A Dorky Guy with a Great Sense of Rhythm

 

DJ Max James Comics.jpg
 

Oh, Hello!

 

Max, trying his best to look cool. (2022)

My name is Max James, and it’s my job to entertain you!

I'm a DJ, emcee, and trumpet player living in Kansas City. I've been DJing since I was 15 and playing the trumpet since I was 9. Since my freshman year of college, I’ve worked as a wedding DJ, spending nearly every weekend helping couples make memories on the most important days of their lives. When I’m not working a wedding, you can usually find me performing in bars and clubs around the KC metro! If I’m not doing that, I’m probably DMing a game of Dungeons and Dragons or watching a Marvel movie.

My classical training in trumpet, especially in jazz, has given me a pretty unique perspective on music. I’m always listening for some way to mix songs that have no business being together. Fun fact: Usher and Brendon Urie actually sound great as a duet!

On the note of fun facts, I also run Intelligence Check Trivia! I just wanted to learn how to become a better emcee, instead I ended up learning how to express myself while being a giant dork. Now you can find me nearly every weekday joking around about my favorite movies, books and board games. The only thing I’ve been doing longer than playing music? Talking too much.

All this to say - I love my job!

 
 

Reviews and Testimonials 

Below, you can find a few of my clients saying nice things about me! While I’ve never received anything below 5 Stars, let’s just be real. Would I post the bad reviews?

 
  • “Hire Max James NOW!

    My husband and I are both musicians, so naturally music was a very important part of our wedding. Max was a blast to work with throughout the planning process, and we loved his creativity, sense of humor, and obvious passion and excitement for what he does.

    Our ceremony included a live guitar, piano, and 8 voice choir, all outdoors. We had a live jazz combo at our cocktail hour and envisioned an enormous dance party at our reception. Max made our vision come to life and executed all of our complicated sound requests with ease!

    Max is so fun and his demeanor makes him an awesome emcee. His DJ skills are absolutely out of this world - our guests continue to tell us, even months after our wedding, how it was the best party they'd ever been to, and how the DJ kept the party going all night. We couldn't agree more, and are so grateful to Max for all he did to make our wedding amazing!!”

  • “Being in the wedding industry, I had previously worked with Max before booking him for my wedding. When I got engaged, I did not hesitate to reach out to Max and ask if he was available. I even asked if he was available BEFORE booking our wedding date. So, I knew what to expect with the quality of his work. But, my guests were WOWED by Max. Not only by his talent, but also his personality and ability to keep everyone entertained for *literal* hours. Our dance floor was packed with people of all ages. From 5 year olds to 65 year olds, everyone was shaking a leg on the dance floor!

    Since our wedding day, I have heard nothing but compliments about DJ Max! Everyone in attendance at our wedding has continuously RAVED about their experience at our event! The dance floor was packed all night, we even had to move tables to make the dance floor bigger! All I have heard from our guests about our wedding has been compliment after compliment and that is no doubt because of Max. If you haven't heard already, the DJ can MAKE or BREAK your party. If you want your party to be MADE, please PLEASE hire Max. Guests won't remember what font you use on the menu..they won't remember those tiny things you are worrying about..but let me be the first to tell you they WILL remember a good dance floor!

    If I could give more than 5 stars I would. 100/10 for sure.”

  • “MAX IS AMAZING! Cannot say enough wonderful things about him, and neither can all my wedding guests. Best decision I made all around involving my wedding. My planner said in her 20+ years of wedding planning, she had never seen so many people dancing and out of their seats. He was an awesome MC, getting everyone involved on and off the dance floor and having a blast. The lights, music, mixes ... everything was perfect. Great communication, and he did everything we asked of him and so much more. He even was willing to travel all the way to St. Louis for my wedding. If you are searching for a DJ for an event or wedding, HIRE MAX ASAP! I have been to so many weddings and he is by far THE BEST. Only wish he lived in STL so that I could check out his local DJ gigs regularly. Thanks so much Max for making my wedding day better than I could ever imagine!!!”

Enough talk, let’s hear some music

I’d like to invite you to check out some of my mixes and mashups. If you’d like a copy of any of these, feel free to shoot me an email! (And then, I dunno, book me to come play these live. Maybe. Just an idea.)

Mashups

This first one’s a favorite of mine. I came up with this while I was a resident at Fountain Haus, an LGBTQIA+ bar in Wesport KC. I shared it with a good DJ friend after I created it, and she dropped this edit in that club before I had a chance to do so. I’m totally not bitter.

Someone on TikTok requested I make a mashup of Miley and Daft Punk, and this was the best idea that came out of it. It’ll end abruptly, not because of an error in software, but because it’s supposed to be “short-form content".” (Read: TikTok viewers have short attention spans. Self included.)

This one’s my latest work. See? I told you they work well together.*

*only makes sense if you read my bio on the homepage

Mixes

This first set of mixes is from 2018, where I was commissioned with fellow DJs in KC to create some ambient mixes for a popular salon located in downtown KC. I’ve always been particularly proud of these, they’re a great representation of music I enjoy (and they’re perfect to throw on when I need a pee break).

The Vinyl Break

Insta Max