Month: October 2008

Los Angeles Wedding Bands: The Art of Wedding Entertainment

Live music, played by the best musicians in the world, is a thing of great beauty.

What we do doesn’t really exist anymore.

The best musicians in the world play in our bands.

However — and this is important for anyone considering hiring a live band to play music for their wedding — we are not just there to play some music!

We’re there to provide a pink cloud for the bride and groom, their family and friends to float on.

It’s magical, live music. And very real. Charming, dramatic, exciting, passionate, stirring, romantic and joyful. But most of all, engaging. Brides and grooms are getting hip to that word: engaging. They’re calling and telling us that’s what they want.

You bet they do!

When I started singing for events years ago on the East Coast, there were no synthesizers. The piano players played piano!

There were also no wedding coordinators. The upper classes had social secretaries; everyone else got help from their family, the caterer, or the banquet department at the hotel.

Centerpiece games, who’s been married longest and is left standing on the dance floor games, insult the groom and then kneecap him with a paddle games — these had yet to be discovered.

The bridal industry was a gracious tour de force made up of fine florists, caterers, photographers, hotel staffers and bandleaders who knew what it takes to put on a thoroughly enjoyable wedding. On nearly any budget, I might add.

DJ’s had yet to appear on the scene.

Can you imagine, no DJ’s?

The bandleader was the M/C, musical director, family confidante and sometimes wedding director.

And we learned the art of doing weddings.

We learned that it’s as important it is to know what we can’t do as well as what we can do.

Helping our clients set up a pace that works, rather than getting caught up in the crammed-to-the-brim timeline of of extraneous activities today’s bridal websites and magazines are suggesting — they of the meaningless song lists — in an effort to capitalize on advertising dollars.

Along the way, we have watched simplicity, elegance and the love and support of family and friends take a back seat to one-upsmanship.

Hopefully, that is changing for the better.

More and more, brides and grooms are looking for the engaging simplicity vintage music, for tradition and glamour.

And that’s a good thing.

They want to acknowledge friends and relatives who will be with them on their special day, and also those who cannot be.

They want to have fun, and they want glamour and elegance — and to hire a band that will engage and entertain their guests.

Yes!

No amount of recorded music — or a template of unimaginative tunes pulled off a list on some wedding website — can take the place of a fabulous, experienced, intuitive and versatile live band.

We love flowers. Cake is great. Event designers, wow — another very cool trend. A Hollywood set for our Old Hollywood music. Weddings are supposed to be glamorous!

The evolution of the wedding industry has made so much of the “good stuff” rise to the top. Glamour is in, cheese is out.

What a concept!

A Memorable First Dance at a California Wedding

Heather and Bill, you had one heck of a wedding!

Heather’s backless gown was divine, Bill looked so handsome… and the soul food, as promised, was beyond delicious.

The vintage private estate was a perfect setting for a fantastic group of family and friends.

Everyone loves “The Rainbow Connection,” but we never would have thought of it for a first dance if you hadn’t come up with the idea.

They cheered when you danced to it. They screamed with glee. And they told us: That was so Bill and Heather!

Of course that’s exactly what we’re there for.

I can’t wait to see the pictures.

Rainbow Connection, yup.

It’s a keeper.

Swing, R&B & Ballroom at an Asian Wedding for 600!

Asian brides and grooms are often afraid that the guests at their weddings won’t dance, but that never happens to our bands!

Why? Because we set tempos people can dance to. The guests realize immediately that they can trust us, and before long they are gliding around the floor like pros. And some of the guests at a recent Asian wedding for 600 we performed for actually were pros.

They especially enjoyed ballroom dancing: rhumbas, cha cha’s, waltzes, foxtrots and lindys. Some were really accomplished swing dancers.

Right before the DJ was to take over, the crowd decided our little jazz quartet to play “The Chicken Dance” instead of waiting for the DJ to play it.

Huh?

So of course the band played it. For twenty minutes. BIG hit!

There isn’t a recording in the world that can keep “The Chicken Dance” going for twenty minutes — or speed it up as fast as we did at the end. We do the same thing with the hora…more about that another time….

After that, there was no going back to standards, jazz, ballroom or even swing.

They wanted “YMCA.” The DJ didn’t have it. So the band played that, too. For about a half hour – or at least it seemed like a half hour.

I’ve added “The Chicken Dance” to our song list.

And I think we are now qualified to perform “YMCA “better than The Village People.

Hey, we’re real musicians! We can do things CD’s can’t.

And no, we don’t have a video of it.

Because you’re supposed to get rid of something when you add something, I decided to remove “Brick House” and “Celebration” from our list. So cheesy.

I did leave “I Will Survive” and “Copacabana” on the list. I love those tunes!

Just, please….don’t ask us to play “The Macarena.”

We don’t know the words!

Bandleader Judy Chamberlain once played “YMCA” three times in the same night for revelers at a New Year’s Eve party who claimed the song was their ‘club anthem.’

Old Hollywood Wedding Music

“Live and Judy are always better in my book!”

My Champagne flute runneth over….

Here are excerpts from my mailbox:

Message:
I am looking for a great variety of music. As i looked over the list of sounds and musical eras you have managed to expertly and gracefully cover, this is something I have dreamed of at my wedding reception. If you can email with the necessary information, availability and the cost of your services it would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Alexis

And another…..

Message:
Judy, I hope that you remember us; Alina and I were privileged enough to
have you and your band perform at our wedding and reception in Long Beach
in May of last year. Since then (as you knew) I deployed to Iraq, and have returned with a little
less hearing in my right ear, but otherwise unscathed.

We have pictures! And I would love to send you a series of pictures for
your office, and also any e-pictures that you would like for your website.
Please send me an address, so I can send you a set of thank you pictures
for you. You were the best!

Very respectfully,

Rob Peters

And another……

Hi Judy,

Bill & I finally decided on ceremony music. I am including some youtube links to the music as we liked it–tempo-wise. Of course, we are interested in your version of the songs beyond the clips we are sending!!

Beyond these three songs, if you would like to sprinkle era/stylistically supportive tunes leading up to the ceremony, that would be wonderful…

I will compile a big list of songs we are thinking of burning to cd so we can see if you were planning to play some of them instead. Live and Judy is always better in my book!

🙂
So excited,
Heather

And an interesting phone conversation:

BRIDE: Hi Judy. I’m calling to talk about our first dance. You know the song we’re doing.
ME: I sure do.
BRIDE: We just aren’t dancers. Can you make the song shorter, maybe find a way to keep it at around a minute?
ME: Of course. We’re a live band. We can do anything.
BRIDE: The dance instructor said to tell you she thinks the right tempo is about 36 measures a minute. Can we stop after a minute or so? Can you find a way to end the song after a minute?
ME: OK, let’s work on that. How about if I sing the song right now for you at a few different tempos and we time the different versions with a stop watch?
BRIDE: Great!
ME: I get 30 measures per minute if we slow it down a bit and about 34 at the tempo of the original recording. And one time through — using just one chorus of the song — brings you to about a minute and a half. We can stop there if you like. Not do a cheesy DJ ‘fade out,’ but a nice ending. Are you learning a ‘routine’ or ballroom ‘moves.’
BRIDE: We thought it would be better to learn some steps, so that’s what we’re doing.
ME: Good.
BRIDE: I keep thinking I am going to fall or something.
ME: I hear this all the time, you know. Everyone is scared, especially during the first chorus. And after that most people stop grimacing and looking tense and whispering instructions to each other, and really start dancing. Because they have figured out that the ‘worst’ is over and by then they’re actually having fun!
BRIDE: After the first chorus, you mean?
ME: Exactly. But if you’re not enjoying yourself and you don’t want to go on, we’ll end the song after one chorus.
BRIDE: I can just throw you a look, right?
ME: Absolutely. I’ll be watching your every move. We can slow down in the middle of the song, speed up in the middle of the song, or just end the thing. But best case scenario, you’ll end up having a blast and the photgrapher will get some wonderful pictures.
BRIDE: I really like that.
ME: Do you feel better now? Not so scared?
BRIDE: I do.
ME: You should have a big ending, too. Maybe a dip.
BRIDE: I think we can do that!
ME: Have fun with the rest of your lessons, and please let me know how you’re doing.
BRIDE: I will. And I really do feel better. I think it will be a lot of fun, actually.

I love helping people plan special things.
Welcome home, Rob. I can’t wait to see the pictures.