Makis Melissaratos was still a boy when a family friend in Kefalonia invited him into his radio station.
Melissaratos was spending the summer on the island, where both of his parents were from. The invitation became a routine. He returned week after week, spending days playing music and helping with programs.
“That’s kind of the spark,” he recalled.
Melissaratos started DJing in 1999. More than 25 years later, the Moorestown, New Jersey, resident, better known as DJ Makis, is still choosing the music at Greek-American weddings, christenings, graduations and church events. His public professional record also dates his self-employed DJ work to June 1999.
Born and raised in New Jersey, he grew up at St. Thomas Greek Orthodox Church in Cherry Hill, attending Greek school, GOYA, and playing basketball. He credits parish life with shaping him from an early age.
The kalamatiano remains one of the dances he can count on to fill the floor, even when some guests have never danced it before. At weddings, “Ωραία που είναι η νύφη μας” is another standard, with the bride and groom taking the floor as family and friends gather around them.
Asked about his own taste, Melissaratos names nisiotika, Greek island music, as his favorite genre.
The wider wedding soundtrack has changed during his years behind the booth. Twenty or 25 years ago, he said, bands were far more common at Greek-American weddings and DJs often played a secondary role.
“Bands were like the thing,” he said. “DJs were kind of up and coming.”
Today, he sees more couples relying on DJs, particularly when families and guest lists include different cultural backgrounds and want a broader mix of music during the reception.
His parents built their lives in the St. Thomas community after immigrating from Kefalonia. Melissaratos now serves on the parish council and sees his involvement as a way of supporting the community that supported him growing up.
He wants his two daughters to have that connection, too. Both attend Greek school at St. Thomas and take part in Greek dancing there. At home and in the car, they hear plenty of the music their father is preparing for events.
Sometimes he catches one of them singing a Greek song she first heard during a drive.
The weekends behind the booth can keep him away from home until 2 or 3 in the morning. He credits his wife and daughters with making that schedule possible. During the pandemic, his wife learned balloon decorating and twisting and eventually began taking event work of her own.
“Now we’re like a family entertainment business,” he said.
DJing is not Melissaratos’ full-time career. He works for Fidelity Investments, where public regulatory records list him with Fidelity Brokerage Services in Princeton. Those records also identify his continuing outside DJ business as GM Entertainment Group in Moorestown.
Because he does not depend on DJing for his living, Melissaratos said he can sometimes help churches and nonprofit groups that may not be able to afford larger entertainment companies. It is work he takes particular pride in.
After more than 25 years, he says he does little advertising. Most calls come from people who have heard him before or received his name from someone else.
When someone spots him at an event, his invitation is simple.
“Come say hi,” he said. “Ask me for a request. Just don’t touch my equipment.”