Ask an Expert

D.J. TOM FINN
331 West End Ave.,
Ste. 1A; 212-595-4499

• By Denise Penny
• Published Spring 2005

D.J. Tom Finn

You look famous. Just how famous are you?
In the sixties, I was part of the Left Banke; we had that No. 1 hit, "Walk Away Renee." I also did the White House millennium party.

So you don't buckle under stress.
No, I consider myself a gunslinger. When I come to town, I have a job to do and that's to get the bad guy-the bad guy being not dancing. I'm like a hired hand, man. When people see me coming, they know they're going to have a hot party.

Isn't the bad guy old people who don't understand your music? Actually, I did a wedding where the groom was 93 and his bride was 89; they were just barely able to stand up and they just rocked back and forth. I played modern recordings of music from their generation. But old people dance to Michael Jackson, too.

What makes a dance floor more fun?
Some very wealthy, conservative people don't want their wedding to look like a disco, but colored, intelligent lighting is a good idea.

You have a first row seat from your D.J. booth.
Oh my God, you don't want to know what I see. I did a wedding not too long ago where the bride's father got into a fistfight with the groom.