience with the Dell idiots and Vista. (I’m also typing this blog on my Mac…go figure)

So besides the laptop debacle and constant studying as I incorporate my business as an "S" Corp, I'm looking forward to a very busy and fun spring! I'm no booking club gigs and promotions for the summer and am looking forward to a tour in Europe for two weeks in March with my wife. I'm sure there will be plenty of stories from that trip alone :)

I'll have more new radio station announcements coming soon and a complete re-design of my website is nearly done, so keep your eyes peeled for that....Hope you had a fantastic, sweaty Valentine's Day. More to come!

2008 Wrap Up

2009-01-01T12:30:00.000-05:00

HELLO 2009!!!!!!   And a Happy New Year to all my peoples around the world.

2008 was a very good year for me personally on so many fronts. My first full year of marriage, new pets, a new home, a top 10 ranking among DJs in the country, and massive growth in my mix show, The HyperMiXx, among other things, were huge successes for me this last year. I hope you were equally blessed. Still though, 2008 was obviously very challenging on a great deal of other fronts from the economy to job cuts, war to gas prices, so I’m hoping that 2009 is going to be a much brighter one. I can’t wait to see the changes the Obama administration bring to our country, since we have no where to go but UP. It’s an exciting time to be alive!

Since my last blog this Fall, it’s been a very busy early winter and holiday season with a full slate of gigs, clubs, holiday parties and dances all over the state and region. Thanks to everyone who braved the sometimes crazy weather and came out to dance and enjoy the music.

Big ups also to all the new listeners who may have caught my Thanksgiving or Christmas 2 hour specials on new stations around the county in the last few weeks. As part of my new syndication deal, I had over 16 new radio stations airing my HyperMiXx Holiday Specials which contained not only the hottest records on the radio at the moment but a bunch of your favorite holiday songs and movie and TV samples. Fun stuff…so if you missed it, hit up your local FM station and tell them they need to “Get Sticky” TODAY!

By the way, if you need a personal fix of the HyperMiXx, make sure to peep my December “Best Of” MIX CD, available now at my website: www.DJStickyBoots.com It contains over 70 minutes of hits from artists like TI, T-Pain, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears.   Too late now for Christmas gifts, but still in time to start your year off proper.

On a personal note, it was a good Holiday season too, as we went thru Thankgsiving, Christmas and New Years Eve with a ton of family and friends. After working so hard this year, I chose to take a break for the holidays this year and took the night off from the traditional club nights before T-Day, Christmas and even NYE. Have to say that it was really NICE for a change. It appears that many people chose the same route as I think it was a much quieter New Years this year overall.    Besides hanging out with the fam, over the break, I also got a chance to see my close friends Biff and McCall from Denver, and Otis of the notorious “O-Show” who made the trek back to Indiana with his super-cool wife from Charlotte where he’s holding down nights on KissFM there.

Other interesting things here have been the crazy weather with big time snow and then ICE descending upon the area, and the inability to clear what seemed to be 29” of ice off my driveway.   My dog, Zoey, also found the ice to be annoying as she skated around our backyard “rink” trying to pee.   The weather so far has made me happy for the hassle of snow tires on my bimmer.

Also this fall, right around my birthday time (yes, yes…somehow I’ve once again turned another year older) I had the pleasure of learning about fall sprinkler maintenance when I had to have the “sprinkler guy” come out to blow out my sprinkler system for winter. Apparently there are “self-draining” systems, but I’m not lucky enough to have one, so I can look forward to this squirrely dude running around my property every fall from now on.   Yay.

Looking forward to 2009, and WARMER weather…If you have any leads on gigs in Hawaii or Aruba this winter…holla at ya boy!

Douchebaggery

2008-12-18T12:34:00.000-05:00

EVERYONE KNOWS THESE GUYS....

When I was in Vegas in July, right off the plane, my wife and I stopped into Barnes and Noble off of Vegas Blvd south of the Strip so she could buy the new Chelsea Handler book to read by the pool (HILARIOUS btw – Enough so that I actually read a book). While she was looking for Chelsea Lately, I found the most awesome coffee table book ever called "Hot Chicks with Douchebags" Loved the concept then and I bought it for my coffee table. I read recently that there’s a bunch of the guys pictured IN the book who are now angry about their “douche status” being called out in print. So sad guys…didn’t you always want attention so badly in the first place???

Here’s the product description direct from Amazon for those of you wanting to learn more. Get a copy for yourself, enjoy making fun of these guys and hope that YOUR picture never makes it into a second edition!

Product Description
Greasy foreheads. Spiky frosted hair. Oiled-up faces dripping with Tag Body Shot spray. Affliction or Ed Hardy T-shirts and rank cologne wafting off their backs like fetid pollen clouds as they pump their fists and attempt to grind into any hotties nearby. Young beauties oblivious to the hulking monstrosity clutching at their butts like snapping turtles on Red Bull.

From sea to douchey sea, ours is a culture plagued by this festering blight. By the dark forces of über-douchebaggery.

How did this happen? What can we do to confront the douchebag/hottie plague that rots our collective souls like boils sent by a wrathful and angry God? And how can you recover if you or your loved one is 'bag?

Now, for the first time, there is an answer to those questions that haunt our collective will and sap our culture of any claim to societal advance: Why hottie/douchebaggery? Why now? And why are douche-faces so silly? In this book we dissect, analyze, contemplate and mock the rank douchescrotes that pollute our country's hottie supply on a daily basis. Every branch of the douche-tree will be examined. Every corner of our cultural rot will be exposed.

And if we can lust after their hotties along the way, then all the better.

Fall Update

2008-10-23T12:37:00.000-04:00

Yo, October?! Halloween?! Already?! I guess that's the case as now it is completely dark when I wake up in the morning and my new dog has already "carved" two of her own pumpkins on my front porch. (And by carve, I mean chew the sides out of). I've got plenty going on this fall already, so let's get into it!

First of all props to all the awesome high schools and colleges I've been priviledged to visit this fall already as I've rocked Homecomings, Sadie Hawkins and Formals from city to city. The crowds have been huge, the music loud, and the vibe sweaty every weekend for the last two months, so much love there.   Fall also means Football! So thank you to all the amazing Notre Dame tailgate parties I've been invited to the last few weeks.   Nothing says Fall like cool weather, a stiff breeze and 50,000 drunken football fans trying to cook a brat on a tiny portable charcoal grill in the parking lot.   Seriously though, some of these tailgate spreads are AMAZING. We're talking gas grills, bartenders, cornhole, and plasma TVs while I provide the soundtrack live on the wheels.   Good times.

I'm definitely looking forward now to Halloween and the U93 Voodoo Ball live at Club Landing. My wife and I haven't decided what we are gonna be yet, so if you're in the Midwest, you'll have to be sure to come out both Friday and Saturday nights and check it out.   They'll be giving out huge prizes for best costume both nights too, so get there early and join us VIP style in "Caleb's Crib".

Speaking of the Radio, I just signed a brand new FM syndication deal last week, which will be bringing The HyperMiXx to more places on your radio dials throughout the country.   If you currently don't get my show on your local FM station and are forced to listen online, be sure to hit up that station and tell them to Get Sticky!

In the meantime, peep my latest MIX CD for November. It's the perfect soundtrack for your tailgate, Halloween Party or morning workout.   Featuring hits from Savage, Katy Perry, Pink, TI, and Britney, you can't go wrong for $7.99.   Visit my MIX CD page for ordering information!

Ooooo, and check this out! If you're in Northern Indiana and are looking for a new place to live OR you just want to hang out at a totally free Pre-Halloween party with a ton of hot college kids....you NEED to make plans to stop by the Stadium Club Apartments Block Party on October 30th. I'm going to be out there live in the mix while students and party people from all over South Bend get their party on with free food and games as the official kick off to Halloween. It's NOT a halloween party, and you don't have to dress up, just get out there and chill with a bunch of cool people.   And seriously, if you are looking for a new crib, this is THE place to check out...they have huge apartments available at great rates, and are close to IUSB, Bethel, and literally just a couple minute walk from Notre Dame.   Even if you don't need a new place, come out anyway and party with me for FREE!   More details below or check them out at www.NDStadiumClub.com

Finally I've got to mention some upcoming clubs I'll be playing where you can come out and party with me:

October 31 - Nov 1: U93 Voodoo Ball Party
Club Landing, 1717 Lincolnway East - South Bend, IN
Come out in your best Halloween costume and win some cash!

November 28: Lotus Lounge

1420 K St NW - Washington, D.C.

November 29: FUR Nightclub
33 Paterson St NE - Washington, D.C.

December 29-30: The Resorts

1133 Boardwalk - Atlantic City, NJ

October 30: Stadium Club Apartments Block Party

18127 Bulla Road - South Bend, IN
Grab some free pizza and pre-party from 5-8pm ... plus check out some sweet apartments (no obligation) within walking distance of Notre Dame!