The Young Guns of Cutting Edge

When DJ Foltzy asked me why the younger DJ staff weren’t represented on the Cutting Edge blog or website I didn’t have an answer, so I just decided to correct the oversight. Meet the next generation of Cutting Edge Entertainment.

When the decision was made to do a new photo shoot, I thought it might be a great time to bring in a new photographer… enter David Difuntorum. I was introduced to David’s work by a mutual colleague, and became acquainted with his photography through facebook and twitter. I thought his style was edgy and youthful, and perfect for our younger generation of Disc Jockeys.

The secret to our recipe for molding a DJ isn’t really that secret… We start em young. Most of the senior DJ and MC staff here at Cutting Edge started here when they were young, and in many cases this is their first job. In doing this, by the time they graduate college, they’ve got nearly ten years of experience. Still in touch with the pulse of youth, but with the experience of hundreds of parties and events under their belt. They are our little brothers, and they are the future of our family.  They start out as assistants -or “grunts” as we call them – and learn quickly, moving on to small parties and Sweet Sixteens after two or three years of training with our senior staff.

Steve has been with us the longest, and we are happy he’s chosen to attend Temple University… so he’ll be sticking around.  Steve (a.k.a. DJ Foltzy) is one of our most requested Sweet 16 DJs, and has a broad knowledge of music – from oldies to current stuff.  He’s typically out on his own Sweet 16 party, or assisting as the DJ on a wedding or bar mitzvah party with one of our MCs.  I’ve known Steven since he’s been about five years old, first meeting him as the MC at his sister’s bat mitzvah.

Justin came to us when he was fourteen years old.  He learned fast, and his self assuredness and competitive nature are what make him such a skilled DJ.  Watching Justin grow up and come into his own has been very gratifying to me.  What started out as youthful cockiness has evolved into the deserved confidence of a young man.  Justin makes me very proud, and of all the next-gen guys I’ve got, he’s probably the one I butt heads with most… likely because he reminds me so much of myself at that age.

Jack… the cool, calm and collected one.  Jack might seem quiet at first, but that’s because he’s taking it all in, while maintaining control.  Jack came to us by way of, well, his mom, Maura who does sales and PR for Cutting Edge.  When Maura told me she was taking some time off, she must have seen the worry in my eyes, and quickly added “I’m not going too far, you’ve still got Jack”.  Jack, like the others, is a hard worker and a team player, and his passion and interest for music are part of what give him the D.N.A. of what a Cutting Edge DJ is made of.

Why is Zach wearing a crown?  Because he’s DJ BK (Burger King).  He’s always hungry for a whopper and fries, probably because he’s working all the time.  The crown isn’t the only hat Zach wears at Cutting Edge, as he is a DJ, lighting tech and sound man.  When not at a party with the Cutting Edge staff, Zach can be found saving lives as a junior fire fighter, running his own small landscaping business (quite the entrepreneur), or at the local Burger King grabbing a bite to eat.  No matter what Zach does, he has it his way.



I’m grateful for David’s time and David’s beautiful photographs.  A photographer’s art is an amazing and glorious gift and I am in awe of their craft.  Yet, what touched me even more were the kind words that David posted to facebook shortly after our photo shoot, which I took the liberty to post an excerpt of below.

I watched Craig and his crew interact and here’s where my interest really piqued.  I see Craig sitting on a chair.  He’s was holding court on four teenagers and it was instantly apparent that five things were going on: They were all intelligent. Craig was the boss. They were giving each other LOTS of (HYSTERICAL) crap. Craig was not spared. Everybody liked and respected each other.

The longer I was there the more I recognized that these young guys were well-lead by Craig and they worked as a seamless team.

It was excellent and a joy to behold. It reminded me of the best times I had in the military where we were all young people giving each other crap, respected each other and got a difficult and challenging job done as a selfless team. My God, the laughter was infectious.

I was so happy to be around these guys. They were so good at their work and at giving each other crap I could tell that working for Craig would be one of the highlights of their lives.

Thank you David, for everything.

-Craig

David Difuntorum Photography – www.daviddifuntorum.com

David on twitter – http://twitter.com/TheDif

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