IN THE BEGINNING...
In 1980 a man moved into Brevard, and changed the entertainment scene forever. David James established Brevard County’s first Professional Mobile DJ service… DJ Tunes Of Florida. Discerning wedding planners, brides, and party planners finally gained access to Professional Disc Jockey and Master Of Ceremony services. Services provided by a pioneer in the Mobile Entertainment field. DJ Tunes was started in Delaware back in 1975 by Mr. James as a sideline to his profession as a full time radio jock.
During the years to come David employed many of the Brevard area’s well known disc jockeys for his events. The success of countless wedding receptions, corporate parties, community events, school functions, and various nightclubs, and family celebrations was made possible through the efforts of David and his trusted staff.
PASSING THE TORCH
In another part of the country there lived a talented young man named Roger Mabie. Roger shared David’s interest in music of all kinds. He also shared a knowledge of DJ and Emcee skills from his experience at a Contemporary Jazz station in Indiana. In 2001, at the age of 30, Roger made the move to the Sunshine State to escape the harsh winters of the north. With his DJ skills, musical inclinations, and his intense interest in the Mobile DJ industry, Roger seemed like a great person to recruit as the head of operations at DJ Tunes of Florida.
David and Roger worked together on events for an extensive period. Mr. James introduced him to all of the wedding professionals he has made friends with through the years. He also trained him in the ways a true professional must operate in the Mobile DJ industry in order to be the very best. Roger possesses a unique instinct to constantly strive for perfection. He has taken it upon himself to advance his expertise in every aspect of Mobile Entertainment, Disc Jockey, and Emcee skills. Enrollment in training courses, online studying, and constant, daily research on industry standards keeps Roger at the top of his game.
As the backbone for Brevard’s original DJ service, Mr. Mabie is dedicated to providing detailed event planning and attention to the client’s needs. These qualities have made DJ Tunes of Florida successful for over 40 years. You can consider him a seasoned veteran in the local industry. Whether he is inviting a couple to the dance floor for the first time as husband and wife, or mixing the music live for an exciting dance party, DJ Roger is the man with the plan. He represents DJ Tunes of Florida and all of the history behind us.
NOW, LET'S GO WAY BACK...
BEDROOM RADIO
The origins of DJ Tunes of Florida can be traced back to the high school days of it’s founder, David James. David had a fascination for the technical side of radio broadcasting. Not really knowing how songs were aired on radio, David bought a multi-track reel-to-reel tape deck and soon was recording his favorite songs back to back on the 4 different tracks, creating a continuous sound that was similar to radio airplay.
After seeing a live broadcast of WFIL Philadelphia, at a shopping center opening, David realized that it took at least 2 turntables and a mixing console to play the continuous music he heard on the radio. Soon he had the equipment set up in his bedroom, making tapes for family and friends. After the music, it seemed only logical to hook up a microphone to "announce" the songs on the tapes. Pretty soon, a whole new radio station was created, even though it was never officially on the air. That was the 1970.
David attended the American Academy of Broadcasting in Philadelphia. It was during this time that he also placed an ad in the Jewish Exponent, a highly read ethnic paper distributed in the Philadelphia area. A few parties were booked but tearing down and setting up the sound equipment was an immense job. Back in those days, there really was no Mobile Disc Jockey equipment.
FROM MAKE BELIEVE TO THE REAL DEAL.
In 1971, David's first radio gig was at WLDB, an AM country station in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He stayed there for a couple of years and also worked part-time for WOND-AM and WMGM-FM in Atlantic City. In the early days of 1974, David left New Jersey and was hired as the evening deejay at a new FM country station in Milford, Delaware.
WAFFLE, THE ORIGINS OF DJ TUNES OF FLORIDA
This was WAFL (Waffle Country!). Six months later, the morning deejay was fired and David found himself as the new wake up man in southern Delaware, a post he held for almost 7 years.
On his first vacation from WAFL, in January of 1975, David decided to shuck the cold winter blues for some nice Florida warmth and went to visit his aunt and uncle who lived in North Miami Beach. The weather was great and the music of the times had been born right in South Florida. It was disco! KC & The Sunshine Band were tearing up the charts and every neighborhood club was playing disco or hanging up a mirror ball. Upon returning to WAFL from his vacation in Florida, David approached the managers of his radio station and asked them if they would be willing to let the station deejays advertise themselves to play country records at local VFW or Moose Lodge functions using the station’s remote broadcasting equipment. The answer was "yes" and a commercial was written, recorded and put on the air in late January of 1975. The new venture was called "Rent-A-Jock Disc Jockey Service", short for renting a disc jockey. It seemed to fit well with the station’s country image and WAFFLE name. However, the targeted audience of VFW Halls and American Legion posts did not respond. They preferred live music for their weekend entertainment. The idea of young guys playing country records as entertainment for them was unknown and untested. For three months, not one single person responded to the ad campaign. Finally, in the spring of 1975, a young lady called and wanted to know if we could play at her 9th grade school graduation. "Of course", we said. However, the kids wanted disco, not country. So off we went to buy the latest disco music. The graduation party was a huge success and the kids really had a great time. The young lady who booked the dance also had an uncle who was the local commander of an American Legion post. He heard about the success of the school dance and starting in the fall of 1975, hired Rent-A-Jock to play a teen dance every other Friday night. Soon, the crowd of teenagers waiting to get in was too big for the hall itself. Publicity spread and soon, The Moose Lodge in Harrington, Delaware booked us on the alternating Friday nights. Their hall was much bigger and in no time at all, 200-300 teens and pre-teens would be disco dancing on Friday night. In early 1976, a bride-to-be called the radio station to say that she listened to David James every morning and wanted him personally to play music at her wedding reception. Having only been to one reception in his life, David really had no idea of the protocol and etiquette of a formal wedding reception. Mistakes were made and corrected. Ideas were formed and then rejected or accepted. More wedding receptions started to book their dates and by the late 70's, Rent-A-Jock was bringing in more revenue as a part-time job than being the morning deejay after nearly 7 years. Despite all the fun and great people in Delaware, it was time to move on.
FLORIDA VACATION TURNS INTO JOB SEARCH
In May of 1980, David took what would be his last vacation from WAFL. Back to Florida he went. This time, listening carefully to many radio stations along the way. He went home and started sending out tapes of himself along with resumes. After a while, he heard from and negotiated with WCWR in Cocoa, an AM station that was playing country music. This was October of 1980. David immediately decided to start advertising his Rent-A-Jock, assuming that if it worked in rural Delaware, it would be a hit here in Central Florida. Things started out slowly at first. One of the obstacles was that as an evening deejay in Cocoa, there were limitations on what nights could be booked for private parties. But soon word spread and even the other deejays and sales people at the station started referring people to David. A few Christmas parties were booked for December of 1980. In April of 1981, a better opportunity came up and David switched to Big Y country, an FM station in Melbourne as an afternoon deejay. This gave him more time in the evening to deejay school functions or other parties. About this time, he made a connection with a local bridal shop called the Gingerbread House. They were in the process of publishing a bridal guide and for a small fee, Rent-A-Jock placed an ad in their guide. This ad brought in a lot of business and it was shortly after that that almost every weekend had at least one party or reception booked.
RENT-A-JOCK TO DJ COMPANY TO DJ TUNES OF FLORIDA
As David switched to a couple of other radio stations in the area, he also did more advertising and included the yellow pages. At first, the old Southern Bell did not even have a disc jockey category so one was created the following year and Rent-A-Jock became the first listing under that category in the Brevard County, FL yellow pages. The Space Coast was a booming area in the early 1980's and business was, too. Soon, the idea came to expand into the metro Orlando area. But, there was a problem. Unbelievably, there was a company already in Orlando called Rent-A-Jock of Central Florida. Such a unique name. Or, was it? The name had been started in 1975 but to legally challenge the other company was quite expensive. What to do? Simple. A new name was established for the Orlando market. The new Rent-A-Jock division was to be called The DJ Company of Central Florida. After about a year, it was decided that costs of advertising, promotion, stationery, etc., were expensive in that every thing had to be duplicated. Also, something about the Rent-A-Jock name never grabbed hold in Florida the way it had in rural Delaware. The name was ridiculed from time to time and phone calls were received asking what kind of jocks we rented! In July of 1983, the company went out on a limb, became incorporated and changed it’s name. The new moniker was Rent-A-Jock Disc Jockey Service, Inc., doing business as (d/b/a) DJ Tunes of Florida. The new name was promoted in advertising and special promotions made available to catering directors and other professionals in the wedding and party industry. A toll-free line was established so that customers could call us at no charge. As a side note, the Rent-A-Jock name already in Orlando either changed their name or dropped out of business a year later.
DJ Tunes of Florida soon had nearly 20 deejays performing weekend functions. Daytona Beach was added on to the north and cities all the way down to West Palm Beach were added to the south. Yellow Pages advertising had gotten totally out of hand! In late 1989, the owner and founder, David James, had been in a serious automobile accident. This was followed by a series of incidents that eventually led to the downsizing of the company. The Persian Gulf War, a recession and the development of mobile deejays and equipment on a large scale. After enduring physical therapy for seven months, David cut back on the amount of advertising and jobs that were being performed. He started advertising more and more in wedding publications such as Perfect Wedding Guide. Weddings today make up more than two thirds of all functions performed. In 1993, the company changed it’s corporate name to Florida Disc Jockeys, Inc. and again in 2005 to Deejayboy, Inc. / DBA DJ Tunes Of Florida.
WHAT OUR MISSION MEANS TO YOU
Our goal and mission is to ensure that you, as a bride or party planner, have the best time of your life. We are professional in the way we answer the phone and the way we respond to emergencies. Our company has downsized from the 1980s to offer you a more personal touch from our staff. We still offer the same things we’ve offered from the beginning. Entertainment that doesn’t make a three ring circus out of your wedding. We hope you enjoyed reading the history of DJ Tunes of Florida. In business since 1975, in Florida since 1980.
We hope to bring you into our family of clients. Roger will play all hits all night long, with a microphone presence that will warm the room and keep the guests informed. Through great planning and coordination skills, your next event will be a success, and your guests will enjoy the very best.
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