2023 Rakuten Advertising Golden Link Awards
DJ Notorious V.I.C. led the festivities at the 2023 Golden Link Awards hosted by Rakuten Advertising
La Quinta, CA - Beginning May 1, 2023, Rakuten Advertising hosted its annual three-day DealMaker event at the La Quinta Resort and Club, located near sunny Palm Springs, CA. The 2023 Golden Link Awards were held on the opening night of the event and led by local DJ Notorious V.I.C., who set the tone for the evening with two opening sets and closed the night out with a one-hour set.
The ceremony was hosted by stand-up comedian Christi Chiello, who has been featured on Comedy Central’s Roast Battle, Comedy Central Stand Up, TruTV’s Rachel Dratch’s Late Night Snack & Comedy Knockout, Kevin Hart’s LOL Network, Chris Gethard Presents & IFC’s Comedy Crib.
Some of the biggest names across various industries were on hand to receive prestigious marketing awards, including Microsoft, H&M, Wells Fargo, Affirm, Vans, Macy’s, Hilton Hotels, Chase Bank and GameStop.
Rakuten Advertising leads the industry in delivering performance-driven ad solutions that help the world’s top brands connect with unique, highly engaged audiences – from first impression to final sale.
Pints in the Pines 2022
An annual summer beer and arts festival in the mountains
Together with San Diego muralist Nicholas Danger, local art supply store Art Department, and Southern California DJ Notorious V.I.C., Wild Idy hosted the 2nd annual Pints In The Pines, a live art and beer festival on Saturday, August 20, 2022. Highlighting some of the valley’s most beloved nonprofits, Pints in the Pines revolves around some of Southern California’s brightest artists for a weekend of live art, good food, and great beer. This year’s edition was a resounding success! It was a sunny day filled with warm weather, great music, food and drinks. A big thanks to all who were involved and helped make it so special, including some of Southern California’s best breweries. We can’t wait to be back in 2023!
Press Release 8/1/22 - Pints in the Pines
Events
I’m happy to announce that I will be the DJ for Pints in the Pines 2022! Pints in the Pines is an annual beer and arts festival in the beautiful mountain town of Idyllwild, CA. It will take place on August 20, 2022 from 12-7 p.m. and features sponsors such as Sierra Nevada, Jiant, Boochcraft, Flying Embers, and Angel City Brewery. For more information please visit www.idyllwildpitp.com.
All ages are welcome, bring your friends and family for great drinks and even better music!
New Mix!
I’ve uploaded a new mix to SoundCloud for June 2022. To listen to it, please click here.
This is a short “cocktail hour” mix of newer tracks mixed in with some 80s and 90s classics. Here is the tracklist:
Skate - Silk Sonic, Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak
Rock With You - Michael Jackson
Everybody Wants To Rule The World - Tears For Fears
Don’t Do Me Like That - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Get Lucky - Daft Punk feat. Pharrell
Give It To Me Baby - Rick James
Walking With a Ghost - Tegan and Sara
L.E.S. Artistes - Santigold
Don’t You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds
Centerfold - J Geils Band
Don’t You Want Me - The Human League
Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order
Lovefool - The Cardigans
Señorita - Justin Timberlake
Señorita - Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
Juice - Lizzo
Wedding Planning: Don’t Skimp on the DJ!
If finding a DJ is low on your wedding priority list, you may want to read this first.
You may have heard something along these lines before: “Meh, you don’t need a good DJ, they’re just playing music.”
In fact, according to statistics*, DJs are near the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to wedding expenses (11th down the list, to be precise). On average, couples spend more on photographers, wedding planners and rehearsal dinners than they do on a DJ. They even spend more on flowers! Granted, these are all important components to an amazing wedding. But allow me to make a case for the DJ, the unsung hero of every successful wedding.
Let’s consider your wedding day as a whole. While there is much that goes on behind the scenes on the day of the wedding, the wedding itself -from ceremony to reception- begins and ends with the DJ. In the past, many people got married in a church or chapel of some sort. Nowadays, most wedding ceremonies take place onsite at the same venue as the reception. Most venues do not have adequate (or any) audio equipment to handle your wedding ceremony. Enter the DJ.
A good DJ will be able to arrive onsite early and set up sound for your ceremony. You can expect to have a professional sound system, as well as microphones for the officiant, bride and groom so all the guests can hear the ceremony and vows with crystal clear sound. The DJ plays music handpicked by the couple for the bride and bridal party entrance, and processional music for the exit. While this may not seem all that important, an experienced DJ knows when to cue music, fade it in and out, and have the sound properly amplified so all in the audience can hear and the ceremony can go off without a hitch (pun intended).
Following the ceremony, a good DJ will get the good vibes going by expertly mixing uptempo music during cocktail/appetizer hour. This is important, especially if you want your guests to get on the dance floor later on in the evening. A good cocktail hour mix gets the heads nodding, the toes tapping, and the drinks flowing to ensure that everyone has a great time at the reception. A good DJ will also be your MC, making all the important announcements throughout the night. He utilizes professional sound equipment so that the music and audio quality is top notch.
Next, the DJ keeps the evening going by getting the wedding party and the bride and groom ready for the grand entrance. This is a massive moment because this is the first time the bride and groom enter a room as a married couple. With an inexperienced or unprepared DJ, many things can go wrong. The wrong song can be played, the music or audio might not be clear or loud enough, or the wrong names can be announced (trust me, this does happen!). A good DJ has all the right music cued and ready, and coordinates with the couple ahead of time to get all the names of the bridal party correct - especially the bride and groom! He will also coordinate with the photographer and videographer to make sure the timing is just right and they get all the right shots.
He announces all the dances (first dance, parent dances, and all other formalities), dismisses tables for dinner, and hands the microphones to everyone making a toast or speech. Once the dinner hour is over and all the important events have occurred, the DJ gets the party started by rocking the crowd with an incredible dance hour (or hours, if he is good at his job). This is far more than just hitting play on a Spotify playlist. A good DJ curates a unique sound tailored the musical tastes of each couple. Love indie music? It’s there! Hate Bruno Mars? Gone! Whatever music you love, he plays. After all, it’s your day, and you should hear all the music you love and not hear the music you can’t stand. Just like cocktail and dinner hour, the music expertly mixed, keeping the dance floor packed and you looking back and saying, “wow, that was so much fun!”
As you can see, the DJ is much more than just a glorified iPod. He spends hours behind the scenes meeting and coordinating with the couple, wedding planner, and venue to ensure the logistics are taken care of. He also spends much time preparing your music and going over the itinerary. He is the first to show up at the wedding venue, and the last to leave. The buck stops with the DJ. Without him, there is no ceremony, no reception, no party. A good DJ can be the difference between a wedding and an experience that will last a lifetime.
A bad DJ will always be remembered for the wrong reasons, and can potentially ruin your entire wedding. And while it’s important to find a DJ that will fit your budget, remember that you get what you pay for. With a good DJ, you’re not just paying for music; you're paying for peace of mind, knowing that the biggest day of your life is in the best hands and you are trusting an experienced professional who puts your needs first and foremost. Happy wedding planning!
Press Release 2/1/2022 - Notorious V.I.C. Named Winner of The Knot Best of Weddings 2022
16th Annual Best of Weddings Awards Recognize Top Wedding Vendors Across U.S.
PALM SPRINGS, CA, FEBRUARY 1, 2022—Notorious V.I.C. is pleased to announce that he has been selected as a 2022 winner of The Knot Best of Weddings, an accolade representing the highest and most-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, a leading all in one wedding planning destination.
In its sixteenth annual year, The Knot continues its long-standing tradition of supporting local wedding vendors with The Knot Best of Weddings 2022, an annual by-couples, for-couples guide to the top wedding professionals across the country. This year, five percent of hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals listed on The Knot received this distinguished award.
To determine the winners, The Knot analyzed its millions of user reviews across various vendor categories—including venues, musicians, florists, photographers, caterers and more—to find the highest rated vendors of the year. These winners represent the best of the best wedding professionals that engaged couples should consider booking for their own unique weddings.
The Knot has inspired 25 million couples (and counting!) to plan a wedding that’s uniquely theirs - from finding inspiration and local vendors to creating and managing all guest experiences, wedding registries and more. On The Knot Marketplace, couples can connect with any of the hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals across the country, and The Knot Best of Weddings award gives couples the confidence to book the best vendors to bring their wedding visions to life. In combination with years of trusted content, The Knot’s innovative technology helps all couples seamlessly plan a wedding that’s uniquely theirs.
Wedding professionals who win The Knot Best of Weddings are members of WeddingPro, a leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million unique monthly visitors who are planning weddings on The Knot and WeddingWire, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses.
For more information about The Knot Best of Weddings and this year’s winners, please visit https://www.theknot.com/vendors/best-of-weddings.
About Notorious V.I.C.
Notorious V.I.C. is a wedding DJ operating out of Palm Springs, CA. Serving the entirety of Southern California, this DJ works closely with clients to create a memorable night of music and dancing. With more than 11 years of experience, he knows how to tailor his services to suit the aesthetic, mood, and budget of each celebration.
Owner Victor Borri has been DJing at events across Southern California since 2009, including weddings, anniversaries, graduations, and corporate functions. Along with expertly mixed songs, Victor also provides sound equipment and MC services. He works as a team with his wife Asia to give customers the hands-on and customized experience they have always dreamed of.
Notorious V.I.C. offers a variety of packages that couples can choose between for their reception celebration. This DJ can blend songs from a variety of genres and decades, including country, EDM, pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B, and more. He provides free consultations in order to get to know clients’ musical tastes and needs and can even facilitate last-minute bookings.
About The Knot
The Knot is the nation’s leading digital wedding resource offering a seamless, all-in-one planning experience—from finding inspiration and local vendors to creating and managing all guest experiences, wedding registries and more. The trusted brand reaches a majority of engaged couples in the US through the #1 wedding planning website TheKnot.com and #1 iOS and Android mobile app The Knot Wedding Planner, The Knot national wedding magazine, and The Knot book series. Since its inception, The Knot has inspired approximately 25 million couples to plan a wedding that’s uniquely them. Visit The Knot online at TheKnot.com and follow on social media: Facebook.com/TheKnot and @TheKnot on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.