Mr. Saturday Night

A violet flyer whips in the wind as dusk brings the weekend and another Thursday night. The poster unwrinkles, revealing a name that will cause some to brag and others to wail. Two words, centered in bold, shout this name to passersby: DJ Bob (tonight, 11 p.m.).

It's hard to miss all the posters around campus advertising a DJ Bob performance at one club or another each weekend. You might say DJ Bob is as much a Princeton staple as, perhaps, Bicker or Firestone Library.

And yet, how much do we really know about this mythical mystery man?

Well, DJ Bob is happy to dispense with all the rumors and misconceptions surrounding his enigmatic persona.

For example, contrary to popular belief, he does not and has never lived in Cottage Club, and it is not always Bob himself who deejays at Prospect Avenue parties.

"I think everyone just thinks that the company is called DJ Bob," Cottage's social chair Bob Zimardo '02 said. "He doesn't really sleep on our couches."

Bob Sallade, as he is known by the rest of the world, is, in fact, the owner of Soundtracks Entertainment — an company based in Sicklerville, N.J., which has been in business since 1985.

"I am the deejay a lot of people know, but Soundtracks is the company I am," he explained in a recent interview.

According to Sallade, his company deejays events "everywhere between Philly and New York." So clearly, DJ Bob could not be a one-man show.

In fact, many deejays work for Soundtracks Entertainment, any of which can represent the "DJ Bob" all those posters on campus advertise.

"I actually have 10 deejays work[ing] for me, [though] a lot of people think I do all the parties," he explained.

More fallacies about 'DJ Bob' still abound. For instance, Sallade's company does not perform exclusively at Princeton.

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To begin with, Sallade said many entertainment companies specialize in one area of performance such as weddings, proms or colleges.

Soundtracks Entertain-ment specializes in colleges, and its services have been used often at 15 colleges in the area including the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, Drexel University, Temple University and the College of New Jersey.

"For the price he goes for, they're the best place around in central Jersey," Zimardo said, noting that Cottage hires him about twice a month.

"As far as the variety of the things they do, he's probably the best for us," he continued. "He always goes out of his way to make sure we have a good time."

Another misconception is that Sallade's company only deejays for parties.

Sallade clarified, "The deejaying end of it is only a part of what we do."

Soundtracks, which has its official Website at www.soundtracksnj.com, also offers special effects shows, karaoke, sound and lighting productions and party supplies.

Sallade notes that they also have engineers who work solely with bands.

"We did the sound system for Barenaked Ladies in Quad's backyard . . . before anyone knew who they were," he said.

In fact, it was the Quadrangle Club that acted as the liaison, bringing DJ Bob to Princeton.

Sallade said he still "distinctly remembers" how his deejaying relationship with Princeton began 10 years ago.

He recounted the story of how he was deejaying "somewhere in Trenton" when Quad's caterer, Henry Page, saw and liked his performance. According to Sallade, Page took his business card and passed it on to Quad's social chair.

"I began deejaying parties at Princeton in 1991 . . . The first two events I did were at Quadrangle Club," he said.

So, with his 10-year history with the University, it is clear that Sallade has his finger on the pulse of Princeton's social life at the 'Street.' "We just know the people very well and we know what the people want to hear," he said.

Though Sallade can't pinpoint one specific type of music most popular on campus, or even at a particular club, he notes that it is this fact that makes Princeton a great place to deejay.

"That's what makes Princeton so unique. It's really a diverse group of people, [so] we vary the music, even within each club," he explained. "[Princeton] has such a mixture of people [that] we try to play every type of music. That's our main goal."

However, when asked which club or event was his favorite, Sallade chose to give a diplomatic response, noting that it would be a bad business maneuver to single out one of his clients as his favorite.

Clearly it has been a combination of his good business maneuvers and his talents as a DJ that has maintained Sallade's reputation at Princeton as a great deejay.

Since 1991, Sallade and his employees have deejayed at countless parties on Prospect Avenue. The clubs boast loudly their acquisitions of DJ Bob's services because he is one of the favored deejays on campus.

"People seem more excited when DJ Bob is at a certain club," Chris Murphy '04 said.

Keija Parssinen '03 agreed. "Besides the name, Bob plays good music," she said. "If I see him advertised at a club, I will definitely stop by there."

And the feeling is mutual for Sallade.

Despite his mysterious deejaying persona, regardless of all the different eating clubs he has played at, and despite the number of colleges at which Sallade and his fellow deejays play, Sallade notes that Princeton is his favorite place to perform.

"Just in general, [Princeton] is probably my favorite place to play," he remarked.

As if we didn't know.