Dance Floor Mafia

DFM works with you to create a night you and your guests will remember by:
1. Understanding what you want out of your event.
Most bands play the same old songs. You want YOUR EVENT TO BE SPECIAL. This is our goal.
2. Tailor our setlist to your likes/dislikes.
You have a vision, we have the music. We bring music that fits your vision. DFM works with your themes, desires, content, and contextual music.
3. Tailor our stage lighting and effects to your desires.
You may want a simple color changing lights, or lasers fog, and strobes, DFM accommodates.
4. Work with to develop an event schedule (toasts, dances, singing happy birthday, etc.) and MC.
Every successful event has a plan that is followed. Some are loosy-goosy, others rigid. Dance Floor Mafia can follow a schedule, keep it loosy-goosy, or somewhere in between. We work with you (or your planner) to make your event memorable!
5. Adopt late stage changes as needed.
DFM understands that even the best planned event needs some wiggle room. We can extend, shorten, or change songs to fit the need.
6. Communicate the day before and day of event of logistics
DFM will communicate to go over any last minute changes to logistics or the order of events.
7. Setup and sound check
DFM will show up early enough (usually 2-3 hours early) to setup and sound check. DFM can do this without disrupting adjacent events as we use in-ear monitors.
8. Perform the set and MC the event as appropriate.
Now it is time for the show! We'll have the lights, fog machine, per agreement.
9. Take agreed upon breaks.
We take the agreed breaks. Typically, 75 minutes of show 15 minutes of break. We do reserve the right to take additional break(s) per Music Director, Band Leader, or Booker.
10. DJ service during breaks so your party never stops.
During ALL breaks we will have a DJ to play music fitting with your event! We keep your party rockin' and the music going. Dance Floor Mafia is the ONLY band in the NW to bring this value!
11. Pack up at end of event.

Dance Floor Mafia is one of the top dance, party and variety bands in the Pacific Northwest. We strive to put on a stellar show, not just in terms of musicianship and professionalism, but also in terms of visual performance. We may even venture out with you and your guests, singing, playing and dancing during some of our tunes! We have assembled a group of not only amazing musicians but people as well. We are very easy to work with, gracious, kind, and hand out a LOT of smiles and upbeat energy to ensure you and your guests have a FANTASTIC time! The Dance Floor Mafia musical family are:

1. Jo, lead vocalist, band "boss". Jo started her performance career at the age of 7, where you could have found her singing and air-guitaring to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll", or putting on a choreographed dance to "Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" at the elementary school talent show. Jo went on from there to win the prestigious and coveted "Most Outstanding Jazz Vocalist" her senior year of high school after which she won a spot in the renowned performance group "GENESIS" of Mt Hood Community College. After spending time raising a family, Jo went on to sing backups and play keyboards for a local Indie Rock band for five years. From there, she joined Dance Floor Mafia as a backup singer, but was quickly ushered into a co-lead position. After the founding members left DFM for other personal pursuits, Jo began putting the band back together with her husband Christian (our dedicated sound engineer) and it evolved over time to what it is today, with an amazing lineup! Jo has incredible energy and is a stellar performer on stage! She shakes and moves freely- giving you and your guests the go-ahead to do the same! She has a HUGE vocal range and typically sings everything in its original key. She is powerful when needed but can also deliver beautiful angelic vocals when the music calls for it. When she isn't working on band leadership or performing, you can find Jo in the kitchen making vegetarian soups or her famous Baklava, walking her dogs or tending to her multiple other pets(bearded dragon, parakeets, guinea pigs, leopard geckos), working on vocal technique and strengthening, memorizing lyrics, catching other shows around town, roller skating, writing poems, books, or music or hanging out with her bandies at the food carts enjoying her favorite salad rolls and peanut sauce!

2. Chris, guitarist, vocalist, co-musical director. Chris is a talented multi-instrumentalist, solo artist and producer originating in the Coos Bay area who began his early music career as a trumpet player in k-12. Chris went on to graduate with a bachelor's degree in music from OSU. He is no stranger to performance, either. Starting in his early college years, Chris played the jazz and coastal music scene with the funk group Soul Pie, and afterward played the Seattle casino circuit with a variety dance and cover band, Funaddicts, learning bass just for that group. Chris is a stellar showman, bringing superstar magnetism and charisma to the Dance Floor Mafia stage. Once you see Chris perform and beam his charming smile under the lights, you'll know why he was voted Prom King in his high school years! When he isn't on stage, you can usually find Chris spending time mastering guitar techniques or perfecting tones, upgrading his equipment, sipping on some dark roast coffee or chai tea, making himself a vegetarian burrito, writing music (check out his Spotify above), creating DAW instructional videos, jamming with his friends, or hanging out with his bandies eating yummy vegetarian food or watching live music!

3. Brian Plank, bassist, vocalist, and co-musical director. Music runs in Brian's blood. Bass guitar is his bread and butter. Brian played bass in high school and was identified to play with some BIG names in the nation at an extremely young age. From there, Brian entered the US Air Force to specialize in music- bass specifically. He played bass for a few years before taking on the prestigious role of Director for the USAF band. Brian has played on some HUGE, important stages for incredibly important VIPs. Brian also spent years playing every weekend with a wildly successful dance and variety cover band while he was stationed in Hawaii. Brian is a PERFORMER- don't be fooled! He may be a bassist, but he doesn't hide back in the shadows! He shakes that backside and sings all while keeping the groove for you! When he isn't on stage, Brian can be found camping with his family, building a play structure for his three cutie pie kiddos, making some off-the-hook homemade pizza, serving on some local community boards, enjoying some good, local PDX brews, working on his bass- slapping skills, or hanging out with his bandies at a local blues jam or at the food carts.

4. Steven Wesson, keys, saxophone. Originally hailing from California, our youngest member (but no less seasoned) played sax throughout high school and developed an interest in piano after graduating, quickly developing solid skills on the black and whites. After high school, Steven made his way to Colorado to do some soul-searching while he worked in the welding industry, continuing to sharpen his skills in live music as well as electronic music production. After about two years in Colorado, Steven was prompted to make a big change and relocate to the Portland area where he quickly jumped into the music scene, playing saxophone for the local, popular CJ Mickens band in local establishments as well as casinos in the area. Soon after, Steven responded to an ad looking for an emergency sub for keys which Steven handled with so much professionalism and skill that he was invited to join the family permanently. Steven was taken into the group with such open, supportive, encouraging arms, that he eventually opted to devote all of his energy to the Dance Floor Mafia Family where he has settled in and is growing at a tremendous rate! Steven is a master at re-creating those iconic riffs and sounds that you and your guests expect to hear and help make the songs sound authentic to their original. And watch out! When Steven ventures out among the crowd with his beautiful, shiny saxophone, you get such an amazing and unique experience that is hard to find in other bands! You'll find yourself swooning! Steven has experience DJing birthdays and weddings, too! So, when we bring our DJ services to your gig, he does a fantastic job! When he isn't on stage, you can find Steven biking, hiking, practicing his sax in the local park, hitting the gym, creating and producing original EDM music, or hanging out with his bandies having some good food!

5. Dagan, drummer extraordinaire. Dagan is a brand new member of the Dance Floor Mafia family! Originally from Indiana, Dagan relocated to Portland, OR, about 6 years ago and fits RIGHT in. He has been playing drums for an original touring Indie act called Murder by Death for the last 17 years for sold-out shows across the North American continent. He has years of performance experience and drums are his LIFE. (So are his cat, Crash and cute little doxie pup Franky!) Dagan contributes tireless energy on stage and brings his acrylic red kit that we illuminate, adding to the visual appeal of our live shows! While we are still getting to know him, we also feel like we HAVE known Dagan for a lifetime, and he instantly bonded with the DFM family. When Dagan isn't on stage, you can find him practicing on his kit, laying down some sick rhythm improv, mastering new hi-hat techniques, hanging out with his fur-kids and partner Rosie, checking out live music in the area, or hanging out with his bandies playing some disc golf at one of the local parks in the PDX area.

6. Dave, second bassist, vocalist. Dave hails from Massachusetts and joined Dance Floor Mafia about 8 months after his arrival here in Portland. Dave graduated with a bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and Supervision from Purdue University. Dave was a member of an all original punk style band The Trees for about ten years, but LOVES fusion jazz- and you can hear that versatility in his playing. Dave is a pro performer- he brings so much joy, energy, enthusiasm and charisma to the stage- you and your guests can't help but be stung by the happy bug! PLUS, he may come from the East Coast, but he is the kindest, most mellow, genuine, accepting person you will ever meet! As soon as he came out to audition for DFM, we KNEW he belonged in the family! It was a natural fit from day one! He is not only a stellar musician but an amazing friend and when he says he will be there for you if you need it, he MEANS it! When he isn't on stage, you can find Dave at the gym hitting the weights, dancing to live music, playing bass at the senior center with a local side project called The Douglas Firs, inventing a new type of vegan snack, camping, road-tripping, hiking, or hanging out with his bandies doing just about anything- as long as it involves spending time with his mates!

Our technical requirements are minimal.
Power- DFM requires two circuits (shared or 1 dedicated).
Stage- DFM requires performance area of no less than 10'x18'
Environment- conducive to putting on a show and appropriate for season
Accommodations- "green room" (a space to rest between sets) secured spot to store personal items.