Collin Elliott. Photo by Joielala Photography

I’m happy to officially announce that Still Listening Productions now has two powerhouse do-it-all one-stop-shop incredible live musician-slash-DJ’s in the house!!  Welcome Collin Elliott!

Collin is an accomplished singer/songwriter who was pursuing a career in the music industry for several years in L.A., primarily fronting his band “The Surrender” (think Muse meets U2), and garnering much acclaim for his music.  He since  relocated back to North County SD, where he grew up.

It’s actually a really cool story of how I met Collin and discovered his incredible talent… His now-father-in-law, then girlfriend’s-dad, had seen me perform at a wedding at the Auberge a couple years back.  He told Collin “you gotta get this guy for your wedding…he plays guitar and DJ’s!”.  And Collin, being an amazing guitar player himself,  I’m sure was thinking, “Ai, ai, ai, another dude with an acoustic guitar…great.”  But Collin and his now-wife Lauren came to see my band play at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach and was pleasantly surprised.  They ended up hiring me to do their destination wedding in Mammoth Lakes last year.

Collin serenading his wife. Photo: Joielala Photography

But that’s just the beginning of the story.  At the time, I had no idea how accomplished of a player/singer Collin was.  During their reception, Collin serenaded his wife now-new-wife-Lauren out on the dance floor in front of the whole crowd with a song he had just finished up the night before.  He still had to read the lyrics off a crumbled-up sheet of paper.  I have to tell you, there was not a dry eye in the house, including me.  I remember thinking….this guy has to be working for me someday!!

Well, after a great friendship was forged through working their wedding, Collin joined my band as the electric guitar player and background vocalist.  It wasn’t long until I had asked him – “So, what do you think about joining me in the wedding business?”  He replied, “That’s funny, Lauren and I were just talking about how rad it would be to do what you just did for our wedding.”

And so it began.  Collin had already been playing live music for weddings since he can remember, and his skills as a public speaker, a great crowd-reader, and

Michael Tiernan and Collin Elliot at the Belly Up Tavern. Photo: Joielala Photography

event leader were shaped from his years both on stage and through his other-career, teaching high school!  Collin embodies the very simple principles of Still Listening Productions – be who you are and do what you do, and the people will love it.  No cheesy DJ here!  No canned versions of songs!  Only real artistic twists on the live music and a DJ’ed dance party that has class, meaning, and a whole mess of fun.

Having Collin is a great asset to SLP and a great relief to me.  Many times I get several inquiries into the same date, and having already committed to one, its an incredible feeling to still provide what couples are looking for without having to send them outside of the company.  Like my good friend and wedding Coordinator extraordinaire Brenda Swann told me, “You need a clone!”.  Now I do!  Collin already has 5 weddings under his belt as an official Still Listening Productions colleague, and all to rave reviews.   Again, Welcome, Collin!  Super stoked to have you!!

1. Blogging is a great idea, but with 2-3 weddings per weekend during the summer, plus my regular public performances around town during the week, ah, and promoting my new album, and yes, last but not least, being a daddy (!!), I’ve learned I’m a HORRIBLE blogger!  Just no time in the day!  I originally set up this blog thinking I would blog about every wedding, every playlist, every wonderful bride and groom and vendor I had the pleasure of working with – but alas, there has simply been no time.  And that’s a good thing!  I’m spending time doing what I love – playing music and helping create perfect soundtracks for people’s most treasured experiences.

2.  Artist vs. businessman: Either/Or OR Both/And.  I’ve learned that it is possible to juggle a music career and a thriving wedding business at the same time!   Being an artist at the core of me, of course the idea of ‘selling out’ has always repulsed me, ‘selling out’ meaning not being true to your art for the sake of commercial and financial motives.  I have found that as part of my calling being in the wedding business, it is a great space in which to be both artist and business person. Of course I spent the first few years of my music career sluffing off on tour, heading up to LA in traffic to play clubs where I thought I might get my break, knocking down the doors of record companies and film and TV music departments, and promoting my music like a madman – and I still do that – BUT over the past few years, and especially this past summer, I’ve really found my stride and groove and artistic satisfaction working in the wedding business.  The people I get to work with, the creativity and unique spin we can add to their day, and most of all, the friendships forged in the process, is invaluable to me.  The best thing for me in all this is that it is this artistic touch on people’s events that really shines forth when it’s all said and done.  I notice that my truest fans of my original music (as well as what I do for weddings) are my brides and grooms, and their friends and family.  It’s a great trade-off for me as an artist!  It makes me very happy, and allows me to continue pursuing my own art and career as a songwriter and musician, all the while using those gifts to share with others in a very real way – way more real than those LA clubs or trying to get into TV shows and movies!

So…THANK YOU to all my past brides and grooms, and to all my future ones – for putting your trust in me, appreciating the service I provide, and giving me the honor of meeting your friends and family… you have no idea how much I appreciate your role in my own life path.  Much gratitude:)

Wow! Very cool!  Still Listening Productions took 3rd place in voting for the Best Music category in San Diego’s A-List of best businesses.  Thanks to all you who voted!!! http://kgtv.cityvoter.com/still-listening-productions-live-acoustic-music-and-pro-dj/biz/54446

But super-bride Kristen Arnold-now-Haga knew exactly what she wanted, she knew her crowd, and she knew the venue – and you know what, it WORKED, wonderfully!  For the entire evening, to match the vintage feel of the amazing Parker in Palm Springs, we kept to older classics of the 30′s-40′s.  Even the music I played live harkened back to the vintage years.  Heading there, passing streets like Gene Autry Trail, and Bob Hope Drive – I knew Kristen had nailed it with her music choices.  She didn’t want a huge dance party – it was a destination wedding for people from all over the world, and they wanted to mingle, coctail, and enjoy.  O yes, there was dancing, but just the right amount of dancing, talking, chilling.  Congrats to Kristen and Don for a wonderful evening!

Tori Hendrix and Myka Haddad with Sitting In a Tree Events did an INCREDIBLE job with coordinating the event, and the details were flawless and unique.

Taken on my Blackberry:) from behind my DJ booth - bad quality photo, super-good times:)

For the cocktail hour, I played a fun, live acoustic set up on the upper courtyard, right by the fire pit, as people sipped Bellini’s and got ready to party.  At the reception, I switched over to DJ the rest and some fun song choices we had were:
- Grand Intro of the wedding party: “The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco

-Grand Intro of the Bride and Groom – “If its Love” into their first dance, “Marry Me”, both by Train.

- Father/Daughter Dance: “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman (and we invited all Fathers/Daughters to dance halfway through…:)

- Mother/Son Dance: “Make Someone Happy” by Jimmy Durante, inviting all Mothers/Sons to come dance halfway through.

- Then we busted right into “September” by Earth Wind and Fire, and everyone rushed the dance floor.  And the dance party went on all night, except for a few breaks for:

- Cake Cutting: “How Sweet It is to be Loved by You” – James Taylor

- The Bouquet Toss: “Dog Days” by Florence and the Machine

- The Garter Toss: “Let’s Hear it For the Boys” – yep, that’s right, by the 80′s goddess DeNeice Williams.

The couple left to a sparkler Grand Exit to Katy Perry’s “Firework”.

Awesome night!!!  Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Bailey!

Of course, San Diego is an AMAZING place to get married, any time of year, it’s those Spring weddings that mark a new season.  So to go along w/ the new website, I’m going to be blogging just a bit about each wedding and some cool highlights of each wedding – giving props to some of the amazing people I work with and posting some lo-fi pictures from my blackberry!  Stay tuned!