Two hours before his Saturday gig began, DJ Brett telephoned his boss, Judy Bradley, with some unusual news.  As the owner of Murrayville, Ga.-based JB Jams, Bradley feared the worst.  Was her DJ employee sick? Did his car break down? Did he want more money? No, no, and no. It was far worse. The 21-year-old Brett called to inform Bradley that he had shaved his head and pierced his nose.

In a mild state of shock, Bradley told Brett to show up for the gig anyway – a 50^th anniversary party, no less.  “I knew I could probably get away with it with this particular client,” says Bradley. “But I thought, ‘How can someone that’s worked for me for so long not consider our company image?’ After the gig, I told him we really needed to talk.”

In the past, nose studs, tongue barbells and eyebrow rings were generally associated with punk rockers, biker gangs and prison residents. Today, however, in a culture that’s rapidly overrun by Starbuck’s, Gap stores and other models of conformity, such facial accessories are one of the few remaining expressions of individuality. Same goes for tattoos.

But when so many mobile DJ company owners believe that such body art portrays an unprofessional image, it’s clear that this issue is one of manager-employee relations – and a gray one at that.

To some multi-system owners, having a pierced DJ in the ranks indicates a loss of control over their company. This is where it gets tricky: By nature, DJs are creative personalities. How can an owner attract creative types and at the same time impose a “dress code”? The owners we spoke with answered in various ways.

Paul Binder of San Ramon, Cal., forbids his DJs from wearing hoop earrings. The owner of California Music Express and a DJ Times’ scribe, Binder once personally oversaw that one particular employee remove an eyebrow ring before each gig. “It all comes down to company image and what kind of jobs you want to do,” he says. “If you’re just trying to do clubs and school dances, then maybe [piercings and tongue barbells] are OK. But we’re more into corporate gigs and weddings, and if you have tattoos and earrings, you’re screwed. In our market, with the money we’re getting, clients are expecting a certain image.”

Binder – who also once instituted a company-wide “no-goatee” policy until he grew one himself – does permit his jocks to wear earring studs. “No hoops,” he says. “We’re not looking to do the big hip-hop nightclub scene. And even if we’re doing a school dance, I’d rather impress the administration than the kids, because that’s where the check comes from.”

According to Scott Wright, the owner of Mound City Music, a Wisconsin-based consulting company for mobile DJs, it’s best for owners to talk to their employees one-on-one and tactfully explain that what they’re wearing might not be acceptable for this type of work.

“It might be acceptable if you’re into the bar scene,” Wright says. “But as these DJs work their way up through the organization and they’re now working weddings where they’re getting paid big bucks to represent the company, I think as an owner you might need to set your foot down.”

More effective than a one-on-one is an “appearance contract.” It’s a great way to standardize your company’s dress code with regard to body piercings, tattoos – even smoking and drinking booze on the job. “In today’s legal world,” says Wright, “you might have a problem firing a DJ for drinking on the job if you don’t have it in a contract form. It protects you as an owner from having some employee come back and give you a legal nightmare.”

“Generally, if you’re a smaller company, a lot of the federal regulations regarding workplace rules don’t apply,” says attorney Jeffrey Walters of Reynolds & Kenline. “Depending on the size of the company, rules such as the Americans with Disabilities Act don’t apply unless you have a certain number of employees. I think a smaller company could always establish a new policy regarding appearance and make it applicable to all employees.

“I suggest establishing dress code criteria that says body piercings are not allowed, or that tattoo artwork be covered up,” says Walters. “Let’s face it, DJs are in the entertainment business, and in the entertainment business, wardrobe and appearance are a very, very important part of any job function.”

For some companies, Walters believes, a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a prudent way to avoid violating an employee’s rights. “But remember,” he says, “as a private business you’re not under the guise of the government’s rules that allow an individual to have free speech. You are free to establish your own dress codes, so long as they’re not discriminating. Just note in your policy manual that the employee will first get a warning, and if they violate their warning, it could be grounds for discharge.”

Binder weeds out most awkward appearance issues through his hiring practices. “When we hire a DJ, it’s kind of a rule,” Binder says. “I don’t think loosening up our cosmetic rules would make us any more money.”

Wright concurs. “A lot of these appearance issues can be handled during the interview process,” he says. “A neat appearance and being able to present yourself in a professional manner is the number one most important thing. During the interview, it needs to be stressed that appearance, in terms of personal hygiene and clothing and hairstyle, needs to be professional.”

While recently interviewing a new entertainer, Brian Doyle had to tread cautiously when the potential employee arrived with big diamonds in both of his ears. “As nicely as we could,” says Doyle, owner of Concord, Cal.-based Denon & Doyle, “one of our first questions for him was, ‘Would you be insulted if we asked you to take your earrings out?’ Many guys have their ears pierced nowadays – it’s almost normal. But our company has a blanket policy to avoid confusion about when and where guys have to pull their earrings out.”

Dan Moreland takes a radically different approach. The owner of Southern Cal-based Thatz Entertainment, Moreland’s five DJs all wear body piercings – and not just one earring, usually two or three per ear. “But if someone were to ask us to remove our piercings,” he says, “we would not have a problem with doing that. I want to make the customer happy.”

Years ago, when one of his DJs began sporting a new look – shaved head, rings and barbells in his eyebrow and tongue – Moreland’s biggest fear was that other vendors would react negatively. “At first, they were turned off by my DJ,” he recalls. “But as these vendors started to see the events this DJ was doing, because of his professionalism, he became one of my most highly recommended guys.”

In Moreland’s view, his DJs are entertainers, and they should be allowed to retain anything that defines their personality. “If someone has a piercing in his nose, but he’s a great DJ, that’s him and it shouldn’t affect his DJing. And as long as he does a great job for the customer, that’s what I care about.”

Though Moreland enforces a dress code for his jocks – tuxedos must be worn at all events – he insists that such a code should not prohibit piercings. “A dress code to me is what you’re wearing, while a body piercing would be more like a hairstyle. If you have long hair or are bald or have short hair or whatever, that’s the way you are.

“Up until two weeks ago, I had long hair, and I’ve had some brides tell us at bridal shows that they don’t want a long-haired DJ at their wedding reception or they don’t want a DJ with earrings. If they decide to go somewhere else, that’s fine. But I can assure them that my DJs are as good or better than any other DJs in the industry.”

To date, Moreland says he has never received any negative feedback regarding his DJs’ piercings.

Obviously, what works in Southern California might not work in the rural north Georgia town of Murrayville. After her employee, DJ Brett, performed the 50^th anniversary party with his head shaved and nose pierced, owner Bradley had her one-on-one with him. “I told him that if this was his way of expressing himself, I would not suppress it. But unfortunately, it’s not a style I can have for JB Jams – it’s not professional. We are in the South, and a tall, white, skinny boy with a bald head is not a good thing. It’s a whole ’nother world down here.”

DJ Brett apologized, saying that he honestly never made the connection that it would put JB Jams in a bad spot. He promised he would talk with Bradley about any future major changes in his appearance.

“I’ve always thought that my fellows should be clean-cut,” says Bradley. “They can have a beard or earrings, I don’t care, but they have to be tasteful. This is my company and my name is on everything, and I don’t think that a nose ring is appropriate for someone who’s in front of people. It’s like being a woman and wearing gaudy jewelry – it’s just not appropriate.”

To prevent a repeat occurrence, JB Jams Entertainment drafted a document explaining the company’s appearance expectations. “It’s just a sheet of paper that tells of the image we are trying to project and what types of appearances would not reflect well on our company,” says Bradley. “It’s our way of dealing with the gray areas, and we have our guys sign it.”

Doyle takes this idea one step further: He enforces a dress code for his DJs even when they’re setting their systems up before a job. “They’re not allowed to wear blue jeans,” he says. “They have to wear khaki shorts. We go all the way down to those details, because we don’t want to receive complaints about our guys wearing Hooters T-shirts and raggy jeans.”

But Doyle – who once booted a multi-pierced employee who looked “too rough” – probably took the most pro-active approach when he had his own ear pierced. “I did it as a rebellious thing,” he explains. “Every blue moon I’ll wear it around the office, and then I’ll pull it just to show the rest of the guys that I have to do it, too. A lot of people just automatically assume that if a guy has a cigarette in his hand or a tattoo or piercing, that he’s a punk rocker. That’s a big concern with us. The ladies can wear earrings – that’s fine – but we’re constantly reminding our guys to pull them out.”

For the sake of professionalism, JD Fields forbids his male employees from wearing piercings. “I have a couple DJs who have their ears pierced, and I usually have them take out their earrings prior to the show, unless it’s a small stud,” the Snohomish, Wash.-based mobile says. “They definitely take out the large hoops.”

Recently, one of Fields’ DJs had his tongue pierced – a clear violation of the Chase the Beat employee manual. “I didn’t want to get rid of him because he’s an extremely good DJ,” says Fields. “But I’ve definitely picked him for certain shows and turned him away from other shows because of his piercing.”

In fact, Fields says there have been many times he’s wanted to get a piercing himself, but professionalism prevailed over peer pressure. “Out here in Washington, there have been a huge number of people with tongue piercings,” he says. “I’m beginning to understand that piercings are simply a statement of individuality. But in our market our specialty is the high-end show, and half the time the older crowd who’s paying the fee doesn’t understand those things.”

“It’s like gum-chewing,” Fields says. “Some companies allow gum chewing on the job, while others do not. It depends on whether you chew gum with your mouth open or not.”

Even at his own 10-attorney law office, Walters says they have a dress policy. “Wouldn’t you know, one day one of the staff wore a sleeveless shirt that revealed their tattoo, and so that issue even came up here.”

Just as the entire attorney firm can be given a black eye by the unprofessional look of a single employee, the same can hold true for entertainers working in a mobile DJ setting.

“Above all else,” stresses Wright, “you can’t take away that first impression.”