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Bluewine

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Just now, Bluewine said:

Does this make any sense.

A buddy of mine told me the history of tipping in the USA has roots in slavery.

Since slaves weren't paid for their labor some people in order seen more enlightened and superior to other would tip slaves.

Is that possible, seems highly unlikely to me 

Blue

 

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44 minutes ago, mikel said:

You get asked to play and get well paid. The food and drink is usually free. I love them. The audience may not love what you play but the people who are paying would have to take any flack for liking and booking the band. Whats not to like?

Nail on head. ^_^

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I enjoy the private gigs, they're as hit and miss as the pub/ bar gigs can be though! I just find the heckling more polite at a private function.

My band plays covers, we mainly do private functions for people we know, friends of friends and so on. We also play "festivals" where pubs or local organisations do a day or two of live music. We occasionally do pub gigs but our set is tailored to getting forty-somethings dancing rather than entertaining angry town centre drunks. We played one pub gig last year and our singer lost focus on one song while he watched a fight in the smoking area. The rest of us couldn't see it and wondered what he was up to.

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Only private event I've done was a JP Morgan 'Family Fun Day' for the staff.

Going on after the 12 year-old dancers and before (name redacted) out of 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' was a surreal experience and not actually very pleasant. (Name redacted) was there as a charity auctioneer. He was very drunk and it was all 'Put your f**king hands in your f**king pockets, you stingy f**king c**ts'. The family audience was understandably appalled.

After that fiasco it was two blokes cross-legged on the stage with an acoustic guitar and a set of bongos. First song lasted 19 minutes (I timed it).

The only other offer I've had for a private gig was a drunk punter who wanted us for his birthday and offered us a grand as long as we got rid of our singer. I was tempted.

Edited by skankdelvar
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5 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Does this make any sense.

A buddy of mine to me the history of tipping in the USA has roots in slavery.

Since slaves weren't paid for their labor some people in order seen more enlightened and superior to other would tip slaves.

Is that possible, seems highly unlikely to me 

Blue

I really can't see that working at all as an explanation, but I'd hardly rate myself an expert!

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On 1/16/2018 at 12:25, Bluewine said:

DJs are more effective IMO and cheaper.

Blue

I would have to completely disagree with you on your first point.

A good wedding/function band will try something that isn't in the set that they have been asked to play, within reason of course. I've heard a lot of DJs and rarely can understand a muffled word that they've said. They can have a huge variety of music available but nothing beats live music. A few years ago hotels were offering complete packages including DJs but those have died a death as people wanted live music and this year will probably be our busiest yet.

You can't approach a wedding/function/private party the same as a bar gig. I've done lots of both over the years - in bars they are there to hear you, at weddings/functions you are providing a combination of background music, music to dance to and if you're good you will develop a rapport with the audience during the night. Each gig has a different mix of ages and you have to be ready to change accordingly.

If you play weddings etc looking for people to tell you how good you are as a player then you will be thoroughly disappointed. If you are good you will occasionally have people telling you that the band are good and in incredibly rare events you might even get someone telling you that you thought that your playing was good but those are few and far between.

I sometimes miss the compliments and experience that playing bars provides but I couldn't contemplate give up what I am doing. I'm having too much fun.

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1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

I would have to completely disagree with you on your first point.

A good wedding/function band will try something that isn't in the set that they have been asked to play, within reason of course. I've heard a lot of DJs and rarely can understand a muffled word that they've said. They can have a huge variety of music available but nothing beats live music. 

A good wedding band? We're not a wedding band, we're a bar band and that's all we'll ever be. And in this case the people hirering us for the private event did it based on seeing us in action in a bar. They're not musicians and don't understand that a bar show does not necessarily transend to the private event stage.

 

And I've seen good DJ keep a dance floor packed from 8::00 all the till 1:00.

Nothing beats live music,agreed, however only when it's the right kind of live music and appropriate for the event.

Blue

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There are two private events gigs that stick in my mind:

1. As a teenager, I played drums in a soul "Commitments" type band. We played at a private event in a bar for doctors and nurses which I think was either on hospital grounds or just outside it, IIRC.  We played our set, and no one seemed to care or want to dance, nothing.  The minute we finished, the food was announced, and the queue went right past the band, so we thought we'd wait to pack up.  We were thinking we'd bombed, and were about to start destructing everything when the DJ said "right, next it's bingo, but after that, do you want to hear the band again?"  The crowd screamed yes, so we waited, and duly played the whole exact same set again, in the same order.  They were all up dancing, and cheering between songs.   The moral of this story? What a difference food and 5 more pints can make to a crowd....

2.  I joined a blues band as a bass player.  They had just done a wedding with their previous bass player, booked by the father of the bride.  That Christmas, the same booker got us to do the local council Christmas party, as he was the head of the council.  As we started to play, I could see him grooving along at the back of the room, but everyone else, including lots of young staff, were staring at us as if to say "what the **** is this?"  In the interval, I asked my new band colleagues if we should try and jam something Christmassy to get them in the spirit, but the reply was along the lines of "we're too cool to do that", and "if they don't like us, we'll still get paid".  Well, we did get paid, but I have never been so embarrassed on a stage in my life! 

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5 hours ago, Delberthot said:

I would have to completely disagree with you on your first point...

... and I would have to completely disagree with you here. Just as with bands, there are good DJs and less good ones. Some are experienced in weddings and the like; others less so. I played weddings for years (on drums, mostly...) in the '70s, before discos came in, big time. Almost immediately, the bottom dropped out of the wedding gigs. The DJs were able to vary their set, add personalised requests, animate, afford a light show, and for far less than a decent band. There are duds, of course, and 'cowboys' doing indifferent stuff, but to say that DJs can't cut the mustard is just plain wrong, in my experience from the '70s, and since. There are very dicey 'wedding' bands, too.

I would agree, though, for more 'corporate' events, such as dinner/dances; the bands doing that are more like Big Bands, though, often with podiums (OK, they're music stands really...), and an MC and mandatory formal dress code. DJs don't get those gigs very often.

Edited by Dad3353
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I love private gigs. I feel a greater sense of professionalism and desire to put on a great show when you know you have a specific client. It’s also nice knowing someone has chosen you when they could have had any other band. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fun of pubs and a chance to have play to a variety of people who don’t feel an obligation to enjoy - they either like you or they don’t - but given the choice I prefer the private gigs.  

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5 hours ago, Bluewine said:

A good wedding band? We're not a wedding band, we're a bar band and that's all we'll ever be. And in this case the people hirering us for the private event did it based on seeing us in action in a bar. They're not musicians and don't understand that a bar show does not necessarily transend to the private event stage.

 

And I've seen good DJ keep a dance floor packed from 8::00 all the till 1:00.

Nothing beats live music,agreed, however only when it's the right kind of live music and appropriate for the event.

Blue

I was disagreeing with you saying that DJs are more effective than wedding bands as opposed to what your band does - it depends on the band

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

... and I would have to completely disagree with you here. Just as with bands, there are good DJs and less good ones. Some are experienced in weddings and the like; others less so. I played weddings for years (on drums, mostly...) in the '70s, before discos came in, big time. Almost immediately, the bottom dropped out of the wedding gigs. The DJs were able to vary their set, add personalised requests, animate, afford a light show, and for far less than a decent band. There are duds, of course, and 'cowboys' doing indifferent stuff, but to say that DJs can't cut the mustard is just plain wrong, in my experience from the '70s, and since. There are very dicey 'wedding' bands, too.

I would agree, though, for more 'corporate' events, such as dinner/dances; the bands doing that are more like Big Bands, though, often with podiums (OK, they're music stands really...), and an MC and mandatory formal dress code. DJs don't get those gigs very often.

Maybe there aren't any good DJs in my neck of the woods then :| 

We also do corporate stuff /  dinner dances / wedding anniversaries and not a music stand in sight thank you very much xD :hi:

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1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

...Maybe there aren't any good DJs in my neck of the woods then :| ...

Think yourselves lucky, then, and make the most of it. B|

1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

...

We also do corporate stuff /  dinner dances / wedding anniversaries and not a music stand in sight thank you very much xD :hi:

But you do wear red satin waistcoats and bow ties, surely..? :/

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2 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I play a lot of weddings. I always seem to get fed, and enjoy the dancing totty moments away from a wardrobe malfunction. Love it!

Always a bonus. Doing mainly theatre gigs now where this is a lot less of an occurrence ¬¬

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7 hours ago, Delberthot said:

I was disagreeing with you saying that DJs are more effective than wedding bands as opposed to what your band does - it depends on the band

Maybe there aren't any good DJs in my neck of the woods then :| 

We also do corporate stuff /  dinner dances / wedding anniversaries and not a music stand in sight thank you very much xD :hi:

I've only seen it once, a good DJ is hard to beat. They can play anything and any genre from any time period. And they sound just like the original recordings everytime.😁

Blue

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On ‎1‎/‎16‎/‎2018 at 22:40, Bluewine said:

 

I wonder how we became a society where tipping is expected for so many services. And why it's frowned on in the UK?

Blue

It's not that the UK is different, Blue. It is that the USA is different. I understand why, tips are included in the wage scale of many underpaid workers. this is crazy, pay them what they are worth  Then we pay whatever the menu says the price is. easy peasy. You are shocked when foreigners don't understand that waitresses expect a 20% tip.

When we go to a restaurant, any tip we give is voluntary. If the waiter was unpleasant , they get nothing. If they were awesome, they get 20%. IF they deserved it.

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14 minutes ago, bazzbass said:

It's not that the UK is different, Blue. It is that the USA is different. I understand why, tips are included in the wage scale of many underpaid workers. this is crazy, pay them what they are worth  Then we pay whatever the menu says the price is. easy peasy. You are shocked when foreigners don't understand that waitresses expect a 20% tip.

When we go to a restaurant, any tip we give is voluntary. If the waiter was unpleasant , they get nothing. If they were awesome, they get 20%. IF they deserved it.

20% ?!?!  Not in Yorkshire.

 

;)

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7 hours ago, bazzbass said:

It's not that the UK is different, Blue. It is that the USA is different. I understand why, tips are included in the wage scale of many underpaid workers. this is crazy, pay them what they are worth  Then we pay whatever the menu says the price is. easy peasy. You are shocked when foreigners don't understand that waitresses expect a 20% tip.

When we go to a restaurant, any tip we give is voluntary. If the waiter was unpleasant , they get nothing. If they were awesome, they get 20%. IF they deserved it.

Over here the food is overpriced then you pay a tip on top of that. Not leaving a tip is like not paying your bill. However we also know the waitress is paid about $2.00 an hour. At a high end restaurant on a good night a waitress can walk out with $300.00 in tips no problem.

Blue

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On 1/17/2018 at 09:40, Huge Hands said:

There are two private events gigs that stick in my mind:

 

2.  I joined a blues band as a bass player.  They had just done a wedding with their previous bass player, booked by the father of the bride.  That Christmas, the same booker got us to do the local council Christmas party, as he was the head of the council.  As we started to play, I could see him grooving along at the back of the room, but everyone else, including lots of young staff, were staring at us as if to say "what the **** is this?"  In the interval, I asked my new band colleagues if we should try and jam something Christmassy to get them in the spirit, but the reply was along the lines of "we're too cool to do that", and "if they don't like us, we'll still get paid".  Well, we did get paid, but I have never been so embarrassed on a stage in my life! 

I know the feeling.

Generally Private Events are not a great match for rock and blues bar bands.

Blue

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On ‎16‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 11:26, casapete said:

I've done private functions for years in my previous band, some amazing and some quite underwhelming. What you need to 

remember is nobody has come just to see you, they are there for the event and the socializing. We used to find it rewarding 

when a corporate / professional kind of do which looked like it would be full of people not listening turned into a jolly event

with a full dance floor.

With my ELO tribute band we occasionally get asked to do private events, usually because the guy booking the entertainment

is a massive ELO fan and doesn't understand that most of his audience won't be. At one such event we were asked by the

punters to play Mustang Sally / Brown Eyed Girl etc and they didn't get why we didn't do them xD

But at least if a band is booked by a massive ELO fan you at least stand a 50/50 chance of the audience joining in... pity the function where the guy booking the band is a massive "The Fall" fan...

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On ‎17‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 22:11, casapete said:

Always a bonus. Doing mainly theatre gigs now where this is a lot less of an occurrence ¬¬

Funny, I was just wondering the other week whether Jeff taking to the stage again had dropped the bottom out of The ELO Experience's market or whether the increased profile and scarcity of Wembley/O2 tickets had actually increased demand.

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A  rock covers band I dep in did a wedding last year and really neither she nor the band thought it through and i ended up sort of managing it a bit

It was a Marquee job and she wanted a song playing as she arrived etc but the band were happy to play the full 4 minutes when really half of that was enough .Then when we played and what and for how long came into it,,by a bit rejigging slots with an acoustic act the floor was stomping with punters to Ac/dc who would have never done it two hours earlier.

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8 hours ago, TrevorR said:

Funny, I was just wondering the other week whether Jeff taking to the stage again had dropped the bottom out of The ELO Experience's market or whether the increased profile and scarcity of Wembley/O2 tickets had actually increased demand.

It’s been a bit hard to determine really Trev. Last year saw us take a dip in ticket sales, but whether that was due

to Jeff & ELO touring or other factors is debatable. From our dealing with theatres, apparently a lot of shows have

had reduced audiences due to terrorist activities like in Manchester, and perhaps Brexit has left some people 

reluctant to spend on leisure etc. On the other hand, raising the awareness of ELO’s music and back catalogue

certainly won’t have done us any harm, and people who aren’t near or can’t afford any of their concerts will 

hopefully continue to give us their support. Fingers crossed......:D

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