Music man is the life of the party

The majority of Mike Vaillancourt’s professional colleagues may be half his age, but the Costa Mesa disc jockey uses maturity to his advantage. For the drummer and former dance instructor, being 65 means he has been amusing crowds twice as long as many other musicians.

The talent behind Golden Mike Mobile DJ Entertainment entered the industry inadvertently 15 years ago. While hosting a high school program for his son, a guest was so impressed with his people skills, she asked him to entertain at her daughter’s wedding.

Since then, Vaillancourt has emceed for nearly every kind of event.

“As a musician, I’ve always been up on stage, and the older I get, the less intimidating it is,” he said. “I just love playing music and knowing everybody out there is having a fun time.”

Furthermore, he has lived through generations of music and shares all of it with his audiences. To stay current on the latest hits, Vaillancourt subscribes to an online service, adding that he is quite familiar with Top 40 artists like Justin Timberlake, Fergie and Eminem.

“He is very aware of what’s happening in the contemporary music scene,” said Orange County Market Place President Jeff Teller, for whom Vaillancourt has hosted several events. “He’s a real crowd pleaser, and very talented about getting people to participate.”

In addition to his work at the fairgrounds, Vaillancourt deejays annually for the Komen Race for the Cure at Fashion Island and hosts several events at Fairview Developmental Center each year.

Though he spends every weekend and most holidays performing at private and community events, Vaillancourt said being a disc jockey is more pleasure than toil.

“The only part of my job I consider work is setting up all the equipment and tearing it all down at the end,” he said. “The rest of the time, I get to kibitz and dance.”

With more than 10,000 songs in his library, the disc jockey’s professional audio equipment includes an “exact replica” of Elvis Presley’s microphone — a Christmas gift from his wife — which he painted gold. Vaillancourt further distinguishes himself from the “typical deejay” by immersing himself in the crowd, offering dance tips and sparking interaction.

Though he officially retired two years ago from his design business, Vaillancourt has no plans to give up the deejay business any time soon.

“If someone wants to hire an 80-year-old deejay and I can still stand and dance, I’ll be there,” he said.

Singles and couples are invited to sample Golden Mike’s skills every Friday night at the Newport Beach Golf Course’s Tee Room, 3100 Irvine Ave., where he offers lessons before opening up the floor for dancing. For more information, call (714) 540-3339.