TOAST & JAM

Toast and Jam DJs are hand-picked. We don't take resumes or applications; we recruit DJs through events or radio shows based on their talent, their personalities, their appreciation of music, and their love of weddings.

We have an extensive knowledge of all kinds of music, so we can design a playlist that fits your tastes and the mood of the event. We can provide music for your ceremony and reception, and we collaborate with caterers and other vendors to time each event with the appropriate musical accompaniment. The result is a beautifully soundtracked event that keeps people dancing and having a good time.

Fed up with the cheesy antics and shameless self-promotion of typical wedding disc jockeys, Mary Nisi founded Toast and Jam in 2005 based on the idea that brides, grooms and guests should be entertained, not overshadowed. Music-obsessed since childhood, Mary parlayed her extensive knowledge into a seven-year run as host of her own radio show in Chicago and numerous DJ stints at The Hideout, Danny's, Schuba's, The Burlington, Delilah's and AV-Aerie Gallery. In 2008, Mary was invited to DJ at All Tomorrow's Parties, the legendary music festival in Camber Sands, England. She also serves as Director of the Record Fair and Other Delights at Chicago's Pitchfork Music Festival and is a founding member of the Chicago Indie Radio Project (CHIRP). She currently hosts "The Noonday Underground" on Mondays from noon to 3pm on CHIRPradio.org. Mary is a graduate of DePaul University and a native of Omaha, Nebraska.

Hail Mary's Jam: American Boy by Estelle (featuring Kanye West)

Kate cut her DJ teeth spinning records at the Rollerworld Roller Rink in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and she spent more than ten years in radio as a DJ on WIDR in Kalamazoo and WPHS in Detroit. Currently she is the co-host of Kate & Rachel's Old Style Show on WLUW in Chicago (Tuesdays 12am-2am). Although Kate has a particular passion for punk, soul, and psych, her depth of knowledge and deep down love of music make her DJ sessions pop. An avid pinball enthusiast who never misses the Annual Pinball Expo and a crack hockey player for X-Factor, Kate's subtle humor and Michigan charm will get your guests flying to the dance floor. Kate also works for Home Pet Care and volunteers at the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Kate's Jam Guaranteed to Get Booties Shaking: Mony Mony (the ORIGINAL version)

Rachel's musical expertise ranges from opera to reggae, but she got a soft spot for the 60s and 70s jams she spins as co-host on Kate & Rachel's Old Style Show, a popular late night program on Chicago's WLUW 88.7FM. She also enjoys spinning her vintage vinyl at places such as The Whistler and Beauty Bar. Rachel earned her Bachelor's of Music Degree in vocal performance, and dawn-lights as a cantor in Chicago and Wilmette. Rachel has been with Toast and Jam for 6 seasons and adores her job as a dance-floor connoisseur. Never one to limit herself creatively, Rachel has wrestled for KPOWW (Kalamazoo Precinct of Women's Wrestlers) and helped to choreograph the Miss Kalamazoo County Beauty Pageant. When she is not spending money on records, dancing her pants off, or playing guitar in her band Squish, Rachel enjoys racquetball, chicken-raising, and dessert.

Rachel's 90s Jam: Pump Up the Jam by Technotronic

Dustin is happy to be the token male of Toast & Jam, a group he describes as "a bunch of really great DJs who just happen to be female." A self-proclaimed dude with a lot of records, Dustin studied journalism as a means to get paid to write about music, gracing the print and online pages of Stop Smiling magazine and MTV2. He started DJing at local clubs and bars in his early 20s, landing a number of residencies along the way. As of late, you can find him at monthly gigs at Coles or the Whistler in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood, and he can be heard each and every Wednesday from 8pm - 10pm on CHIRPradio.org. A veteran of the local record label scene, Dustin worked his way through ranks at Drag City and Locust Music before venturing out on his own with two boutique labels, Addenda and Plustapes, in 2008. As if all that weren't enough to keep a man busy, Dustin still plies his journalism trade as a features editor at Dusted Magazine and spends his days as a photo librarian for a vintage car magazine. An obsessive collector of records and comic books, chances are good that you'll run into him digging through the stacks at one of the many fine stores around town.

Dustin's Secret Weapon Jam: Kids by MGMT

Kristin began her love affair with radio at WONC as the traffic announcer, moving on to WNTH with her local punk show "The Backyard", and now CHIRPradio.org, where she DJs from noon to 3pm on Wednesdays. Kristin works for Carrot Top Records and volunteers reading newspaper articles and novels out loud at CRIS Radio Chicago, a station for people who are blind or visually impaired. A competitive Irish Step Dancer for 12 years, Kristin has danced at The St. Patrick's Day parade, with the celt-punk band Dropkick Murphys and at the Mid-West America Oireachtas and the U.S. Nationals. She has DJed around Chicago at spots such as Cole's, The Whistler, Liars Club, The Mutiny, Sonotheque, Town Hall, Fat Cat, Darkroom and Danny's. Kristin's talent for flow is not limited to records; she was also a finalist at the Great Lakes Regional Barista Championship.

Kristin's Get Your Groove On Jam: Come On Eileen

Leslie earned her musical cred working at Chicago's famous Reckless Records and DJing at local bars such as Danny's, Delilah's, Schubas. Originally from Chicago, Leslie bounced around the country, from Austin to Seattle, collecting records along the way. She loves all music ("even country," she says) and has a knack for putting together playlists and making mix tapes. Leslie's hobbies include playing records, shopping for records, staring at records and dreaming of records. Although music feeds the soul, it does little for the tummy, so Leslie is studying nutrition at the University of Illinois-Chicago with plans to become a registered dietitian.

Leslie Loves Cool Jams: Superstition by Stevie Wonder & Don't Stop Til You Get Enough

Laura brings West Coast flava to Toast & Jam. She spent five years in L.A. promoting records to independent and non-commercial radio stations, and now she DJs for one, hosting the 3-6pm show on CHIRPradio.org. And while her day job keeps her on top of new music, her heart belongs to the old stuff: soul, 60s rock and roll, and punk. Laura majored in English Lit and Women's Studies at Western Michigan University, where she hosted a radio show called Midnight-A-Go-Go with our own Kate Porter. When she's not busy trying to make a house (she came to Chicago with only what would fit in her '94 Corolla), Laura enjoys eating food, talking about food and riding around Logan Square on her new bicycle.

Laura's jam to really bring down the house: Do You Love Me by The Contours

Imagine, if you will, a magical place where there are no cover charges. No dress codes. Just a laid back vibe where you can dance your ass off to Aretha Franklin and Britney Spears without even a hint of embarrassment. Dena Masley brought this dream to life when she launched a monthly dance party in her home town of St. Paul, and now she's brought her passion for totally dance-able music to Toast & Jam. Dena kicked off her DJ career co-hosting a radio show The Commute at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she majored in Radio, Television and Film. She can be heard on CHIRPradio.org and at her traveling dance party called This is Great We're Great (at various dates and locations around town). An avid "soundtracker," Dena likes to create playlists for everything from going on a walk to people-watching at Germanfest. In her free time, this Logan Square resident enjoys dancing, football and soup.

Dena's Dance-All-Night Slow Jam: Anything from Sam Cooke, especially You Send Me and Cupid

Carrie started DJing six or seven years ago (at the Fireside Bowl) because she loved music (and thought she could do a way better job than the dudes who usually manned the turntables). Turns out, Carrie's got miles of style, with music and beyond. This Detroit native worked for years as a stylist (a job she got because the boss liked her coat), styling ads for glamorous brands like Land's End, JC Penney and Sears. Her passion for fashion took her to L.A., but after just seven months (blame the traffic and smog), she hightailed it back to Chicago, where she's now studying to be a vet tech. So while she's learning to help animals, she's also making you dance like one, DJing around town at Cole's, the Whistler and Town Hall. Carrie lives in Logan Square and her first concert was The Monkees with special guest Weird Al Yankovic.

Carrie's Couture Cut: Anything by Ke$ha

Hometown girl Amanda grew up in Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood, where she attended Catholic school. For 13 years. And what did the nuns teach her? How to rock! Amanda plays bass in The Krunchies, which plays "stupid punk" at the Double Door, Subterranean, the Empty Bottle and other spots around town. In addition to punk, she's got a soft spot for soul and pop, as evidenced by her musically-named cats Tito and Jermaine (they are brothers, natch). A DJ for years, Amanda particularly loves working weddings because it gives her the chance to turn even the most straight-laced guest into a dance floor maniac. And while we're talking about maniacs, you should know that Amanda requires that her pizza be cut into squares because she likes to stack slices on top of each other into a sort of pizza club sandwich. Obsessive pizza behavior? Hey, we told you she was from Chicago.

Amanda's Mighty Nice Slice: Twenty Five Miles by Edwin Starr

Sarah grew up in Duluth, Minnesota, where she proudly embraced the city's reputation for having the highest voter turnout in the United States. She studied history at Coe College in Iowa, whose caucuses are the first major electoral event of the presidential nominating process. Shortly after graduation, Sarah took the next logical step on her patriotic, all-American journey: she moved to Japan. There she taught English and also started deejaying at a club called the Mominoki House, where she rocked the crowd with old soul, classic rock and dance hits. In 2005 she brought her crazy skills, both at teaching and deejaying, to Chicago, where she teaches English Language Arts to 7th and 8th graders. If she can make diagramming sentences fun to bunch of 13-year-olds, just imagine what she can do at your event!

Sarah's Surefire Golden Hit: One More Time by Daft Punk

For Natalie, the perfect playlist is like a work of art. Start with a 50s pop canvas, add some brush strokes of 60s rock, splatter some British post-punk for texture and depth, and, voila, the Renoir of Raging Dance Floors. Natalie, a Rolling Meadows, Ill. native, studied art at Edgewood College in Wisconsin and is pursuing a Masters of Arts in Administration and Policy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A former Assistant Curator at the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art in Chicago, Natalie continues to independently curate art exhibitions around town and also paints, sculpts and makes jewelry from found objects in her home art studio. But music, painting and sculpture aren't Natalie's only mediums: she's also well-versed in the Art of the Wedding, having worked as a wedding coordinator for several years.

Natalie's Musical Masterpiece: Runaround Sue by Dion

For Erica, whose dad hosts a show at a community radio station in Minnesota, DJing is a more than a passion; it's a genetic predisposition. Also part of her birthright: crazy agriculture skills. Erica grew up in the small farming town of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, so it's no surprise that she's managed to cultivate a garden everywhere she's ever lived, including her Logan Square apartment. When she's not canning the fruits (or in most cases, vegetables) of her labor, Erica, an English major, tutors children in creative writing through the non-profit 826 CHI, writes poetry and essays, and works for the Chicago Artist Resource, where she is a Literary Researcher. She enjoys riding her bikes, listening to psychedelic music, and hanging out at that Toast & Jam mainstay Cole's. She also volunteers with CHIRPradio.org and, taking a cue from her pops, hosts her own radio show from 9am-noon on Mondays.

Erica's Delicious Canned Jam: TiK ToK by Ke$ha

Emily was born in California but her family moved about every three years, thanks to her dad's job as an architect. Never able to really sow roots, she learned how to sew clothes instead! A freelance seamstress, Emily has created dresses for bridesmaids and costumes for burlesque performers using vintage fabrics and patterns. She even sewed her own wedding dress! When she's not scouring the city looking for cool fabrics, Emily, a classically trained percussionist, plays drums in a band called the Maybenauts. While she cut her teeth on punk and indie rock and cites the Pixies as her all-time favorite band, her latest musical obsession is old girl groups like the Shangri-las, the Fabulettes, and Goldie and the Gingerbreads. A seriously smart cookie, Emily holds a Master's degree in Women's Studies and hosts a radio show on CHIRPradio.org (Tuesdays from 8-10pm).

Emily's Sew-Sweet Jam: This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) by the Talking Heads

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Jena deejayed there for almost six years before making the move to Chicago, happily trading in Buffalo's average minimum temperature of 17.8 degrees for Chicago's balmy 18.30. Jena has brought her love of indie rock, electro, Top 40 and hip-hop to countless weddings, dance parties, and events, including a Buffalo Bills player reunion, several parties hosted by Sabres Coach, Lindy Ruff, and recently, the annual Steppenwolf Theater Gala. In her free time, Jena can be found toying around on Ableton (music mixing software), watching her favorite TV shows, blogging, and occasionally DJing at bars in Logan Square and beyond.

Jena's State Pride Jam: Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z

Lots of kids wish for a pony. Jennefa actually had one, an Arabian named Prince who lived on her family's horse farm in Kenosha, the Home of the Mars' Cheese Castle. While her parents and brother still run their horse boarding agency and riding school in Wisconsin, Jennefa trotted (or maybe galloped ... we don't actually know the difference, but Jennefa does) down to Chicago for school. She is currently studying secondary education and art at Northeastern Illinois University and is chomping at the bit to be an art teacher. Jennefa has held down a variety of gigs in the wedding industry, including caterer, photographer and even stage manager (for some actor friends who turned their wedding into a full-on theatrical production). She is thrilled to be back in the wedding saddle again, but this time as a DJ because she loves to make people dance. Jennefa lives in Humboldt Park, where she enjoys gardening, hosting barbecues in her backyard and baking National Velvet ... er, I mean, red velvet cupcakes.

Jennefa's Triple Crown Winner: Forget You by Cee Lo Green

You 'd never guess from her warm and spirited demeanor that DJ Karin was born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This cold-weather child (who actually isn 't a huge fan of winter) has the hots for vinyl records, particularly the soul, power pop, punk and new wave tracks she plays on her radio show (Wednesdays from 6-8pm) on CHIRP; she 's also CHIRP 's Event Director. Karin studied film and media studies at Chicago 's Loyola University, where a research project led her to vegetarianism -- ask her to share her soup and thai curry recipes. Karin lives in Humboldt Park and often DJs at The Whistler and Cole 's. She was a Spelling Bee Champion and even went to the Wisconsin state championships in 6th grade. Can you spell awesome?

Karin 's So-Cold-It 's-Hot Track: Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill

Most people consider the U.S. Virgin Islands a pretty awesome place to vacation. DJ Ruby considers them home. A native of St. Croix, Ruby lived there with her brother and her parents, a folk and calypso duo whom she often accompanied on gigs. Touring with mom and dad, aka Peter & Eileen, taught Ruby some valuable lessons that she carries with her as a DJ today, like how to read crowds and wrap cords. Ruby left the island (in body, but never in spirit!) to attend Suffolk University in Boston and worked as a bike activist in Brooklyn before moving to Chicago, where she nannies and continues to advocate for urban bicyclists. She loves dancing, particularly at The Hideout and at Soul Night at The Empty Bottle and, as a wedding DJ, finds great joy in seeing guests kick off their shoes and get their fancy clothes sweaty on the dancefloor.

Ruby 's Off-Island Jam: Dancing in the Dark by Bruce Springsteen

You might recognize DJ Allison from her supporting role in a TV commercial for a California insurance company back in the late 80s. (No autographs, please.) She and her twin sister Christina were on the road to stardom, even visiting the set of Full House where they were considered for the role of Michelle Tanner. Thankfully, Allison 's mom decided against the entertainment industry and instead of ending up in an E! True Hollywood Story, Allison went on to major in accounting at Cal Poly. An avid cyclist, Allison works at Upgrade Cycle Works in Wicker Park and recently visited Austin, Texas for the North American Cycle Courier Championship. When she 's not riding her bike, she can be found listening to indie rock and oldies and preparing a vegan meal. Is Thai her favorite? You got it, dude!

Allison 's Child-Star Track: Hall and Oates ' You Make My Dreams

DJ Carrie Weston is a modern day explorer. She has a talent for scouring the racks of Chicago 's thrift stores with the same dedication and vision as Hernando Desoto, except instead of discovering the Mississippi River, she 's likely to find a very fabulous vintage dress or bespoke hat. Like Ferdinand Magellan, she 's practically circumnavigated the globe; past trips include Belgium, New Zealand, India and Iceland. And although she 'd never want to conquer the Aztecs like Cortez, Carrie has conquered dance floors both in Chicago at spots like The Hideout, The Whistler, The Burlington and Rotofugi Gallery and abroad at All Tomorrow 's Parties Festivals in the U.K. and even a wedding in Frankfurt, Germany. Carrie may love a voyage as much as Christopher Columbus did, as a realtor and co-owner of Big Shoulders Realty, she 's also a fan of putting down roots and helping people to do the same. You can catch her radio show Reverberation every Monday at 11am on WLUW 88.7

Carrie 's Bon Voyage Beat: Laid by James

DJ Photos by Jeremy Lawson Photography