Live acts V Djs

[STEVE HANLEY]

Speaking to wedding co-ordinator at a wedding I was djing at last week. She just happened to mention that this year they've had more live acts I.E. singers and bands. Than they've had dj's this year. She also mentioned that she thought that, that trend would continue as a lot of them are also offering dj services as well. Her thinking was that a bride can now have the best of both worlds.

Wondered what your thoughts on this was good people

[TONYTIGER]

Steve,sorry to say she is spot on most bands will offer some form of music during there sets even if its a iPod plugged in to there system,the mobile market has shrunk dramatically over the last few years were the bulk of work is for weddings and vast overpricing by mobiles charging for wedding services by some pretty mediocre Djs public are getting much more savvy and want more for there money they want to be entertained i have been a guest at a few weddings this year which is quite unusual for me all were pretty boring IE same sort of set up same music and microphone skills and interaction were poor.It would seem bands have lowered there prices and really have realized there is a opening to get there feet in the door when it comes to the wedding market.The public have this view oh this must be something special when they get there invite look this looks good they have a live band ,were as a mobile is still the cheapest form of entertainment and you have to be something special to stand out the trend will continue unless mobile Djs realize there is more to it than pressing play on the playlist and mumbling the buffet is open,the bar is closed syndrome although the last one i saw had overcome that by having jingles for every situation you could think of.
Give me a good band any day as people like something different for there special day ,but mobiles if this trend continues will see there market diminish.:sofa:

[Excalibur]

Wondered what your thoughts on this was good people
Unprintable. Next question please.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Being from a live band background before I got into DJing, I think a lot of bands are struggling with the same issues that DJs are. Namely gumtree cowboys and the like who will play for buttons and provide entertainment to suit.

I don't begrudge bands who do provide a proper DJ set but I loathe bands who say they provide a DJ when they're just sticking an ipod on as it does take work away from us and is in no way comparable to what we do.

[chrisj]

I have come across several weddings this year that had bands as they have hired mood lighting. Most of the bands have had ipod and 1 actually had a member with cd decks.
IMO a good band is better than a disco providing they can play what the couple want and mostly this is a wide range. They are sometimes very limited with what they play however. If a couple want a rock band, find a good one, then it may be better than a disco. I know a band, having worked with them around 20 times, that used to play just 60's and worked in East Anglia but now cover so many genres and travel the country.
DJTrev, if you read this they are back at base on NYE.

[sweetie]

In Ireland despite the ongoing recession I'd say 80% of weddings have a band followed by dj and only 20% are dj only. Bear in mind the entertainment goes on till 2 or 2.30 at the average Irish wedding and sometimes as late as 4am. The main problem for djs here is that some bands do it themselves. Now some do it well but most take the pee. I'm lucky in that many of my gigs are with a quality 6 piece band that are top of the market and get good paying gigs. I then get around 10 or so full 5 hr weddings throughout the year through word of mouth and recommendations and then some more after band gigs from a good agency. I think the numbers will get closer as more people are paying for their own weddings and the younger generation wont have to get a band to play waltzs and jives for the relatives because daddy chequebook wants one!

[STEVE HANLEY]

Unprintable. Next question please.

Go on Peter. You know you want to.........:D:D

[Excalibur]

Go on Peter. You know you want to.........:D:D

OK, I've got my rose tinted specs on, so I'll tell you how it used to be. A band never did a gig on their own, they worked with a disco, and everything was hunky dory. ( Yeah yeah, and the Tooth Fairy is real. :D ) A party wasn't a party without a band to add to the disco, you rang up a local agency, and a band arrived. Job done, at very reasonable prices all round. Nobody tried to nick anybody else's jobs, and the line was drawn clearly and ( relatively ) fairly.


<Takes glasses off. > Then costs/prices rose, and ( allegedly ) disposable income dropped. Band+Disco suddenly became very expensive. Added to which, the two edged sword of the digital revolution meant that many bands had someone happy to play a couple of Now CD's. Then it became even easier, they didn't even have to carry a box of CD's, they just brought a digital playout of choice, and plugged it into the Band's PA.

Visualise if you will the conversation between a prospective punter and a band.

" I'd love to have you at my function, but I just can't afford to pay for you and a DJ. Can you lower your prices at all"? ( Cos you're the ones charging four or five times what the DJ does )

" Oooooh no Sir/Madam, but we do have a cost effective solution. For only another fifty quid, we'll provide music when we aren't playing live, and you can dispense with that overpriced oik with the over inflated ego and sense of self worth. It will be no problem at all, cos in all honesty, the blighters only stand there and press play, while surfing the net, it's money for old rope. This will save you two or three hundred quid, you won't have trouble finding room for us to get on the stage together, and you'll have the music you want all night " ( Oh dear, the Gloucester Old Spots are lining up on the runway, and they're cleared for takeoff. :fp::fp: )


There we are, the band's just clinched a deal, got an extra fifty quid for letting the bass player's next door neighbour show his skills on the laptop, or even worse, just plug the nearest ipod into a spare line in, and hit shuffle. Simples.

It's a compromise, a cost cutting exercise, with a good chance of falling between two stools. Punters already have a low enough image of many DJ's, and this won't help to raise it at all. Will they decide that the night was marred by a sub standard product, and vow to spend the extar next time, or will they ignore the quality and feel the width? After all,they've just saved two hundred quid, had the band they wanted, and still heard Now 83/100party favourites/a varied selection of music they've never been exposed to.

Cynical? Moi? You betcha. :mad:








Disclaimer: Yes, of course I know not all bands are like this, but I've lost a lot of work to the ones who are, and I don't think it does anyone any favours. It causes ill feeling, jealousy and encourages punters to try and drive prices down even further. Not a good idea in my book.

[TONYTIGER]

OK, I've got my rose tinted specs on, so I'll tell you how it used to be. A band never did a gig on their own, they worked with a disco, and everything was hunky dory. ( Yeah yeah, and the Tooth Fairy is real. :D ) A party wasn't a party without a band to add to the disco, you rang up a local agency, and a band arrived. Job done, at very reasonable prices all round. Nobody tried to nick anybody else's jobs, and the line was drawn clearly and ( relatively ) fairly.


<Takes glasses off. > Then costs/prices rose, and ( allegedly ) disposable income dropped. Band+Disco suddenly became very expensive. Added to which, the two edged sword of the digital revolution meant that many bands had someone happy to play a couple of Now CD's. Then it became even easier, they didn't even have to carry a box of CD's, they just brought a digital playout of choice, and plugged it into the Band's PA.

Visualise if you will the conversation between a prospective punter and a band.

" I'd love to have you at my function, but I just can't afford to pay for you and a DJ. Can you lower your prices at all"? ( Cos you're the ones charging four or five times what the DJ does )

" Oooooh no Sir/Madam, but we do have a cost effective solution. For only another fifty quid, we'll provide music when we aren't playing live, and you can dispense with that overpriced oik with the over inflated ego and sense of self worth. It will be no problem at all, cos in all honesty, the blighters only stand there and press play, while surfing the net, it's money for old rope. This will save you two or three hundred quid, you won't have trouble finding room for us to get on the stage together, and you'll have the music you want all night " ( Oh dear, the Gloucester Old Spots are lining up on the runway, and they're cleared for takeoff. :fp::fp: )


There we are, the band's just clinched a deal, got an extra fifty quid for letting the bass player's next door neighbour show his skills on the laptop, or even worse, just plug the nearest ipod into a spare line in, and hit shuffle. Simples.

It's a compromise, a cost cutting exercise, with a good chance of falling between two stools. Punters already have a low enough image of many DJ's, and this won't help to raise it at all. Will they decide that the night was marred by a sub standard product, and vow to spend the extar next time, or will they ignore the quality and feel the width? After all,they've just saved two hundred quid, had the band they wanted, and still heard Now 83/100party favourites/a varied selection of music they've never been exposed to.

Cynical? Moi? You betcha. :mad:








Disclaimer: Yes, of course I know not all bands are like this, but I've lost a lot of work to the ones who are, and I don't think it does anyone any favours. It causes ill feeling, jealousy and encourages punters to try and drive prices down even further. Not a good idea in my book.

Spot on Peter,so mobiles have to think on there feet my solution i have joined the opposition and have joined up with a few bands that i can work with and offer a package that both parties are happy with proved very popular and works for me ,and yes we share the PA & lighting system.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Really good post Peter and a lot of that I'd never even considered before. As someone else also pointed out some mobile discos charge as much as bands now.

[Excalibur]

Spot on Peter,so mobiles have to think on there feet my solution i have joined the opposition and have joined up with a few bands that i can work with and offer a package that both parties are happy with proved very popular and works for me ,and yes we share the PA & lighting system.

The best way. Work together. I used to have a couple of bands who I worked with in a very similar manner, and it was by far the best solution, for all concerned. Band, Client, and DJ.

[paulg]

Disco or band?.....................band every time for me.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Disco or band?.....................band every time for me.

Why?? Some of them are total pants.

[katman]

Why?? Some of them are total pants.

I have to agree with you after going to see Y-Front and The Boxers performing Air On A G String

[Corabar Steve]

Don't give up the day job Keith

[Kernow]

I have to agree with you after going to see Y-Front and The Boxers performing Air On A G String

Apart from "Your Thong", they don't do covers ?
:sofa:

[katman]

Apart from "Your Thong", they don't do covers ?
:sofa:

Actually they also did

Elton John - Thong for Guy
St Ceceila - Leap up and down and wave your knickers in the air
Jo Boxers - Boxerbeat
Sisqo - Thong Song

In the words of Monty Python - "This is getting very silly" :)

[Kernow]

Actually they also did

Elton John - Thong for Guy
St Ceceila - Leap up and down and wave your knickers in the air
Jo Boxers - Boxerbeat
Sisqo - Thong Song

In the words of Monty Python - "This is getting very silly" :)
Indeed :D

..... so I won't even mention their support act.........


........ "The Waist Band" :eek:


:D

[paulg]

Why?? Some of them are total pants.

as are some DJ's!!

[TONYTIGER]

These are my band buddy's who i team up with http://www.the-a-listers.com/ a pleasure to work with.

[Corabar Steve]

I have to agree with you after going to see Y-Front and The Boxers performing Air On A G String


Apart from "Your Thong", they don't do covers ?
:sofa:


Actually they also did

Elton John - Thong for Guy
St Ceceila - Leap up and down and wave your knickers in the air
Jo Boxers - Boxerbeat
Sisqo - Thong Song

In the words of Monty Python - "This is getting very silly" :)Wondering if they do any old Pop Will Eat Itself tracks? (google their writing credits if you don't know what I'm on about).


Indeed :D

..... so I won't even mention their support act.........


........ "The Waist Band" :eek:


:D

[Kernow]

Wondering if they do any old Pop Will Eat Itself tracks? (google their writing credits if you don't know what I'm on about).


That would be V.P, who apparently when under contract to the 'Damart' label produced some amazing combinations ?

:D

[Corabar Steve]

Indeed

[mattydinx]

I've seen this from both sides having previously been in a band, I used the same reasoning to get more work for my business.

My PA and lighting would already be there so I could offer a discount if the client booked me alongside my band. Granted it was a darn sight more than £50, but when the client saw the amount that was being discounted compared to my usual price they normally lapped it up. Mind you, I wasn't just one of these "plug in a laptop next to the mixer and sit down" kind of guys, I'd have my deckstand and full playout - treat it like a normal disco.

Mind you, I've worked along side some of the North-East's most reputable function bands, the kind who demand £1000+ fees and they've been nothing but unprofessional, moody, stuck-up louts. And in all honesty, as a fellow muso - weren't that good either!

It's been said before, A pre-defined playlist is no substitution for a proper DJ. What if the couple are young (along with the majority of the guests) - That pre-defined 30-minute 70's playlist which worked in the "clubs" will probably fall flat on its face and clear the floor.

What about requests?
"have you got x song"
"hang on, I'll have to look"
*clicking sound through the PA from the iPod*
"No, sorry, none of my music is tagged properly so I'll just let it play"

...I feel another blog post coming on

[TONYTIGER]

Four enquirers this week,guess what all for bands ,do you need a disco ? no if we could plug are iPod in while there having a break.:(

[Creature]

Over the last year i have lost about 90% of my work to bands offering to cover djing as well!

Not a situation that i am happy with, but on the other side i work alongside some other bands that try there hardest to get the customer to book me or we will put a package together for the customer.

I unlike many on here dont charge the earth for my services. but am being hit just as hard if not harder

I have turned up to some of the bookings ive lost out to - and normally its either a ipod or a laptop plugged into there PA and left on auto play, when i turn up people see me and they say are you djing tonight with a big smile and when i say sorry no - the organisors decided to go with band only for entertainment, they soon change to a frown.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Over the last year i have lost about 90% of my work to bands offering to cover djing as well!

Not a situation that i am happy with, but on the other side i work alongside some other bands that try there hardest to get the customer to book me or we will put a package together for the customer.

I unlike many on here dont charge the earth for my services. but am being hit just as hard if not harder

I have turned up to some of the bookings ive lost out to - and normally its either a ipod or a laptop plugged into there PA and left on auto play, when i turn up people see me and they say are you djing tonight with a big smile and when i say sorry no - the organisors decided to go with band only for entertainment, they soon change to a frown.

Care to expand on that point......

[Kernow]

Care to expand on that point......
:confused: Surely it's self explanatory ? :(

[sweetie]

Wondering if they do any old Pop Will Eat Itself tracks? (google their writing credits if you don't know what I'm on about).

had to show this to ye steve. One of the reasons I love indie music (I was 18 when this was on)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBYqNj7Rrh4