Recommend a good wedding band, that can play in Waterford City?

dermo909

Some of the points made have made sense, especially counterpointauds ones.

Seanybiker: He said it right when he explained that it takes a long time to learn a set, and to get it to the point where its professional sounding. People that dont play in bands often think that its just a case of each musician turning up, agreeing on what songs to play and then just playing them. Especially if they are simple to play. Even the simple songs are harder than you think, especially when played in a band situation with the added pressure of keeping a dancefloor full and the customer happy. Its a whole different game compared to sitting on your couch strumming a few chords.

I do agree though that the price for some bands is over the top but I know for sure if you pay for a professional and well known band, you know what you are going to get.

On the subject of musicians just gathering and playing as a makeshift band. There's one band I can think of in town that seemed to be like that for a long time with just the singer being the one common denominator! If I booked that band I would expect the full compliment of regular musicians, not just the singer and whoever was free to play that night. That being said though, when that band are on their game they are great.

counterpointaud

tom thum wrote: »

i would have to totally disagree with you on this point.

1. Bands get weddings through their gigs in pubs. thats how they are seen.
2. Why should the publican accept that some of the band only vaguely know the songs? After all they are a bands bread and butter.

I think Waterford is absolutely terrible for this behaviour. Lads in 3 or 4 bands. its ridiculous. One would swear there was a shortage of musicians in town.
Ive seen a few make shift bands playing in Waterford and they have not done themselves any favours.

1. Generally this wouldn't happen with bands that are serious about wedding and corporate work. Not a good advertisement as you say. Easy to avoid anyway by just playing under a different name that night.

2. Publicans do not give a sh1te about the music or how well it's played as long as they sell beer. A good musician will give a good enough approximation of the parts to a tune after a quick run through of the chords beforehand so that only somebody who knows the song well and is reasonably sober will notice anything awry. Add this to the fact that a lot of bands do their own versions of some parts in songs anyway and it starts to become a bit of a non-issue to a room full of (mostly) inebriated people.

Being in a few bands is a necessity if you want to play both original and cover music,and get enough work if you have no other job. I cannot comment on your last point, but their are plenty of bands that are ropey enough without changing their personnel to stand-ins for the night, so...

counterpointaud

Anyway, this has all got dragged a mile off topic, here is a solid wedding band suggestion I haven't seen mentioned (I have no involvement although I do know a couple of the guys) http://www.carousemusic.com/index.html

Definitely worth considering if you want some energetic bluegrass and trad thrown in with the usual fare.

tom thum

counterpointaud wrote: »

2. Publicans do not give a sh1te about the music

well then why dont we see any two piece bands with drum machines, backing tracks etc. playing in the kazbar, revolution, etc. etc?? surely they would be cheaper for the publican to hire and they will have a big crowd? cos obviously they wouldnt book a band if they didnt think they would bring in a crowd.

counterpointaud

tom thum wrote: »

well then why dont we see any two piece bands with drum machines, backing tracks etc. playing in the kazbar, revolution, etc. etc?? surely they would be cheaper for the publican to hire and they will have a big crowd? cos obviously they wouldnt book a band if they didnt think they would bring in a crowd.

See above: bands sell more booze in the sort of late night venues and music pubs we are talking about. It's very simple. If they didn't the pubs would have done what you suggest years ago.

Big difference between a drum machine/backing tracks and a good energetic live rhythm section. Much more energy from the latter.

It's a primal thing, gets the blood pumping and makes people want to chase the opposite sex(or same sex) and drink :-)

We've been doing it since we were banging on logs in the jungle.

Obviously the same is true of dance music acts/DJ's but you generally need big clubs sound systems and well programmed rhythm tracks to get a similar amount of energy into the room, and that's a different audience anyway.

But what you suggest is actually happening, when venues want a more sedate (civilized ?) performance. My uncle has a residency in the Faithlegge House hotel lounge. Him and an acoustic guitar. Bass, keyboards, drums, even backing vocals are all on a sampler. I saw a similar act in the Tower recently.


*EDIT* I may have misunderstood your question. To clarify what I meant when I said that 'Publicans don't give s sh1te about the music':

Publicans will not care if the band plays a little sloppy, does not play the exact parts, are a little out of tune occasionally, are very loud or play music that the publican does not personally like. IT IS ABOUT THE DRINK SALES. If a band holds the crowd in the venue for the night, gets them dancing, and most importantly get's them drinking, then they will be asked back. If they don't, they won't.

counterpointaud

Maybe we should wrap up the debate here, people may come across this thread while trying to research suitable bands for their big day, and have to trawl through the OT stuff. If a moderator wants to split the thread into another titled 'wedding band vs. pub band prices' or similar I will argue my case all day long.

seanybiker

counterpointaud wrote: »

Maybe we should wrap up the debate here, people may come across this thread while trying to research suitable bands for their big day, and have to trawl through the OT stuff. If a moderator wants to split the thread into another titled 'wedding band vs. pub band prices' or similar I will argue my case all day long.

Jaysus your a bossy fart arent ya lol.

counterpointaud

seanybiker wrote: »

Jaysus your a bossy fart arent ya lol.

I've been called worse

Actually it was just a suggestion, I was quite enjoying the debate but I suspect many people coming across this thread whilst researching wedding bands may not appreciate it as much.

I take your point though, I will leave the moderating to the moderators and you guys can continue to shoot down my views (I now give you my permission to do so )

tom thum

counterpointaud wrote: »

Big difference between a drum machine/backing tracks and a good energetic live rhythm section. Much more energy from the latter.

'Publicans don't give a sh1te about the music':

i think you have contradicted youself .
By booking a " a good energetic live rhythm section" , it shows that publicans actually do give a sh1te about the music they have.

tom thum

counterpointaud wrote: »

you guys can continue to shoot down my views

no. not at all countrtpointaud. not shooting them down , just disagreeing. a sign of a good debate.

counterpointaud

tom thum wrote: »

i think you have contradicted youself .
By booking a " a good energetic live rhythm section" , it shows that publicans actually do give a sh1te about the music they have.

Not really, if the two piece or the DJ would bring a bigger crowd and sell more drink, then that is what they would book. The decision is not based on the music or the way it is delivered, but simple economics. It is the public that dictates what sort of booking happens, in a way, by coming and buying more drinks when bands play, and not staying (or not coming in the first place) when DJ's or two pieces are booked. Believe me most venues have experimented with this (and other cost cutting measures) at this stage.

counterpointaud

tom thum wrote: »

no. not at all countrtpointaud. not shooting them down , just disagreeing. a sign of a good debate.

Of course, agreed. Just a poor attempt at humour on my part.

tom thum

i just think that you are not giving enough credit to publicans by saying they dont care what they book. Everywhere a band goes looking in town, they are xpected to have a facebook page, a cd with some sample stuff on it etc. so i think this does show that they do care about what they book.
I believe , also, that they book " town " bands quicker than " country " bands even if the "country" band is better. anyway, thats all i have to say on the matter.

counterpointaud

I did not say that they didn't care who they book. All I am saying is, once a band has been booked for their first gig, whether they come back or not depends much more on the amount of drink sold and the ability of the band to give the crowd a good time, than the subjective delivery of the music itself.

I played in Ruby's for nearly five years (approx once a month) in two outfits that had no website,no facebook page, never handed in a demo and often had substitute players.

Maybe things are different now though, I don't know.

tom thum

I was listening to the radio today and a guy texted to say that his band were advertising weddings for €650 . They didnt get any bites. So after a while they put their price up to €900 and still no bites. So eventually they put the price up to a hefty €1500 for the wedding band and the phone wouldnt stop ringing. So he reckons that the couples make the wedding expensive on themselves. Id have to agree , going on that info.

nkay1985

tom thum wrote: »

I was listening to the radio today and a guy texted to say that his band were advertising weddings for €650 . They didnt get any bites. So after a while they put their price up to €900 and still no bites. So eventually they put the price up to a hefty €1500 for the wedding band and the phone wouldnt stop ringing. So he reckons that the couples make the wedding expensive on themselves. Id have to agree , going on that info.

One anecdote does not irrefutable evidence make but I can see how that could happen. The people who started ringing them once the price went up were people who don't really care about music but still want a good band for their wedding. As they don't know/care about music, a high price tag is as good an indicator as they are going to get regarding the quality of the band: if they charge that much, they must be good.

For anyone who is interested in music, they will go and research it and find bands they like if they don't already have someone in mind. Then it's about how expensive that band is, which is often a bit too expensive IMO. Good story though and evidence of the stupidity of some people.

musicman100

If you were to buy an alarm system for your house...


Cheap system from "neverheardofit.com)

V's

Expensive system from well known brand with references and quality components etc etc etc

Same goes for wedding bands me thinks,
it's called peace of mind.

And don't get me started on the price of bands, I play in one and we've taken a 40% yes 40% cut in price so quit your moaning public sector:D

musicman100

Didn'y realise this thread was so old