FAQs

Teri & TJ [image courtesy David Hartcorn Photography]

What gear do you carry to events?
Are you insured?
How much experience do you have?
Where’d you get your DJ name?
Is this your full-time job?
Can we come and hear you play?
What areas do you cover?
Do you travel for events?
Where have you and your associates played?
How extensive is your music collection?
Do you DJ GLBT weddings?
We are having an traditional Indian reception; can you play Indian music?
Do you provide lighting?
Can you fulfill MC duties?
Do you provide karaoke?
Do you have backup DJ(s) just in case?
How are you attired for weddings?
Can you furnish references?
Do you provide discounts?
Do you have off-season pricing for weddings?
Do accept credit card payments?
How far in advance do you usually book?
What do you require to hold our date and our preferred DJ?
How do we get started working with you?
How often may we contact you about our event after the agreement is signed?

What gear do you carry to events?
While there are some variations in each DJ’s specific equipment list (mainly in choice of mixer, controller, turntables or CDJ, and laptop), we all carry professional mobile audio gear, including:

Are you insured?
Yes, as many venues require outside entertainment vendors to carry insurance, we carry a comprehensive $2,000,000 liability insurance policy that extends to D-Mac and all DJ associates.
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How much experience do you have?
I personally have over 15 years experience as a professional DJ, including weddings, corporate events, and club experience. I am also a current member of the American Disc Jockey Association.
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Is this your full-time job?
It is as of January, 2013.
But like many creative professionals, I have more than one creative outlet that helps pay the bills. I had been an art director at Virid Design & Interactive. Virid is a solutions-driven firm focussed on building and supporting e-commerce sites.
And yes, I did design this site and most of my posters and flyers. More of my personal work can be seen at my portfolio site, Faction Theory. Between working at Virid, DJing, and the occasional freelance design gig, I don’t get much time to update it, but I’ve got plans to do so.
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Where’d you get your DJ name?
Growing up in Lackawanna (a steel town south of Buffalo, NY) my paternal grandfather, Walter Maciocha, was known by his boyhood friends as Mac. In honor of him, I added an initial and a dash and became DJ D-Mac.
He liked polkas and a bit of doo-wop (he used to like to sing the Coasters’ “Charlie Brown,” which is pretty cool for a Polish steel working grandfather). I decided to branch out a bit more.
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Can we come and hear you play?
Weddings and corporate events are private affairs so I cannot extend an invitation to potential clients, but you are very welcome to come and hear me play at any of my club gigs. While it is definitely not the same environment and playlist that you’d experience at a wedding or corporate event, you can still get a good sense of my DJ skills and the diversity of music I always play. Indeed, I have worked with several clients who have told me they knew I was the right DJ for their event after coming to a club gig.
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What areas do you cover?
We cover primarily the Metro DC area (including Washington, DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and the Eastern Shore). But we have also provided services in Philadelphia, Chicago, Buffalo, NY, Portland, OR, Rehoboth Beach, DE, Louisville, KY, and the Outer Banks.
Travel (by car) to destinations within 60 miles from our home base in Washington, DC is covered in our services. With any travel to destinations greater than 60 miles away from DC, there is an additional charge for overnight accommodations and travel expenses.
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Do you travel for events?
Yes, we do! We’ve been all over the place. No destination is too far, whether that be Leesburg, Virginia, Louisville, Kentucky, or Lahaina, Hawaii. Please contact us for a custom quote for your destination event.
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How extensive is your music collection?
Approximately 7,500 vinyl LPs, 12 and 7 inch singles and counting. The number rises on a weekly basis as I am constantly looking for new vinyl and building the collection. I am first and foremost a traditional vinyl DJ (nothing beats the sound and feel of vinyl records), but my digital collection is equally formidable and literally growing every day. This makes obtaining special songs for your event that are not already in my collection that much easier. I will work with you to make sure we have everything covered.
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Do you DJ GLBT weddings?
Absolutely, yes.
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We are having an traditional Indian reception; can you play Indian music?
Absolutely. From traditional ragas to Bollywood to Bhangra and Indian hip-hop, I have a sizeable collection of Eastern music and can blend it seemlessly with Western sounds to keep all your guests happy and on the dancefloor.
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Do you provide lighting?
Yes, we do provide lighting. Full details will be available on this site in early spring 2013.
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Can you fulfill MC duties?
Absolutely, yes. From introductions to last call, and all announcements in-between, we can guide the flow of the evening with as much enthusiasm or restraint as you require. That said, we are most definitely not mic-rocking non-DJs, encouraging you and your guests to get up and do the macarena.
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Do you provide karaoke?
In a formal, technical sense? No, we do not. Again, our primary focus is on the dancefloor. But we have tracked down original backing tracks for brave bridesmaids. Such as the original Motown 45 for Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia.” The instrumental version is on the flip-side. The bridesmaids surrounded a couple of Elvis mics and killed it.
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Do you have backup DJ(s) just in case?
Yes, we do. When a DJ is booked for your event, a substitute DJ is also booked. The substitute has access to the same playlist and schedule from the beginning, so in case of emergency, the sub is fully aware of the event details (documentation, playlist, and schedule), and isn’t simply coming in cold. Meaning there will always be a DJ fully prepared and ready to go if your assigned cannot perform at your wedding. We do not leave our clients high and dry.
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How are you attired for weddings?
For weddings we are dressed appropriately in dark, tailored suits and ties. For black tie events, we can dress more formally by request. Our wardrobes are as diverse and stylish as our DJ sets.
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Can you furnish references?
Yes, [with their permission] I can provide the contact information of recent clients who will be glad to share the details of their experience with you.
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Do you provide discounts?
We furnish a 10% discount to couples for payment-in-full at time of signing, and when the event date is a full 4 months out. We also furnish a 10% discount to active servicemen and women.
[Discounts cannot be combined.]
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Do you have off-season pricing for DJing weddings?
No, we do not. Off-season is defined as:
1.) “a time of year when a particular activity, typically a sport, is not engaged in.”
2.) “a time of year when business in a particular sphere is slack”
Obviously, you are engaged and will be participating in the wedding activity. We give the same amount of attention and energy to a mid-winter wedding as we do to a June wedding. Weddings take place year ’round.
And yes, while we are busier during what some industry folks call ‘peak season,’ we routinely book events throughout the year. So our pricing is an absolutely fixed rate from January 1st to December 31st.
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Do accept credit card payments?
No, we do not directly accept credit card payments. However, we can accept online Paypal payments with funds originating from a credit card. More information about online payments is available here.
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How far in advance do you usually book?
We usually are booked for weddings 7-9 months in advance. But 12-14 months is becoming the norm. For last-minute weddings (3 months or less) during the peak months (May thru October), we often still have the depth in our team to accommodate your event.
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How do we get started with working with you?
After a no obligation initial meeting about your event in which we find out some details including date, location, start & end times and the kind of music you are looking for, I will prepare a personalized letter of agreement and send it via email as a PDF or mail a printed version (your choice). Once it is signed and returned along with the requested 10% deposit (payment can be made by check/money order or via Paypal–see Online Payments), the date of your event is officially reserved. The date of your event can only be guaranteed after a deposit has been received.
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What do you require to hold our date and our preferred DJ?
A 10% deposit holds the date and DJ. However, we understand and respect that some clients take their time with decision-making. Because of that, we do our best to treat our clients they way we ourselves want to be treated: with consideration and respect.
We’re not going to book your date and DJ out from under you while you’re reviewing our proposal. If by chance we get other interest in the same date and the same DJ before we’ve heard back from you, you’ll be the first to know.
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How often may we contact you about our event after the agreement is signed?
As often as you like. We certainly appreciate a client who takes an active interest in the music at their event! Customarily, we expect the play list from the bride and groom 6 to 8 weeks prior to the event so that your DJ can properly prepare the tunes you’ll hear throughout the evening. Working from your play list, we’ll fill in the gaps and provide the audio glue, so to speak, that holds it all together.
But most clients will continue to revise their playlists with a few additions as their wedding approaches. No problem. This is your big day and we will work to make sure all your favorite tunes are included.
We understand this is a very important event and that you want responsive, timely vendors especially in the coming short weeks prior to your wedding day. Admittedly, we maintain a very busy schedule and cannot always immediately reply to an email. So please do not hesitate to call us. Often a 5 minute phone call is more effective and to the point than a long chain of emails.
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