Month: May 2010

Hiring A Wedding Coordinator? Ask A Bandleader

Band in a box?
Boxing your band in?
Coordinator keeps grabbing the microphone to make announcements?
DJ takes over and everyone runs out the door?
Tsk.

“The field of ‘wedding coordination’ is a relatively new one,” says Judy Chamberlain, a bandleader who is also an experienced event producer.

“Coordinators probably don’t know a whole lot about live music, since most weddings these days have DJ’s rather than bands.”

“And anyone who pulls a band out of a bar to play music for their once-in-a-lifetime event may not get the results they’d like to have.”

“The musicians may be young and cute, but if they don’t know what a BEO or a power-drop is — or how to establish staging and floor plan details and create a timeline — you may wish you’d known better questions to ask than the ones touted by today’s flock of event website “experts,” says Chamberlain.

“A timeline shouldn’t ‘stick out’ and be obvious — nor should it be used to replace actual communication between vendors,” Chamberlain advises.

“Who needs to have a coordinator tell the bandleader to announce the first dance while the photographer is in the rest room because the timeline says it’s time to do the first dance?”

Yikes!

“Always have a “point man,” be sure the bride and groom — AND the photographers — are actually ready before you announce the first dance.”

“And when someone comes rushing up demanding to have the microphone so they can make a ‘surprise’ announcement, just say NO.”

Hiring a Live Band: Ask a Bandleader!

Live music for weddings and events usually requires more preparation than it takes to allocate a corner of the room to a DJ — or plug in a microphone and put a speaker’s podium on a stage for an awards banquet.

Ever wonder why DJ’s are so loud? “They probably don’t know as much about music as musicians do,” says Judy Chamberlain, an American jazz singer and bandleader who prefers sublety to volume.

“They’re there to make noise, and to M/C, not to make music.”

“When you hire a live band to entertain,” says Chamberlain, you may just be getting something better than noise — or an imitation of something. That’s why you hire a live band!”

And while most live bands can play a nice variety of live music — unless they’re a cover band or tribute band with a limited repertoire, it’s important to understand that some songs are best left to the artists who originally recorded them. If you like Anita Baker, Sade or Tiny Tim, you may want to hire a DJ. Or an “impersonator.”

And some artists really are inimitable.

Now, give us Sting, Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, Michael Buble, Kenny G. — and we’re delighted to research what it is you like about the music you’ve heard on their records and try to give you those same elements. They do the standards well, and have brought back some terrific obscurities. Buble and Jones are also talented songwriters. Besides, some of our musicians are actually on their albums.

One needs only to listen to Sting singing “You Were Meant For Me” to realize how viable the standards really are. We’re always inspired by creativity like his.

If you’ve rehearsed a special dance number to a standard — like any Frank Sinatra song, for instance — or Etta James’ “At Last,” a good band should be able to play specially-requested tunes for you, note for note. That’s easy!

There are so many wonderful standards!

Some of the best were introduced by Fred Astaire, who sang and danced and swung like mad even when he was simply walking across a room. Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday and The Boswell Sisters were also stunning performer of standards. They all learned from each other, and often recorded the same material. Each version was wonderful, and there was room for them all.

Standards, basically, can be sung by anyone.

Good music is…well, good music.

Live Music for Events…Vintage Themes

FABULOUS live music can transcend cultures — and generations.

Musical themes like Old Hollywood, the Roaring Twenties, Great Gatsby and the Rat Pack are perfect themes for landmark birthday or anniversary celebratiosn, Fiftieth Reunions and 1950’s cocktail soirees.

An Audrey Hepburn movie theme…Grace Kelly mid-century coolness…a private estate wedding…or a ring-a-ding-ding Sinatra Rat Pack party? Our jazz trios, bands and musicians are superb at setting the right mood for your event. Casino Royale! My Fair Lady…Breakfast at Tiffany’s…Sabrina…Funny Face…The Bandwagon…Flying Down To Rio, in Swing Time? It’s all great stuff!

Remember, when using live music for an event there is a big difference between an actual live band and one that is performing with pre-recorded tracks.

Anyone can plug in an iPod and play some music.

But a great band really makes a party.