stillplaying Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Did another big marquee wedding in the middle of the Scottish countryside. Great night. Lovely crowd. Now I've had some odd and unusual first dance requests over the decades: The "have you read the lyrics" blunder: Celine Dion "Think Twice" (don't say what you're about to say ... before you roll the dice ...think twice) The "it's your couple song but have you considered that you'll have to dance to this in front of your family and friends" blunder: the Bruce Springsteen penned "Because the night belongs to lovers" The amusing - Barry White's "You're My First, My Last, My Everything" Didn't realise the groom was a second timer. She pointed to him and sand "you're my first" and he pointed to her and said "you're my last" Last night the agency contract said "the bride and groom have specifically requested no Coldplay or Snow Patrol". And their first dance - Paul Weller's "Broken Stones" straight into AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long". Smiled when i first saw it and reckoned they were probably a bit older with a sense of humour - but they were youngsters. Anyway - made me smile. A seventies rock band track for a wedding in 2014 - loved it. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadroj Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 First dances are always funny. I find the further north we go the weirder they get. South of the bridge it's usually Christina perry/John legend. Past Dundee way and we start getting requests for Kiss, Paul Weller, Rick Astley, etc...The best was a Johnny Cash/Jackson 5 mashup that we were asked to arrange ourselves. You can tell the couples who haven't really thought about it much when they start dancing and realise they can't dance in time to the song at all. On our agency's site they specifically say "if you don't want a song or artist, say so now to avoid a possible uncomfortable moment on the day.". Usually because of reasons like "Valerie was his ex wife's name" or "that was her previous first dance". 70s rock tracks usually go down better than the today's modern guff as well. Again, especially further north! Broken stones into shook me is funny though. Hammond SKX Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 In my old band, when is was the BL, I did what I know nobody realized I did and what I'm sure most bands don't do. Any wedding, I always met with the bride and broom well in advance and have a very long conversation about the event. The conversation included song selection, break songs, first dance, father/daughter, mother/son dance, etc.....including a long discussion surrounding the song selection. I also got the spellings and pronunciations of the entire wedding party with order of entry, etc. I'm sure I went way overboard. But to me, it's their wedding - they hopefully only have one, and I've done a shitload and have seen what works and what doesn't. For some reason, these stupid wedding planners and facility managers tell them all the same stupid shit all the time that always goes wrong. I was in the position to say "I know they all say that, but in reality, it'll go like this......" Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCRoswell Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 Friday night we did John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves." With lyrics like "she gets it on like the Easter Bunny" and "I caught him once and he was sniffing my undies." Ahem... But it went over well with the crowd so I guess the bride and groom knew their demographic. The oddest part was at Saturday night's wedding the coordinator said she had heard that done at another wedding, too. And I thought we were having a unique experience Friday night! Live rig: Roland FA-08, Yamaha MOTIF ES 6, laptop for supplemental sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuzikTeechur Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 I played a wedding (solo piano) last fall - outdoors, beautiful location, etc. The bride and groom wanted to process (come in) to U2's "All I Want is You." On solo piano. So, I found a decent MIDI of it, pumped it into Garage Band on my MacBook Air, dressed it up, made up a piano part, and they got U2. Made over $1000 that day. I'll play anything. I'm a musical whore. Muzikteechur is Lonnie, in Kittery, Maine. HS music teacher: Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band, Chorus, Music Theory, AP Music Theory, History of Rock, Musical Theatre, Piano, Guitar, Drama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurricane hugo Posted September 7, 2014 Share Posted September 7, 2014 it's their wedding - they hopefully only have one lol http://blip.fm/invite/WorkRelease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillplaying Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 I'll play anything. I'm a musical whore. Same here. A solutions focused modern minstrel with a Carol Dweck "can do" growth mindset. I like yours for brevity. You rock. Corps to the core. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 what I'm sure most bands don't do. Any wedding, I always met with the bride and broom well in advance and have a very long conversation about the event. The conversation included song selection, break songs, first dance, father/daughter, mother/son dance, etc.....including a long discussion surrounding the song selection. I also got the spellings and pronunciations of the entire wedding party with order of entry, etc. I'm sure I went way overboard. We do that. Gotta do that. Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 @stillgigging and @nadroj, do you guys ever have to play any Scottish country dance? Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadroj Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 @stillgigging and @nadroj, do you guys ever have to play any Scottish country dance? Every band in our agency offers it. We used to just do it off of an ipod and get our guitarist to call it - that was great as it meant we got to play less and have a longer break. Country dancing still counts as part of our set, so if they want to do it for 20 minutes that's an extra 20 minutes off for us. However, the agency introduces a new band every year, and some of those new bands have started doing live country dancing. At first we thought it would be a problem, but we (and our mirroring "rival" bands) are fully booked through to 2016 so it's not as if we're going to be fighting for gigs any time soon. We've started doing it live too just to say that we can though. Hammond SKX Mainstage 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldwin Funster Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 No "islands in the stream"? FunMachine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 @stillgigging and @nadroj, do you guys ever have to play any Scottish country dance? Every band in our agency offers it. We used to just do it off of an ipod and get our guitarist to call it - that was great as it meant we got to play less and have a longer break. Country dancing still counts as part of our set, so if they want to do it for 20 minutes that's an extra 20 minutes off for us. However, the agency introduces a new band every year, and some of those new bands have started doing live country dancing. At first we thought it would be a problem, but we (and our mirroring "rival" bands) are fully booked through to 2016 so it's not as if we're going to be fighting for gigs any time soon. We've started doing it live too just to say that we can though. So interesting. I can't imagine gigging over there. Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richforman Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Back in my regular wedding-gig days, our bandleader would have to hip the many brides who requested "I Will Always Love You" to the fact that, despite the romantic title, the lyrics are more to the effect of "I'll always love you even though you'r an a**hole and you ruined my life," and steer them to another wedding song choice. The problem with "Wonderful Tonight" is more subtle, in fact it might be only my mistaken impression, but I have come to the conclusion that the couple in the song have nothing to say to each other, are in a silent loveless marriage and that the narrator is just a drunk. Rich Forman Yamaha MOXF8, Korg Kronos 2-61, Roland Fantom X7, Ferrofish B4000+ organ module, Roland VR-09, EV ZLX12P, K&M Spider Pro stand, Yamaha S80, Korg Trinity Plus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty Mike Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Years ago I worked with a guy who was planning his wedding, who had no concept of they band meant when they asked him what he wanted his wedding song to be. His response was that he didn't know what song his wife would pick, but for his song he requested "I Want To Be Sedated" by the Ramones. That was not a wedding I played, but I would have loved to be the video guy. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillplaying Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 @stillgigging and @nadroj, do you guys ever have to play any Scottish country dance? Yes. I'm further north than nadroj. I think - you guys are central belt-ish is that right?. They're big into it the further north you go. We do thing called a Grand March at the very start - bride and groom parade around, then the immediate family, then relatives then friends - more people joining in with each iteration until everyone is on the floor. About half an hour after the buffet we do a dance called a Gay Gordans (pairs) then a Dashing White Sargent (two groups of three). That's usually all they want from us but we sometimes do a Strip The Willow and would do a Waltz if they wanted another. I live in Perth (around the middle of Scotland) but gig in Aberdeen and further up - rarely do a wedding where there's no ceilidh. I'm the piano player "off of" Borrowed Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werno Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Speaking of persons of Scottish descent and wedding songs, I always thought this Kirsty MacColl song from her final album would be close to perfect for a first dance, or at least a reasonable suggestion for a bride who has no idea what she wants. Sorry, can't actually seem to embed a video: My brief attempt to cop the changes failed, so my ulterior motive is to see if someone with better ears can suss this out. Kirsty had some interesting twists in her songwriting, and could stack voices with the best of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthaholic Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Whenever a couple asks me for a first dance recommendation I always suggest "Forever's As Far As I'll Go" by Alabama. Perfect lyrics for the occasion, and a very pretty song. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM9ZuMTHI94 The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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