Manager, Arsis Productions

HOW TO ENSURE THAT YOUR WEDDING BAND WILL SHOW UP

The following suggestions are intended to help you feel confident that the entertainment you hire will actually show up, even though you may have booked them a year or more in advance.

Most of the better bands and deejays book as far in advance as 9 to 18 months. I am currently receiving inquiries for as far out as two years. If you want to have your pick from the best entertainment before someone else "snatches" them, you must book far in advance. Unless a great band or DJ has a sudden cancellation, the choices within three months of a reception are most likely going to be the bands and deejays that no one else wanted.

You may occasionally run across a band that won't accept bookings too far in advance but will put you on a call list. This is an immediate "tip-off" that you are dealing with a band that prefers corporate clients and they will only take a wedding reception as a last resort to keep the band booked. The reason for this type of activity is that corporate clients will typically pay more and the band wants to "go where the money is." They are willing to risk losing a wedding client or two to land the BIG corporate gig. The sad truth about these types of bands is that even if they do accept your booking, some have been known to call brides a month away from her BIG day and feed her some lame story about their lead singer's car accident and how they can't get someone else rehearsed in time. The real truth is that the great bands have backups for all positions in case something unforeseen were to actually happen.

I have a "real life" story about the car accident bit. I had been a member of the wedding reception party band Mixed Company for seven years without missing even one engagement. I had a car wreck just days before a wedding reception was to take place and I wound up being out of commission for a month. Mixed Company functioned flawlessly during my absence because we had a highly skilled backup for my position. My backup was someone who had actually performed with Mixed Company from time to time to stay sharp and up-to-date with our song list. And yes, I recovered enough to return to duty a month after the accident - although I performed while sitting in a wheelchair. Eventually, I was back on my feet again. Say, is there a song in there somewhere? Maybe Michael Bolton could sing it.

Okay, so my advice is to book your band or DJ as soon as you have secured a reception location or, even better, book the entertainment you want and find a reception location to match. After all, rooms don't entertain nearly as well as a great band or DJ will. Booking a year or more in advance will allow you to pick from the best rather than accepting the "crumbs" in a pinch. But try to get a band or DJ that makes wedding receptions their focus, not their sideline. There are bands that make wedding receptions their business and their experience is your best insurance policy for a great reception. Read my article at www.virtualbride.com entitled, "How do you pick the right variety band?" for help with shopping for a band.

Any band or DJ who won't give you a written contract (performance agreement) is not to be trusted at all! Walk away and don't look back. The performance agreement will outline the specific details of the event including the name of the performer, the date time and location of the reception, performance attire, pricing terms, cancellation policy, space and power requirements, meals, etc. A good performance agreement from a reputable performer is about as secure as you can get. If you have the opportunity, try to ask around to see if the prospective band or deejay has a reputation for showing up late or canceling engagements. Also try to ascertain whether or not they have a good reputation and some years of experience in the wedding reception market.

A number of you have e-mailed me to ask if it is appropriate to require that the individual names of the band-members be noted on a contract. I understand your concerns. You are concerned that the band might replace someone before your event takes place. The fact is, the lower a band's price the more often they lose musicians to higher paying/higher-priced bands. You simply get what you pay for. For example, a sound system like most reputable bands use can rent for $2000 up to as much as $3500 in my area. There is no way for a band to remain competitive in the wedding market if they must bear the cost of renting the sound system. In the professional music world it is the concert promoter's responsibility to supply the sound and lighting system, per the band's requirements. We publish Mixed Company's sound requirements at www.mixedcompany.com/mixedcompanystagelayout.html for that purpose. But since most wedding clients are not concert promoters, many bands will supply the sound system themselves. Imagine how difficult it will be for them to afford great musicians after paying for the sound system. The bandleader will usually purchase his/her own equipment and pay it off over time, amortizing the initial cost and ongoing maintenance into every performance. Next he/she will attempt to charge enough above the sound system expense, advertising, demo production, etc. to still hire the best musicians. Some will be so bold as to charge enough to hire the best while many will buckle to market pressures and compromise. The ones who compromise usually find themselves training replacements a lot, or simply resign themselves to the fate of becoming a pick-up "band". For more about pick-up bands read my article at www.mixedcompany.com/Variety_Band.html.

Because of the financial pressures of the wedding market, and the reality that musicians may move on to "greener pastures", it is not common to put the individual band-members' names on the contract. As a bandleader, I cannot force anyone to continue to work for me any more than IMB or Microsoft could force someone "not" to quit. But what I can do is charge enough to attract and keep the best musicians, so they have no reason to leave. Furthermore, I do meticulous planning with the purchaser to be sure there are no surprises at the engagement that can cause musicians to become stressed. When than happens one time too many, a bandleader can find himself searching for a replacement, even if he/she pays well.

Even famous bands like the Eagles have changed members over the years. But the Eagles are still awesome! Bear in mind that a successful band is larger than any particular individual. Any great band will almost always be better than the sum of all its parts. We have seen that time and again in pop music. For example, Chicago lost their original guitarist and their original bassist/vocalist in the 70's and 80's respectively, yet they maintained a great success and are still popular today. The lead singer/bassist's solo career faded while Chicago continued their success. Later Chicago even replaced their original drummer. Mixed Company opened for Chicago during their 30th year and they sounded better than ever with new guitarist, bassist/lead singer, and drummer. But James Pankow, the trombone player, has always done a great job managing the band and making sure that replacements are as good as, or better, than the musician they replaced.

So the measure of the quality of a band has to do with the quality of the leadership more than anything else. Because of the way Mixed Company has treated its musicians we have enjoyed a 16-year history of success and have spun off two sister bands that do the same thing. That is not to say that we never replaced anyone, but we always made sure the replacement represented an improvement.

All that being said, I have never seen a private event band list its members by name, whether the band was well known or not. The best measure of the band is in its history of pleasing audiences. Check their references. Even if they changed personnel, is their track record one of consistent quality? Reputable private-event bandleaders maintain a call list of "hired guns" who can step in on a moment's notice and cover for any position. As we say in the business, the show must go on, but especially when someone's wedding day is hanging in the balance. If you booked a band 14 months in advance, you would not want to receive a phone call to cancel the engagement the day before your wedding, because some bone-headed bandleader had no hired guns trained and ready to cover for a sick musician, right? That actually happens quite a bit, when people book a friend's band or some group of hobbyists. I will let you in on a secret. Many times when these bands call to cancel, with a claim that "the lead singer is deathly ill and cannot be replaced on such short notice", it is actually a lie. I am sorry to have to admit that of my peers, but it does happen. I have had numerous clients call me while still in tears, telling me some sob story about their band canceling. I had a call two years ago from a client whose band canceled on just a few days notice. They told her their lead singer had cancer and could not be replaced in time. Let me translate that for you. Another client had offered the band more money, and they had no contract to obligate them to fulfill their commitment to the bride who thought she had everything "squared away". Ironically, the bandleader was a "friend" of her father. I did not tell the bride what was really going on because I did not want to stress her any more than she already was. I was actually able to put a band together for her, using some hired guns, which was nothing short of a miracle, given such short notice. I am so thankful that, even after 16 years in this business, I have never had to call a wedding client and cancel an engagement. I have never even had a band show up late. What is even better is that I was able to supply a great band for a bride who was at the end of her rope because of some unscrupulous band. I expect a lot from me and I expect the same from those who staff my bands, so I hope I never have a reason to revise this portion of this article.

My best advice to you is to book a very reputable band and be sure to demand a solid contract. If they are legitimate, expect to pay a 50% non-refundable security deposit at the time of booking. That is common. You don't really book musicians, you actually buy their time. In order to set aside that time for you, a professional will want to have some type of guarantee so he/she will be safe to turn down other offers for the same date and time slot. They would still rather perform for full pay, but if you canceled them they would still have at least half pay to fall back on and maintain their livelihood. For a wedding in my area, one should expect to pay between $3000 and $7000 for a reputable, professional band, depending upon how large a band you book. Even at $5000 for example, a band would only cost $25 per guest for 200 guests. You won't even find catering for that price, except maybe Sonny's Bar-B-Que or something like that.

Don't shop in the bargain basement! Bands or deejays with great looking promotional materials show pride in their work. If the literature is plain, the demo has a hand-written label and/or sounds "homemade"; you may be shopping in the bargain basement. These groups need a break too, but your reception isn't the time or place. The VFW's, bars, and block parties are the place for those bands to gain experience. Your wedding day goes into the history books just once. Try the following suggestions to help you feel more secure about the entertainment you hire.

1) Book far enough in advance to get a reputable band or DJ that specializes in wedding receptions.
2) Get a written contract (performance agreement).
3) Call the performer every couple of months with a question or two just to make sure that you are on their mind. If you happen to book Mixed Company, skip the part about calling every couple of months. Just kidding!

I hope this gives you some helpful insight. Please feel free to contact me if you have a question I have not covered in one of these articles. I make this advice available for no charge, as I endeavor to raise the bar of excellence with regard to wedding entertainment.

Doug McAlexander - Arsis Productions

E-mail: arsisproductions@gmail.com

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