DJ Mikey

I play at a lot of different venues. Some venues are good, while others are great.

The The Rut Hut in Ga***rd is absolutely fantastic. Bob and Ronda are two of the greatest people you will ever encounter.

I want to publicly thank them for their kindness to me
Over the years. I appreciate their referrals and always being so kind and friendly.

If you’re getting married and looking for a venue, that is the place to go.

Wedding 3 of 3 this weekend!!

One of my absolute favorite places for a wedding.

I love what I do!!

At a new venue tonight. I’ve been getting several inquiries about this place.

Wedding 2 of 3 for the weekend.

What an INCREDIBLE weekend.

Was the DJ for the Northwest Michigan Fair 4H kids… then their parents. The adults wanted to party all night long!! What a great time.

Saturday Heather was at The Mission Table in Traverse City.

I travelled to Mio to do one of the most intimate weddings I think I’ve ever done. The rain was looking like it was gonna hit us during the ceremony. The bride and groom wanted to include some worship during the ceremony. When that portion began the clouds disappeared and the sun came out. When worship concluded the clouds immediately returned.

Sydni and Joss are a beautiful couple and I wish them the absolute best in life

Are You Looking for a Wedding DJ?? -

Are You Looking for a Wedding DJ?? My name is Mike aka DJ Mikey. For my entire adult life I have been a DJ. I started my career in radio. Then, I worked in nightclubs and for the past 17 years, I have been a full time wedding and event DJ.

My absolute favorite place in Northern Michigan to perform a wedding ceremony. So and beautiful.

Congrats to Nik and Hannah

Come on down July 5 to downtown Fife Lake. Join me as we turn the “way back” machine on and have fun with hits from the 50’s and 60’s. All you swing dancers come on down and let’s bop!!

Be sure to come say hello!!

Early morning gig before my wedding tonight at the MS Walk innTraverse City.

Doing a karaoke show tonight with a great group of folks!!

Life is good!

Not only am I a wedding DJ,
But also do corporate and private events.

🎧 So grateful for the beat that fuels my soul! Being a DJ isn't just a passion, it's a way of life. From playing the perfect song to feeling the energy of the crowd, there's nothing quite like it. Music isn't just what I play, it's who I am. 🎶✨

“Realize Your Vibe”

With DJ Mikey!

What are you looking for in a DJ?

Once you begin planning your wedding and get to the entertainment portion do you truly know what you want?

“We want someone fun!”
“We want good music”
“We need a DJ and MC”

These are common things people say.

Let’s start with the first one. What is YOUR definition of “fun”? To some it may be a raver party with shirtless groomsmen and their ties wrapped around their forehead. While others may want a more chill vibe. Or a combination of both!!

What is your definition of “good” music? Many times couples don’t know what this means. To some it means music they and their friends like. While others want the dance floor packed. Truthfully, those two comments don’t always match.

Lastly, this is a pet peeve of mine. The DJ and the MC should be the SAME person. There are companies that charge you for the guy talking. In a festival setting, yes they’re different. For a wedding, the DJ should make all the announcements, keep the flow of the night going AND play the music.

My goal is simple. I do what I’m good at… put feet on the dance floor. No fluff… just fun. I won’t oversell you things you don’t need. I sell the most valuable thing I have and that is ME and my years of feet on the dance floor.

But….. did you know that you don’t have to have a full night of nonstop dancing? Lawn games and other outdoor activities are very popular. For a portion of the night, you can have fun background music until the sun sets then kick up the energy.

This is all about YOU and your vision for a perfect wedding.

What is your vision?

Let me know if you’d like to learn more about me.

Wedding time!!!

Testing out new waters.

What a beautiful venue!!

Usually Heather does the teen dances. I felt up to it tonight!!

Ready to ROCK BUCKLEY schools winter dance

It’s that time of the year!!

Holiday party #1 of SIX this year!!

Woot woot woot!!

Corporate event in downtown Traverse City!!

I am continuing my journey of sharing my thankfulness of my career as DJ Mikey.

Today I want to share how Oprah Winfrey helped me come up with the new name for the business.

From the beginning, the company name was VIP Entertainment. To be honest, I got it from Vanilla Ice… “Yo VIP”. My cousin and I started saying it meant “Valliere’s in Performance”

When I got to Traverse City I wanted to be different. Everyone else was ‘blah blah Entertainment’ or blah blah Productions. I didn’t want any of that. I wanted to pop and be unique. Be remembered!!!

One day, my wife was watching Oprah. She had Sarah Blakely, the lady who created Spanx, on the show. She was talking about how companies with a ‘K’ sound in their name are always successful. She gave examples of Microsoft, Nike, McDonalds. Well, that got me thinking.

I wanted to be different. I was chatting with my best friend. He and my dad are the only 2 people that really called me Mikey. I told him about Spanx and he said Mikey. The light bulb went off and the rest is history. Mikey has a ‘K’ sound in it.

I started creating the BRAND of DJ Mikey.

I am continuing my series of thankfulness for my career as DJ Mikey.

When we moved back to Michigan, I had recently gotten my degree from Southeastern and became a pastor in Kalkaska. That didn’t pay well, meaning I had a number of part time jobs. I delivered pizza and worked as a bellhop at the Holiday Inn.

One day I heard karaoke going on in the bar at the Holiday Inn. I popped my head in and started chatting with the host. The subject of me being a DJ came up and although going back into full time DJ work wasn’t on my radar, he somehow talked me into hosting the karaoke show at the hotel.

That’s all I took and my music bug came back. I created a business plan. Set goals and what I wanted to do with the business. When I was in Flint, I ran a multi-op and hated that part. I had 7 guys working for me then and all they did was get drunk and trash my equipment. I decided this time around it was going. To be only me being the DJ.

This was the start of the next 20 years.

Today, I am thankful for my friend Paul Widlund for talking me back into starting the business back up full time.

Even though thanksgiving has passed, I want to continue sharing my thankfulness for my career as DJ Mikey.

Diamonds and Spurs closed rather suddenly. The owner came to me on a Thursday and said doors were shutting Saturday. My wife was pregnant and all of a sudden I had no job.

The next few years were transformative for learning how to be a great business owner. I had two mentors during the next few years that worked hand in hand with me and taught me how to be successful. They were Hal Smith and Paul Komanecky.

After a few job missteps, I got a job in Georgia as a hotel general manager at Jameson Inn. This was a huge change. The culture of the south is nothing like Michigan. Here I learned how to forecast and budget. I learned how to take business risks that HAD to pay off. I learned how to make a profit. I learned to be a businessman and a successful one.

I was promoted 5 times in 4 years and became General Manager of the year (they called it the Esprit De Corp). Out of 125 hotels in the company I was a top 3 GM.

We ended up in Florida where I also got my Bachelors degree at Southeastern University in Lakeland.

2004 was the year three hurricanes came through the middle of the state and mama said we were out. Ha ha. That led us moving back to Michigan. At that time the reincarnation of DJ Mikey came to be.

I am thankful for my time at Jameson. I’m most thankful for the investment Paul and Hal made in me.

I am writing about being thankful for my career as DJ Mikey.

This is the last part of my section involving Diamonds and Spurs. And this is the thing I am the most thankful for.

One day this beautiful gal came in to the bar with her dance team. Her friends told me she was out of my league….. ha ha… game on!!!!!
On Halloween she came as a fairy princess and I asked for 3 wishes!! 6 months later we got married. She is my sidekick, my business partner and the greatest thing to ever happen to me.

Today, on thanksgiving, I am thankful for my beautiful bride!!

I am sharing my thankfulness for my career as DJ Mikey.

This particular few posts involve my time as the house DJ at Diamonds and Spurs.

One of the coolest opportunities I had was sitting in an ad-hoc committee for the Country Music Association.

At the time, the country dance craze caused artists to pump out music that fit the dance clubs. In the process, country radio was noticing a lot of this music was popular in the club but not on radio. They wanted a piece of the pie. So they created this committee to figure out how to integrate the two together. I was selected to sit on that committee representing the nightclub scene. It meant numerous trips to Nashville meeting with big whigs at record companies and other dance clubs around the country.

This opportunity also led to me being offered a position at RCA records as a product development rep. However, like most youngsters, I turned it down for a girl. My girlfriend at the time didn’t want to move so I turned it down. But…. I would’ve missed the greatest thing to come out of this experience… stay tuned tomorrow!!

I am thankful for this incredible opportunity to be a part of this community.

I am sharing my thankfulness for my career as DJ Mikey.

This is part 3 of thankfulness for my time at Diamonds and Spurs. This was such a huge part of my life that I cannot share it all in a single post.

I am thankful for all the friends I made while there. Some of these friends have become lifelong friends that I cherish to this day.

We had a blast day in and day out there. It was full of fun and excitement. These friendships led to weddings, tragedies, family creations, and so much more.

I am so thankful for my Diamonds and Spurs “Family”.

Stories about being thankful for my career as DJ Mikey.

This is a continuation of being thankful for the five years I spent as the house DJ at Diamonds and Spurs.

Not only was it the hottest country dance club in the Midwest, but it was also a hot venue for concerts.

Over the years we had so many artists perform there. This included, Trace Adkins, Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, and yes Kenny Chesney who played there TWICE, That is me with a p**n stache and 75 pounds lighter face!!

A couple times, I even had the opportunity to pick up my guitar and “open” for some of these artists.

Today I am thankful for my years at Diamonds and Spurs.

This is a series of stories about being thankful for my career as DJ Mikey.

Cactus Moon and Step N Out were failing. But… in Pontiac, a new place called Diamonds and Spurs opened and I became the house DJ there right after it opened.

Now… this was my absolute favorite place I’ve ever worked in my entire life. This part of my life was absolutely tremendous. It was a 1000 capacity nightclub. There was dance instruction and open dancing 6 nights a week. During this time, the country dance craze was in full force.

Let’s start with being thankful for the chance to run a couple of national dance competitions.

The first was the Tanya Tucker Black Velvet dance competition. Tanya Tucker actually showed up for the state finals.

Another national competition was the Marlboro Country Nights Dance Showdown. The winners of both competitions went on to the national level. It was a great opportunity for me as a promoter to operate these contests.

Today I am thankful for Diamonds and Spurs…part one

I am writing to be thankful for my career as DJ Mikey.

I honestly don’t remember exactly what happened but Cactus Moon was failing. One of the regulars was about to open a non-alcoholic dance club with the largest dance floor around. He swayed me to be his house DJ. This was the Step N Out club.

One of the coolest things that happened here was assembling a 40 person dance team! We practiced and practiced and practiced and went to Knoxville, Tennessee and danced on National Television on TNN’s Club Dance. We taped a week of episodes in a few days then a few of us headed to Nashville. They even gave us a spotlight dance and interviewed me and my buddy Jimmy Mulligan. For one dance, we were famous!!!!!

I am thankful for the opportunity to dance on National Television.

I am sharing things I am thankful for about being DJ Mikey.

The next few posts all build on one another to culminate at the absolute favorite part of my career.

When I left the radio station, I came back to Flint. I needed a job. Well….. I had experience at strip clubs so I got a job at a strip club.

The owner was opening a country dance club. I mentioned to him that I had experience with country music and bam!!! I landed the gig as the house DJ.

One New Year’s Eve, the power went out to a completely packed house. No power meant no music. So I started the entire crowd singing “Friends in Low Places” accapella. I had one half of the bar sing then the other and that sealed my future in country dance clubs. That night I built my career as an “entertainer”.

Cactus moon was the start of the best times of my life.

Series of being thankful for being DJ Mikey.

While in Jacksonville, my DJ career consisted of working strip clubs. When I finally had enough of that, I came back to a Michigan and got a job through a series of events as the afternoon drive DJ at KC Country in St Ignace, Mi. This was exciting because I was back in radio.

This was a huge opportunity for me, although the owner was a piece of “work” to say the least. This molded the aspect of my career that put me in front of people as a “performer”. No one else at the station ever wanted to go out into the public and “broadcast live.” I was excited to do that.

One event, I sat in a swimming pool for 3 days to raise money for Make A Wish. The lieutenant governor and state politicians came from Lansing to support what we were doing. I did it in the parking lot of the Cherry Land Mall in Traverse City because we were trying to cut into WTCM market share. And we DID!!

I leaned a LOT about the business at this station. The station was eventually sold and became what is now BIG COUNTRY.

I am thankful for this opportunity. It was my last radio station in my career. But it was a great learning experience.

Series of thankfulness for my life as DJ Mikey. Today I am thankful for my best friend, Todd.

My series of thankfulness is being told in chronological order. Yesterday, I spoke of my drinking getting me fired from radio. At that point, Todd and his wife Tammy stepped in out of concern for me. They moved me from
Ocala to Jacksonville to live with them.

A lot of bad stuff happened during this time. They collectively struggled with me and got me through this portion of my life. Truthfully, I can’t guarantee I’d still be alive if it wasn’t for them. I was in a serious path of destruction.

As you get older, you learn that mistakes are stepping stones to success. Granted, self imposed mistakes should be avoided whenever possible but even those are learning moments.

That time of struggle was horrible as I went through it but let me say this, I now know there is nothing I cannot accomplish. And as my sharing of thanksgiving continues, you will see that growth comes through times of adversity.

Today I am thankful for friendship and struggles that make you stronger.

This part 2 of 2 from yesterday. Being thankful for my life as DJ Mikey.

While as I tell this half of the story, it might seem negative… follow it until the end and you’ll see the positive.

While working at WMOP, my high school sweetheart suddenly passed away. I came home from from work to find my driveway full of emergency vehicles. I’ll never forget the words “I’m sorry, she’s gone.”

I was 23 years old and at that point in life I was nowhere near mature enough to handle something that traumatic. So, I turned to drinking. It got so bad I literally cannot remember 8 years of my life.

I kept showing up to the radio station drunk and as expected that led to my termination and temporary end of my rising radio career.

So, why would I be thankful for that? The moment I got fired weighed heavy on my
Mind for 10 years. I mentally marked that as the beginning g of my downward spiral of self destruction. When I finally made the decision to quit drinking that moment played a huge part in the decision.

Just so you know, I’ve been completely sober for 24 1/2 years now. Not a single drop of alcohol.

As the story continues, you’ll see that all good things come back around.

Today, I’m thankful for my gig at WMOP in Ocala, Florida.

Today is part one of 2 of being thankful for being DJ Mikey.

When I got out of high school, I got a job at WFLT. This was a Christian programming station on the AM dial. I stayed there for a year and went to another AM station WFEN. There I became the Midnight Madman. It was an oldies station and I got stuck on the midnight shift. After a series of changes, including a format change to Country, I ended up on the morning show. This stations was buried so far in the dial it might have had 3 listeners. But it was something g to add to the resume.

A year later, I moved to Virginia Beach and landed a job at 2 separate FM stations. I did middays at country station KIX 106, and did evenings at album Rock WOFM. My career was moving fast.

A couple years later, I ended up in Ocala Florida. My grandma lived there and I was trying to get my personal act together and moved in with her. My uncle knew the owner of WMOP. The number one station in the market. He got me the job hosting the morning show there. My career was taking off!!

I am thankful for this opportunity because it sealed me into a great position to advance my career. The ratings increased. I was the “face and voice” of the station. Everything was great.

Tomorrow… is part 2… here is a teaser. I got fired from this station. Why would I be thankful for that?