DJ BDay, his stage name, over a year ago became the almost daily deejay at the Wild Badger in New Richmond, and elsewhere, pushing other entertainers of karaoke and more to the background with his huge selection that features dozens of songs from most relevant artists, across genres.
And on the rare occasion that he doesn’t possess a song, he’ll make sure he goes out and gets it for you. His treat, in this season, and he knows the tricks. So it doesn’t even have to be your birthday.
— It is that time, and maybe it’s before time began, that people are getting out their Halloween party publicity in a way that’s not the usual last minute before the veil is thinnest.
First out, and been there for a bit, is a one that’s vague partially due to its earliness. The bartender at Hudson Tap said so. On the front door, just past the enclave the size of a large coffin with a few extra cogs, is a pitch for official-photo-filled Halloween bar crawl on the 26th, which becomes the official day of said holiday, but is added to both have “six-plus venues” at the same time as being national.
Also recently added, via marquee, at the king (and moreso queen) of local Halloween costume contest parties the Smilin’ Moose, is the big-scale notation that on that one night only, this year, are a full $1K-plus in prizes.
The night before, on the 25th, starting early in the lunch hour and going through, as fitting an also rockin’ senior center, there is a twist of the Halloween food and other offerings theme at the Roberts Park Building, the Monster Mash Bingo Bash with mashed-in masks shown and (mongo-ish and sweet?) chili, too, not just candy, although I Love Candy. —
First thing, back beyond to BDay. He’s Got The Look, with body jewelry, and his look alike logo, and as rock star preparation has also been in a band, as I give background, thus as an opening act of sorts here I careen like many of the long guitar solos DJ BDay is kind enough to tolerate, for my benefit. I have had the pleasure of belting out dozens of different numbers into his mic, from a specialized genre.
But second, he goes where few seek to go as far as karaoke deejays, and will volunteer, or even ‘peat and repeat, that if you ask for a song and DJ BDay does not have it in his very vast repertoire, (examples of that in a bit), he’ll willingly venture from his office and buy that particular single, or maybe even album side, for you to sample out the next time in. That means the history of rock n roll, and country and pop too, is at your fingertips. DJ BDay banters from stage that his song playbook is as thick or thicker as the yellow pages, (unless maybe you live in a place as big as NYC), since he is the seminal as Sabbath act for this, and is not reliant on pulling what he can off the internet, which can be fickle in the wicked windy weather of a Wisconsin winter, and with many DJs a particular song can be simply left out in the cold for plenty of time. No such lapse here.
— And just what is here? You can see and sing with him every Thursday night beginning at 9 p.m. for starters, at the Wild Badger in New Richmond, where he’s a DJ standard bearer and has also been a long time music bingo and trivia host beforehand on those nights and also often in the previous evening. The questions feature a following time buildup, his signature, before naming the answer that brings forth the beauty of a countdown, complete with quips. The final countdown yields prizes. —
I myself, in many months of singing regularly with him, while he burst onto the scene, so can come highly recommended, have virtually never seen him have a system go down.
Even if something is sucking the power like Slayer and Seasons In The Abyss, and yes he has that song.
DJ BDay is someone who says to me and family on the sly, during a power(ful) intro, “you are the only person I know who has the guts to sing Iron Maiden.” Although he’s now been around long enough to hear a few others doing that artist. Flight of Icarus? He has it. Hallowed be thy Name? Of course. And if you need a little liquid courage, he has available Priest’s Painkiller, to boot.
So you can see there is a song list that has grown into tens of thousands.
And DJ BDay will nod in appreciation at all the right times.
He also spins lots of country, and pop and all the classics, not just the obscure, and even delves into soul as a specialty and hip-hop, with on-screen visuals built to match the vast selection. Groupings of about a dozen clips (one new version is Halloween themed) have been spliced together, coherently, to form a signature-style, high-light real of what he has to offer. They can also be built along other themes, such as dance moves, and in that one just how does she spin into her male lead’s arms in those high heels?
There was some such footwear afoot the other night, as a large group of party people packed the house, singing songs that are classics but largely not those you’ll find overplayed. Code name in the title of one of them, a bit poppy, goes by Valerie, and various of these got a very loud and appreciative response. So bring in your own group and sing.
DJ BDay will also take his turn on the mic, if you request him to do so. Besides the standards, his frequently entertaining number that’s a specialty is a Weird Al Yankovic take on that prerequisite Carrie Underwood-style break-up song. A special, especially around midnight, ritual that’s deliciously twisted comedy.
Hey, he got into my going back to past karaoke deejays and singing Hocus Pocus by the band Focus, and staying focused on the spiraling, literally, upward vocal crescendo. DJ BDay also once sat through my many-a-minute Rime of the Ancient Mariner, cognizant of the fact that a well-placed although lengthy-and-plenty-of-accompanying-lyrics guitar solo can be enjoyed by the audience also, if it’s a well-done classic.
As far as look, the cartoony logo/head shot of DJ BDay is inviting and shows a mic-type collar on the bottom and a flipped up baseball hat on top. This calling card design boldly goes at the bottom corner of his videos.