Archive for the ‘Live Bands’ Category

How Does Music Touch Your Life?

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Music definitely shapes our world and brings something to our lives. It touches our souls and surrounds us in one form or another. Should you ever lie in a field and hear no other sound except the breeze, birds or insects, it will be with you always. The next time you’re on a noisy city street and hear a bird sing, you’ll remember that field and that feeling.  Remember and wrap yourself in those feelings.

When you listen to a soundtrack from a popular series and hear the notes sound, do you find that you can suddenly remember some of the scenes? Sometimes the sheer poignancy of the music is almost too painful to bear. Have you ever wondered why the same song sung in a different language still evokes similar memories?  Well it’s mostly likely down to the lyrics.  They fit the music no matter what the language is.

A live band at a private function will set a livelier atmosphere, and make that event more special. Every band has a style of its own, and the interaction of the band and the audience makes every performance an individual experience. For a special occasion, and an event to remember, a live band is a sure way to leave a lasting impression on guests

It can be a blast putting on a live music event. However, if done improperly or without the appropriate considerations, it can quickly go sour! Just remember to know the venue, have plenty of time to promote, book good bands that will bring in fans, and then have those bands rock out in order of worst to best at the show. Oh and don’t forget to end it all with a bang!

Hearing a song again can put us right back in a special moment from our past and make us feel as if we were there all over again.

Not all live bands are lookalikes, in fact some will come on stage and make it part of the act that they don’t look like the band whose music they’re playing. For these bands it’s the music that’s all important, they are paying tribute to the music of their idols. Keeping that music alive to share with an audience is surely the best tribute anyone can pay to an artist.

Not forgetting a mobile DJ or a corporate DJ, as he is someone who will provide you with musical entertainment that will fit your venue or event perfectly.  The best will consult with you before the event to make sure that you will not be disappointed that way they can work hand in hand with either a live band or a tribute band as we all know Bands in general will only play 2 sets which will either be 2 x 45 mins or an hour set. Please do not get me wrong some bands will do more hours depending on the cost however the best approach is always to go with a band and then a DJ to finish the night.

Next article will be explaining more on how a DJ and a BAND can work together to give the client value for money.

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Hiring Specialist Bands for Personal Celebrations

Friday, July 30th, 2010

You can hire so many genres of musical and specialist bands for functions now and many of those are happy to travel the length of the country to be at your event so I though I’d give you a few ideas and finish this post off with a couple of reasons for and against booking a specialist band for your function.

Whether it’s jazz or swing, a soloist or classical band you are looking for then its vital that you organise exactly what you need in the way of themes if you are having one. Some people prefer to choose themes and might go for a 60’s themed wedding with a Beatles tribute band or one with a lively DJ with a steel band and whatever you fancy, specialist bands can perform high quality music from £500 rising to over £2,000 for the best!

So whether its affordable music to dance to at a live corporate event or you have a high end taste for an impressive birthday party, specialist bands may be able to provide you the entertainment you need and when you need it – providing you book well in advance!

Here are some pointers to help you make your decision:

Positives:

  • Themes specific to your function can be selected
  • The band will perform as the main live entertainment at your function or as part of a larger event they will perform next to bands which is great for different types of music throughout your event
  • A fabulous idea for those of you selecting larger venues with good acoustics

Negatives:

  • Despite your theme a specialist band will usually only play music they have rehearsed
  • Less choice available when it comes to dates
  • You may need to consider a specialist band for the larger budget as travel and overnight stays may be needed should the band have to travel far to your venue
  • You have to plan a DJ or other entertainment to keep guests entertained during intervals
  • Will leave you with limited choice when it comes to your venue due to sound and noise restrictions and locality to residential areas

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Solo Acts and Hiring Them for Events

Monday, July 5th, 2010

I last covered pro’s and con’s to booking and hiring duo’s & trio’s for larger functions and thought it natural to move onto my views on solo acts for smaller type events or as sectional entertainment for larger events like festivals.

Solo acts can be versatile when teamed with other methods of entertainment. By that what I mean is that solo acts can be used as the main entertainment for smaller more personal celebrations, with perhaps DJs playing at intervals, or you can use them as interval entertainment for larger events that require your artists or bands to complete longer sets.

Smaller venues are perfect for live solo acts as they can perform more privately and with a smaller support band the music can often be played in the background at a dinner function or as the main entertainment to get your guests warmed up and dancing away late into an evening. They may have a smaller repertoire of quality music so I would always suggest you listen in advance of booking and of course take a look at their profile of tracks too – being disappointed at the event will mean its too late to do anything, it isn’t worth the stress!

However, despite me recommending solo acts for a smaller function as I mentioned earlier you can also hire live solo artists to perform at large venues provided they have the music and the support band suitable for the acoustics there. Take a look at their experience and check out where the act has performed previously in their career to help you make your decision.

So here I go with the advantages:

  • Solo acts are perfect as the main entertainment for small venues or as complimentary entertainment to other sections of live entertainment at larger venues
  • Offering a more personal and less interfering option your artist can talk to guests and offer to sing requests
  • Meet the smaller budget and can perform to specific themes – think rock, folk, jazz, reggae – or can sing covers to your favourite artists

And a few disadvantages:

  • Some solo acts may be fairly limited and only perform a very specific repertoire of music
  • Less versatile when it comes to booking so you need to hire well in advance of your function to avoid disappointment
  • When booking independently they may not be able to offer to the best advice, particularly if they only sing or perform specialist music

I’ll cover specialist music bands and singers on my next post, thanks again for reading!

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Duo’s & Trio’s for Functions and Large Events

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Having written a blog post on wedding bands I thought I’d branch out this week into different types of musical entertainment available and also that we’ll start to move away from weddings – there’s a huge array of events we can cover so in my posts I’ll avoid mentioning just weddings!

Largely in this post I’m going to mention duo’s & trio’s though if you are thinking of booking a solo act then feel free to read my next post for my suggestions.

Solo, duo’s & trio’s are available UK wide and are a fabulous entertainment addition to any type of celebration, of course weddings included here but we’re talking corporate functions, professional events, birthday parties or any gig that requires professional musical entertainment. Why? Personally I think you get extra value if you can afford to stretch to such a band in the first place as I think duo’s & trio’s offer a little more by way of different singing styles, offering harmonies and they’re most likely going to have a larger support band too.

You also have specialist bands (again, we’ll cover that in one of my future blog posts) that can offer you tributes to a favourite band or to a favourite type of music – this can be themed to your function and famously is a memorable way of adding ambience and atmosphere to a larger function or event.

Negatives:

I just had to mention that there are some drawbacks to booking duos & trios – but not many – because my posts wouldn’t be neutral if I didn’t, and because I think at the early stages in planning any large event you need to weigh up all avenues before going ahead with bookings.

* Specialist bands or duo’s & trio’s can be expensive and larger deposits required compared to other forms of musical entertainment

* Larger bands may not suit a smaller more personal venue, or indeed there may be noise limits at your chosen venue

* Its doubtful that bands will play without breaks so an extra part of your budget and your planning will be taken up with who or what can play in the intervals

* Larger deposits may be required

Hopefully that helps you if you’re planning an event this year or next, keep coming back as I’m updating my posts again soon

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So You Want To Start a Band?

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

So you’re interested in starting a band. Well it isn’t going to be easy. A lot of people form bands, but to form a good band takes a lot of time and a considerable amount of effort. However for those of us who truly live and breathe music it’s more than worth it to get up on that stage and get your music heard. If you’re truly dedicated to getting a band together from scratch then here are a few tips to help you on your way.

Band Members

A band isn’t going to be getting up to much without members, and one man bands aren’t really in demand. The first thing to do is to get in touch with like-minded individuals. A lot of people want to put a band together with their mates, and this is great if it works. However, more often than not a band of close friends doesn’t create the best environment. Often some members aren’t quite as committed as others, resulting in those who are really into-it getting frustrated with the lack of dedication.

The key is to find musically like-minded individuals, and there are a variety of ways to do this. Social networking is really good for putting yourself out there and aside from the obvious like Twitter and Facebook there are a multitude of music forums and networking sites dedicated to forming new bands. Furthermore, it’s useful to put up fliers in places, they’re likely to attract interest such as in music shops and at recording studios. These techniques are just as relevant if you have the core of a band and are just looking for specialists such as a bassist.

Laying the Foundations

Obviously you’re not going to jump straight into playing gigs, no matter how well trained you all are. It just doesn’t work like that. The best bands out there are the best because they are all working in the same direction and practice together constantly.

First and foremost you all have to be aware of what kind of music you’re going to be playing. If you’ve been prudent in recruiting members then you’ll most likely have similar tastes and will know what direction you’re taking you’re music in. Creative differences should be sorted out early on as they can become a bigger problem later on.

Practice, Practice then Repeat

As I’ve said already, practice is crucial. Even the most talented musicians need to get a feel for each other’s style and develop their bands style together. Practicing as much as possible will not only allow the band to develop a rapport, but will help you improve you timing and synchronicity.

Recording studios are quite expensive but invaluable for your band, so be as professional and organised as you can to maximise your bands use of such facilities. Practicing in your own time will also be critical, but ensure that you practice often with a metronome so that you are all working to the same rhythm.

Spending all this time together will make your sets flow easily and you’re less likely to have any upsets when on stage. Playing together will give you a confidence in your band members and them in you that will vastly improve your ability to play off each other while on stage.

Get Yourself Out There

Once you’re fairly confident in your ability to play together you’ll want to promote yourself. You’re not going to play many gigs if no one knows who you are, so get your bands name out there in any way possible.
The internet has become a fantastically useful tool for start-up bands as there are so many ways you can use it to promote yourself at next to no cost. Social networking is always vital so get yourself on as many of the popular sites as possible.

Also record a demo. By now you should have a repertoire of songs, so put a few of your best on a disc to give out after gigs and also as part of your application for future gigs. Building a website for your band or even just a Bebo page will let people see what you do and possible get you gigs, while a video on YouTube will get you more exposure.

Finally and most importantly – enjoy yourself. Music isn’t like a business commodity that comes pre-packaged. Music is an art and should be enjoyed whether you’re making it or listening to it. So don’t get carried away with the details of ‘making it big’. If it happens then that’s great, but roaring success doesn’t come to everyone. Just remember that you got into the band to make music and not money.

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Should I Hire a Band or DJ for My Wedding Reception?

Friday, November 27th, 2009

For the first post on our brand new blog I’m going to answer one of the questions that we are asked most frequently here at San Entertainment:  Should I hire a DJ or a full band to play at my wedding reception?  Your wedding day will undoubtedly be one of the biggest and most memorable days of your life, but before you get there there are hundreds of decisions you will need to make about how you want the day to go.  As an agency we are constantly asked by our clients whether we would recommend that they hire a live party band or a wedding reception DJ to entertain their guests.  The truth is there is no right or wrong answer for this and it will always vary depending on the couple, the scale of the wedding and their guests.  Hopefully the advice I offer will help you to decide what approach to take on your big day.

Live Wedding Bands

Positives:

  • If your wedding is heavily themed then having a band that matches the intended tone can really help to create ambience and atmosphere.
  • Wedding Bands will typically adjust the pacing and tempo of songs to match the energy levels of the dancers on the floor.  In addition to this they will often be able to take some of the bride and grooms favourite songs and adjust them to match the weddings theme (playing a swing cover of a pop song for example).
  • In terms of atmosphere there really is no beating the sound and aesthetics of having a live band in the room.

Negatives:

  • The majority of wedding bands specialise in a single style of music; while this is perfect for a strongly themed wedding if you want a wide and eclectic range of music played a band might prove to be too limited.
  • Wedding bands can be expensive.  If you are trying to plan your wedding on a budget the cost of a live band could prove to be prohibitive.
  • If the wedding reception is small and intimate then a live and loud band can sometimes seem a little out of place.

Wedding Reception DJ

Positives:

  • A well established DJ will carry a library of thousands of songs, and will no doubt be able to acquire any further songs in advance of the wedding with ease.  This means that you and your guests will be able to request songs and have the music adapted to the mood of the event on the night.
  • As you step out onto the dance floor for your first dance, a DJ will be able to play the exact version of the song you choose (rather than having a live band play a cover of it).
  • Most DJ’s will play for the whole evening rather than playing sets with breaks in between.
  • Even a high end DJ will usually cost less than a full wedding band.

Negatives:

  • A DJ will usually act as an emcee and if their personality doesn’t gel with the tone you want from the wedding it can be very jarring.  It is vital when looking for a DJ to meet and discuss the event with them beforehand to ensure that they are on the same wavelength as you.
  • Many wedding DJ’s are used to playing very similar party songs at a variety of different weddings and can slip into “autopilot” mode with generic comments and music.  Again, if you want to avoid this you should make sure to seek out DJ’s with great testimonials and meet with them in advance of the wedding to discuss how you want the event to flow.

Ultimately the best choice will depend on the type of wedding you are planning.  One of the best solutions, which many people are opting for these days, is to hire a band to play a couple of short sets early in the evening with a DJ to play between sets and once the band have packed up.

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