A lot goes into creating the perfect party atmosphere, not the least of which is music. And if it's done right, no one even notices the person responsible. But it has become such an important job that DJs now consider themselves artists, psychologists and even professionals.

"It's not really a job," said Eric Stoner, also known as DJ Boner. "It's more of an art, trying to combine beats and get people involved and become part of the music."

Stoner DJs Tuesdays and Thursdays at The Lion's Den, 118 S. Garner St., and his company, Nittany Entertainment, is responsible for the music at the Gingerbread Man, 130 Hiester St., on weekends.

The idea of becoming a DJ first came to Stoner when a cousin recommended it as a fun way to make some money. He asked his grandmother for some money to get started, bought the equipment that was needed and began playing at his friend's parties.

Stoner continued to spin once he got to college and eventually a few roommates and friends wanted to join his entrepreneurial venture. And so he formed the company.

"Our goal or mission statement is to provide quality entertainment at an affordable price," Stoner said.

But of course it takes a lot of work to back up that statement and Stoner is quick to point out the mentality every DJ should have.

"A lot of DJs think it's about them," he said. "But without the crowd there would be no party ... A good DJ is not necessarily a sellout, he is driven by requests and what the crowd wants to hear. That's a huge part of our success."

And right now, Stoner said the crowds are asking for mainstream hip-hop.

"We do a lot of profiling to gauge the crowd," he said. "If the crowd is mostly female we go with Britney Spears or something more pop. If the crowd is more guys than we go with something harder like hip-hop. And if it's mostly alumni we play '80s music."

Dan Myers is another DJ whose company Local Motion DJs has been the house DJ for Player's Nite Club, 112 W. College Ave., since 1992. And he agrees with the crowd-pleasing philosophy.

"I've written a book on how to be a DJ and we use it to train people," Myers said. "DJing is a psychology. You need to understand how people respond."

Myers said there is a skill in blending songs together. The goal is to be good enough at smooth transitions that the dancers don't even think about it. And some of the top DJs in New York and Los Angeles can make $1,000 a night.

"But you can't make that in this market," Myers said. "Unless you're running a business, it will mostly just pay for your music fix. Most people do it for the love of music." Mike Altman (junior-film and video) is a DJ for Nittany Entertainment and regularly appears at fraternities. But it took him several months of practice to become proficient.

"You have to know what's popular to feed off the crowd," Altman said. "It's not easy to match the beat and blend songs together."

But if there's any drawback to being paid for playing music, it's the monotony of loud music.

"I get burned out on music we play," Stoner said. "DJing five days a week with heavy bass, I just want to chill out."