John Scott (Owner of Joyful Sounds) -
John is a musician turned D.J. He started playing the alto-sax at an early age, then picked up guitar which became his main instrument. He also sings. By the time he was in high school, he was playing in wedding reception bands and jamming with rock groups. He pursued music in college with guitar as his instrument. He played in a variety of bands around St. Louis and then did a 3-year stint on-the-road with show bands playing at resorts and nice hotels. Interspersed with all of this, he had D.J.’d frequently and taught guitar lessons at music stores, at one time having over 70 students per week.

He was raised in a Christian household but had “backslidden” as a result of playing in bars and lounges, and decided to give it all to the Lord. “God needed to be number 1 in my life, not my desire to make it in music.” He recommitted his life to the Lord and plugged into his church (where he met his beautiful wife Tere). He returned to college pursuing business courses and at a day job a co-worker told him about a large St. Louis D.J. company who was looking for D.J.s. Thinking that working receptions would be wholesome, he pursued that job. However, he found himself having to play songs that he just couldn’t handle. “They were a great company full of people that I liked a lot. I never thought about having my own D.J. service. This idea came as a result of a lot of prayer about what to do. I started it as a ministry to show people that Christians can have a great time and do it without all the ‘normal’ things to do. I approach what I do wholeheartedly. I basically lived Joyful Sounds for 11 years now.”

Besides running Joyful Sounds, John is a devoted husband to his lovely wife, Tere, and a committed dad to his two children. Tere has helped John with Joyful Sounds since its inception, including the last part of their dating life before they were married. A lot of these dates consisted of John and Tere praying and talking over every aspect of Joyful Sounds, the name, the logo, how to do a wedding reception in a Christian way,

etc. Besides being a full-time mom, Tere now does a lot of office work for John, often at a moment’s notice and always with excellence.

John devotes himself wholeheartedly to serving his clients. He loves people and loves to joyfully please them.

Grant McKenna -
Grant has been a part of the Joyful Sounds team since 1997 and D.J.’d since 1988. Grant defines excellence. He is the kind of guy who gives 110% in all he does. He’s got a winning personality, a quick wit, great people skills and everybody loves him. He’s honest and dedicated to serving his client and being professional in every way. He’s D.J.’d for many years and performed managerial duties at several jobs. He loves music and has a good knowledge of all styles. Besides D.J.ing, Grant is a dedicated husband to his lovely wife, Dana, and father of three beautiful girls. He is active in his church where he runs sound, cassette duplication and supervises the video. The way he came on board is an interesting story. John had been praying and looking for another D.J. It’s hard to find the right qualified person for Joyful Sounds. They have to have a vast knowledge of contemporary Christian music and top 40, have good people skills, think quick on their feet, know how to read a crowd and be available to work on weekends (Dana’s great. She “gives him up” on the weekend). She let’s him! We kind of temporarily lost touch, and one day out of the blue, Grant called and asked if we had any openings. John relays the story: I said, “well aren’t you still working for (name withheld for professional courtesy), and he informed me that he wasn’t anymore. This was a no-brainer for me. I mean, here is a guy who was an office manager there for years plus actually had interviewed me when I applied there. I was thrilled and still am. He is a tremendous asset to what I am trying to do with Joyful Sounds.”