Wedding Reception Bands

[saxplayer67]

[No message]

 

[philthd]

people mad overcharge for weddings because idiots will pay for it becuase they dont want to spare any expense.

my band has done a wedding or two - somewhere in the few hundred squid range. there must be other competent if not stunning semi-pro bands in the same kind of bracket

if its not your full-time job, you dont have to travel far, the venue is small enough not to need full pa and youre only expected to do 2 or 3 hours work: 50-100 squid per band member should get you people who can play but dont take themselves too seriously.

its mostly background and/or something to dance to after all

 

[Jules]

Wierd- I posted a reply here and it didn't show up.
Anyway- if you want jump jive & and you're talking about an event in the sussex/kent area, you could check out my crew- www.fat45.com . Decent qualtiy MP3 sound samples coming soon or drop by a gig sometime!
"50-100 squid per band member should get you people who can play but dont take themselves too seriously." That about sums us up, and we do put on a good live show!!

 

[rhysonsax]

I agree with what philthD says.


With a wedding you really can't afford to have a rubbish band, so you should go by audition, personal recommendation or a demo tape. But beware of bands that turn up with a different line-up from the one that did the demo or the audition !


Where is your wedding anyway ? Have you thought about playing at it yourself ? (that's a good way to get off on the right foot with your new wife - or maybe not !)

All the best

Rhys

 

[saxplayer67]

Don't worry, I did think about playing the wedding and reception on my own! In fact I would want to play a couple of numbers with any prospective band we had. I did suggest I get the concert band I'm in to do it but my fiance declined my offer.

I remember when my dear Dad was gigging (from the fifties to the late nineties), although he was semi-pro and a member of the musicians' union, he didn't get anywhere near prices I'm hearing quoted for a gig but back in the seventies, when I was a kid, his band jobs (rather than 'gigs') did pay for our holidays.

I'll check out the band mentioned above - the reception will be in Birchington in Kent.

 

[mfox]

[No message]

 

[Pjonah]

[No message]

 

[saxplayer67]

[No message]

 

[Pete Thomas]

Saxplayer67 wrote:
Maybe if it was my main source of income I'd think differently but I doubt it.

I think this whole discussion is releveant to whether the band is a professional band or not. I'm not saying professional means better than amateur either. There is also the question of tha value of a professional musician's services compared with other service providers.


If there were plumbers around who did it for enjoyment rather than as a job, I expect they would be a bit cheaper.

 

[philthd]

i think if it was your main source of income you would have to think differently - sure you would want to care about the art and the passion but a pro needs to have a pro attitude.

simon has a point about how much time and hassle it can be - especially with travelling and pa rigging - and a band should be paid with this is mind.

when i was playing guitar in a scratty rock band in pubs and dives i never did so at anything other than a loss - especially if you factor in a new set of strings every gig and paying for rehearsal space beforehand - and ive never been paid anything at all for a solo gig (unless busking counts), but i was doing those things for art and for love and for passion and cliches like that (except busking which i was doing so i could eat)

i have to believe youll find plenty of people in various parts of the middle ground - people who love what they do and want to make a few quid off what is essentially a hobby



if youre planning a lavish 30 grand wedding with beautiful classy attention to detail - dont skimp on the band (your wife will never forgive you). in a more modest setting a more modest band will see you good (especially if theyre more in tune with your idea of what a bands attitude should be)




slightly off topic, my grandparents live in birchington - its a pleasant enough nowhere of a place

 

[saxplayer67]

Pete, I do understand everything people are saying but it's just my viewpoint (always different from everyone else - check my signature below!). My own personal skills, be they musical or otherwise (ooh-er!), I have always given of for free or a nominal amount - it's just the way I am - my fiance always says 'you always do [whatever] for nothing'. Maybe that's why I'm not loaded but 'I yam what I yam'.

Hey, about plumbers - great, they could stick a brass mouthpiece on some of their pipework - I'll get them to play at the reception!

 

[saxplayer67]

philthD wrote:
islightly off topic, my grandparents live in birchington - its a pleasant enough nowhere of a place

Uh oh, don't let my gal hear that! Plus my guest list includes a couple of my Hollywood composer friends (clue - one of them is most well-known for a theme called 'Mission Impossible'...).

 

[rhysonsax]

Wow - Lalo Schifrin !

I've just done my first ever big band arrangement which is the theme from Mission: Impossible - all done as close to the original TV theme as I could manage and including the March bit before the main tune. Quite a few band members are struggling with playing in 5/4, but it's fun.

I'm also thinking of doing a cut-down version for our covers small band, just so I can have the fun of seeing the punters trying to dance to a 5/4 theme with an even number of legs. I suppose that's why the U2 bunch massacred the theme for the M:I films by putting it in 4/4.

Should be a great wedding.

Rhys

 

[philthd]

that was nearly as sad as when they stopped the bill theme tune being in 7/8

 

[saxplayer67]

Actually Rhys, although he's on the list, he might decline (I'm pretty small fry by Hollywood standards) but when I first met him back in '98, he had no airs and graces about him at all. But he probably charges more for gigs than I do!!!!

He told a very funny story about his MI theme, I'll dig out an interview I did with him years ago for a film music magazine and scan it.

Actually, I find it easy to play in 5/4 and the march theme you mention is called 'The Plot'. I myself bought a piano reduction version of Lalo's Bullitt theme and started arranging it for an equal sax duet. One day I'd like to arrange it for a quartet.

 

[saxplayer67]

philthD wrote:
that was nearly as sad as when they stopped the bill theme tune being in 7/8

Funny but true story: Lalo was tasked with doing a rearrangement of Jerry Goldsmith's Man from U.N.C.L.E. theme for a later season of the show, which had originally been in 5/4. Lalo changed it to 4/4 (Goldsmith reportedly wasn't happy) and later wrote the Mission: Impossible theme in 5/4!

Also, Lalo's home phone answering machine plays the Mission: Impossible theme tune!