Fifteen Years in the Making: the Story of a Professional Mobile DJ
by Kimberly Neyer

For Mike Early and his brother Jeff; what began as performing a small, live show for friends; quickly evolved into a successful, live entertainment production company in the late 1980s. The high-energy, live show, complete with a full stage of performers, music and lights, toured the midwest and was even featured at fairs in Southeastern Wisconsin. The show was a hit; and as it grew, so did the amount and quality of stage equipment. By 1990, Mike had accumulated a fair share of stage, light and sound equipment of his own, and when a friend asked him to DJ his wedding, he had everything he needed except for one thing: experience.
Not having been to a wedding in nearly ten years or having any experience DJing, Mike picked up a wedding planner, found himself disagreeing with 95% of what it said about the logistics of a reception, and threw it out the window; deciding to start from scratch and do it his own way. Drawing from his experience as a performer and natural ability for connecting with people; Mike developed a style that night that would set the stage for a business that would completely take off over the next decade.
From that first wedding, strictly via word-of-mouth, Mike booked 23 weddings. His charisma, personality, performance and flair for what he calls "reading the crowd" was very attractive to prospective customers. The second year he did 44 weddings; the third, 56; and in 2007 he booked 84 events.
Throughout the years he has continued to build up his music collection and update his system to maintain a state-of-the-art DJ service that has provided services for not only hundreds of private weddings and parties, but also corporate functions for companies such as Johnson Wax, Harley Davidson, Pepsi, Quaker Oats, JC Penney and Ocean Spray. Recently Mike has converted his system to digital, using two Apple Intel Core 2 Dou Macbooks loaded with MegaSeg DJ software. His system also includes a JBL VP 7215 Series Professional Sound System including two JBL VRX918SP powered subwoofers and two QSC 122i powered speakers for wedding ceremonies. For sound mixers DJ Mike uses a Rane MP 44 DJ Mixer and for ceremonies a Rane MM 8Z DJ Mixer. Other equipment includes Two Martin Stagebar 54S LED lights, Four LED Par-38 Can Lights, a Martin 2510 Light Controller and two Numark CD players.
Today Mike's business, Mike Early's ProSound, is one of the top DJ services in his area and still books events largely through word-of-mouth; continuing to provide outstanding services and sound for hundreds of satisfied customers.