I-missRichardTee Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I have been experiencing ( like the lobsters slow boil ) a gradual increase in what boils down to my learning set lists of songs on a weekly basis. I complained to an old pro in the business, back in NYC.. and was told ( I cannot intelligently sum up all that was said to me - for one thing I am not involved in FB Twitter Instagram etc ) that on their end of the business ( higher end of the wedding business - where low to mid five figures for a band are common) the party planners, and hotel AV ( I think that's what it's called ) and bandleader and bride and Mom and on and on.. are communicating ( often at odds with one another ) about the music and the things surrounding the gig... PA, song choices.. yada yada. Apparently everyone with their instant messaging are giving frustrating conflicting opinions about songs, in particular. I was feeling sorry for my own end of this.. until I heard how it is even worse, than just for me. Most of you are likely in steady bands, but perhaps a few of you have felt this infusion of chaotic opinions on song choices, which means you have to learn far more music than in the past?. After listening to what my friend daily goes through, I feel learning 30 simple songs a week, is nothing compared to the pandora's box that instant communication creates for one who has to coordinate between bandleader, musicians, music agency, bride, the parents fitting the bill, and venue. A true nightmare. This was never this difficult prior to FB, instant messaging. You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barryjam Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 And all these people seem to think bands are like DJs: just ask for everything and it just shows up, miraculously, with a few pen strokes. Barry Home: Steinway L, Montage 8 Gigs: Yamaha CP88, Crumar Mojo 61, A&H SQ5 mixer, ME1 IEM, MiPro 909 IEMs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 If you're going to pay me five figures for a few hours of music, I will learn a little number called "Whatever the hell songs you want, twice." www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niacin Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Oh yeh. And the best man would like to sing it in F# please. But seriously yes what you describe is exactly what is happening in my neck of the woods/bush. You just pick a few of the requests to keep them happy, by the second set the alcohol will have kicked in. And if they persist with a request you stream it on your phone. Live music today. Not kidding. Gig keys: Hammond SKpro, Korg Vox Continental, Crumar Mojo 61, Crumar Mojo Pedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I-missRichardTee Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 Well I was mixing two related but different observations. First my angle: My gigs are with a number of different people.. and just so happen to involve learning new or old but half forgotten material. The AMOUNT of material is growing. In the case of the high end wedding world.. I was not so much speaking about a few requests but the snafu's and fubar's that occur between far far too many chefs in the kitchen. That world, thanks to mainly the ladies giving their many opinions to various members of a large chain of semi poorly connected people, makes for a nightmare if you are conscientious and you are responsible for the wedding to go smoothly . And going smoothly means different things, to 10 to 20 people in that chain. it is a logistical nightmare. This person, who will go identity-less , used to complain to me, but 3 days ago, went into the dirty details. My powers of description fail to portray what my friend finally aid out for me. I wondered why they just did not take the money and run, as MathInsecticide points out. But the misunderstandings, the blame, scape coating, even betrayal, is something I could not abide. I keep failing to explain the factor of women and their cell phones and media and FB Instagram, and how these factors can make for a very unpleasant experience, and not just on the evening of, but months prior. They get the bigger bucks for a good reason. And I never understood this. The over riding connection between my smaller world and the higher end wedding world, is client hears music everywhere, clients friends are fully connected to music of every bands playlists, and people getting more aggressive about what they want. You don't have ideas, ideas have you We see the world, not as it is, but as we are. "One mans food is another mans poison". I defend your right to speak hate. Tolerance to a point, not agreement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogika Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Oh yeh. And the best man would like to sing it in F# please. Hey, dont knock the F# one of the nicest keys to play in! The Angels of Libra The Drawbars | off jazz organ trio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 My solution would be to provide a song list that is covered in the hiring rate, and a rate per song for learning songs not on the set list. A couple may not mind paying an extra $50 to have their song put on the list, and they are going to avoid adding a dozen songs that they don't actually care about. This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Song80s Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 W but the snafu's and fubar's that occur between far far too many chefs in the kitchen. My powers of description fail to portray what my friend finally aid out for me. I wondered why they just did not take the money and run, as MathInsecticide points out. But the misunderstandings, the blame, scape coating, even betrayal, is something I could not abide. I keep failing to explain the factor of women and their cell phones and media and FB Instagram, and how these factors can make for a very unpleasant experience, and not just on the evening of, but months prior. They get the bigger bucks for a good reason. And I never understood this. The over riding connection between my smaller world and the higher end wedding world, is client hears music everywhere, clients friends are fully connected to music of every bands playlists, and people getting more aggressive about what they want. Sometimes, and at peril to myself ( slow driver here), I tell my wife ' cars have only 1 steering wheel , thus 1 driver. '. Likely this is a useless metaphor but there is simplicity to having 1 person in charge. A Leader might say, 'get your song requests in my ' X Date'. After that, the window is shut. The plan is set. This is not try as you go, Facebook man. The game of trying to please everyone all the time, is not something I could manage. In our quick click world, many are impatient and coddled, a potent combination. Little sense or interest of complexity or appreciation of quality. The big parade of a wedding amplifies. Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ? My Soundcloud with many originals: [70's Songwriter] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Im not doing that chicken song, i dont care what your mom says. The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Simons Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Oh yeh. And the best man would like to sing it in F# please. Hey, dont knock the F# one of the nicest keys to play in! I believe that Irving Berlin wrote everything in F#, it was the only key he was comfortable playing in. He even had a transposing piano if that actual key was impractical for others. With my beginning students I used to comp in Eb minor and tell them to improvise on the black notes. It was like magic to them, automatically sounding like they knew what they were doing. Also, what & how they chose to play would give me hints as to the ones that were really getting it. Yamaha P515 & CK88, Pianoteq, Mainstage, iOS, assorted other stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 [snip] That world, thanks to mainly the ladies giving their many opinions [snip] I keep failing to explain the factor of women and their cell phones and media and FB Instagram. "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 [snip] That world, thanks to mainly the ladies giving their many opinions [snip] I keep failing to explain the factor of women and their cell phones and media and FB Instagram. I noticed that too. Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 [snip] That world, thanks to mainly the ladies giving their many opinions [snip] I keep failing to explain the factor of women and their cell phones and media and FB Instagram. I noticed that too. Cheers, Mike. His internet provider must be very good, if he is able to connect from 1951. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 I noticed that too. Cheers, Mike. His internet provider must be very good, if he is able to connect from 1951. http://www.businesspundit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ads-7.jpglink to more "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Lobo Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 With my beginning students I used to comp in Eb minor and tell them to improvise on the black notes. You and Stevie Wonder. Apologies for going off topic. These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 My main band is a very-high-demand, high-end wedding band. We work constantly and the pay is typically very, very good. In my anecdotal experience there are a few things that make this tick. The BL is very good at client management. IMHO, if you are not excellent at client management, and good with people in general, this end of the pool is not going to be a good experience for you. We also have a deep playlist of 200-300 songs. They run the gamut from today's popular hits, every decade's pop, straight jazz, country, a little classical, GASB and a medley for Jewish horas. And we are constantly adding client requests; this is simply a way of life for a busy wedding band. It's not unusual, it's not a special inconvenience, it's necessary to please the client who is writing your check. IMHO, if you do not have a way to handle a very large inventory of songs at your disposal, multiple playlists, near instant recall, ability to adjust to different audiences in the moment, this end of the pool will be difficult for you. Live, we operate without a playlist; our band leader works as essentially 'live DJ' - surveys the crowd and calls the next tune to us while we're playing the current one. We never stop the beat during the set, songs are constantly morphing from one to the next and the dance floor is seldom not 100% full. White audiences, black audiences, asian audiences, whatever. Country, rock, R&B, funk, whatever. It's one of the reasons we are a known quantity with high end wedding planners, high end venues and such. The musical demands are somewhat unusual and were initially daunting, but now it's a great mental challenge we all really enjoy. And it's quite lucrative. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 the dance floor is seldom not 100% full. White audiences, black audiences, asian audiences, whatever. I suspect you could add both "men" and "women" to that list. Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Muscara Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 the dance floor is seldom not 100% full. White audiences, black audiences, asian audiences, whatever. I suspect you could add both "men" and "women" to that list. Cheers, Mike. http://blue-funk.com/NonBandPictures/smileys/cheers.gif "I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck "The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoken6 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 http://blue-funk.com/NonBandPictures/smileys/cheers.gif Your very good health Joe! Cheers, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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