Chuck Amstone - Solid Gold Entertainment

Need a wedding DJ in Knoxville Tennessee?

2009-07-16T11:12:00.003-04:00

Congratulation to Christin & Ryan.

They were married July 11th, 2009 in Powell, TN. They had a reception for 230 family and friends at The Jubilee Center in Knoxville.

They met in 8th grade and have been best friends ever since. Now they are Husband and wife.

The wedding party had a suprise for the groom. After all the formalities were done...the girls did a dance routine to 'These boots were made for walking" all choreographed with cowboy boots.

The folks at The Jubilee Banquet Facilty are super nice people. Sharon and her family all did a terrific job. If you need a nice venue with great food, friendly service, caring staff and all the goodies like an av screen to show slide shows etc...they are well equiped. Contact Sharon at 865-938-2112
Before I forget....Sharon THANK YOU for referring Physicians Surgery Center for August 22nd. See you then!

The photos were courtesy of RyansProductions Ryan and his wife are awesome people. Genuine and true to the heart. They love what they do and it shows in there work. I can't wait to move to Tennessee. The area feels like home and the people are the best.

Can't afford a DJ? Here are some money saving tips.

2009-04-17T11:03:00.005-04:00

Let's face it. Most people hire a DJ/MC after they have spent all their money on everything from flowers to food. When the realization comes that "I need a DJ" they look at the budget and then come to a conclusion that I only have $500 to spend for music. Often times what happens is they opt for settling for an average at best talent or sometimes resort to a friend to perform on the most important day of their life. Sadly, 80% of these same brides surveyed, said if they had to do it all over, they would have placed the entertainment near or at the top of their shopping list.

Folks.... you only have one shot at hitting a home run. If you want an Entertainment Driven reception where EVERYONE DANCES, EVERONE Comments on how much fun they had 6 months after your event, if you want your photos or video to look better than if eveyone is just sitting around, then you owe it to yourself to take a look at some money saving tips so you CAN HAVE THE DJ of YOUR DREAMS.

R U Ready?

Chair Covers:
At a minimum of $4 per chair, a hundred-guest wedding just took $400 out of the budget for an item that, (imho), only makes a visual impact when the room is empty...people arrive and hang their coats over the backs of the chairs and $4 down the drain! They don't make the seats more comfortable and you cannot really see them once people are sitting in them.

Ice 'Sculptures':
First of all, very few of them are really carved anymore, the proper description would be "ice mold". $1000+ for a hunk of ice that they won't even give you a drink large enough to float it in!? Even if you don't use this savings toward the Deejay, then at least upgrade the food choices instead of this melting money waster.

Flowers:
Very few things bring so much to the look of a room or fill a dumpster so quickly! Encourage plants and living arrangements that their guests can take home to enjoy.

Cake:
Does anybody really need a life-size fondant replica of the Bride??? Cakes are meant to be eaten, get a nice one, but ensure that it's edible, appealing and plated early enough for guests to actually enjoy. Keeping the top tier in cold storage for the first anniversary is a cruel joke perpetuated by the former generations who fell for it when they were newlyweds...suggest a gift certificate from the bakery for a 'personal-sized' cake of the same recipe to be baked fresh next year.

Limousines/Carriages:
While it's a special personal moment, and you should pamper yourselves, don't get these things if you're doing it just to show the guests...UNLESS YOU MAKE SURE THE PLAN INCLUDES HAVING THE GUESTS GATHERED WHERE YOU'RE ARRIVING/DEPARTING. Many times, the guests can't see where you pull up from the room, and many B&G's don't make a Grand Exit to a waiting limo, so why have one on the payroll?

Bubbles, Disposable Cameras, Favors:
Nice ideas, but history has taught us that these are simply expensive doodads for the children to monopolize... bubbles rarely get blown at the couple when they arrive or depart as intended, but they do get spilled on the dancefloor/playground with surprising regularity. The idea of your guests capturing that Kodak moment for you is a wonderful dream that rarely sees fruition...but you do get 30 or 40 shots of the same things that the gaggle of kids all run around taking one shot each of! If you must buy favors for the guests, choose wisely considering what YOU would be inclined to take home and cherish if it was given to you.

The Best Wedding Reception EVER! Blog!

2009-04-06T09:20:00.004-04:00

The Best Wedding Reception EVER blog

Congratulations to Lori & Travis

2009-03-30T11:01:00.014-04:00

Lori and Travis were married this past Saturday 3-28-09 at Victorian Gardens in Thonotosassa. Approximately 100 guests were in attendance.
First Dance Song was Everything by Michael Buble
Father Daughter - My Little Girl
Groom Mother - The Man You've Become

During the reception I was a bit surprised when I had two requests for the Chicken Dance. Most brides cringe when they hear this song even mentioned so I don't play it anymore. So I asked Lori and she said oh my gosh ...YES! i easily obliged and I couldn't believe how everyone got really into it! Maybe it was the alcohol :)

I figured if they like The Chicken Dance, they'll love Shout. I played it and had guys doing the worm on the floor. See photo.

If you would like to know what we did as a replacement to the tossing of the bouquet and garter, call me 813-875-4487
http://www.solidgoldentertainment.com/tampa-dj.asp

Mazel Tov Maddy!

2009-03-05T12:27:00.015-05:00

Mazel Tov Maddy!

Maddy celebrated her Bat Mitzvah February 15th, 2009 at The Hilton in Gainesville.

Her theme was candy. Instead of the usual candle lighting, she opted for a candy service. Pretty Cool! Her intro song was I Want Candy and Mom & Dad came into the room to the Candy Man by yes... Sammy davis Jr.

Here are the games we played.

Levitation Game 3 Legged Races

Freeze Dance
Coke & Pepsi
Survivor Challenge
Limbo

Below is the song list. The Dance floor was packed all afternoon and the energy was over the top!!

/Maddy%20Bat%20Mitzvah%20song%20list.htm

Tommy and Denise Play list

2008-12-02T15:04:00.004-05:00

Here is their play list. You will notice a few duplicates. Reason is ... some of these songs were used for intros.

/Tommy%20and%20Denise%20Play%20list.htm

Suggestions always welcome!!

Chuck
Solid Gold Entertainment
Tampa Bay 813-875-4487
Tennessee 868-686-8725

Tommy and Denise 11-29-08

2008-12-02T14:07:00.013-05:00

Congratulations to Denise and Tommy!

They were married this past Saturday in Tampa and held their reception at The Italian Club in Ybor city. They are a lovely couple who saw me at a wedding a couple of years ago. Tommy (the groom) was the Best Man at that wedding.
I Have a slide show for you to watch. Notice how everyone is having a great time!

The venue is an awesome place to have a reception. It is an old historic building with lots of character.

The food smelled incredible but I didn't eat. I noticed the pasta stations and the smell of fresh garlic! Uhmm! The caterer was Olympia. Call and ask for Darren Diaz at 813-251-8225

CameronHPhotography was the photographer. It's amazing how big yest so smal this market is. Cameron is 5 minutes from me but it was only the first or second time I've worked with him. nice guy!!

Kaycie & Billy Intros - 11-15-08 Tampa Palms

2008-11-16T00:21:00.008-05:00

It's late so I don't have enough thoughts yet to add to this blog. I must say that it was an AWESOME wedding and Reception. It took place November 15th, 2008 at Tampa Palms.

I have a quick video of the intros. I will add more when I charge my batteries.
Enjoy!

Chuck Amstone
Solid Gold Entertainment
813-875-4487 Tampa
865-686-8725 Knoxville

here is a video of the group doing the line dance Copper Head Road

Chuck Rocks The Don Cesar!

2008-11-10T22:31:00.007-05:00

Congratulations to Dave and Lindsey Sellman. The were married november 1st, 2008 at The Lovely Don Cesar Beach Resort.

Picture on Left is Brides Dad Below is Dave & Lindsey

These guys were a hoot!

Thanks for looking!

Chuck Amstone

Here's an idea for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Proms

2008-11-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

Everyone today has cell phones. Why not use them at your next event to text messages and send photos on our big screen. The best way to describe this is to watch the video.

Call our office for more info.
Proudly serving
Tampa 813-875-4487
Knoxville 865-686-8725

Chad & Cheryl Lucente - Party At The Hard Rock

2008-11-10T19:24:00.000-05:00

Imagine standing in a long line waiting to enter an area to a park that is surrounded by lush green landscape, beautiful lighting and music to keep your toes tapping. When you enter, the first thing you see is a gazebo that you walk through so you can sign ... get this...two electric guitars.

Chad & Cheryl Lucente were married poolside Saturday night 11-8-08 at The Hard Rock Hotel in Tampa. 185 of their closets friends and family members gathered around the poolside to witness the ceremony by a family member. This wasn't your normal or typical wedding setting.

The evening started off with a cocktail hour outside by the pool deck. At 7:00PM, all the guests "with beverages in hand" gathered around poolside for the ceremony. When the ceremony was over, cocktail hour #2 began. If you are a fan of frozen drinks, you had to see the ice sculpture that was on display. I am not exaggerating when I say this thing was 12 feet wide and 10 feet tall with a guitar as a slide to pour the drinks down. The base "all ice" was so big that the bartender was standing on something behind the sculpture so he could perform his magic.

The brides mother from Naples, hired me to be "The DJ/MC" but had a big surprise for me and everyone else when she at the last minute, informed me she had hired a band to play. The biggest surprise about the band is that the lead singer, will be on this seasons American Idol!. How cool is that? The band "High Tolerance" out of Miami is a high energy Rock N Roll band that had the brides dad singing on the mic. Everyone was having a blast!

There were allot of quality professionals working together on this event.

I don't wish for this thread to become an advertisement but, when you work with The Best I strongly feel they deserve praise.

Mary Patterson at The Hard Rock was as easy to work with as anyone I have ever worked with. One thing I see firsthand when working at The hotels is that the coordinators always seem to be walking on eggshells; not so with Mary, she was actually singing along with the band. Way to go Mary!

The photographer - A Fly on the wall photography, definitely deserves her name. Not once did she ever take away from the event by killing the energy asking the DJ or Band to ask everyone off the dance floor for a photo shoot.

CVP Videography is well known throughout the country for their high-end work. I can't wait to see the video.

ConceptBait did an awesome job decorating.

DJ Chuck Amstone - Solid Gold Entertainment

I shot some video and thought you might enjoy.

If the above video doesn't work... click here.

Khaki Ball September 27th at Sheraton Sand Key

2008-09-30T18:03:00.001-04:00

For 115 years, Chiefs have been tried and tested and have been called upon to be the guiding example for the Navy. what sets “THE CHIEF” apart from other ranks of the service is that chiefs train there own. Even though the training and tactics have been changed throughout the years, the product has remained the same. This group is no different, they have had a long and tiresome past few weeks.

After months of extensive training these guys were chomping at the bit to let loose.

Awesome Crowd!

Chuck Amstone

www.SolidGoldEntertainment.com

Manatron Group July 31st

2008-08-04T14:26:00.000-04:00

These guys had a blast at there annual party which was held at the Quorum Hotel on Westshore.
We brought in Jan from Drum Magic and her group engaged the crowd in drumming. It's amazing how much rhythm a person has after a few drinks. :)

These guys also love to sing.. see picture.

Above picture is Susan from Manatron "left' with Jan of Drum Magic

DJ Chuck Amstone of Solid Gold Entertainment

Serving all of Tampa Bay and Knoxville.

Tampa Bay 813-875-4487

Knoxville 868-686-8725

Web site www.SolidGoldEntertainment.com

Amy & Donald - May 25th, 2008

2008-06-04T18:31:00.000-04:00

What a Night!

In my years of being a DJ, this night ranked up there as one of the most fun.

Amy Winarsky and Donald Schwartz were married May 25th at Tampa Palms. Their reception was a one of a kind affair which included personalized intros of each wedding party member and a mini love story of how Amy and Donald met and the journey that brought them together.

“I must tell you that every time I do unique personalized intros, it really plays a significant difference on the overall outcome of the reception”. People are more inclined to stay the entire reception because they see that this event isn’t like others they’ve attended.

Right after the introductions, we went into a 5 song set of Jewish music which included the Hora. Everyone attending was on the dance floor dancing and clapping there hands. Right after the set, we had everyone sit down as Amy and Donald took center stage for there first dance which was “From This Moment”

After dinner, we did an edited version of the Shoelywed game where you have both contestants take of their shoe and raise the one corresponds with the correct answer. Let’s just say that “Amy wears the pants in the family”
Donald had a great idea for the cake cutting ceremony; he asked that I play “Once in love with Amy” which EVERYONE sang along to.
To end the night, Amy thought it would be a great idea to pay tribute to our soldiers since this was Memorial Weekend. I suggested we do a Best wishes – Circle of love and I would pass out patriotic props that everyone could raise over there heads while we played “God Bless the USA” It was a great way to end the night as well as a photo opportunity.

Speaking of photos “Nice segue” The couple working next to me that night were so good that I NEVER had to inform them on what was going on. As a working professional, I must tell you that this is the way it SHOULD BE! I never worked with this photographer before but after awhile of chatting, I was amazed to learn that he is ranked 4th in the WORLD!!! This humble person is none other than Gary Kaplan! If you NEVER heard of him, listen up! He is I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E. Don’t take my word for it but look at his web site and you’ll understand. Visit http://www.garykaplanphotography.com/
To all those Knotties out there making claims that “they never heard of him or there vendor referred so and so… Guess what?

A want to give a HUGE hug to Amy sister Michelle for hiring me for "The Bachelorette party and a Super duper hug to Both Donald and Amy!!!!

Thank you all for placing your trust in me!

Chuck Amstone

813-875-4487

www.SolidGoldEntertainment.com

Ashley's Bat Mitzvah

2008-05-30T09:14:00.000-04:00

Ashley celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in style at Maggiono's on May 17th, 2008. She and all her friends played fun games like:

Dice Dice Baby
Coke & Pepsi
Survivor Challenge
Freeze Dance

We added a little twist to her candle lighting ceremony; during the 7th candle, we did a 7th candle stretch and had Ashley get on a couple of adult shoulders as they paraded her around the room in a conga line.

Everyone had a blast and danced the whole afternoon. BTW... if you have NEVER been to Maggiono's, please go! There food and service is absolutely fantastic. Michelle is the contact person in banquets. It was nice to work once again with quality vendors like Beverly from Village Photography. I am glad she is still around and look forward to working with her again.

Thanks to Shelley who booked me all the way from Philadelphia without ever meeting me. You rock girl! And most importanlty, Mr. & Mrs. Hildebrandt. Thank you very much for placing your trust in my service. You have a lovely family.

If you have have any comment, pictures, videos you would like to share, please add them to this thread. Also, please send this link to all your friends and let them share there memories.

Thanks

Chuck

Solid Gold Entertainment.com

Thanksgiving in Denver

2008-01-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

This past Thanksgiving, my lovely wife suprised me with a pair of airline tickets she acquired through her frequent flyer miles. I had already secured a hotel stay through a silent auction at my sons school so all we needed to do was place Max "our yellow lab" in club med.

If you have never been to Colorado, you must visit. The city of Denver sits 5200 feet above sea level and the mountains go up to 14,000 feet.

We flew out early Thanksgiving morning and when we touched down at the airport, we saw snow. The temperature was a brisk 27 degrees. I loved it!

I have never been skiing and by the looks of things, it may be awhile before I go. Our first day out we went to Breckenridge then over to Keystone only to witness some of the largest crowds outside of a vey busy Disney World. I couldn't believe how popular these resorts or skiing is for that matter. Now I know what all the buzz is about.

We did do some neat things like; watch a hockey game, visit red Rock Ampitheatre, Hike, go bowling and enjoy an evening at Dave and Busters. BTW... if anyone is reading, Tampa Bay needs a Dave and Busters.
We did a lot of sight seeing and came across these guys on the side of the road. Red Rock ampitheatre

My Son The chef

2007-01-05T10:23:00.000-05:00

For those who have kids who like to cook, I thought i would share some photos of my son Clay cooking breakfast Christmas Day.

BTW... he is showing off his new apron and hat Santa brought.

Enjoy!

Chuck (proud dad) Amstone

MGM Studios and The Osborne Lights

2007-01-05T10:07:00.000-05:00

I have been itching to go over over and see the Osborne lights for the past 4 years so I was in for a big suprise when I arrived.

My wife Carolyn and son Clay were standing around on Main street around 5:30 when a lady approached us and asked if my son had a sibling, when we answered no, she asked us if we would be interested in flipping the switch to turn on all 5 million lights. WOW! Of course we were extremely excited.

My son and I both stood next to the switch and in a disney like story, they had a video and camera crew along with music and countdown. It was an absolute thrill for me to stand next to my handsome son and flip the switch.

What is really important on who you hire?

2007-01-02T12:15:00.000-05:00

Price always seems to be the main issue but what else are you really looking for?

here are some examples of what I mean.

personality
comfort level
Uniqueness
mixing style
MC skills
Licencing
Equipment
The way they get the crowd involved

Please help us better understand you and what you really look for in a DJ company.

Thanks

Chuck Amstone

Solid Gold Entertainment

813-875-4487

DJ Pricing 101

2007-01-02T11:51:00.001-05:00

If you ever wondered why Deejays range in price from $300 to $3000 here is why.

The industry can be broken into three segements. Volume focused services, high quality focused services and the solo part-timers. The $1000 and up are definately more quality focused. They might do on average 40 to 50 weddings per year. There goal is to become better at their skill and offer a unique style each and every week. In order to do this They will regularly attend DJ conferences and other training courses to be at the top of their game. They spend a considerable amount of time planning and adjusting their style for your wedding.

The volume focused services will be closer to $400 to $800. Each DJ MC will do around 115 events per year plus. They spend a considerable amount of time networking with other vendors and focus on name branding. They have their style and you will get their style no matter what they tell you. They do a good job at doing it their way but make sure that their way matches your way.

The solo - part-timer is someone who moonlights as a DJ. They have other jobs during the week. This is the largest segment in our industry. They run the gammet in style, quality, pricing and more. In some cases, these are the ones that you here stories of the DJ not showing up or the party was bad.

The basic question that you need to ask yourself is what do I want? Do you want personalized service, cookie cutter style or do you simply want music. Just like the caterer, photographer, ceremony site and flowers, if you want something unique then you are going to have to do your research to find whats right for you and your guests.