'THE ART OF THE PARTY'
Tips, Tricks, Stories, And A Little Bit Of Useless Banter
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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!
Last week, I had the most awesome experience. AWESOME! I had the opportunity to go back to my high school, St Jean Baptiste, and give a lecture with a Q&A about music, art, DJ-ing, and life as an artist to these amazing creative beautiful girls in the very same auditorium where I got my start as a teenager. A lot of ground was covered in this lecture and the energy in the room was just beautiful. I feel blessed to have had the chance to share my stories with these girls, and perhaps be a bit of help as they move forward with their art and life. I have no doubt that these young ladies will be making some serious noise in the years to come with whatever road they choose to take with their creativity.  #tbt Check out these lovely photographs by Gulnara Studio of a wedding I DJ-ed several years ago. Gorgeous couple, gorgeous wedding. Photo link to Gulnara Studio  A little throwback Thursday. Several years ago I got asked to DJ a little experiment that the Guggenheim wanted to do called 'First Fridays', combining the sounds of choice DJs to pair with the art, after museum hours. I was the DJ for the debut. By the time I was finished with soundcheck, there was a line down 5th avenue to get in. The evening was a huge success and the museum was packed. We had no idea that this little idea would blow up to be one of the most successful promotions the museum ever did, and I'm thrilled to have been the first DJ to kick the party off! "Welcome to First Friday, an evening art viewing and cocktail party at the Guggenheim Museum, where schmoozing and boozing to the loungey vibes of DJ Dina Regine in the famous Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda on opening night took precedence over actually walking up the ramp to view the collection!" - NYU Livewire News Service  Debut of the First Fridays series at The Guggenheim Museum. Village Voice clipping  DJ-ing First Fridays at the Guggenheim Museum Over the years NY Magazine has featured a lot of events I've worked at, as well as embracing my DJ opinion on various articles they've done. In the latest Fall/Winter issue they have a special on weddings by a fire, and everything 'fire' to amp up the theme. Here's my list of 'fire' songs!  NY Magazine Weddings Fall Winter issue 2019. Fire Songs by Dina Regine #WBW, and a Halloween one too! Throwing back to the late 80s, Details Magazine feature about the night Anita Sarko and I DJ-ed Cher's star studded, over the top, FABulous Halloween costume ball and perfume launch at Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager's Century Paramount Hotel. It was quite a night of nonstop dancing!!! In photos Debbie Harry, Sylvester Stalone, Christopher Reeves, Billy Crystal, Bob Mackie, Haoui Montaug, Rob Camilletti, Liza Minelli Halston BetseyJohnson, Jim Matus, Gloria Steinem, Mort Zuckerman, Toni C. Other guests, included Bianca Jagger, Debra Winger, Scavullo, & Francis Ford Coppola.  Cher Costume Ball w/ DJ Dina Regine w/Liza Minelli, Halston,  Cher Costume Ball w/ DJ Dina Regine w/ Debbie Harry (Blondie), Sylvester Stallone, Billy Crystal, Christopher Reeve Wonderful article about me, my project with The Rousers, and the new single 'Take A Ride To The Lower East Side' in MNPR Magazine. Article: Lynn Cappiello: "Take A Ride With Dina Regine'   As many of you know, aside from DJ-ing, I also am a musician/songwriter and I've been putting out records on my own label DivaDiva Music for the last 15 or so years. Recently, I teamed up with The Rousers here in NY to record a side project of mine just for fun. We recorded two songs, and the first of that duo 'Take A Ride To The Lower East Side' is officially out today. Paul Cavalconte gave the song it's on air debut a few weeks back, opening his show Cavalcade on WFUV. Pretty cool! The song is officially available on Amazon, CD Baby, and iTunes for purchase. And you can also check out the fun video I made (photographed/filmed and edited) as well. Have a great weekend!  Heartbreak NYC, DJ-ing Vinyl photo courtesy AM New York #TBT, the 80s: 3 Turntables and a Microphone 🎤 My first long term DJ residency at Heartbreak NYC. The beginning of my accidental career as a DJ. Put the kettle on ☕️ … I’ve got a little story. I was really young when I had my first record deal in Europe, but It fell apart and died as soon as it began, due to personal/executive changes at the wrong time at the record label. Life. But at least the record labels in Europe didn't have a problem with a woman slinging a Fender Stratocaster guitar, fronting an all guy band, & singing Rock. However, I was told it was a big problem here in the states, the labels didn’t want to know. I was fed up with hearing the same story over and over, It was a boys club, and they never were going to let me in. I was thinking perhaps I'd move to London, start fresh, see what happens. At least the vibe over there was more open minded toward women. I was waitressing at the time, trying to keep a band together, and not loose my vision as an artist. It was the toughest time in my life. Anyway, I would fly as a courier, a cool little setup back then where you only bring your carry on luggage and transport the check in bags for various companies, hoping that what you were transporting wouldn't land you in jail. Joke. But seriously, it was through a legit situation and my friend Ronnie hooked me up. I flew for free. London for free! Done deal. Ronnie told me that there was another guy who was in the music business who also flew back and forth a few times a month doing the courier thing, and perhaps we should talk. Never know. She had no idea what he did, but she gave me his number in London. I got to London, and through various hook-ups, met with many top executives in London. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough recorded material with me to win people over, and as my band was in NY, no way to show them what I could do on-stage live. So, I didn't wind up landing a new record deal. But oddly, every meeting I went on, I got tons of very positive encouraging advice, as well as an abundance of new vinyl, and a few test pressings of records that would soon become massive hits. I didn’t know it at the time, but those little presents would serve me well in just a few months down the road. But in the moment, all I knew was rejection. My mission wasn’t turning out as planned, and I tried not to get discouraged. The last number I dialed (yes dialed.... there were still rotary phones back then) was this courier guy (who's name I forget). He was working with a band in London, who not long after talking to him, blew up with a huge hit record. ‘Come On Eileen’. Anyway, he tells me straight off “I need to have someone DJ two weeks a month at this private club called Joanna's in NY, and cover my shift when I'm in London”. Joanna's was an upscale private club in the Flatiron district, off 5th Avenue, and you needed a membership to go there. The membership wasn't cheap either. The kind of place where you made a hundred dollar tip to play a song. I thought to myself, well, he wants to pay me to play records….hell yeah! I had no idea about DJ life, I spent all my days hanging in clubs with live music, never gave much thought to DJs or what they did. I went back to NYC with my box of records, showed up at Joanna’s with no idea what to do…and winged it. I also had all these ‘fresh cuts’ thanks to all the record companies, so I appeared cooler than I was… I had the goods. I made more tips than salary in the few months I worked there. But the music vibe there was very Euro, and at that time, all I wanted to do was play 60’s Rock, Funk, & Soul. James Brown in particular, he was my higher power when it came to dancing, but James Brown didn’t fly at Joanna’s, so I knew my lifespan there would be short. I had a plan. My neighbor down the road was a beautiful woman named Sharon Lee, and she looked like Marilyn Monroe. Sharon was the head DJ at this club called Heartbreak. The music there was awesome. From 50s rockabilly to Motown/Soul and 80s new cuts and the beginnings of cross-over Hip Hop. Heartbreak was a 50s diner that truckers ate at before starting their shifts at 6am. But at night it was transformed into this magical spot, in particular on Sundays and Mondays. After my shifts at Joanna’s, and pretty much every night, I went to Heartbreak and trained with Sharon, and learned the tricks of the trade. She taught me how to manipulate a room playing anything from the Blue Danube Waltz to the Stray Cats. I already was a bit of a musicologist, but through her… I learned how to make my knowledge work for me. Sharon was a genius, and taught me to be fearless, and how to mess with a packed dance floor to get the reactions I wanted. She had more tricks up her sleeve than any magician. I learned from her, and pulled out all the stops every night. Tom Finn was the other DJ there, who was a teen rockstar prior to his DJ life, playing bass for hit band The Left Banke (‘Walk Away Renee’). Tom skooled me on all the 50s music that I wasn’t familiar with. The deep cuts. As it turned out, I had a knack for shaking things up real good. Within a year, I took over the legendary Monday Nights at Heartbreak, promoted by Frankie Scinlaro as well as a few other nights during the week. Every night was packed wall to wall, thousands of people walked through that door in search of a fun night. The place was so packed that most people never saw the DJ booth, and many assumed I was a guy. Once I was on a plane flying home from LA and overhead two women talking about how fantastic a DJ I was, however they had no idea what I looked like. I remained a fly in the way listening and it was hilarious. But it was all about the music, not me. I didn't promote myself as DJs do these days, few of the major DJs working the big clubs did. I went to work ... and I rocked the house. That's all I cared about. When I came home, I worked on writing my own music for my own projects. I really kept it separate. Just from that job alone, I can turn on the TV at any time now, click through the channels and in no time see someone who hung at Heartbreak that I knew. Pretty crazy. From that job alone, I'm still a working DJ, it's still my 9-5 job, 9pm-5am that is! People go on and on about Studio 54, but let me tell you, that little diner downtown had quite the life. One of the main reasons celebrities, politicians and athletes loved hanging there, was that no cameras were allowed. People could just let it all hang out sans fear of seeing it on Page 6 the next day. A freedom that doesn’t exist anymore. All the gossip rags would try to bribe all of us for info and no one ever gave in. Some things in life were more important than money back then, and privacy was cherished. On any given Monday night, my DJ booth would be filled with interesting characters. There was no VIP room, there was a kitchen in the back, or the DJ booth. That was as VIP as it got. Cher, Bruce Willis, Micky Rourke, Rob Lowe & all the Brat Pack, were regulars. The NY Giants came every week after practice to get their funk on, and I was friends with many of the Mets and the Rangers as well. If a major band was in town, they hung there. The guys from KISS, and a lot of artists who lived in NY made Heartbreak their home back then. I remember nights with Roger Taylor from Queen telling me wonderful stories, while I kept the dance floor going. Steve Jordan once brought my hero Keith Richards in and Keith asked to meet ME after hearing me spin, and then he spent a few hours spinning with me. That meeting led to his wife Patti Hansen hiring me to DJ his surprise birthday party years later. Sick! I remember hanging with Patrick Swayze, who confided in me about a dancing movie he was about to make, and how he was excited about a song he wrote that might wind up in that movie. Dirty Dancing! Oh the stories… I could go on and on (and still never betray anyone’s secrets). It was surreal what my life was like during my residency at Heartbreak. It was the most fun job, and opportunities and gigs till present themselves to me because of my time well spent there. My first private corporate gig was for Nike at the closing party at the Olympics in LA., and they scouted me at Heartbreak. It was that gig that later gave me the idea (and confidence), of starting my own private event business. I never did make it to MTV at it’s peak as a rockstar, but I did as a DJ at Heartbreak, and I was more than fine with that. But, even though I could go on and on about the celebrities & fun stories that were born at this special club, the coolest part about my residency at Heartbreak was that I developed friendships that are still going strong. People that I love and will forever love. It’s a beautiful thing. It also was the beginning of my career as a DJ, a career that I never planned on having. A career that has kept a roof over my head, and food on the table for decades. A wonderful accidental career. Life can be funny sometimes, you make one phone call and everything changes. If the opportunity ever arises, just say yes to something off the wall, and watch magic happen. The end.  Me, my 80s curls, and my vinyl at Heartbreak, DJ-ing Vinyl! #WBW: "The DJ plays my song and I feel alright" ... and that's what kinda happened last October on this night when I was guest DJ-ing at Rumpus Room NYC on the L.E.S. Instant party!
Miley Cyrus 'Party In The USA'  View from the DJ booth While most of my time is spent DJ-ing private events, I do make it a point to DJ guest spots at different clubs from time to time. Weddings and private events fly by quickly, and the amount of time spent dancing usually amounts to only a few hours. So it's always fun to DJ a full evening to stay on top of things. This past Saturday evening I had a blast DJ-ing on the Lower East Side at a club I really adore, that I've played at in the past with my band. So it was great getting to wear a different hat in a really cool spot, and shake things up from the DJ booth instead of the stage this time. Berlin is on Avenue A and 2nd street, and it's really a funky cool joint with a great crowd. Packed till last call, and in short, a fun hang. I had a blast spinning there last weekend, and somewhere round 3:30am an impromptu limbo contest started, and let me tell you ... they got low! If you're in the city and looking for a fun hang... Berlin is a great 'go to'.
 My old club DJ gig, The Marlin Room - Webster Hall Back in the 90s, I DJ-ed Psychedelic Thursdays in the Marlin Room at Webster Hall for many years. Week after week, thousands of people came to dance away all their problems of the world, and have a fantastic time. The room would get so hot and steamy, my vinyl would actually sweat to the point of getting warped! Hard to put into words the vibe we experienced every week, you just had to be there. Magical. For years, regulars came back week after week, and I knew all their favorite songs. I learned how to turn hundreds of people dancing in a room into an intimate party, where everyone made friends with each other. It was a beautiful thing. At 4am, the dance floor would still be packed wall to wall, and I'd have to get on the mic and tell people that it was time to go home. But no matter what I said, they continued to dance till the lights came on. The staff at Webster Hall was one huge family, and they kept the energy over the top every night. I'm happy to say, many of us still keep in touch. It was a sad day for me, and all of NYC when the club closed, but I will always have my memories. Gerard brought me into Webster Hall to DJ back in the day, and he is the one who closed the door for the final time. The End. This five minute documentary is his story. Have a look. It's great! Thrilled to share some really cool news today. As some of you know, I've been working on a few side projects when not DJ-ing, and I'll be sharing them as they come into fruition. Bruce Sudano is a fabulous singer-songwriter and has penned many a hit song in the past for Michael Jackson, his wife Donna Summer, Brooklyn Dreams, etc. He is also executive producer on the Broadway Play 'Summer'. He wrote a gorgeous song called 'Forbidden Fruit' and asked me to sing on it a few months back, and it came out beautiful. Last month we made the video. Here's the article and video debut today in Billboard. www.billboard.com/articles/news/8469311/bruce-sudano-forbidden-fruit-video  In a time in history when everyone is 'like' crazy on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc., it's important to think about this. If you truly love something you see or hear ... share it with others. Let the world know it! Most musicians make very little returns on their investments when they make an independent album, and usually they loose a lot of money in the end. Painters paint, photographers take photos sans the thought of becoming rich. But the most fulfilling thing an artist of any medium can experience is the joy of their work being loved, and fans taking the time to turn their friends on to the work. Show some love to those who make art and music you like, and tell your friends about it. Pay it forward.   As some of you know, when I'm not spinning other musician's jams, I'm writing my own music, making records, and performing live. Four years ago, I released my last album 'Right On, Alright', and it made a nice amount of noise thanks to the help of Steven Van Zandt, who placed my song 'Gotta Tell You' in his fantastic TV series Lilyhammer. Shortly after, the song was picked as 'Coolest Song In The World' on Little Stevie's Underground Garage on Sirius XM Radio. It's pretty cool when your work is finally heard worldwide, and fan letters come in from as far away as Brazil, Peru, and the UK! Even cooler when I found out local bands were covering my songs! So here we are a few years later, and I'm still loving friends and fans posting photos of my tunes popping up on their radios. I woke to this posting this morning on Facebook from a friend's car. Gotta tell you ... it still makes me smile (and I couldn't help but think of the title of Ian Dury's song 'Reasons To Be Cheerful' for this blog) . If you've not heard my song 'Gotta Tell You' yet, below is the lyric video with the track. Have a listen🎶  Capitale NYC first dance weddings A lot of couples fear the first dance at a wedding. Not because they want to avoid a romantic moment, but because of being in focus in front of a room full of guests for 3-5 minutes. Some love being center-stage and in the spotlight, others shy away from it. There are a few tricks to make this part of the evening easy on the nerves. For all you shy lovers out there, I would suggest picking a song that you both physically feel comfy with. It doesn’t have to be a ballad, it could be upbeat and fun. But it should be a groove you both feel good about moving to, and one that doesn’t make you feel self conscious. If you don’t want to be in focus for the whole song, work out a cue with your DJ (or band) ahead of time to invite guests to join you after a minute and a half or so into the song (make sure your photographer has had a chance to catch some good shots), and suddenly, it’s all easy peasy. For those of you who want to work that spotlight moment of the evening, the ideas are endless. Many years ago, I DJ-ed a wedding at the gorgeous, 1940s vibed Laura Belle’s in NYC (now gone), where most of the guests were actors, dancers, and performers. Many of the guests were Broadway artists as well. The bride and groom both changed clothes after cocktails into two vintage tuxedos w/ walking sticks, and slid down the banisters on each side of the room that led to the dance floor and did a whole performance of Tea for Two. It was awesome!!! There are no ‘rules’ as to what you should or shouldn’t do for a first dance. Think outside the box, be creative, and most important…. have fun! This is one of my favorite entrances, and first dance moments, at this Indian meets Caribbean vibed wedding, with the music ranging from contemporary pop to Indian Music, reggae, swing, and everything in between! Carlton and Soham were fantastic dancers, (as were most of their guests), and they worked their first dance like rockstars! Check this out!  Unique First dances for weddings. Indian wedding/ Caribbean wedding |
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
July 2021
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