Boston DJ Andy Sussman

A Lifetime of Entertainment & DJ Experience That Started At Age 13

Kids are super creative right? I was 13 and in middle school when I was nominated for the Junior National Honor Society. On top of academic achievements I had to have volunteer experience. Well, I didn't have any.

I was at the age when I was going to all my friends Bar & Bat Mitzvahs as well as having my own. I was also fascinated with our school dances and more specifically - checking out the DJ and all their gear. I had an idea!

I called a local DJ that I had seen at several events where I was a guest (I was smart enough to ask him for a business card). I asked if he would be interested in some help at school dances. At the same time I told the school that my idea for volunteer work was to donate my time with a DJ company at school dances. I have no idea why, but the school agreed! The DJ was also interested in my idea of helping out and let me give it a try.

It turns out that I was a pretty big help and after a month or two, It turned into my first steady paying job. I was officially an assistant DJ.

From ages 13 - 28 I continued working for that company as a school dance and Mitzvah DJ/MC. I also had some corporate and weddings sprinkled in there as well.

High School & Nightclubs.

In 1998 I was in 11th grade (high school junior) and I wanted to branch out and learn about new things in the DJ world. At the time, under 21 nightclubs were pretty big in the Greater Boston area and I wanted to be part of it.

I found my way in by shadowing a very well respected DJ while he was working under 21 nights. This was the first time I learned about turntables since that was the main tool club DJs used back then. He was awesome and let me bring my own headphones, and using a Y splitter, he let me listen to what he was listening to in the headphones while he was DJing. It was an invaluable lesson because I had the full experience of understanding being a turntable DJ before I touched my first record.

You have to start somewhere so when the 18+/21+ club was looking for a "light jockey" I was the first to raise my hand! I knew I was too young to DJ but I could definitely run the intelligent lighting in that place.

Eventually I got to a point where I would fill in at that club when their resident DJs were not there, and I got enough "club" experience that I was offered my own residency at another 21 club!

Time To Go To College.

I graduated high school in 1999 and that summer I reconnected with a hugely respected mixshow DJ named Roy Barboza at JAMN 94.5 Boston. My luck continued because he really took the time to teach me all about radio, beat mixing / blending, editing, and music. He recommended me for a part time job as a member of the JAMN "Street Team" and they hired me. It was a great way to get my foot in the door by representing the radio station and DJing for the radio station at outside events and promotions.

As the summer came to an end, I was ready to move away to college. I became part of the Brandeis University Class of 2003. The awesome part? Both Brandeis and JAMN were both in Waltham, MA. I really wanted to become an Intern, and you had to be a college student for the radio station to consider you. I applied for the internship and got it!

As an intern on the programming side I became Roy's mixshow assistant and had the honor of filling in for Roy when he was away by doing mixshows on-air. On the "on-air" side I was also in the studio with the jocks helping take phone calls, requests, and organizing carts & cd's. I also got to spend time in the audio production studio learning how to voice, edit, and produce commercials and on-air production elements under the expert teaching of Doug MacAskill & Marc Clark. Oh, I was still on the street team too.

After a couple of months, a position opened up as production assistant. A finally got a real paying job as part of the on air team.

As College Progressed & As I Got Older.

Through college I continued to DJ private events and night clubs. It was a great time.

Over the years, I developed a strong friendship with the John DeMarco, owner of one of the under 21 nightclubs that I worked at. He relocated to the Tampa area and wanted help opening a 21+ nightclub around 2003, so I became a partner in this new endeavor (I was still in Boston). I was in charge of designing and installing the sound and lighting systems, creating a logo, writing and producing all the radio spots, and helping with the overall marketing plan. I realized that I was pretty good designing and installing sound and lighting so I decided to branch out and offer my services to small local venues in my area.

In the late 2010's we did it again, and opened an under 21 entertainment complex just outside of Orlando.

Starting TSG and Reinventing Myself In The Wedding World.

In 2009 I decided I wanted a change and wanted to move into weddings. I called an attorney friend from college and i told him I wanted to start my own company. He helped me file all the documents needed and in November of that same year, The Sussman Group (TSG) was born! Since I was going to build a brand based on weddings, why not throw the word weddings in there! It was the birth of TSG Weddings.

Even though I had ~15 years of private event experience, I knew it would be a challenge to break into a huge market that was already over saturated. I spent a few years working on my business plan and it was a very slow and steady elevator ride. I didn't need to get to the top floor, but I definitely wanted a nice view! I wanted to be loved by our clients and other industry professionals and knew it would take time to earn both praise and respect. All I knew was that I had a vision to establish TSG as a higher end wedding business and I would get there ... eventually.

When you start a business, money is not the most important investment. Time is. I spent an unbelievable amount of time on every aspect of the business - from finances, to marketing, to building a team, to networking, to advertising, to meetings, to education .... wow ... it was a lot.

Skipping a few chapters of steady growth and now here we are. I've been in the events industry for ~26 years and built a company and brand that I am not only proud of, but honored to be a part of. I am part of a team of dedicated and talented individuals and not only do we love and respect each other - but we also love and respect our clients and the industry as a whole.

I've always enjoyed helping the industry so around 2010 I started a networking group called the Greater Boston Wedding DJs. Now, the group has almost 350 local wedding DJs and it's a fantastic space where we all share ideas, talk about trends, discuss equipment, and lean on one another for all kinds of industry support.

Boston Wedding & Mix DJ

Boston Wedding & Mix DJ

Hi. I'm Andy, Andrew, Drew.

A Lifetime of Entertainment & DJ Experience That Started At Age 13

High School & Nightclubs.

Time To Go To College.

As College Progressed & As I Got Older.

Starting TSG and Reinventing Myself In The Wedding World.

So .... That's Me. Thanks For Reading, & Taking Time To Get To Know Me.

Sometimes I Get Bored & Post Mixes. Follow Me On MixCloud.

Wanna Reach Out?

DJ Andy Sussman

Boston Wedding & Mix DJ

Boston Wedding & Mix DJ

Hi. I'm Andy, Andrew, Drew.

A Lifetime of Entertainment & DJ Experience That Started At Age 13

High School & Nightclubs.

Time To Go To College.

As College Progressed & As I Got Older.

Starting TSG and Reinventing Myself In The Wedding World.

So .... That's Me. Thanks For Reading, & Taking Time To Get To Know Me.

Sometimes I Get Bored & Post Mixes. Follow Me On MixCloud.

Let's Get Social.

Wanna Reach Out?

DJ Andy Sussman