ASU Memorial Union Takeover 2012

For the third year in a row, we were contacted to rock the Arizona State University Memorial Union Takeover. This massive event happens on the first night when half of the freshman population moves in on campus. With no plans, and a ton of excitement, hundreds (and now thousands) of freshman come to the ASU Memorial Union for a good time. There is bowling, comedy, karaoke, casino games, poetry, and our favorite part, where we come in, a dance party. To give you a bit of background on the history, the first year they had approximately 600 people show up for the event, 1200 the previous year, and over 2,000 students this year. With that explosive growth, we needed to provide some serious dance party tools to make this amazing.

This year’s challenge was creating a rocking experience that had people remembering the event, but while also keeping within budget. When you have close to 2,000 people in one area, your biggest challenge is making it sound GREAT. We want to provide the same dance party experience for the people in front of the stage as those in the back. So we brought in a concert line array sound system. This sound system featured sixteen 18” subwoofers which were stacked as tall as James Harden (ASU basketball player, who was part of the 2012 Olympic basketball team).

First impressions are everything, and we especially take this to heart. We want to create a lasting impression that ASU events are amazing and fun- so we took especially attention in creating moments which students would remember until they graduate. How we did this was by bringing in a live video DJ. A video DJ is not like a typical DJ, not only do they mix and scratch the latest music, but they also control the video content that goes with it. So when you see the DJ scratch- the video scratches with it. As if that was not enough, we also brought in our live crowd cameras. These cameras are robotically controlled to scan the crowd and zoom in on people. So when the DJ says: “Put your hands up,” we can switch to the cameras and show everyone putting their hands up, creating their 15 seconds of fame.

The event was a huge success, and we are already in the midst of planning next year to be bigger and better than ever.

Possibilities are ‘Endless’ for Arizona Pro DJs

Originally written by Janice Vega at College Times

Earlier this year, ASU student startup Arizona Pro DJs was named “Coolest American College Startup” of the year by Inc. magazine. Now, founder Will Curran and his team of DJs, promoters and event technicians are preparing to make some changes to company.

Arizona Pro DJs has been dedicated to throwing some of the biggest, high quality teen dance parties in Arizona and is responsible for events such as the ASU Undie Run and the Fiesta Bowl Block Party. These changes, an Arizona Pro DJs spokeswoman said, will up the ante in terms of entertainment and production value for large scale events and give new direction to the already successful company. 

Although the company wasn’t ready to reveal the big news to College Times, account manager and vice president of marketing Brittany Gazis said “things are about to get a whole lot bigger.”

On Friday, the company will make several announcements at the Endless Teen Dance Party, held at the 12 West Main in Mesa. The celebration is a kick-off for the company’s big news and will be held in two parts.

The early part of the evening is the Endless Announcement Party, a corporate mixer and cocktail hour for VIP guests. During the event, Arizona Pro DJs will finally reveal its new direction to market vendors, venues representatives and previous clients.

The second part of the evening will be the teen dance party, which will focus on ages 14 to 18 – the company’s main demographic. As with most of their events, Arizona Pro DJs plans to go all out with a huge visual show complete with high-powered lasers and aerial effects, MCs, photographers and a mix of hip-hop, dub, electro house and top 40 hits all spun the company’s top DJs.

“Basically, this event will be showcasing what we do and celebrating the announcement that we’re going to be making,” Gazis said.

Though mum’s the word when it comes to the big announcements, Gazis did tell us that the keyword to take note of in all of this is “endless.”

What does that mean? We’re not exactly sure, but, despite secrecy, there is speculation as to what the announcements will be on Friday.

In a previous interview with College Times, Curran expressed a desire to rename the company to better reflect the full capacity of services it offers. And according to Gazis, there are plans to expand into different areas in and outside of Arizona.

“We do primarily focus on the high school market, but we really like to do events that are all ages,” Gazis said. “We really want to continue our partnership with ASU and maybe expand that to other universities in the area.”

Over the years, Arizona Pro DJs has developed a great reputation with the local community and established a steady stream of business and clients across the state. The company members’ hope, Gazis said, is that they can continue to grow and impress their customers as they head in new directions.

“We’ve been growing super fast for such a small company and we just want to continue that success by not only thinking outside the box but completely crushing the box and everyone’s expectations,” she said. 

To RSVP for the dance party, teens can check out the event pages of the Arizona Pro DJs Facebook. Gazis said they are expecting between 400 and 600 teens to attend.

Endless Teen Dance Party, 12 West Main, 12 W. Main Street, Mesa, 480.600.8679, Friday, June 16, 9 p.m. to 12 a.m., $5