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Fitbit Employee Workout With Haley Pasternak - Asilomar Conference Center

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Fitness DJ Justin Kanoya, showcases his custom vinyl/turntable set-up that was used at the Fitbit Sales and Marketing

Fitness DJ Justin Kanoya, showcases his custom vinyl/turntable set-up that was used at the Fitbit Sales and Marketing

Celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak leads a Fitbit employee workout.

Fitbit held it’s annual Sales and Marketing Summit at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove California. The employee event was the opportunity for the sales and marketing staff to learn about the few Fitbit products and accessories releasing later this year.

I had a couple of responsibilities during the conference. One of them was to play music in the main meeting hall while attendees entered and exited the room. Also to play music and keep the vibe going at different times during the presentations.

I was also brought in to partner up with Harley Pasternak again as he led a workout at the end of the second day of the event. The workout was for the employees, who were outfitted with new, not yet released Fitbit devices. This allowed them to get hands on use of the fitness wearables.

Harley is a lot of fun to work with, as it was the second time around I was able to work with him. The first being in New York City for the launch of Fitbit Alta.

Here’s a look at the setlist for the summit workout.

Arrivals

  • Kygo ft Ella Henderson - Here For You (DAO Remix)
  • Seinabo Sey - Younger (Kygo Remix)
  • Adele - When We Were Young (Promo Only DiscoTech 2AM Intro Edit)
  • Timeflies f./Natalie La Rose - Worse Things Than Love
  • Mariah Carey - Honey
  • Big Pun - Still Not a Player (feat. Joe)
  • Heavy D - Gyrlz, They Love Me (Select Mix Remix)

Workout with Harley Pasternak

  • Kanye West - Through The Wire
  • Rihanna ft Drake - Work (Lost Kings Remix)
  • Fat Joe & Remy Ma f./French Montana - All The Way Up
  • The Game - How We Do
  • E-0 f./Nef The Pharaoh & D.R.A.M. - Slappin
  • Too Short - Blow The Whistle
  • Chainsmokers, Ashanti - Only U vs Roses (J. Espinosa Jumpoff Edit)
  • Del Tha Funkee Homosapien - Mista Dobalina
  • Kygo ft Parson James - Stole The Show (TWRK & Doobious Remix)
  • Chris Brown - Run It
  • Lil Jon - Get Low
  • Dr. Dre ft Snoop Dogg & Nate Dogg - The Next Episode (Dani Deahl & Jason Edward Remix)
  • Heavy D & the Boyz - You Can't See What I Can See
  • Desiigner - Panda
  • Drake f./Wizkid & Kyla - One Dance

Post workout

  • 99 Souls ft Destiny's Child & Brandy - The Girl Is Mine (DiscoTech Midnight Remix)
  • Fifth Harmony f./Ty Dolla $ign - Work From Home (Rap Version)
  • A-Ha - Take On Me (Kygo Remix)
  • Justin Bieber - Sorry (Kue Remix)
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Mary and Peter's Dance Party - Darlington House Wedding

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Peter and Mary's ceremony was held in the Darlington House garden patio.

Peter and Mary were married at the beautiful Darlington House in La Jolla on May 29. A gathering of 60 guests celebrated this great couple. I mostly worked with Peter during the short planning process and he was a great.

The two of them are starting a family soon and I wish them the best of luck. Here’s a look at their setlist.

Cocktail Hour

  • Yuna ft Usher - Crush

  • Janet Jackson - Let's Wait Awhile (Radio Edit)

  • Spyro Gyra - 2020

  • Waynan Tisdale - Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now

  • Kenny G - Alone

  • Ja Rule - Always On Time

  • Mindi Abair - As Good As It Gets

  • Ottmar Liebert - Barcelona Nights

  • Snoop Dogg - Beautiful

  • Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie Tribute Medley

  • A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum

  • Mystikal - Bouncin' Back

  • A Tribe Called Quest - Check the Rhime


First Dance
Adele - Make You Feel My Love


Dinner Music

  • Soul Ballet - Cream

  • Notorious B.I.G. - Crush On You

  • Mystikal - Danger (Been So Long)

  • Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)

  • A Tribe Called Quest - Electric Relaxation

  • Jack Johnson - Breakdown

  • Jason Mraz - Live High

  • Ingrid Michaelson - Boys Chase Girls

  • Echosmith - Bright

  • Ed Sheeran - Photograph (Felix Jaehn Remix Edit)

  • Coldplay - Adventure Of A Lifetime

  • Tori Kelly - Should've Been Us (Lost Kings Remix)

  • Mariah Carey - Emotions (Select Mix Remix)

  • Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake - Love Never Felt So Good

  • Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover

  • Chainsmokers, Ashanti - Only U vs Roses (J. Espinosa Jumpoff Edit)

  • Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud

  • Katy Perry - Birthday

  • Marvin Gaye - How Sweet It Is

  • The Temptations - Ain't Too Proud to Beg

  • Adele - When We Were Young (DiscoTech 2AM Radio Edit)

  • Ellie Goulding - On My Mind


Dancing

  • Frank Sinatra - The Way You Look Tonight

  • Al Green - Let's Stay Together

  • Jackson 5 - I Want You Back

  • Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!

  • Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk (Select Mix Remix)

  • The Spinners - I'll Be Around (70s Classics)

  • Earth, Wind & Fire - September

  • Emotions - Best Of My Love

  • Maroon 5 - Sugar

  • Ella Henderson - Ghost (Oliver Nelson Remix) (Radio Edit)

  • Boyz II Men - Motownphilly

  • Bell Biv Devoe - Poison

  • Usher - Yeah

  • House of Pain - Old School Jump Off

  • Michael Jackson - Billie Jean

  • The Chainsmokers ft Rozes - Roses (The Him Remix)

  • Rihanna - We Found Love

  • Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft MO - Lean On (FUTURE LINES Bootleg)

  • Justin Bieber - What Do You Mean? (Select Mix Remix)

  • Meghan Trainor f./John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You

  • Charlie Puth - One Call Away (Single Edit)

  • Natalie Cole - This Will Be an Everlasting Love

Last Dance
Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Vendor Team
DJ/Master of Ceremonies: Justin Kanoya, DJ Kanoya Productions
Venue: Darlington House
Photographer: Fixated Concepts

Other weddings hosted by DJ Kanoya Productions

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Brett and Ben’s Dance Party - Carnitas Snack Shack Wedding

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Whoops forgot to smile. Ben and Brett are the coolest. Our shoes are even cooler. 

This was a wedding celebration I was looking forward to for several months. I would say it had to do with the location, the popular San Diego eatery, Carnitas Snack Shack, but it really was the couple ... Ben and Brett.

I met Brett in early 2015 when I DJ'd the Lululemon La Jolla store she managed. That moment led to more gigs for Lululemon all over San Diego, then Vancouver and Palm Desert when she opened the Lulu outlet store in Cabazon. So DJing just for her, her new hubs, family and friends was a great alternative to all those other events.

Brett and Ben's celebration on May 27, 2016 was truly "local San Diego." From the venue (the aforementioned Carnitas Snack Shack), local beers and even delicious sugary sweet Craft Donuts.

I adore this couple. Brett has been an amazing supporter of my "second career" and this party was the best!

Here's the setlist:

Cocktail Hour/Dinner

  • Daughter - Get Lucky (Daft Punk Cover) (Holtoug Deep House House Edit)
  • COMA - Lora (Robag's Fandara Qualv NB)  
  • Guy J - Nirvana  
  • Walk The Moon - Shut Up And Dance (Promo Only Intro Edit)
  • Colbie Caillat - I Do
  • Chachi & Paige - Land Down Under  
  • Tori Kelly - Should've Been Us (Lost Kings Remix)  
  • Ed Sheeran - Photograph (Westphal & Whyman Remix)  
  • Kygo ft Maty Noyes - Stay  
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (Le Boeuf Remix)  
  • Coldplay - Adventure Of A Lifetime
  • Avicii ft Zac Brown Band - Broken Arrows
  • Chainsmokers ft ROZES - Roses (Adam Foster Remix)  
  • Corona ft AObeats - Rhythm Of the Night (Hotel Garuda Remix)  
  • Ellie Goulding - Lights
  • Drake ft Majid Jordan - Hold On We're Going Home (Panic City Remix)
  • Mariah Carey - Emotions (Select Mix Remix)
  • Hall & Oates - Private Eyes (Select Mix Remix)
  • Wham! - Everything She Wants
  • Seinabo Sey - Younger (Kygo Remix)  
  • Gwen Stefani - Make Me Like You (Select Mix Remix)
  • Warren G ft Nate Dogg - Regulate (Destructo & Wax Motif Remix)
  • Pharrell ft Jay-Z - Frontin (Disclosure Mix)
  • Sam Feldt & Kimberly Anne - Show Me Love (EDX Remix)  
  • Janet Jackson - No Sleeep (Strobe Insomnia Bootleg)  
  • Wish I Was ft Cameron Walker - Cutting Ties  
  • Disclosure ft Lion Babe - Hourglass  
  • Ellie Goulding - On My Mind
  • Zendaya f./Chris Brown - Something New
  • TLC - Creep (Remix)
  • Disclosure ft Sam Smith - Latch (G Duppy Reggae Remix)
  • Who Is Fancy f./Ariana Grande & Meghan Trainor - Boys Like You
  • Timeflies f./Natalie La Rose - Worse Things Than Love


Open Dancing

  • Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack (Select Mix Remix)
  • Brandy - Sittin Up In My Room (Select Mix Remix)
  • Queen - Under Pressure
  • Evelyn Champagne King - Love Come Down (Hot Classics Remix)
  • Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam - Head To Toe (Hot Classics Remix)
  • Discotron - Disco Ballin'  
  • The Spinners - I'll Be Around (70s Classics)  
  • Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
  • Jackson 5 - ABC / I Want You Back
  • Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love
  • Katy Perry - Birthday
  • Beyonce - Crazy In Love
  • Fifth Harmony - Work From Home (Select Mix Remix)
  • Usher - Yeah (Wedding Crasherz Break)
  • Montel Jordan - This Is How We Do It
  • Mariah Carey - Dreamlover
  • Taylor Swift vs Lauryn Hill - Blank Space (DJ Skillz Throwback Blend)
  • Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing)
  • Ariana Grande f./Iggy Azalea - Problem
  • Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
  • Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
  • Boyz II Men - Motownphilly
  • Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby (Select Mix Remix)
  • Beyonce - Formation (Promo Only Clean Edit)
  • Beyonce - Naughty Girl
  • Jay Z ft. Kanye West - N***** In Paris
  • Fetty Wap - Trap Queen (Promo Only Clean Edit)
  • Rihanna ft Drake - Work (Lost Kings Remix)
  • Fat Joe & Remy Ma f./French Montana - All The Way Up
  • The Game - How We Do
  • Too Short - Blow The Whistle
  • Chainsmokers, Ashanti - Only U vs Roses (J. Espinosa Jumpoff Edit)
  • Drake f./Wizkid & Kyla - One Dance (Promo Only Intro Edit)
  • Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
  • Meghan Trainor f./John Legend - Like I'm Gonna Lose You
  • Al Green - Let's Stay Together
  • Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
  • DNCE - Cake By The Ocean (Promo Only Clean Edit)
  • Justin Bieber - Love Yourself (RENAIR Uptempo ReDrum Edit)  
  • Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe
  • Taylor Swift - New Romantics (Promo Only Quick Edit)
  • Taylor Swift - Shake It Off
  • Walk The Moon - Shut Up And Dance
  • Icona Pop - I Love It (Select Mix Remix)
  • Clean Bandit, Jess Glynne - Rather Be (Select Mix Remix)
  • Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch - Good Vibrations (Select Mix Remix)
  • C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat
  • Rob Base, DJ E-Z Rock - Joy & Pain (Select Mix Remix)
  • Usher Mixalot - OMG Baby Got Back
  • Justin Bieber - What Do You Mean? (Promo Only Intro Edit)
  • Warren G - Regulate
  • A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum
  • DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - Summertime
  • Paperboy - Ditty
  • Naughty By Nature - Jamboree
  • Omarion ft Chris Brown & Jhene Aiko - Post To Be (Dennis Blaze Remix)
  • Blackstreet - No Diggity (Mayeda Twerk Remix)
  • Mike Posner - I Took A Pill In Ibiza (SeeB Remix)  
  • Major Lazer & DJ Snake feat. MO - Lean On (Yaldah Remix) (Audio1 Edit)
  • Selena Gomez ft ASAP Rocky - Good For You (Caked Up Remix)
  • Nicki Minaj ft Drake - Truffle Butter (Jester Remix)  
  • Otis Redding - Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay (ReDrum)  
  • Bob Marley - Three Little Birds


Last Dance
Maroon 5 - Sunday Morning

 

Vendor Team
DJ/Master of Ceremonies: Justin Kanoya, DJ Kanoya Productions
Venue: Carnitas Snack Shack
Photographer: Venture and Vine

 

 

 

Other weddings hosted by DJ Kanoya Productions

Five Dance Songs To Get You Pumped For Summer

The sounds of summer are often punctuated with fast beats and fast feet (on a dance floor). To listen, click on the Spotify playlist below, and subscribe to the DJ Kanoya 5 playlist.

Justin Kanoya is a wedding DJ based in San Diego. He has served as a DJ and host of more than 300 weddings over the past decade and is a recommended vendor at some of San Diego's finest wedding venues, including the Hotel del Coronado and the Lodge at Torrey Pines. 

Ten Scary Seconds: We Almost Died In An Auto Accident

Me, daughter Marissa, wife Sheila and Rinny.

Me, daughter Marissa, wife Sheila and Rinny.

My family (me, my wife Sheila, daughter Marissa and dog Rinny) was involved in a car accident and we almost died.

UPDATE: We are fine. No blood. Didn't get taken away in an ambulance. 

Since we literally walked away from the crash unscathed and the damage to my car is merely a busted back end with the rest of the car looking pretty normal, it might seem a bit melodramatic to say we almost died. But maybe an inch one way or the other, and things would be drastically different.

What I do know, is the experience was enough for me to think about some things. Most of all, it made me think about the phrase “giving up.”  It made me think about the many times we have in life to give up or persevere.

There was a moment during the accident when I decided to not give up. It probably saved our lives.

The Accident
Driving south on I-15 on a Saturday night just after 7 p.m., I looked up in my rear view mirror and saw a brown pick-up truck coming toward me at a high rate of speed. It was like a guided missile headed straight toward its target.

In a matter of seconds I felt an impact, which forced my vehicle into the lane to my right. I was struck a second time, saw the truck flying off the freeway into the grass, my car fishtailed out of control and was headed directly toward a barrier made of solid concrete.

I remember thinking it’s going to suck to hit this wall head on. I heard Sheila screaming. But I also felt a sense of calm.

I gripped that steering wheel so hard. I turned it to the right. Turned it to the left. And as fast as it had all started, we were no longer headed toward that wall. My car was on the shoulder, slowing down and safely coming to a stop out of harm's way.

Our daughter was on the verge of tears, our dog was shaking like a massage chair. We were all fine … well at least physically.

In the next 24-48 hours Sheila and I had opportunities to discuss and hypothesize what happened. Everything took place behind us, so we were not entirely certain what unfolded. The whole incident lasted maybe 10 seconds. She recalled as we were sliding toward that wall and thinking her life was about to end.

In our discussion, I also reflected on that moment and discovered my thoughts were different. I didn’t feel as though I was going to die. Like I said earlier, I had this sense of calm. I didn’t have time to think about dying. My priority at that moment was to survive … to ensure everyone in my car would survive. And I was the one person, with control of that steering wheel that was going to make that happen.

That is the beauty of being in control. Whether it is being in control of your career choices, a bicycle you are riding or your car careening toward a slab of concrete. We have the ability to control the outcome. Or at least die trying.

But the moment we give up that control, when we decide the struggle is not worth it, is the moment a part of you or maybe all of you dies.

This past year for me, May ’15 to May ’16 has been amazing. But it hasn’t been perfect. While it’s wrong for me to assume that many of you think it is has been, I’m here to tell you not everything is as awesome as it looks through Instagram filters and Facebook posts.

Sure, I’ve been traveling all over the country, playing music at yoga parties for Fitbit, grand openings for Lululemon, running races with November Project, eating amazing meals and hanging with wonderfuls friends and family.

But here is what hasn’t gone all that great:

  • This accident was my second in my entire life. My first was four weeks ago and it was while I was driving my “work van.” That van is still driveable, but I cannot open the liftgate, which makes removing large speakers and turntables road cases difficult.
     
  • For the year 2016, I have had 25 inquiries to DJ a wedding that have not closed with a signed contract. That is well over $30,000 in lost business. That sucks. So contrary to what you may think. I'm not booked "all the time."
     
  • Our rental property tenants just gave their 30-day notice.
     
  • Paydays are not every two weeks for me. That means bill pay isn’t the most fun activity and is sometimes painful.
     
  • I’ve had ill-timed illnesses, like right around the ramp up to training for races I was looking forward to doing.
     
  • I’ve had a few social media ad campaigns that have fallen flat, which means wasted marketing dollars.

And despite all of those missteps and struggles, I’m not giving up. Those things that haven’t gone as planned are opportunities to understand what I can do better. They give me perspective on how I can approach things differently.

When faced with the choice, you decide whether you give up or not. Throughout life you will find yourself headed toward cement walls all the time. It’s what you choose to do in the moment you are about to make contact with that wall. Will you give up? Will you choose life or will you choose certain doom?

Navigating life is hard. Finding success is hard. But neither will have a positive outcome if giving up becomes your norm.

I look at those 10 seconds of that accident as a microcosm of my life right now. A jarring hit, frantic stressful moments, fishtailing toward that wall … but then dodging the obstacle and coming to a stop.

Life brings us days filled with stress and obstacles to hurdle. But we deal with it directly and then take a pause to breathe, reflect and restore.

Those 10 seconds were likely the scariest of my life. But they just might prove to be the most important.