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Cartoon character of a headbanger with long brown hair, wearing glasses, a leopard print headband, a leopard print shirt, and a scarf, making a rock and roll hand gesture. His arm is tattooed with the word "RETRO." It says "Pendleton DJ Jams."
A cowboy hat with a camera emblem, and the text "PENDLETON PHOTOBOOTH CO." in yellow and green lettering.
Illustration of a smiling woman wearing a cowboy hat and red shirt, holding a microphone, with text "Pendleton Karaoke Co." underneath.
Graphic for outdoor cinema rentals showing a TV with a sunset scene, a film camera, and a bucket of popcorn, with text "PENDLETON YARDFLIX OUTDOOR CINEMA RENTALS".

Pendleton
RETRO DJ jams

About

The Reason for Retro

Four members of the rock band KISS with face paint, black and white makeup, wigs, and metallic clothing, posing against a dark background.
The poster for the horror movie "Poltergeist."
Group photo of the Beverly Hills 90210 cast.

I’m obsessed with retro pop culture. My childhood was spent devouring as much music, TV, and cinema as I could take in.

Long line of people waiting outside a theater for tickets to "Return of the Jedi", with a marquee showing "70mm Dolby Stereo", with people carrying shopping bags, and a sign indicating ticket buyers in line only.
Long line of people waiting outside Tower Records store in front of a yellow sign with red text, in an urban area with a modern, silver building in the background and a clear blue sky.

Entertainment was finite, unlike today, where it feels infinite. There was no Netflix. No social media. No Spotify. You put in time and effort (hours/days in line for tickets!) to find entertainment, so you placed high value on it. It became a big part of your life, and it had the power to help shape the person you would become.

Two people with dark sunglasses singing into microphones on a stage with musical instruments and stage lights.
Young man holding a trumpet standing indoors next to a wall with framed photographs.
Characters Mal and Gomez from The Addams Family musical, one with glasses holding a drink, and the other whispering to him, dressed in a pinstripe suit.

As I grew, my love of being entertained morphed into a desire to be the entertainer. I played trumpet in school, and later developed singing skills. I am currently active in chorus, and both musical and dramatic theater. Performance is my drug.

In the never-ending quest to get my fix, a couple years ago, I started a “regular” DJ company. I worked a lot of “regular” DJ gigs; mostly weddings, but also karaoke, private parties, and public dances.

I found it part fun, part stress. Something didn’t feel quite right, and after a lot of self reflection, I figured it out: I simply don’t get excited for newer music the way I do for retro music, and trying to deliver a top-notch performance while playing music that didn’t really blow my skirt up was difficult. As a DJ, the best performances come when you love the music you are playing, and you know every note, lyric, phrase, rhythm, key change, etc. Mixing, microphone work, body language, song selection — all of these things must HIT to be a great DJ, and love for the music is the foundation.

A scene from the movie "Wayne's World".

Once this became clear, there was no going back. I shutdown that DJ business and started over. And, SHWING! Pendleton RETRO DJ Jams was born.

I won’t be nearly as busy as before, especially in a rural market, but that’s okay. I’ll be rockin’ the music I love, and putting out a great product for my clients when they’re looking to go back a few decades. It’s a totally awesome win-win!