Wedding Music (Band, DJ, Singer) ONE POST PER BAND ONLY! Read post #1 First!

clint_silver

eddie73 wrote: »

Correct,

I used to play with a couple of wedding bands. We did not charge an arm or a leg, but there are overheads, and yes, tax to be declared too.

But to charge over 1500 euro for a band is too much. That is the reality of it.

This is just not true and is misleading.

I work in a band. I could name 25-30 really good wedding bands in this country. except for a couple of them who are 3-4 piece bands, None of them are under 1500 for a wedding on a weekend so I dont know why you would say that.

I do know some bands who charge more then 1500 who are not worth it.

Always, always, always view. never ever go on price alone. can not stress this enough. Use google. 1-2 online recommendations should be treated with suspicion, regular good recommendations spread over several years in the online community should only be used as a shortlist for you to go and view.

godanicus

clint_silver wrote: »

something blue, yes I knew Id seen them somewhere, had a look on their website, some good players in the band, theyll know their business but dont think theyre together too long so they may be underpriced until they build up word of mouth like everyone else.

As I always say though, you'll have to go and see them to judge whether the price theyre at is worth the difference in level between them and After Dark (or any other band) as there wont be enough online recommendations out there to make an informed decision.

I posted on music costs recently, and to save me typing again I saved off the post so here ya go....

I disagree strongly. I am in a wedding band in carlow for the past 12 years, with 100's of songs to our set and Pro musicians with both qualifications and jamming skills that charge under 1400 for weddings INCL dj. We are as busy as we have ever been. We have seen a drop in the amount of inquiries but not in the gigs booked. There are top bands with big reputations out there charging big money(over 2k), but there are equally top bands not losing the run of themselves. But i will say that you still cant make a judgement on price, if you do you will regret it. Go see 2 or 3 recommended bands and see which one suits yourselves and guests the most.

clint_silver

godanicus wrote: »

I disagree strongly. I am in a wedding band in carlow for the past 12 years, with 100's of songs to our set and Pro musicians with both qualifications and jamming skills that charge under 1400 for weddings INCL dj. We are as busy as we have ever been. We have seen a drop in the amount of inquiries but not in the gigs booked. There are top bands with big reputations out there charging big money(over 2k), but there are equally top bands not losing the run of themselves. But i will say that you still cant make a judgement on price, if you do you will regret it. Go see 2 or 3 recommended bands and see which one suits yourselves and guests the most.

how many in the band? split costs? you know yourself the setup costs (10k for rig and van), advertising (3k to get on WOL), agents (up to 20%) to get regular pub gigs to generate business, getting a pro band together with heads who wont get out of bed for less then 150 even in a bar. All has to be offset.

I know some 4-5 piece bands doing it for 1.4-1.5k. but these are few and far between, theyre together a long time, wont leave their locality. If I was getting married again, Id use one of these bands but The regular joe punter thats out there has to get very lucky to find these as for some its the first and only time they may go looking for a band. theyed never find them. Agents and ad sites the only place to go for most couples.

eddie73

clint_silver wrote: »

This is just not true and is misleading.

I work in a band. I could name 25-30 really good wedding bands in this country. except for a couple of them who are 3-4 piece bands, None of them are under 1500 for a wedding on a weekend so I dont know why you would say that.

I do know some bands who charge more then 1500 who are not worth it.

Always, always, always view. never ever go on price alone. can not stress this enough. Use google. 1-2 online recommendations should be treated with suspicion, regular good recommendations spread over several years in the online community should only be used as a shortlist for you to go and view.

I dont think that it is misleading provided you are considering booking a 4 or a 5 piece band. ok, if there are 6 or more in the band, then for sure, they will probably charge more than 1500.

Im sure u do know bands that are out there charging a lot of money.

I agree with you strongly that you should go and view a band though irrespective of price.

eddie73

regular good recommendations spread over several years in the online community should only be used as a shortlist for you to go and view

This is very good advice too.

Bands change a lot. Over 2 years there can be members coming and going. Over several years, there may only be one surviving member of the band!

Go and here them live. See if they match the audio demos on the website. They may be using old recordings that new members are not in!

Leave the DJ set to a real dj.

clint_silver

eddie73 wrote: »

This is very good advice too.

Bands change a lot. Over 2 years there can be members coming and going. Over several years, there may only be one surviving member of the band!

Go and here them live. See if they match the audio demos on the website. They may be using old recordings that new members are not in!

Leave the DJ set to a real dj.

Theres a hotel in kilkenny, BIG room, well known place, swanky. the house Dj who comes as part of the package deal came on after my band a couple of times.
First time I asked him did he want me to leave my lights on (Ive a big lighting rig) while he set up after we finished. No, he replied, I dont use lights. and he didnt either. nothing. just a darkened room.

Is that the type of real Dj youre talking about?

Research is key.

eddie73

Is that the type of real Dj youre talking about?

Research is key

Definitely not. weddingsonline.ie is full of dj listings and reviews from couples.

clint_silver

eddie73 wrote: »

Definitely not. weddingsonline.ie is full of dj listings and reviews from couples.

Weddingsonline is full of recommendations for vendors that advertise with them. Try and find a bad review of someone on there. And not to say the good recommendations arent warranted, lot of fine guys out there who take great pride in their business and are top notch at what they do.

You know as well as I do theres good and bad musicians, good and bad DJs. If you experienced a guy who plays in a band and then comes on after the band with no mike skills, sticks "now 54" on, 2 jive bunny mixes, no floor control and new york york to finish off and then heads home youre gonna be thinking Id never hire that guy (or maybe you will if the floor was full). My point is theres just enough dedicated Djs who do the same thing.
But I cant say "dont hire a house Dj cos I seen a couple of bad ones". So in the same vein I disagree with you saying "dont hire a band member who Djs after the band".
"Go and view" is the order of the day.

Chocoholic84

Gemini 4 are based in Loughrea, Co Galway and are a 4 piece band. They also provide the DJ afterwards, and for both was under €1700.

And they can keep a dancefloor full all night which is the important thing!

godanicus

clint_silver wrote: »

godanicus wrote: »

I disagree strongly. I am in a wedding band in carlow for the past 12 years, with 100's of songs to our set and Pro musicians with both qualifications and jamming skills that charge under 1400 for weddings INCL dj. We are as busy as we have ever been. We have seen a drop in the amount of inquiries but not in the gigs booked. There are top bands with big reputations out there charging big money(over 2k), but there are equally top bands not losing the run of themselves. But i will say that you still cant make a judgement on price, if you do you will regret it. Go see 2 or 3 recommended bands and see which one suits yourselves and guests the most.

how many in the band? split costs? you know yourself the setup costs (10k for rig and van), advertising (3k to get on WOL), agents (up to 20%) to get regular pub gigs to generate business, getting a pro band together with heads who wont get out of bed for less then 150 even in a bar. All has to be offset.

I know some 4-5 piece bands doing it for 1.4-1.5k. but these are few and far between, theyre together a long time, wont leave their locality. If I was getting married again, Id use one of these bands but The regular joe punter thats out there has to get very lucky to find these as for some its the first and only time they may go looking for a band. theyed never find them. Agents and ad sites the only place to go for most couples.

5 pc band and I wish I spent only 10k on van and equip, the equipment alone is over 15k. Van was the sane. We wouldn't go on wol because the are extortionate and seem to only promote and vote up bands who pay their fees. Most of our outlay is payed now though which means that we split the money - expenses and keep our costs down. If we have to travel, and we do, we charge extra for diesel. We recently went to Mayo from Carlow and it cost over 140 in diesel. But anything within a 50mile radius we just accept as a split. We set up while the venue is clearing the room, as with most venues, this always takes over an hour. This is not the fault of the band or venue, it usually is the delay of the guests leaving their seats to allow the staff to work. And if we start at 10:30 we still don't get off for 3hrs. Some bands will say they are booked from 9-12 but this is unrealistic as the room is never ready on time. We usually find that by supplying our own Dj, it doesn't matter if we stay playing a bit into his set. And the Dj has years of experience here and in Spain.

clint_silver

godanicus wrote: »

5 pc band and I wish I spent only 10k on van and equip, the equipment alone is over 15k. Van was the sane. We wouldn't go on wol because the are extortionate and seem to only promote and vote up bands who pay their fees. Most of our outlay is payed now though which means that we split the money - expenses and keep our costs down. If we have to travel, and we do, we charge extra for diesel. We recently went to Mayo from Carlow and it cost over 140 in diesel. But anything within a 50mile radius we just accept as a split. We set up while the venue is clearing the room, as with most venues, this always takes over an hour. This is not the fault of the band or venue, it usually is the delay of the guests leaving their seats to allow the staff to work. And if we start at 10:30 we still don't get off for 3hrs. Some bands will say they are booked from 9-12 but this is unrealistic as the room is never ready on time. We usually find that by supplying our own Dj, it doesn't matter if we stay playing a bit into his set. And the Dj has years of experience here and in Spain.

all correct and great examples.

Thats another thing that booking couples should ask, if the band insists theyre only booked for a certain time, ask what happens if time runs over.

smurf81

we really wanted the hitmen trio but they are booked on our date. does anyone know of any similar bands. looking for something a little different.

bunk

Hi all,
Due to circumstances out of our control we had to reschedule our wedding. We had booked milehigh as our band. Unfortunatley they were already booked for our new date, just posting to let anyone that has set Saturday 11th May 2013, as their wedding day that a great band is available. We have no affilliation with the band and I have checked with Iguana(mod) before posting this, Thanks.

Eimi

Has anyone heard of the band RadioShack? Are they good?

clint_silver

Eimi wrote: »

Has anyone heard of the band RadioShack? Are they good?

yes and yes. agency based I think.

celsy

Just been quoted 2700 for band & DJ. I appreciate there's overheads but that's madness, If there's any good bands who play all the cheesy wedding songs, please PM me, getting married june next year in wicklow.

Flynner64

Hi All,

We are a 4 piece band based in Co. Laois, called High Decibel. We recently won the 2FM Breakfast with Hector Battle of the Bands competition to play at Hectors 2nd chance debs in Galway, which we played last week.

We play a mix of Indie, Funk & Rock music....everything from The Beatles to The Beastie Boys

Happy to learn a few songs that are special to the couple.

Now taking bookings for 2013 & 2014.

Couple of links below, PM me with your email address if you would like to see our full set list, and a quote.

Thanks for reading,

Paul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH4nBH6YV80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOvScxoMUEY

pada1981

hi anyone hear of the controversial all-stars? they play bruxelles every monday anyone ever hear them at a wedding?

harpsman

Any recommendations for band in Donegal area?

Gatica

Dunno if recommendations are allowed on this thread... so here goes. Had our wedding recently and had all the music for it provided by the Good Guys band. The whole thing was amazing, from the ceremony to the DJ.
The band was fantastic and played everything I'd requested and more. Many guests commented on how great they were as well as on the DJ.
They also did afternoon jazz duo, which also went down a treat and worked really well at our venue. Would recommend the whole thing to anyone!

angeldelight

Eimi wrote: »

Has anyone heard of the band RadioShack? Are they good?

I was at a wedding where they played last year. They're good, I wouldn't say they're great. The dance floor wasn't by any means full for the night

stingray75

Hi All,

I'm here to shamelessly self-promote Partyrox and Partyrox Unplugged.

We can honestly and passionately deliver sets from practically all genres and styles, and we have a good history on the Wedding and Pub circuit under various guises over the last decade.

Now, we're re-branding under the name PARTYROX and have recently launched a website to showcase our talent and experience.

You can view us on www.partyroxband.com - hope you like it!

We are looking to take bookings for 2013 and 2014, and have a few dates available in 2012.

Based in Naas, Co. Kildare, all locations considered.

Thanks for reading guys, PM me for details or just go through the website where you'll find other, easier ways to get the ball rolling.

Over and out!

Baz.

clint_silver

theres a new open facebook page for wedding bands in ireland. if any couple are looking for a band, Id suggest posting there with the date, location and what youre looking for and youll get far more replys back on there than you would here.

Its important you post the date and location so you only get replys from whos available.

Do your homework on recommendations after you get replys.

search for "wedding bands ireland" and it should come up on the book.

beltzar

We had "The Willin Fools" at our wedding a few weeks ago and they were fantastic! Bloody brilliant! People from an 80year old aunt to young kids were all up dancing and they are still talking about them.

Their website is a bit rubbish though and does not do them justice. I suggest you do as we did, ask them where they are playing for the next few weddings, pick one close to you and ask them to OK it with the bride and groom for you to drop in.

PM me if you would like a mobile contact number. Apart from our wedding ceremony the band were the best part of our wedding. I HATE getting up to dance as does my OH and both of us were on the floor at least half the night - and thats saying something!

lollyrain

looking at the bentley boys but expensive. anyone any experience of them playing actual weddings?

Blooddiamond

Hi all,
Getting married in the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny in August 2013. Looking for a band, ideally with some brass, for the reception. Really like the sound of the Bentley Boys but they're over our budget. Any suggestions?

clint_silver

Blooddiamond wrote: »

Hi all,
Getting married in the Newpark Hotel, Kilkenny in August 2013. Looking for a band, ideally with some brass, for the reception. Really like the sound of the Bentley Boys but they're over our budget. Any suggestions?

brass section means an additional 2-3 guys to get paid, which is why most brass is covered by keyboard. you will be paying for it if you specifically want the brass.

http://www.kayetwins.com/ are really good at what they do and put some brass in on the night.

Viewtodiefor

Hianyone seen or heard of the band Midnight Sounds?

buzz55

Can anyone recommend a band similar to either Pyramid or the Elastic band?

Neither are available for my wedding date in March.

Shyboy

buzz55 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a band similar to either Pyramid or the Elastic band?

Neither are available for my wedding date in March.

Fraggle Rock or Kif? They are both similar in style to Pyramid and Elastic Band and are both based in Galway as well.