We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bryan Chesters a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Bryan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a customer success story with us?
My clients are like my family to me and I will do anything and everything to make sure every event is a huge success. I’ve put out fires by helping other vendors when they’ve forgot cords or other things they needed, I’ve put on my therapist hat and helped heal family squabbles on the sidelines and made sure the guests didn’t even know. For instance, there was a wedding I DJ’d and the groom’s side of the family was orthodox (Jewish) and the bride’s side of the family was reformed (Jewish.) Moments before the ceremony the groom’s mother was insisting on all the traditional elements of the ceremony and the bride was telling me she didn’t want any of it. Mind you the mother of the groom was paying and technically my client. I was able to talk to the bride and convince her that the traditional elements weren’t a big deal and that she didn’t want to start her marriage in conflict with her in laws. She agreed and the ceremony and wedding were both AMAZING!!! Another instance where I had to make quick decisions to ‘save the day’ was at a huge Bar Mitzvah at Dodger Stadium. I could tell the parents were very stressed putting the event together and during the party I was playing a game with the kids and I looked over and saw the mother literally take a swing at the dad right across his jaw! A few of the relatives ran over to me and wanted me to stop the music and the party. Immediately I knew that would be the worst thing to do. So I quickly put on a follow a long dance and had the kids and adults all face me which was away from the ‘fight’ that was ensuing. It was perfect and no one saw the drama that was happening. Later during the party the parents made up and it was a great evening!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started my company Let’s Party LA Entertainment almost 20 years ago! Prior to that I was working for other DJ companies. I’ve always been in entertainment and have worked for major companies like Disneyland, Disney Cruise Lines, Holland-American Cruise lines, Princess Cruises etc. I started out as an MC on the cruise lines hosting all the fun events aboard the ships and introducing the specialty acts in the lounges. I am a trained singer/dancer/actor and have a BA in music (UCLA) and an MFA in acting (UCLA). I’ve acted on TV/Film in shows like MAD MEN (directed by Jon Hamm), Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family etc. I’ve performed in the LIVE shows on the cruise ships as well as touring in Broadways shows in Europe and the US. My entertainment background has always served me as a professional MC/DJ for events. My dance and music background help me curate great music for my clients and also make sure to keep a pulse on the dance floor. And my acting background has helped me on the mic and has shaped my ability to be a great MC at my events. I love all of the events I’ve DJ’d but some of my career highlights have been DJ’ing my celebrity weddings — Nico Santos (Crazy Rich Asians/ Superstore) and Zeke Smith (Survivor), Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, Vance and Joanne DeGeneres (Ellen’s brother and Ellen was MOH and actor Steve Carell was BM), Grey’s Anatomy cast party, LA Film Critic’s Awards ‘after party.’ etc.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Yes. So during Covid we all had to be inventive and pivot and I also did the same. A few weeks into Covid when we were all stuck in our homes with nothing to do I started FRIDAY night Dance Parties on ZOOM! It was so much fun. I used Facebook LIVE and IG LIVE and then also had a ZOOM ROOM. A lot of people told me it really saved them during Covid and gave them something to look forward to all week long. It really helped me because so many of my events either got cancelled or postponed and it was really depressing. I felt like my life literally turned upside down and I had no purpose in addition to no source of income. But luckily seeing everyone dancing and have a great time kept me motivated and it was a win/win situation for both me the DJ and for everyone who attended. I also started a company called www.govirtualwedding.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think the best thing you could do to build your reputation as a business owner is just do a great job, take care of your clients and trust in the process! If you continue to do a great job people will tell their friends and the vendors you work with with also tell their clients and then your business will grow exponentially. I always take every event very personally and make sure every client I work with feels special. I’ve been very fortunate that I have tons of 5 star reviews on The Wedding Knot, Wedding Wire, Yelp and Google. I’ve also been fortunate to have won California Wedding Day magazine’s Best DJ in Los Angeles the last two years consecutively. I’m also a finalist this year as well. Great reviews & winning awards have definitely helped build my reputation as a great DJ/MC in my market.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.letspartyla.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letspartyla/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LetsPartyLA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-chesters-6589367/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/letspartylaDJ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lets-party-la-entertainment-studio-city
- Other: Wedding Wire: https://www.weddingwire.com/reviews/lets-party-la-entertainment-studio-city/31ba8bad29e5354d.html The Knot: https://www.theknot.com/marketplace/lets-party-la-entertainment-studio-city-ca-595801 Google:
Image Credits
Jennie Quicksall Photography, Indafoto (Inda Reid), Logan Cole, Mae and Minh Photography, David Mendoza Photo, Pura Soul Photo, Bryan Hudson Photo, Jen Hoffman Photography,