Hackensack, N.J. — Remember The Hustle? Jeffrey Craig Siber does.
That was back in 1974 when he started his DJing journey, in Brooklyn, teaching the popular dance with a DJ partner. And now, 44 years later, Siber is in New Jersey, a partner in Total Entertainment, which books north of $15 million per year.
You’d think a company that large would have a warehouse the size of a Home Depot. Siber does — 36,000 square feet, with five trucks, and he rents about two dozen 16- to 24-footers every weekend.
That’s a lot of parties, many upsells, and plenty of customer service. With so much history to recall, we asked Siber some of his trade secrets.
DJ Times: You got your start with The Hustle.
Jeff Siber: It was with a partner, and we did shows in Long Island and I used to put on shows in the Catskills. It was great, and then Son of Sam came [in 1977] and everybody did not want to go out. So I started teaching in houses, and somebody came to me and asked if I can do anything more than teaching dancing. So I went out and borrowed turntables and guitar amps and records from all my friends. I had a gooseneck microphone, and I did my first Sweet 16. I was 20-years old at the time, and I did it for $10 an hour.
