The greatest gift J.J. Rodriguez ever got was the transistor radio he received for a birthday gift as a child. He could listen day and night, late and early. It was a dream come true. “I could listen any time I wanted to,” said J.J. He became addicted to the music, idolized the deejays on the radio. So when he grew up, it was natural for him to become a deejay. Now, after being a professional radio announcer for 20 years, J.J. is the owner of One-Stop Professional DJ Services, better known as just  One-Stop Party Planners. Deejaying wedding receptions is something he loves even more than spinning CDs.

“The thing I love the most about it is the satisfaction that comes from doing a good job,” he says. “Seeing them smiling and dancing and having a good time.”

And J.J. knows how to make a party a good time. With a natural instinct for music honed by years of experience, he knows just what it takes to get everyone on the dance floor.

The fun part of it is when everyone gets going. That’s when the high-heels come off and  the guys loosen their ties,” J.J. says. The reception, after all, is a celebration, and he knows how to make sure everyone is having a great time. “The secret is great music. And knowing what songs to play and how to play them.”

With a huge music library including the most recent music and spanning back several decades, J.J. arrives with great music to spare. “What I like to do is meet with the brides either on the phone or in person and bring my music library, so they have a sense of how encompassing it is.” When he meets with his clients, he also notes what songs they want to hear and what they expect from their reception.

Whatever they want, J.J. makes sure he’s prepared for anything. “You always have to be prepared for the surprises,” he says. “You have to be prepared to adlib and try to make something happen that perhaps wasn’t planned for. You have to be flexible.”

Flexibility also means working late if he needs to. “Some of the most memorable weddings are the ones where people are having such a good time, that it comes to midnight and they still want to party, and they end up hiring us another hour or so,” J.J. says. It’s happened to him several times.

Making parties is fun is a skill, something he’s worked on for many years. It’s also what makes One-Stop Party Planners stand out from other DJ companies in San Antonio. “We have knowledge, training, maturity, experience. Those take time to be cultivated and grow and bear fruit,” he says. “I think what makes us better is our knowledge of the business and of the music. There’s no substitute for experience. We’ve done this hundreds upon hundreds of times. We know the songs that work and get people to come out on the floor.”

Ultimately, J.J. has found that his secret to success is no secret. “We do what we say we’re going to do. That sounds so simplistic, but there are so many people who don’t. We deliver what we promise. If we say we’re going to be there at a certain time, we’ll be there, dressed appropriately. We try to meet or exceed their expectations.”