Brandon deejay brings the party to weddings, bars

By: 
Jill Meier, Journal editor

Jill Meier/BV Journal 

Starting at 11, 12 years of age,JJ Gladis learned the deejay business from his father. Twenty-four years later, he continues to spin tunes as Prime Soundwaves.
JJ Gladis was 16 years old when he first started spinning tunes at wedding dances all on his own.
 
But his start in the deejay business goes back even further.
 
“My dad was a deejay and he started his business in 1978, ’79, so I grew up with it,” he said. “When I was 11, 12 years old I started running his lights for him, and when I turned 16 he put together a system for me and I started deejaying weddings. People would see this kid show up and be like, ‘Where’s the deejay?’”
 
Two years ago, Gladis, 40, who was working in the insurance industry, ramped up his sideline business, Prime Soundwaves, with new equipment and a connection to thousands and thousands of karaoke songs. 
 
“The incomes were supposed to supplement each other,” he said. “The insurance thing didn’t pan out and it took a little longer to get into the DJ part of it because I was trying to build up the other and probably wasted more time than I should have.”
 
Gladis is no longer “wasting time”, as he’s now fully engrossed in his mobile deejay business, and last Friday, he launched a multi-week karaoke contest at the Double D Saloon in Brandon.
 
“Jason (Albertson) and I had been talking about doing one here, and we wanted to start it in April but things went down like they did and it got pushed off, and I’m just glad that Jason and Paul (Ode) wanted to do it this fall,” he said. 
 
The Double D owners are investing some considerable ching into the competition, offering $1,000 to the winner, $500 to the runner-up and $250 for third place. 
 
“I wish I could get into it. I would do the three songs that I do really well over and over every night,” jokes Gladis, who “likes to think” he has a good voice. “I know the songs that I can do and I do them pretty well, I think. And I know the songs that are out of my range, so I try to stay away from those.”
 
Eighties rock, he said, is largely his sweet spot.
 
Gladis has a vast collection of tunes – hovering somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 – in addition to a service he uses for karaoke, which adds another 30,000 into the mix.
“It’s pretty rare that somebody requests something that I don’t have,” he said.
 
Among karaoke singers’ top requests are “Sweet Caroline” or Carrie Underwood and Johnny Cash tunes. “It depends on the bar and the crowd and the night,” he said, “but a lot of 80s gets played quite a bit. Karaoke-wise, just as long as people are having fun – good singers or not – I’m here to make sure they’re having fun.”
 
Gladis also lends his mobile deejay services to weddings, but that business largely dried up when the coronavirus came into play. Gladis said about a half-dozen weddings he was scheduled for were postponed.
 
“Those shows are how you book other shows,” he explains. “With my business, you see it, you like it, you hire me for the next one.”
 
Because Prime Soundwaves largely operates Friday and Saturday nights, Gladis is working to open a sports card memorabilia and gaming shop in Brandon. 
 
“A friend of mine has been doing it in Willmar, Minn., for a 12 years now, and it’s something that I’ve wanted to do and the time is right to get into it,” he said.
 
The business will market baseball cards, football cards, basketball cards, magic cards, Pokemon cards, board games, table top gaming, things like that.
 
“It’s what I know,” he said. “I know sports, I know games and I know music.”
 
But for now, Gladis is happy spinning tunes for karaoke singers and wedding celebrations. 
 
“If this contest goes well, hopefully we’ll do another one,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 24 years by myself. Once you find the perfect song and everybody starts dancing, that’s the best feeling.”
 
Since 2005, Gladis, who grew up in Benson, Minn., and his wife, Kami, have made Brandon their home. They are parents to two boys, ages 7 and 5.
 
To contact Gladis, visit his Facebook page, primesoundwaves or his website, primesounwaves.com.
 

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