'THE ART OF THE PARTY'
Tips, Tricks, Stories, And A Little Bit Of Useless Banter
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Last year, I was nominated by the poet Puma Perl for an Acker Award in the category of musician, and lo and behold... I got the award! The awards recognize artists, writers, musicians, and those who enliven the downtown arts scene here in NYC. For those of you that aren't familiar with all that I do aside from DJ-ing, have a look at the mini bio below. Due to the pandemic, the award ceremonies were cancelled, and all of the winners had a quiet celebration in our minds. That was the way it was for a lot of things in the past year. But the Acker Awards are now doing a little catch up and did a program for what was to happen last year, and there will be a celebration at some point down the road for us all. But for now, this is a little clip of the list of winners, and the bio they attached for my category. Pretty cool!  A little #TBT for today, kicking back to when I got a call from Richard Gere's organization 'Healing The Divide' to DJ at Lincoln Center for this massive charity. Every so often a gig comes along that is a bit mind blowing, but this event...just wow. For those of you who know me, you know I'm a huge Tom Waits fan. Literally impossible to ever get a ticket when he plays (which is rare), so this was very special for me. It was the first time I ever got to see him perform. Even more special since I had to go on right after his performance, and make sure I kept every single person in the audience there for a few hours for the after-party to hopefully donate to this very worthy cause. I recently met Elvis Costello (who was at that party) and he told me I had the hard job that night...making sure the donations kept rolling in! I played a very eclectic set of world music, and it was the perfect soundtrack for the evening. Good vibes and a lot of love all over Lincoln Center! From what I heard after the fact, it was a very successful evening, and I got a beautiful 'thank you' letter from Healing the Divide. The Dalai Lama was super inspirational and I'm so glad I had a chance to be a part of this magical evening (which was also recorded for a live album). All in all, one of those gigs you never forget.  Throwing back to one of the many events I DJ-ed at Metronome NYC back in the day. Here I am (back in my curly hair days), with the fabulous Deborah Cox hanging in my DJ booth with me.  I'm happy to let you all know that I am now booking for Summer/Fall wedding season. It will be great getting back into the groove again, literally! Stay safe and get in touch! 🖤
As yesterday was World DJ Day, it got me thinking & missing what I do; So, a little shout out to myself and all my DJ buddies out there is in order. It's been a long tough year for us all, and we're ready to get out there and make some magic happen again soon !!! Here's a few shots of me at work over the years, Italy, NYC, St. Barts & New Orleans. Hello 2021, I'm ready for ya!  I hope everyone is hanging in during this rough spell we all find ourselves in. No one could possible prepare for, or imagine how life could change so quickly. Every year, I DJ the Dance This Way benefit for the Felix Organization, and we raise a lot of money to send foster kids to Camp Felix where they not only have fun, but they learn life skills to help them navigate the world. I also get to DJ for Darryl McDaniels from RUN DMC and that is a huge thrill for me too. But this year, unfortunately the event can't take place due to our lockdown and social distancing. Instead, the Felix Organization will be holding a virtual online fundraiser telethon style, Friday evening, May 1st at 8pm on Facebook. This year, I won't be DJ-ing, but instead I will be singing one of my songs from my home. Please join us, and if you can ... donate! Big love to you all, and please stay safe 💜 Felix Organization link: https://www.thefelixorganization.org/  To wake up and have your heart broken, and then realize, it's the beginning of what may be something we all are going to have to get used to is painful. Really painful. Thinking of friends as casualties, is not the way I thought life would be. Alan is the third friend in a week's time to leave us, and I'm getting notified every day about so many friends that are struggling with this vicious virus. Alan Merrill was a sweetheart in every way, and a super talented musician and songwriter (for those of you who don't know Alan, he wrote 'I Love Rock'n'Roll and was a massive rockstar in Europe and Japan with the band the Arrows). I loved that he loved to do shows, and it didn't matter where he was playing. He would treat a gig at the Garden on Avenue B the same as if he was playing Madison Sq. Garden. He loved to play & create music. We hit it off instantly, talked for hours and did many gigs over the years together. He used to love taking pics with me cause he said we both had big apple cheeks and we looked cute together. He was a hard man not to adore, and I will really miss his smile. I send love to his family and bandmates. Farewell Alan. I send love to all of you, please stay as safe as you can, and be well 💜🌹
 Ten years ago this week, still with a head of curls (before I fell in love with Keratin!!!), DJ-ing at Eden Rock St Barths for a super-fun wedding. I've spun there a few times and I have to say that the island is my favorite, the beach is stunning, and the locals are so cool and chill. St. Barths... I love you 💜 Oh, if you are planning a wedding in St. Barths and need a DJ ... holla!!! These photos by Brian Dorsey are from a feature in NY Magazine Weddings.    Pic by me, day off ... view from my beach chair! As some of you know, I've been doing little pop-up DJ guest spots at a few venues in Manhattan recently (Ethyls Food & Alcohol, Berlin, Rumpus Room, Bowery Electric, etc), and it's been a blast!!! Anyway, this is what a Friday night looks like when I'm DJ-ing over at Berlin on the Lower East Side (with a little help from the late, great Avicii's track 'Levels') 🎧 There was dancing on the stage, at the bar, in the VIP, literally everywhere till closing. Superfun night.💃🏻🕺🏼 TGIF!!! 2019, as every year we live had it's ups and downs, and a lot of in-betweens. But in DJ land, I had a blast. I decided to start doing a few guest spots at clubs again, and it's been a lot of fun spinning a variety of jams from throwbacks to all the contemporary movers and shakers now (hello Lizzo!!!). It's also been great meeting new people, and getting to rock their nights. Then there were the beautiful weddings. Nothing like spending an evening with people who are all in a good mood all night. It's all about the love! A Few Highlights... I DJ-ed a couple of fantastic corporate events last year, including a massive ribbon cutting ceremony for Citibank at their new headquarters downtown. I called it an intimate cocktail party for well over 15oo people. Then there was The Felix Organization 'Dance This Way' charity that I do every year, and I'm happy to say we raised an insane amount of money to send foster kids to camp last summer. I not only got to DJ the dance marathon, but I was so jazzed to be asked by Darryl McDaniels DMC (RUN DMC) to spin for his performance. Yep, yours truly, for a few moments... being IN THE BAND! That was a massive for me, and I will be doing it again this year. Stay tuned! Last November, I got a call to DJ for Stevie Van Zandt's first annual Rock and Roll Forever Foundation Gala. This year Steve was honored for his commitment to arts education, and it was a beautiful thing. It was a star studded evening with DJ performances by myself and music by Southside Johnny w/special guests, hosted by Drew Carey. Superfun night. Last, I shared a bill as a DJ with Stevie Wonder. Need I say more... In my non DJ world I've been writing up a storm, and I've been performing all my new songs all over town. I'm very close now to begin recording my next album 'Astoria' and I'm beyond excited. My band is amazing and I'm beyond blessed to have them all making what I do sound so awesome. These guys & gals have worked with everyone from David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Bill Frisell, Rosanne Cash & the Rolling Stones... and they play with me! I'm a lucky gal. There was a wonderful feature article written about my show at LOLA in the Aquarian last year as well (scroll back a few blogs to read). In other news, I sang at a benefit for Alzheimers backed by members of Blondie and The Patti Smith Group (we raised a lot of money that night), at The Bowery Electric. I had a blast singing some backup vocals on the Circle Line's 'Rocking The River' cruise with my buddies James Maddock and Willie Nile, and experienced what it was like to truly 'rock the boat'. In my world of photography, I got news that a photograph I took when I was a teenager, was picked by Led Zeppelin for their first ever official coffee table book, and another of my photos of Grammy Winning composer Maria Schneider was chosen for a book on Jazz artists. 365 days, and no time to get bored. Or sleep! Hello 2020, I'm ready for ya!!! Cheers everyone!  FELIX fundraiser at Rumi Space
 11th St. Bar w/ the incredible Mark Plati (David Bowie) & Charlie Giordano (Bruce Springsteen) . Photo jsoxy  I've been lucky through the years to get to DJ some pretty fabulous parties, but none came close to my excitement getting to DJ for the guitar player of my hands down favorite band The Rolling Stones. Keith Richards has been my personal music hero for as long as I can remember, and that's a long time. Back when I was just a puppy DJ starting out, Keith and his wife Patti came by Heartbreak, a hot club that I was DJ-ing at the time (the same club that Cher gives a shout-out to every night at her shows). Keith spent a real long time in the DJ booth with me telling me tales, and basically DJ-ing along side me. I might add that his instincts were spot on picking some great old Soul/Motown & vintage Rock 'n' Roll songs to play to keep that dance floor going too! He was so generous with sharing his stories, and I loved the way his eyes twinkled like a teenager. I suppose it's true that when you do what you love, you stay young. Keith Richards is one of the sweetest down to earth artists I've met to this day. Plus, he's cool. Some people try to be cool, Keith is cool. Period. Not to mention, he is a walking encyclopedia of music history. No joke! Anyway, shortly after that meeting, I was asked to DJ Keith's surprise 50th birthday party. That was 26 years ago today! Phew, time flies don't it! It was a star studded event, however the one thing I remember the most was Keith's joy in having all his friends and family gathered together to celebrate not only his birthday, but his wedding anniversary as well. He nicknamed me 'Baby Sounds' that night too. Not sure exactly what he meant but it was endearing and sweet. Today Keith Richards turns 76, and the man still inspires me. Happy Birthday Keef and cheers to many many more. Oh yeah, and Happy Anniversary to Keith and Patti too 🌹 Above new clip I believe was from the NY Post Below photo was taken by me at the Apollo Theater a few years back  It's that time of the year again! Please get in touch if you would like to have me DJ your holiday event, and I promise to make it one to remember! Don't wait till the last minute as I'm booking events now. I've flown all over the country rocking the holidays over the years, and would love to make your party a really fun one too. Be it having me DJ for the whole night or co-billed with a band or for an after-party, all combinations are possible. I have worked for some of the largest companies & biggest celebrities, shared the bill with artists like Elton John, Stevie Wonder, & The Beach Boys, and have worked venues like The Met, Guggenheim, Lincoln Center, Cipriani, & Gotham for larger events (just to give you an idea). But I'm also just as comfy DJ-ing cozy home parties and corporate events at various spaces and hotels. Full sound-systems are available as well if needed. Let me put together a package for a party to remember for this 2019 season. Cheers & Happy Holidays!  Cipriani NYC  DJ-ing Google's holiday event This past year I've been doing a bunch of guest spots at various dance-floors around town, & It's been fun getting to spin clubs again in between all my private event & wedding work. Variety is the spice of life I say! This Saturday, November 16th, I'll be spinning some vintage grooves from the 60s-90s at the superfun Ethyl's uptown on 2nd Avenue and 85th Street. It'll be a Soul Groovin', Hip Hop moving, New Wave jamming, Disco slamming, Rockin' Rollin', booty shaking good time. Go Go Dancers all night, fun crowd, and delicious late night eats make Ethyl's a real fun destination. The party starts at 10pm. Here's the view from my DJ booth!   When I'm not spinning music from other artists .... I'm writing and performing my own works. Right now I'm in pre-production and hope to begin recording my next album 'Astoria' before years end. Thanks to Charley Crespo for this wonderful review of our show at LOLA on the Lower East Side last Friday night opening for Steve Conte. I'm blessed with these wonderful musicians, who make time for me when they're not on the road, and they really made the night magical; Tony Scherr - guitar (Bill Frisell Trio, Sex Mob, Norah Jones, Feist), Mark Plati- bass (David Bowie), G. Wiz- drums (Norah Jones, Cabin Down Below, Twilight Singers), Charley Giordano- accordion (Bruce Springsteen), Michelle Casillas -vocals (Ursa Minor) and guest singer James Maddock. Seems fitting to get this review today on Bruce Springsteen's birthday, the guy who told me to put together my own band back when I was first starting out. SO GLAD I LISTENED TO THE BOSS! All in all, it was a packed club with good vibes all round. That's all I need! Link to article below: AQUARIAN WEEKLY  Some events just shine and this event was fantastic. Ribbon cutting ceremony to kick off Citibank's new massive main headquarters downtown NYC. An intimate cocktail party for a thousand or so guests! Here's the view from my DJ booth   Every year I DJ the 'Dance This Way' fundraiser for the Felix Organization, and all money raised enables a lot of lucky foster kids to get to go to Camp Felix. We held the event at the fabulous Rumi Event Space in NYC, and raised almost $300,000!!! This year, not only did I DJ the dance party, I also got to DJ a performance with Darryl McDaniels (RUN DMC) and his son on Walk This Way, and It's Tricky! All in all, it was a truly fun night and this summer there will be a lot of happy kids at Camp Felix. See you all next year!  My dance-floor!!!  view from my DJ booth as I DJ-ed for Darryl McDaniels RUN DMC & son I just wanted to take a moment and wish all of you a happy Memorial Day, and thank all those in service that made it possible for us to enjoy what we enjoy in life. The photo of me and the boys was taken in my DJ booth at Rumpus room a couple of years ago at a party I was DJ-ing, and the second shot I took last week (Fleet Week) in Times Square. Nice to see so many women in service now! Cheers to the start of a beautiful summer!   Last night at The Bowery Electric I was invited to be a part of a really wonderful benefit Derek Cruz curated, raising money for Dementia. Good vibes for a good cause. I also had the pleasure of singing one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs 'It Ain't Me Babe' as a duet with my good friend James Maddock, backed by an all star band w/members from The Patti Smith Group and Blondie (Clem Burke, Matt Katz-Bohen, & Tony Shanahan). Here's a little clip from the show.  Hudson Theater When Cesar and Bruce contacted me to DJ their wedding, they had a definite idea of how they wanted the night to play out. It was to be grand like a Broadway production from the ceremony to the last dance, and that it was! Both were huge theater fans and together we incorporated the vibe of their favorite plays into the theme of the evening which was held at the fabulous Hudson Theater. The first dance was beautifully choreographed w/dancers galore. This was truly one of the most fantastic weddings I have ever DJ-ed, and so happy to be a part of it. The guests were thrilled! 
I hope everyone had a beautiful holiday, and a belated Happy New Year to you all! While 2018 was a really challenging year on many levels, I was graced with several really standout experiences over the past 12 months. Here's a few of them... In photo collage below; me DJ-ing at The Bowery Electric (photo Jini Sachse), Performing w/Mark Plati, and w/Charlie Giordano, me with the official Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin Book (I have a photo in it), photo by Karen Fleisch, who also designed the awesome Victorian coat I'm wearing, and last, the Cover of my latest single with The Rousers 'Take A Ride To The Lower East Side'  My DJ year: First off, I DJ-ed a number of guest spots at Rumpus Room, The Bowery Electric, Berlin, and Coney Island Baby. Even though my private work keeps me busy, it’s always good to hit the clubs every so often to keep the vibe fresh. All the weddings I DJ-ed last year were gorgeous, and my couples were lovely to work with. The corporate and private events were pretty special as well, and I even got to share the bill as a DJ with one of my all time favs, Stevie Wonder. Now, that’s special! Flying down to North Carolina to DJ the Black and White Ball for the Mint Museum was a blast, and one of the curators Tweeted “she turned a black tie event into a house party”! There were many sweaty gowns, and tuxedos at the end of the night from all the dancing; it was incredible. Do I have to say how happy that makes me? Very happy! DJ-ing the annual Felix Organization 'Dance This Way' benefit was a huge success this year, and we raised a lot of money that will be used to send many foster children to Camp Felix. Sharing the stage yet again with Felix co-founder Darryl McDaniels from RUN DMC is always a blast. I will always love his rhyme for me that he Tweeted last year "Dina Dina, ain't none meaner, she rocks the house, I know cause I seen her". On another note, NY Magazine included my thoughts in their latest wedding issue ‘NY Weddings’, which included a list of songs about fire for a ‘weddings by a fire’ theme. I love that NY Magazine has invited me to be a part of so many features over the years, and have continued to keep me in their sources as a top DJ in this town for events. One last thing, and this is always a bonus… a few clients have now become new friends. I love when that happens. Everything else: My single with The Rousers ‘Take A Ride To The Lower East Side’ had it’s debut, opening Paul Cavalconte’s ‘Cavalcade’ show on WFUV, kicking off an hour of LES themed songs (do check out the video on YouTube). The single I recorded with hit songwriter Bruce Sudano (who was also a producer on the Broadway play ‘Summer’ about his wife Donna Summer) also had its video debut. We also got to do a live-stream concert for Paste Magazine/Day Trotter, which was pretty awesome. Bruce wrote a beautiful duet, and I was thrilled to be asked to sing on it. I also recorded a duet with Cody Mellville for his album ‘Bonds Eye’ as well last year, and the reviews were fantastic! Huffington Post said "Dina Regine’s delicious voice reflects lush sensual colors that counterbalance Melville’s soaring tenor". WTSR 91.3fm dedicated a whole hour to my music, and a live on-air interview, and Little Steven’s Underground Garage on Sirius XM is still playing a couple of tunes from my last album ‘Right On, Alright’ on a regular basis. For me, few things compare to the rush of turning on the radio and hearing my song come on. Gotta turn the volume way up! Last October, Lynn Cappiello at MNPR Magazine wrote a fantastic feature article about my DJ-ing, songwriting/performing, & photography. Speaking of photography, I hit the jackpot this year when a photo I took, as a teen of Jimmy Page was included in the first official Led Zeppelin book, curated by the band, and put out by Reel Art Press. This gorgeous book will definitely be a future collector item. The publishers had me take a photo of myself holding the book for the Zeppelin book site… that was fun! Btw, my Flickr site where I showcase most of my photography surpassed a million hits, how cool is that!!! A million is such a wonderful number. Seriously it is!!! In 2018, I was also fortunate to be included in quite a few, packed house, really fun shows, slinging my guitar and singing my heart out. I’ve been test driving a lot of my new material for the next album ‘Astoria’, which I will be doing a crowd-funding campaign for next month. After the heartbreak of losing my long-time friend and bass player Tim Luntzel to ALS last year, I’ve joined forces with Mark Plati who will be playing bass on my next record. Mark was David Bowie’s music supervisor as well as guitar & bass player in his touring band. He also mixed and co-produced a few of Bowie’s records, and I’m so lucky to have him playing with me when he’s not touring! I also wrote a new Christmas song 'I'm Coming Home For Christmas', which I debuted at The Treehouse in December with Charlie Giordano (Bruce Springsteen Band) on accordion. It went over so well I think I will be recording it for a holiday single later this year. So here we all are at the top of 2019, and I’m feeling optimistic that this is going to be a pretty cool year for me, and hopefully you too! Stay tuned!
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Welcome!Welcome to my virtual loft party, make yourself at home. I'll put on the kettle, pour a few, and order a pizza. I've many tales to tell, some fun stories, and lots of helpful hints to share to help ignite your imagination when planning a party, grand event or wedding. Stay tuned! Archives
March 2020
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