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One cool feature about Craigslist is the ability to use RSS feeds to notify you when something you're searching for comes up. Most people will use this feature for items being sold, but for the wedding and event industry there are brides and others who post opportunities on Craigslist, and because time is money the sooner you respond to a posted gig, the more likely you'll either get the gig or at least be considered for it.

Since I'm a DJ I have my RSS setup to search for DJ gigs and jobs in every Craigslist area in Oregon. Most internet browsers or mail clients have an RSS feed option, so it's a matter of performing the search, then scrolling down to the bottom of the page, click the RSS button and copy the URL to your RSS reader. Now you're up to date on all posted gigs for your area, and they're delivered right to you 

I have booked numerous gigs using this and figured I should share it with everyone, this feature can be applied to any business that has an applicable area market on Craigslist. I urge everyone to give it a try, if you need help...

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I finally decided on my default (and only) browser for my computers. I use to be a devout Firefox fanboy, then I decided to see if Microsoft finally did something right with Internet Explorer 8. Although it is a step up from 7, I still ran into problems on multiple websites and realized that IE8 still does not support the open web standards that are popular in most websites today. After test driving Google Chrome for a while I have been impressed with it's speed, usability and reliability that I believe is superior to IE8, and although Firefox is a great browser once I started using add-ons and themes it quickly became bloated.

I'm sure this won't be the last time I change web browsers, but for now Chrome is the best one for me. Let me know what you think and if you agree/disagree with my views on IE8 and Chrome. And if Chrome somehow fails in the future, then back to Firefox 

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The music library documents got recently updated so feel free to download the new versions, it's available in four different formats organized by Title and Artist. I now have 15 saxophone samples online, which means it's time to record more piano samples in the near future: right now my plans are to record Canon in D, Air On the G String, Fur Elise and Moonlight Sonata. Let me know if you have any other requests for demos and feel free to leave comments here on the Blog page, on my Guestbook or on Facebook, MySpace or Twitter.

Now for something not music related - since I've been the recent and proud owner of a BlackBerry I've been running my course through apps and will be doing a review on the ones I find useful and use on a regular basis, so BlackBerry owners be sure to subscribe to the RSS feed for this blog to see what I like and then afterwards feel free to leave comments on what else I should check out, if you agree/disagree, etc.

Things are looking good for my business, thanks to everyone for all the referrals and comments, it really is all of you...

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Decided to get a head start in recording tonight, have four samples uploaded in the downloads page in the "saxophone samples" folder. Since these are samples they fade out after I play the melody, I figure this way I can get more recorded and uploaded, for those of you not familiar with jazz songs most of these are structured as melody, soloing, melody.

Should have more songs uploaded by Monday!

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In preparation for rolling out next year's level of service, I'll be working on a few additional documents to upload on my site:

- Karaoke song list

- Saxophone song list

- Piano song list

- Document that will lay out tier pricing for additional services in addition to DJ service (live music, karaoke, Guitar Hero, etc)

- New information sheet to outline ceremony events, current information sheet will be renamed Reception Information Sheet

- More audio files available for piano and get around to recording saxophone!

- Song lists from Guitar Hero games (Guitar Hero 3, Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero 5, including a master list and all purchased downloadable content

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Thanks to one of my friends I got a Blackberry Pearl 8120 for dirt cheap, and pairing that with the Blackberry data plan and connected to my laptop I now have internet connection anywhere I have cell phone service by using my phone as a modem. This will be a huge benefit for those last-minute requests at gigs where I simply don't have the song or access to free wi-fi, as I can now download that song and honor the request!

I will also be making some changes next year for my DJ service - most notably I will be adding karaoke as an option, and paired with my projector and projector screen that will make for a nice addition to any wedding or party, or anyone who just wants to throw a karaoke party! I'm still sifting through and organizing my collection, which right now is at 2,000 songs and I hope for that to grow as I start out on the karaoke venture. Pricing for services will also slightly change, due to the economy and cost of living and details on that will come in a later blog post once I've decided.

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Title is pretty self-explanatory - all my DJ Documents under the downloads section have been updated, so if you're looking for my playlist I've updated that in several formats sorted by Title and Artist, I also removed audio files that don't really count as songs (play-along tracks, beats, audiobooks, etc).

I also uploaded a reference letter that was sent to me a while ago but I forgot about, also there are a few more people added on my references file :-)

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New trance song for the summer "Ibiza" - it's a free download under the Downloads section of my website. You can also find it on MySpace and SoundClick.

Hope you enjoy the song and leave comments!

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Well I've been testing out Google Voice (formerly Grand Central) for a while and I'm pretty impressed with the service. If you're not familiar with Google Voice it allows you to have one phone number that forwards to your other phones, so whether you're at home, work or on the go with your cell phone people can contact you with your Google Voice number. Also did I mention it's free? Yeah - it's Google, so it's free .

Some neat features are transcriptions of Voicemail - definitely not perfect but if you're in a situation where you can't answer a call and receive a voicemail (library, computer lab, business meeting) but happen to be at a computer then you can read the voicemail. Just a warning though, if the person can't pronouce words clearly then it'll definitely be off from the recording . You can also have the service use your phone to connect you to anyone in the nation for free, or send and receive free SMS messages from your Google Voice number. If you have an unknown number or that one person you always ignore who calls to talk about meaningless stuff you can listen in on voicemails...

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I've replaced my older keyboard samples with higher quality recordings, here's what I've uploaded:

Sonata XII (Handel): Piano Recording

Misty: Rhodes recording

Toccata in G minor (Telemann): Harpsichord - split into fast part and slow part

New remix is uploaded as well - "Low" by Flo Rida ft. T-Pain.

DJ Documents folder contains updated copies for everything except the playlist, which I'll be updating within the next week. Also in a few months be on the lookout for a karaoke list, as I'll officially start promoting karaoke towards the end of the year

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For all audio files on my downloads page, if you left-click on the files then they'll be streamed from my server which is great if you only want to listen to the songs and not download them onto your comoputer. If you want to download any of my samples, original tunes or remixes then right-click and select download from the menu, choose your directory and once the download is done you'll be notified.

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This is a feature that I've finally been able to implement thanks to my web hosting company's new partnership with Box.net. All of my DJ documents are now available to download on the new Downloads page, including remixes and original music done by me.

 I'll also be uploading piano samples, for now I have 3 songs uploaded that were recorded years ago, but they give a good idea of what I can play. After piano samples I'll focus on some saxophone recordings to upload.

 Based on feedback from people and countless times of attaching documents to e-mails (and sometimes forgetting to attach those files in the first place ) I'm hoping that this will save a lot of time, as now anyone can download these documents from my site, fill them out and e-mail them to me.

One note: the "Preview" option (right-click and select preview) for files still seems to be a bit buggy on documents, so I recommend downloading a file then viewing it from your computer.

More updates to come so stay tuned!

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Add me on these networks:

 Facebook: www.facebook.com/djstoltzrecords

Twitter: www.twitter.com/djstoltzrecords

MySpace: www.myspace.com/djstoltzrecords

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This blog will include updates on my website, DJ business, advice for people seeking entertainment and what to look for/expect, and also my adventures during my gigs and life in general. I'm hoping that by using this blog I can interact with people and be more connected with my clients, plus not everyone has a Facebook or Twitter account to stay updated with me .

I'll try to get at least a post up here bi-weekly on current events, so for those of you interested in following me but don't use social media sites, you can now follow me! I'm hoping that this will give greater insight into what it takes to not only be a DJ, but to run your own business while facing the challenges of everyday life, especially in these tough economic times.

I'll allow comments on all my blog posts, this should lead to more interaction with what people are looking for in a DJ service and will allow me to gain a greater understanding of how to build a successful business and be a great DJ and musician, so feel free to comment so I know that it works!

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