In the latest instalment of Metro Eireann’s Meet The Boss, SANDY HAZEL speaks to Jason Mew of Blue Boy Music, a live DJ service based in Naas, Co Kildare
Jason Mew, originally from Kent in England, made the transition to Ireland “for the love of a good woman. I met her in Spain and we fell for each other.” Proving that holiday romances do work, Mew and his Irish bride decided to settle in Ireland.
“My wife was working in England as a nurse and she wanted to return home,” he recalls. “I’m pretty open minded and said ‘okay, let’s give it a try,’ so we made the move.”
Mew had worked previously in sales. “I was well used to loading up a van with products and travelling the UK visiting clients and buyers,” he says. “Selling is the sort of career where you really need to be open and expansive and where your personality needs to project. It gets sales. Quiet people do not do well in the sales arena. I feel that the experience in sales was invaluable to me now in my job as a DJ.”
Mew currently runs Blue Boy Music, a successful DJ business with a busy schedule. How and why did he make the change?
“Well it started completely by accident back in the UK,” he explains. “My brother’s football club were having a Christmas party and I offered my services as a DJ just for the fun of it. I only had a CD player and a couple of speakers, nothing fancy. They paid me by getting me a 15-quid turntable. But everyone had a great night and I couldn’t believe it when I was asked to do other parties.”
Mew found that his DJ work started to grow and he realised that he could do it seriously. “I looked around at other DJ services to see what they were charging and I offered my services slightly cheaper, just to get a few bookings in the diary,” he says.
Before long, he started to get bigger gigs at better venues. “All of my business happens via word of mouth which is a real compliment; that someone has enjoyed one of my nights so much that they pass on the word,” he says.
“I just have business cards and always remember that each evening I work is also a kind of audition for potential new clients.”
Mew has invested in professional equipment, which he says is the most important step for a DJ. “You just cannot buy cheap: it may let you down badly,” he notes. “Of course you are also depending on fuses, wiring, electrics, voltage, cables and other factors, but if you give yourself plenty of time to set up then things should go smoothly.”
Time can be critical, as weddings and meals often run late, which means the window of opportunity for set-up shrinks, so Mew tries to prepare for all eventualities. A consultation with clients is important prior to the party or wedding.
“There are specific songs that a couple or a client will want. I will also let them know that there are going to be people at their party who may enjoy a different style of music too, and that the full playlist should not really be too strict or planned.
“A good DJ will take in to account the mood of a room, the types of people at the party and the atmosphere. A playlist will also depend on these things and so cannot always be planned too exactingly.”
According to Mew, the best dance floor filler is Abba: “I know it’s cheesy, but depending on the time of the evening, everyone loves that stuff. It depends on the bride and groom too, but sometimes the classics like ‘Night Fever’ from the Bee Gees will be a must.”
As an Englishman in Ireland, does he ever get any grief from punters? “I was asked to play some Wolfe Tones once and I didn’t have any, so there was a little dig at me being English, but nothing serious, and I tell myself to get over it. Anyway, there are more and more Anglo-Irish weddings these days so I’m not such a minority anymore.”
Blue Boy Music is based in Naas, which makes for a good location for travelling to venues all over the country. “I don’t mind the travelling,” says Mew. “It’s a rare thing that I am making a living out of doing something that I really enjoy. I go to work to weddings, parties and celebrations and get paid to help people have a memorable evening. How good is that?”
