Hobbayne Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I was at a mates wedding a few weeks back. The band was reasonable but not mind blowing. One thing stuck in my mind though, the number of songs which I thought weren terrible a few years ago, now seem to be standards in this day and age. Billy Idol - White Wedding Mavericks - Dance The Night Away etc. Or am I a miserable git? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1384254290' post='2274412'] I was at a mates wedding a few weeks back. The band was reasonable but not mind blowing. One thing stuck in my mind though, the number of songs which I thought weren terrible a few years ago, now seem to be standards in this day and age. Billy Idol - White Wedding Mavericks - Dance The Night Away etc. Or am I a miserable git? [/quote] You are a miserable git (or maybe you just weren't drunk enough?) Seriously though, isn't the whole point of a wedding band that you play widely-known-but-somewhat-naff pop covers which everyone can do dodgy drunken dad-dancing to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 "White Wedding"---as much as I like it---is an [i]interesting[/i] choice for a wedding. See also "every breath you take" and "The One I Love". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1384254290' post='2274412'] I was at a mates wedding a few weeks back. The band was reasonable but not mind blowing. One thing stuck in my mind though, the number of songs which I thought weren terrible a few years ago, now seem to be standards in this day and age. Billy Idol - White Wedding Mavericks - Dance The Night Away etc. Or am I a miserable git? [/quote] Another one which has become a must, not only at weddings but also New Year's Eve gigs, birthday parties, god knows what else: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 s**tting Miles) Maybe it's just me, but that song just makes me want to plug my ears with deep-fried Mars bars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 oh, to be a wedding band.....!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Its possible to do weddings without being a 'wedding band'. If you interact with your audience a bit and do a bit of scmoozing after the show then it is possible people will ask you to do their wedding if they like what they heard at the regular show with that set list. The band I'm in has had some very successful wedding gigs playing our regular set because the people booking us actually wanted that set after hearing us at a regular gig. Personally I think if the band wants to head into that market more seriously then a wider variety of (in some cases rather cheesy) standards will have to creep in to appease those people who book the band 'blind' but that's the way it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1384255770' post='2274432'] Another one which has become a must, not only at weddings but also New Year's Eve gigs, birthday parties, god knows what else: The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 s**tting Miles) Maybe it's just me, but that song just makes me want to plug my ears with deep-fried Mars bars... [/quote] Me too, can't stand it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) Wedding bands are only "good" if they are working. If they are working then what they are playing is exactly right, in spite of the opinions of grumpy old musicians. Edited November 12, 2013 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Quite agree.... we will only do them if they sanction our set and what we do, otherwise they can go elsewhere.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1384255141' post='2274423'] "White Wedding"---as much as I like it---is an [i]interesting[/i] choice for a wedding. See also "every breath you take" and "The One I Love". [/quote] "Band of gold" gets played pretty frequently at wedding discos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 I've played Just The Two Of Us several times. All together now... Ahhhhhh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassist_lewis Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1384255141' post='2274423'] "White Wedding"---as much as I like it---is an [i]interesting[/i] choice for a wedding. See also "every breath you take" and "The One I Love". [/quote] On that note we play Go Your Own Way at most of our wedding gigs these days, we we're a little nature for awhile but it goes down a storm every time, regardless of the fact that it's about a break up, and a well publicised one at that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 Yep my band does 500 Miles by the Proclaimers and we first learnt it for a wedding. Now it's a firm part of the set and I march on the spot like a mad man :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 We make sure we play Every Day I Love You Less and Less at every wedding gig we do....it usually goes down a treat....I have suggested the Electric Chairs "Baby F**k Off" but the boys have decided against that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 500 Miles is an absolute gift to the gigging band. It's really really easy and goes down a storm. Embrace the easy wins, people :-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donnyboy Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 What about the accent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 500 miles, Sex on fire, Brown Eyed Girl - all those cheesy songs keep my band in regular work and we have wedding bookings well into next summer. We're currently working on a Mumford & Sons cover as well because that's what our punters have repeatedly told us they want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 (edited) We had a request for an Irish mini-set last year for a wedding, and in the right environment, stuff like that and 500 Miles goes down a treat: little old ladies elbowing the kids out of the way to get the dance floor . So easy to play you can have some fun with the punters, then you can go back to playing the more challenging stuff. We've made a point of putting all sorts of stuff into the set, and I really enjoy the changes of technique and pace which comes from playing things like Bon Jovi, Johnny Cash, Luther Vandross, Paul Simon, The Dubliners, Kings of Leon, Toto, REM, Stevie Wonder, Guns and Roses, Bruno Mars, Journey and Daft Punk. Ten years ago I'd have shied away from anything that wasn't rock-based, but I take myself much less seriously these days, and I'm a better bassist for it. There are new standards in stuff like Sex On Fire (I don't like it, but we always get asked for it), but with a bit of imagination you can keep people very entertained without playing Mustang Sally Oh, and we were once requested to play Enter Sandman and I Hate Everything About You at a wedding... Edited November 12, 2013 by Muzz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 No Jewish wedding takers then ? Four hours of double/cut time, two in the bar madness. Who needs standards, when you have.... Hava Nagila, Mazel Tov, Tzena Tzena Tzena, Hora dancing. [size=4] [/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1384289753' post='2274980'] No Jewish wedding takers then ? Four hours of double/cut time, two in the bar madness. Who needs standards, when you have.... Hava Nagila, Mazel Tov, Tzena Tzena Tzena, Hora dancing. [/quote] I'd [i]love[/i] to do that. Possibly not too often, it could get old after a year or two, but they're great tunes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 (edited) [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1384289753' post='2274980'] ....No Jewish wedding takers then ?.... [/quote] Yes. Last summer. They had a Klezmer band for all the traditional stuff, then we came on with our normal set. Which is what they saw us playing and why they booked us. They loved it. Edited November 13, 2013 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 I would much rather play some new cheesey standards than the the old cheesey standards! I'm currently snoring through the first two minutes of Proud Mary, (well...the entire song really) and dying a little inside every time I play Shake a Tail Feather or Do You Love Me. I will never to cease to be amazed that musicians and bands just can't embrace new music. When I say new, I would actually settle for something written in this decade....or century...or maybe since I've been alive. Currently on my "I wish I was playing this instead of all this boring old sh*t" list is Daley's version of Remember Me and We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus. Both great songs. Or The Promise by Girls Aloud would be great. Love on Top by Beyonce. Take Back The Night by JT would be fantastic...etc. etc. Now I'm sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted November 13, 2013 Share Posted November 13, 2013 The new "standards" are what the most people will dance and sing along to. IME kids will dance to anything, Jessie J and the Kinks, whereas the oldies might not dance to modern stuff but will always join in with Bowie, Motown and the Kinks. At least these days we can do functions without having to play Fly Me To The Moon! Back then the Function set list [i]really [/i]was dire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 [quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1384277592' post='2274765'] .I have suggested the Electric Chairs "Baby F**k Off" but the boys have decided against that one [/quote] For those that don't know the song, the preceding line to the title line is "If you don't want to f*ck me..." And I thought you were a nice band! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 [quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1384277592' post='2274765'] We make sure we play Every Day I Love You Less and Less at every wedding gig we do....it usually goes down a treat....I have suggested the Electric Chairs "Baby F**k Off" but the boys have decided against that one [/quote] [quote name='bremen' timestamp='1384453389' post='2276962'] For those that don't know the song, the preceding line to the title line is "If you don't want to f*ck me..." And I thought you were a nice band! [/quote] I have an abiding memory of that song blasting out of the common room at 6th form college in 1978. Also love 'Stuck On You'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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