A party boat cruises out of Long Beach Harbor as skinny model types robotically gyrate to a stale beat of Madonna tunes. Their mood is subdued, and some partygoers socialize while others watch the skyscrapers and urban skyline fade in the distance. The crowd turns ecstatic when Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys takes the small stage. Armed with only a turntable and a Serato but with thousands of tunes, he begins to spin songs ranging from Led Zeppelin's “Immigrant Song” to Beastie Boys' “Intergalactic” as the crowd — including drunken frat boys and a few seasick 20-somethings, start cheering. You need a wad of cash to afford Mix Master Mike, but this premier spinmeister is one of 35 specialty DJs hooked up with Copeland Entertainment, a cutting-edge operation run by Mix Master Mike's wife, Dianne Copeland. If you want a reasonably priced DJ to spin Top 40, Latin, house, trance or hip-hop at your pool party, or if you can pay the steeper price for recognizable talent like DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill, it's a sure way to get your party started. (310) 281-3030, copelandentertainment.com.

—Christine Pelisek

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