Top-40, Contemporary Pop, Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Classic
rock and roll, Contemporary variety, Oldies, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s; New Age,
Rhythm and blues, Soul, Funk, Rap, Hip-Hop, Disco, New Orleans, Cajun,
Zydeco;
Jazz--Modern, Mainstream, "Smooth" jazz, New Orleans,
Dixieland, Ragtime, Swing, Bebop
Society, Showtunes, 2-beat, Big Band
----->> Terms such as "dance music", "danceable", "upbeat", "lively" are useless for selecting types of music. They are useful only to describe how you want the band to play the style of music you have selected, the atmosphere you want the band to generate, etc. They are useful in asking questions of the bands that play your kind of music, and later are part of your instructions to the band you have hired.
Now, a new sheet of paper: what is the age distribution of your guests? What musical nods do you think you need to make to the various groups? Cross out the types you really don't like.
3. Ask the facility to recommend bands. Actually, this is a good idea, because a lot of places collect business cards of the bands that play there. Some sites will give you a list of acceptable or recommended bands when you visit. Hotel catering offices have band or at least booking agency files. The contract is often drawn up between the agency and the hotel; your contract in that case is with the hotel. And you should be prepared to pay 10-15% extra for the hotel's commission. On the other hand, the hotel is not going to mess with an agency whose bands cause them trouble of any kind.
4. Resort to the Yellow Pages and Internet to find names of bands and booking agencies, and then rely on promotional material such as videos, audio tapes, tune lists and pictures as well as conversations with agents and/or bandleaders to help you determine the character of each prospective band.
Booking Agencies are important sources of bands, and the Washington DC metro area has many good agencies. There are two main types: 1. The "society" agencies have in-house bands that play a variety of music, particularly 2-beat and contemporary show-tunes, standard rock-beat tunes; I am not qualified to say more about these agencies.
2. What I shall call "Top-40" agencies; my bands get most of their engagements from this type, so I am speaking from experience. These agencies feature individual bands that play top-40 and contemporary oldies, some of which are booked exclusively through an individual agency, some of which are "independent" or "free-lance" bands that work for anyone. If you are looking for a band that plays a specialized type of music--ethnic, jazz, classical, etc.--these agencies often can supply them.
3. Another type of agency has no bands of its own, but specializes in providing all forms of entertainment.
4. There's a fourth class of agency that is centered around one or more bands. Once a band has been around a while, it starts getting calls for other kinds of entertainment; if it happens with any frequency, it's owner will start acting as a booking agency and advertise itself as such. There's no inherent reason to omit these "agencies" from your search; any with longevity will know other musicians and bands that may serve you well.
If you are local, you can make an apointment to see or hear tapes of the agencies' bands that play the music you want. If you are out-of-town, they'll send you selections from the appropriate bands. They usually can give you a copy each band's tune list.
Agencies take a commission of 20-30% of the price they quote you. Be assured that this is NOT, repeat, NOT a rip-off. An agency is making its living trying to please you by offering the best bands it knows of that play the kind of music you want. It acts as a clearing house of local talent, and does its best to offer only reliable bands that play their music the way it should be played, and whose members conduct themselves in a professional manner. It wants you to come back for your next engagement, and recommend it to your friends.
Agencies have one or more individual agents, support staff such as receptionists and secretaries, an office with fax and copying machines, multiple video and audio decks, computers, multiple phone lines, etc., and they spend a lot of time auditioning bands, helping you find the right band, mailing copies of tapes, etc. In short, the good ones earn every cent of their commissions.
If you can't get recommendations from friends, when you make your first contact with an agency, find out how long it has been in business and try to determine the extent of its band portfolio. You are more likely to get the music and service you want from an agency, large or small, that has been around a long time.
It's hard to make further generalizations, and there are many exceptions--eg, the DC area has several small, but up-and-coming agencies, that are indeed centered on a main band, but who are reliable, know the local talent, and will provide honest yeoman service every bit as well as the oldest largest agencies...
You get the most out of an agency by knowing and being able to express what you want, while keeping an open mind about compromises you may have to make for various reasons.
If at all possible, be prepared to provide the band with a diagram of the facility, showing the room, where the band will set up, and how it will load in. This is needed particularly in hotels, larger facilities, and country clubs, because the band probably can't just roll it's equipment in the main entrance. Hotels have loading docks, service elevators, and service corridors the band may have to use. The band will need to know where to store its cases and take its breaks. Many facilities have the necessary floorplans or diagrams.
You need to ask how long it takes the band to set up to be ready to start on time. You need to discuss this with the facility and caterer, to make sure the band is able to start setting up on time; the facility well might have an event before yours. Be it a big hotel, or a small caterer, they need to organize their efforts in a timely manner, and they are doing that in the same general area as the band, sometimes right where the band is going to be. Frequently the ceremony takes place in the same room. All this needs to be discussed in advance so the respective parties can adjust their timing and operations, to avoid last minute surprises. But sometimes it happens, and the time lost is yours...The band has a set up routine that can be thrown off severely by events on the site, or a particularly unusual site and room layout. Make sure the band has a clear idea of the layout and when it can load in, in advance, so that it can adjust its operations.
Be aware that many bands play more than one event per day, particularly during the wedding seasons. So timing can be crucial... Of course the band is responsible for making sure it can start on time, and not accepting an event if time is going to be too tight between jobs, but if you haven't provided adequate information, it's your responsibility. Also be advised that if your reception is scheduled to span the late afternoon and evening hours, precluding the band from accepting separate afternoon and evening engagements, you may be charged a somewhat higher fee.
The meter starts running at the time the band is required to be ready to play and stops only when the band is free to pack up and leave.
If during your event you see what you think is a problem, talk to the leader immediately. The band wants you to be happy and have good memories of its performance, so the leader will do his best to accomodate you within the realistic limits of what the band can do.
All musicians specialize, no matter how "good" they are.
They have one or more genres of music in which they have deep knowledge;
if they want to work a lot, they have several other genres of which they
can play a few selections. A young top-40 band may say it can play big
band music--but unless it's exceptional, probably not much, and surely
not expertly. A swing band may say it can play rock, but probably not much,
and it well may not sound authentic. The few bands that are truly flexible
(that is, have an extensive repertoire in many types of music and play
it all in the proper style), are expensive, and must be booked at least
a year or two in advance during the popular wedding and holiday seasons.
So make sure the band can play the music you want before you sign
the contract.
Special requests:
Feel free to ask the band for tunes not on the tune list; the better bands
probably can play more tunes than they list. However, there are many reasons
a band may not be able to meet your request. This must be left strictly
up to the band; the leader must decide whether the tune is feasible
for his particular band. Most bands truly want to play your special requests--they
know you'll appreciate and remember it, but they do not want to play them
badly. You may have asked for a tune outside the range of styles the band
can play, or the band may not rehearse regularly. Curiously enough, the
basic musicianship of some popular bands' members is limited; they have
learned a basic repertoire over the years that works well, they have learned
how to please their clients, and they earn their pay, but they have a hard
time learning new tunes and styles. Don't embarass the bandleader by asking
him why it can't play your tune. Sometimes if you send the sheet
music and a cassette tape to the band, it can work something out; sometimes
it can't. To repeat, the decision has to be the band's!
Most bands take guest requests. Be aware that some pop bands have fixed set playlists and computer setups for some or all of their music; they do this to better reproduce the hit records, as well keep things moving like a DJ would. This may limit their flexibility--as the bandleader about this.
But the band has a practical function that may transcend your tastes: you are hiring the band in part for the enjoyment of your guests, who have come from everywhere to be at your party. While there is no reason for you to have a band playing music you don't enjoy, you do need to consider your guests: the age distribution, whether they are a dancing bunch, etc. Don't get a band that plays only your favorite specialized music without considering the audience factor.
When you are listening to tapes, close your eyes, imagine what atmosphere you want the band to create--upbeat, sedate, loud, quiet, formal, nightclub format. In fact, do this before considering bands. How do you want your reception to feel, to you, to the guests? That is the bottom line. Remember, during most of the reception, you are going to be chatting with the guests, probably too busy to do much listening, let alone dancing. Therefore, as long as the band plays your basic kind of music and a fair number of the tunes you like, and sounds good in the far background, it's done the job; for the most part the details of how it goes about doing the job don't matter, and you should neither worry about them nor harrass the band. Just let band know the basics and leave it to do its job.
The band comes to play. It is psyched up to play, it's attention is focused. If it cannot play for a prolonged period after it is set up and ready to play, the "edge" or focus is lost quickly. You may be delayed by photographer, etc; so let the band begin, and have the MC announce that guests are invited to dance; that way, no one, including the guests, loses focus. Many of today's brides prefer to have the first dance later, so that invitation is even more important.
Breaks: Breaks exist to give the musicians a chance to recoup their energy and focus for the next set. Most bands take 15-20 minutes per hour, sometimes do a schedule of 45-20-45-20 etc. This should be ironed out in advance of and be included in the contract. Find out what flexibility there is. Continuous music of any quality is hard to accomplish with a combo/small band, particularly if the engagement is longer than 2 hours, or the band is playing intensely. And it will cost you considerably more.
Break music: You can have recorded music played during breaks, or hire extra musicians to relieve band members for short periods. If you have some favorite CDs, you could have them played during breaks (but assume they will be put on and left to play until the band returns from break...) Consider that your guests might actually enjoy getting a break from the music.
To get more music for your money, schedule the ceremonies in which the band has no real part to play (toasts, cake cutting) during breaks.
You or your coordinator want to organize events so that your guests aren't ready to boogie right at the time the band takes a break. Most bands don't want this to happen, and will do their utmost to accomodate the crowd's mood, but breaks are not amenities: they are necessities. If the band flexes too early, it may not be able to later during the "hottest" dance time...
Drinks--Soft drinks, coffee, etc. should be available from the bar as needed. I don't see any reason for musicians to drink hard liquor on the job; the better ones won't want much more than a beer or two, if that, because they play better sober, and have to drive home afterwards. Make sure you tell the leader what the rules are; you can also have the appropriate notification written into the contract.
Food--A little hospitality goes a long way, and you'd be surprised how much a thick, cold club sandwich perks the band up. Access to the buffet adds to the fun. If the engagement crosses the usual lunch or dinner hour, or involves a long drive home at night, the musicians definitely need something more substantial than a sandwich--remember, the breaks are too short for them to go any place to eat dinner...Some facilities and caterers routinely feed the musicians. Check it out, find out when and where they can eat--this bit of coordination is particularly important if the caterer usually cleans up before the end of the engagement.
Gratuities--It's your call. If the band is expensive, it's less important, but you might consider it if it went way above the call of duty to give you what you wanted. If the band was cheap, a gratuity is very important. In any case, it's best to pay it in cash, and give it to the individual musicians yourself as you thank them for their efforts.
One final step: the other bands. Call each agency or band you have holding for you and notify them that you have selected another band. You will need to return any video tapes you have received if you have not already done so. You may or may not be asked to return audio cassettes--actually, they'd really prefer you to pass the promo kits on to friends who are looking for a band...everyone benefits from that...
When you get the contract, read it carefully as it establishes the mutual obligations between you the client, the agency and the band. Any errors, omissions or required changes should be brought to the attention of the agency/band immediately so that appropriate changes/corrections can be made and there are no misunderstandings that could lead to potential problems. Once all parties are satisfied that everything is in order, return the signed contract and required deposit promptly. The contract will usually indicate a required return date beyond which the band's availability cannot be guaranteed in the absence of the signed contract and deposit.
You must notify the band/agent of any significant changes to the schedule, location or other major details as oon as they occur.
Then:
6-8 weeks: send in the Wedding Reception Questionnaire
4-6 weeks: send in your special tune requests
10 days to 2 weeks: call the bandleader re final details, minor
changes, etc.
This is your big day. For goodness sake, have fun!!
Revised 11/2/99. Copyright David W. Littlefield, 1999.