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ENTERTAINER

A LIFE OF MUSIC

Don Panzik, also known as The Surround Sound Guy from Raleigh, North Carolina, is the founder and owner of Anaheim DJ, Riverside DJ and Spotlight Events and Entertainment.

Born in Bath, NY, and brought up in Cary, NC, Don comes from a musical family. An accomplished musician & composer, Don started by learning drums at age 5; piano at age 9; woodwinds at age 10; guitar at age 12 and bass at age 13. He first performed as a DJ at age 11, did his first gig (and won his first talent show in front of 500 people) at age 12, and professionally began his entertainment career at age 16 in 1976.

Usually the band leader, Don has won several talent contests and "Battles of the Bands" over the years. When asked by the Music Department for his High School graduation, Don gladly recruited a band, rehearsed, performed and sang the class song at his graduation of nearly 2000 attendants in 1978. This included him personally choreographing the entire student body for the event.

Don's first taste as a wedding performer was in 1979 in New York.

As a Professional Entertainer, Don has toured the Southeast, the Caribbean, New England, Hawaii, Western US & Mexico.

Don began to work as a Professional DJ at the Slipaway in St. Thomas in 1985. Later that year he began to spin for some of the other hot spots on the island as well as performing with some of the musicians on the east end of the island, including Morgan Whalen. A year later, he met Kelly Fitzgerald & Brian Pothier who were perfoming at a local club "New York, New York" as Kelly & Brian. The 3 eventually formed a trio, Eden, with Kelly on lead vocals/guitar, Brian on lead guitar and Don on the bass.

Eden spent 3 years touring the Virgin Islands and the New England states, from where Kelly & Brian originally hailed. The band built a strong following wherever they travelled as a Top 40 band, all-the-while working on their own original material. 1989 saw the trio relocating to Southern California where they met drummer Adam Nicol Roach. Now a quartet, the band gained much momentum on the club scene and continued to grow creatively, particularly with Kelly as an emerging songwriter.

In 1992 Don did his first solo project, a rock demo, entitled "Split Personality". He did his second solo project "Inspirations" in 1993, with friends Tom Lowry (engineer), Clif Miller (guitar), Bill & Kim Connors (voices) and Joanne Searson (voice). On the sleeve, Don made this acknowledgement "Special Thanks & Affinity to my soul-mates Kelly, Brian & Adam!"

1994 saw Don departing from Eden and furthering his career as a Mobile Disc Jockey and Emcee with guidance from his friend and fellow Musician/DJ, Bill Connors. After a brief reunion with Eden, he would continue to master his craft as a DJ. Eden went on to become the very popular Vesica Pisces amoung other ventures.

Don and his wife, Jacki, then formed an original rock group, The Tans, in 1996 with Don on lead guitar/vocals, Jacki on vocals/keyboards, Pat Matisson of Kaedmon on bass/vocals & Russ Gregory on drums. Later added was Pat's wife, Anne, on keyboards/vocals. In 1999 he formed a power trio, City, with Clif Miller on guitar/vocals and J.D. Wood on drums.

Don continued to build a strong reputation as a Master of Ceremonies and Wedding DJ and in 1999, Don joined the American Disc Jockey Association as Spotlight Events & Entertainment. Don's business and reputation was really starting to take off and he began to book other bands, solo musicians, magicians and even choirs for his growing clientele.

In 2002, Don & Jacki relocated to Anaheim, California where he renamed his business to Anaheim Disc Jockey. As an MC, the majority of Don's jobs are from word-of-mouth by clients and attendees of his events over the years. His reputation is based on clean, sound ethics and professionalism, as can be verified by his large reference base.

Although Don has performed with some very successful recording artists, such as Nantucket, Molly Hatchet, Rick Springfield & Eddie Money, he considers the following as some of his main mentors: Bill Connors (Massachusetts), Rick Burgess (Orange County), Ray "Raymar" Martinez (Arizona), Randy Bartlett (Sacramento) & Mark Imperial (Chicago).

During the summer of 2006, Don and Jacki bought Admiration Ranch in Riverside, CA, where they currently reside, all-the-while maintaining their steady client base in Anaheim. The business continues to expand and is adding a new leg to cover the inland empire under the name of Riverside DJ.

Don is currently learning to play the banjo (November 08).

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