Playing and enjoying a variety of music selections
has always been important to 751-member Ed Griffin. When he found
himself laid-off from Boeing this past May, he decided to turn
his "part-time hobby" into a career move by becoming
a disc jockey or deejay full time and actively market his skills.
For Ed, it was a natural transition since he had considerable
experience and had worked continually as a deejay on weekends
since high school.His entertainment and deejay skills surfaced at an early age. Like most teenage boys, Ed was into stereos and collected a wide assortment of music. Rather than simply listen to his tunes at home, Ed chose to share them with others and played deejay at parties while in high school. After graduation in 1990, he began spinning records professionally, but always as a part-time job. Over the years his record collection continued to grow, as well as the extensive, professional quality sound equipment.
He worked for four years as a lead inspector at a machine shop before landing a job at Boeing in 1996. Understanding the cyclical nature of Boeing, he continued to spin records on weekends to keep his hand in the business while working in the wingline in Renton.
Ed noted, "I never took deejaying seriously until after I was laid-off. Before, it was just a side job. Now I find myself working seven days a week - between working the events, booking events, maintaining and updating the equipment, and billing and paperwork."
In 1996, Ed founded HardCastle Entertainment, which provided music for various events and was named after his grandfather. Since his layoff, Ed has expanded Hardcastle Entertainment and actively promoted more gigs. His success is evident as he now has four others working for the company and started a second company - The Wedding DJ's.
"While I was working at Boeing, I got enough bookings from word of mouth and personal contacts to keep myself busy. Now that I have other deejays, I needed to expand and advertise to a broader audience so I am one of the sponsors for the Seattle Wedding Show in January and am working the Fall Bridal Spectacular the end of October," added Griffin.
In the past 12 years, he has worked just about everywhere as a deejay - at weddings, company parties, Boeing safety fairs, and other private parties, including volunteering to provide music at the Union's Member Appreciation Fair last June. His work has been so steady he hasn't had a free weekend in eight years.
One of his most memorable events was a weekend wedding in Friday Harbor. The event was scheduled the day after the ferry boat crashed into the dock at Orcas Island. Perhaps Ed had a premonition because he caught the 5 a.m. ferry the next morning to ensure he would be on the island for the Saturday night event. The decision turned out to be a good move since that was the only ferry that made the trip that day.
The work obviously agrees with Ed and allows him to have fun while he works and get others to enjoy themselves. The service he provides is critical to the success of weddings or parties.
His philosophy and outlook have obviously earned him praises and resulted in additional work. He added, "I enjoy getting people on the dance floor and making them have fun. As a deejay, you are the catalyst of the party and help push people over the edge to have a good time. You must find the right mix of music to motivate the crowd and learn how to read your audience. If people are bored, they leave right after the food, my job is to make sure they stay and have a good time."
Judging from how his companies are growing, it is a business he is good at. To book with Hardcastle, call 425-255-6992 or 1-800-9YOURDJ or visit the website at www.hardcastleentertainment.com. Contact The Wedding DJ's by calling 425-255-7010 or 1-877-BESTDJS or visit the website at www.theweddingdjs.com.