Members ChordGirl Posted September 19, 2006 Members Share Posted September 19, 2006 Wow. I wonder what that is like. These guys refuse to practice, with the exception of the 1 we had for this wedding the night before. We left practice with a basic chord structure and prayed it all came together. It did. I was hoping they would contain themselves for this one event. They usually manage to keep it together well enough that I'm still smiling at the end of the show.Needless to say, we're not getting paid the big bucks (weddings exluded). We play 2 to as many as 5 shows a week, and these boys look at it as their party time away from the real world. I'm still trying to figure out how to find these 'professionals.' I don't know any, with the exception of a couple of the local blues/jazz folks, which is not my genre. Most everyone I've met around here has some sort of substance issue, including the handful that make their entire living as musicians... Kinda sad. Although I'm not completely innocent, I know not to let it affect my performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Les_Izzmor Posted September 19, 2006 Members Share Posted September 19, 2006 Wow. Loaded at a wedding. I bet those people like to party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rim Posted October 19, 2006 Author Members Share Posted October 19, 2006 Thanks for the great tips! (I didn't forget about this - just had an unusually long streak of gigs that kept us really busy). Great idea about a separate mic for announcements. Even better if we had a wireless. Maybe I'll check what's on eBay. Contract is a must. We will definitely clarify with the bride what kind of band they had in mind, the typical or us. Hopefully it's us since I don't think we're ready to be your typical wedding band. - Rim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Professor Tom Posted October 20, 2006 Members Share Posted October 20, 2006 I used to play in a wedding band for a while and the most important thing to remember is that the age groups in the audience vary from teenagers to old fogeys so you must cater for their musical eras. As the evening progresses the old people will fade and you can then and only then jack the volume up a little. I also found that playing blue collar clubs that it was advisable to figure out the average age of the audience then play hits from when they were 18 to 20 years old. Lucky for me that I got out of those scenes a long time ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HOOMER Posted October 21, 2006 Members Share Posted October 21, 2006 Now here is a thread I can absolutely say I know what I'm posting about. First is....Bluestat once again hits it sortof right....you do what you do....no more, no less...most weddings we pick up are a result of X people hearing us at place X and they like what they hear. So I have never seen a big reason to turn the list on its ass. That being said..we have taken the time to learn a few wedding standards that most people would reasonably agree are "standards". Tennesse waltz, a polka(in heaven there is no beer counts)...etc. Learn a song that can be a foxtrot. one that can be a jig. one can be a tango. And a cha cha...(little hint....the Beatles have one of each that are fun to play and fit the bill).....So when they ask "can you play a _____, "and you do....you'll be a hero, not a zero....and it doesnt change your list for the rest of the kids............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted October 21, 2006 Members Share Posted October 21, 2006 Originally posted by GZsound A simple solution to this problem is to play with professionals who understand getting drunk, doing drugs, etc. while playing is totally unnacceptable. Since you were not hired to get drunk and "suck ass", I suggest you have a band meeting and decide if you want to be a professional band or a bunch of drunks.. And do one or the other, but not both. Our band policy is that the band members have six days a week to do whatever they want. When they are hired to play a gig, that is what they do, to the best of their ability. Substance abuse of any kind is not tolerated. You just articulated my philosophy and policy for ALL my gigs, Since it's my name on the band, and my name that gets trashed if we sound like {censored}, I insist on my guys playing straight. I tell them up front that if they ever make me look bad, they're gone. I pay them to work for me, and like you said, they have the entire rest of the week to shoot heroin and run naked down the middle of Sherman Avenue screaming the lyrics to lady Marmalade for all I care. Just don't do it while we're working, because someone is paying us a lot of money to provide a service. In the case of a wedding, it may be money they saved a long time for, or perhaps went into debt to do. I'm not about to disrespect them by wasting their money. Besides, what other job can you expect to get paid well for and be a frigging drunk fool that can't do his job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roabre999 Posted October 21, 2006 Members Share Posted October 21, 2006 With weddings remember, look but don't touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littledog Posted October 21, 2006 Members Share Posted October 21, 2006 You know you're getting older when the mothers of the brides start to look hotter than the brides. I'm starting to REALLY worry, because some of the grandmothers are starting to look fine to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members roabre999 Posted October 21, 2006 Members Share Posted October 21, 2006 heheh GILF's huh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yippee Posted October 24, 2006 Members Share Posted October 24, 2006 6)do not allow them to use your PA for speeches, etc...trust me on this...bad idea...ever try to clean halitosis stench or puke out of a mic screen? - Daddymack Yes on that one, or a spare. At one wedding I went to, after the groom made a speech, he handed the DJ's mic to the wedding coordinator. The coordinator fumbled the mic, which landed precisely in the wedding cake. A kodak moment. The DJ zoomed over to rescue his iced mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Scafeets Posted October 24, 2006 Members Share Posted October 24, 2006 Great advice, all around. As for the "speech mic" thing. I'm all in favor of giving them a cheap one that you're not counting on for the show. Also: Don't fcorget to retrieve it immediately, or at least cut it off at the board. I was a guest at a wedding not long ago where the "speech" mic turned the wedding dais into Karaoke-ville. Not having the mic in the monitor mix, the band didn't notice until the end of the set that their vocals were being murdered by the sing-along-with -the-best-man show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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