Wedding band

Solarark

Hi all, any recomadations for a wedding band. I have 12 bands that are available for our date and like them all. The one band I really wanted is booked. So if ye could give your opinions and if any of them match my list, that's the one I'm going to go for. We live in Australia so can't view any band before we book.
Thanks

clint_silver

Solarark wrote: »

Hi all, any recomadations for a wedding band. I have 12 bands that are available for our date and like them all. The one band I really wanted is booked. So if ye could give your opinions and if any of them match my list, that's the one I'm going to go for. We live in Australia so can't view any band before we book.
Thanks

list of bands?

Solarark

clint_silver wrote: »

list of bands?

No, just a band you've seen and thought they were good. Then I'll see if any suggestions match my list

clint_silver

Solarark wrote: »

No, just a band you've seen and thought they were good. Then I'll see if any suggestions match my list

what if Ive seen a band that isn't on your list, how will you know which is better?

12 bands is a lot if you're booking blind with out viewing.

reduce that list to 3-4 based on your budget and musical taste. then try and get someone you know to view otherwise youre trying to decide which superlative is better when the bands were being recommended..

bee06

Do any of them have YouTube videos for you to view? I think you really need someone you trust who knows what you want to view the bands anyway rather than taking the word of strangers on the Internet who could have completely different priorities when it comes to bands.

Solarark

bee06 wrote: »

Do any of them have YouTube videos for you to view? I think you really need someone you trust who knows what you want to view the bands anyway rather than taking the word of strangers on the Internet who could have completely different priorities when it comes to bands.

Ya they do but can't really tell from a 2 minute clip on YouTube. I know but I was just trying to get an idea if anyone was at a wedding and could recommend a band.

lazygal

This is a mad plan, Ted.

Stop with the secrecy, post the damn list and let people tell you if they've good or bad feedback.

sweetie

or at least tell us the band yiu really wanted and we can suggest similar alternatives!

mcrods

Hi All, I booked Crystal swing for my wedding! I heard they are meant to be very good for getting the crowd going. anyone have any idea? thanks

A-Bit-Dodge

mcrods wrote: »

Hi All, I booked Crystal swing for my wedding! I heard they are meant to be very good for getting the crowd going. anyone have any idea? thanks

Seriously? From Cork?

mcrods

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Seriously? From Cork?

Yes from cork

Berty

I think he more meant "You seriously booked Crystal Swing?"

mcrods

Beer Baron wrote: »

I think he more meant "You seriously booked Crystal Swing?"

Why don't you think they will get the crowd dancing?

Berty

mcrods wrote: »

Why don't you think they will get the crowd dancing?

No idea about that really as I've never seen them at a wedding.

January

Let us know how that goes for ya :eek:

mcrods

January wrote: »

Let us know how that goes for ya :eek:

Do you think it's a mistake?

bytheglass

We booked the Troubadours for our wedding this time last year and they went above any beyond (supplying mics for the ceremony last minute) and they had everyone on the floor from the second dance. Professionals through and through, I couldn't recommend them more. I hope they're on your list!

mcrods

bytheglass wrote: »

We booked the Troubadours for our wedding this time last year and they went above any beyond (supplying mics for the ceremony last minute) and they had everyone on the floor from the second dance. Professionals through and through, I couldn't recommend them more. I hope they're on your list!

No I'm in cork never. Heard of them

Berty

mcrods wrote: »

Do you think it's a mistake?

Novelty act in my opinion.

We have Escapade Live for our wedding. They travel around the country as well.

Brinimartini

If you want a rip roarin' band that do weddings although they are also famous in Ireland try the Paddy Cole Band.Awesome band.

Brinimartini

mcrods wrote: »

Hi All, I booked Crystal swing for my wedding! I heard they are meant to be very good for getting the crowd going. anyone have any idea? thanks

Crystal Swing....jasus wept!

Brinimartini

Beer Baron wrote: »

Novelty act in my opinion.

We have Escapade Live for our wedding. They travel around the country as well.

WOW ! they are terrific.

Berty

Brinimartini wrote: »

WOW ! they are terrific.

They are playing a wedding tomorrow night in The Dunraven Arms Hotel in Adare County Limerick for anybody reading this in that neck of the woods.

A-Bit-Dodge

mcrods wrote: »

Do you think it's a mistake?

If u are happy with them by all means you have made the right choice. seen them twice and they really are not my cup of tea whatsoever. there's cheesey... then there's Crystal Swing!

hibsman

Hi all. We are just starting to look for a band for our wedding in Cork next Summer. I'd be very grateful to hear any suggestions. There seems to be so many out there! Cheers.

mcrods

hibsman wrote: »

Hi all. We are just starting to look for a band for our wedding in Cork next Summer. I'd be very grateful to hear any suggestions. There seems to be so many out there! Cheers.

Hi crystal swing is meant to be very good

ck83

mcrods wrote: »

Hi All, I booked Crystal swing for my wedding! I heard they are meant to be very good for getting the crowd going. anyone have any idea? thanks

Lol. Fair play! Out of curiosity, are Crystal Swing more expensive than a more run of the mill wedding band?

mcrods

ck83 wrote: »

Lol. Fair play! Out of curiosity, are Crystal Swing more expensive than a more run of the mill wedding band?

Booked them to play in Offaly.. Cost 1750e

ck83

mcrods wrote: »

Booked them to play in Offaly.. Cost 1750e

Hhhmm. Smells fishy!!

hibsman

Out of interest, what are people's thoughts on wedding DJs, is it best to get the band to do it as part of a package or get a seperate DJ? If so, can anyone recommend a good wedding DJ in Cork? Thanks.

clint_silver

hibsman wrote: »

Out of interest, what are people's thoughts on wedding DJs, is it best to get the band to do it as part of a package or get a seperate DJ? If so, can anyone recommend a good wedding DJ in Cork? Thanks

Age old question. The only true answer is that there's good and bad versions of both. Go and view the DJ like you would the band. You can have no complaints after that.

Did your band give you a DJ as part of a package? Have you gone and heard him play. If youre not happy with him, book elsewhere, if you are happy, book him.

Berty

When you're band is playing do you want a guy dragging his gear in and out then having downtime waiting for the band to unplug from the house systems so he can hook up, maybe wait for them to take down their light gantrys so he can do his.

We are having the band do ours and it works out cheaper than paying a seperate DJ.

sweetie

Beer Baron wrote: »

When you're band is playing do you want a guy dragging his gear in and out then having downtime waiting for the band to unplug from the house systems so he can hook up, maybe wait for them to take down their light gantrys so he can do his.

We are having the band do ours and it works out cheaper than paying a seperate DJ.

i) Very, very few venues have a house system suitable for playing music loud enough (mainly for speeches only) and if they did most djs wouldn't trust it and would bring their own gear anyway.
ii) Every professional dj will arrive and setup with a band at the beginning of the night, in some cases it's possible to liaise with band and venue to arrive and setup during a break as most bands will take one for 20 mins but this depends on the gig and venue.
iii) As clint says do check out the option as some bands have excellent quality djs with them but there are a few who throw on the latest now compilation while taking their gear apart.

A-Bit-Dodge

mcrods wrote: »

Booked them to play in Offaly.. Cost 1750e

Holy sweet Jesus in heaven!!!!! FOR A THREE PIECE?!!!!!

clint_silver

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Holy sweet Jesus in heaven!!!!! FOR A THREE PIECE?!!!!!

So how do you calculate how much a band should charge?

Shyboy

Beer Baron wrote: »

When you're band is playing do you want a guy dragging his gear in and out then having downtime waiting for the band to unplug from the house systems so he can hook up, maybe wait for them to take down their light gantrys so he can do his.

We are having the band do ours and it works out cheaper than paying a seperate DJ.

That never happens. As clint_silver says, any professional DJ (seperate or part of the band package) will either set up with the band at the beginning of the night or during their break so they are ready to go as soon as they finish their last song.

Supraman

J90 booked for my wedding . Absolutely top notch . DJ roy scully from carrigaline my dj . Have seen roy at previous weddings . Fantastic dj . Crowd is rocking anytime I've seen him.

A-Bit-Dodge

clint_silver wrote: »

So how do you calculate how much a band should charge?

Ok please spare me the whole "people dont understand what they're paying for when they fork out for a band" thing because my partner is a full time musician.

3 people's wages of €250 for the night plus €150 travel expenses from Cork to Offally plus VAT, etc does not warrant €1750 for a 3 piece mate. Obscene money. I know 6/7 pieces doing weddings for that.

clint_silver

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Ok please spare me the whole "people dont understand what they're paying for when they fork out for a band" thing because my partner is a full time musician.

3 people's wages of €250 for the night plus €150 travel expenses from Cork to Offally plus VAT, etc does not warrant €1750 for a 3 piece mate. Obscene money. I know 6/7 pieces doing weddings for that.

Is that 250e for a Tuesday in January or a Saturday in August when another 40 couples are looking to book for the same night.
Actually just thinking about your answer, are you implying that a band is better value if it has more musicians?

Sligo1

Solarark wrote: »

Hi all, any recomadations for a wedding band. I have 12 bands that are available for our date and like them all. The one band I really wanted is booked. So if ye could give your opinions and if any of them match my list, that's the one I'm going to go for. We live in Australia so can't view any band before we book.
Thanks

Op we had goodfellas band play at our wedding last month (May)... They were brilliant and had the dance floor full all night. The main guy that you deal with (Mick) is soooo helpful and such a pleasure to deal with. If they are not on your list def look them up. All our guests commented on how good they were. If I was getting married again ... I'd def go with them. They travel aswell.

A-Bit-Dodge

clint_silver wrote: »

Is that 250e for a Tuesday in January or a Saturday in August when another 40 couples are looking to book for the same night.
Actually just thinking about your answer, are you implying that a band is better value if it has more musicians?

Any night of the week, any month of the year I think that's outrageous.

No I'm actually not implying that all. But judging by Crystal Swings cost, by right the average big band would then cost €3500+ which in my experience is simply not the case. I'm not dissing the average wedding band fees. In my opinion €1750 for a 3 piece band that doesn't even have a live backline is outrageous.

No need to get so defensive on behalf of musicians all over the country.

grahambol

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Ok please spare me the whole "people dont understand what they're paying for when they fork out for a band" thing because my partner is a full time musician.

3 people's wages of €250 for the night plus €150 travel expenses from Cork to Offally plus VAT, etc does not warrant €1750 for a 3 piece mate. Obscene money. I know 6/7 pieces doing weddings for that.

Don't see many 6/7 piece wedding bands.....

Take a 7 piece band, assuming they do not work cash in hand and pay tax and PRSI on whatever they earn, it would bring them down to about €175 a night. As it is not guaranteed work every weekend, don't know of many full-time musicians that would be able to live on that.

mcrods

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Any night of the week, any month of the year I think that's outrageous.

No I'm actually not implying that all. But judging by Crystal Swings cost, by right the average big band would then cost €3500+ which in my experience is simply not the case. I'm not dissing the average wedding band fees. In my opinion €1750 for a 3 piece band that doesn't even have a live backline is outrageous.

No need to get so defensive on behalf of musicians all over the country.

As an entertainment act would you think crystal swing would work?

clint_silver

A-Bit-Dodge wrote: »

Any night of the week, any month of the year I think that's outrageous.

No I'm actually not implying that all. But judging by Crystal Swings cost, by right the average big band would then cost €3500+ which in my experience is simply not the case. I'm not dissing the average wedding band fees. In my opinion €1750 for a 3 piece band that doesn't even have a live backline is outrageous.

No need to get so defensive on behalf of musicians all over the country.

An no need to get offended about different bands prices. In this case crystal swing are an act. An in demand act. Master musicians they're not. But they put on a show and that's what you're paying for. Not a formulaic 3 piece. I think you missed my point on that. Would any self respecting musician book them? No. But 99% of guests at weddings aren't indignant musicians. They're people who want to dance and be entertained. And by all accounts crystal swing do that. Let them charge what they want I say. If they weren't living up to their end of the bargain the phone calls would dry up quick enough at that price.

mcrods

clint_silver wrote: »

An no need to get offended about different bands prices. In this case crystal swing are an act. An in demand act. Master musicians they're not. But they put on a show and that's what you're paying for. Not a formulaic 3 piece. I think you missed my point on that. Would any self respecting musician book them? No. But 99% of guests at weddings aren't indignant musicians. They're people who want to dance and be entertained. And by all accounts crystal swing do that. Let them charge what they want I say. If they weren't living up to their end of the bargain the phone calls would dry up quick enough at that price.

But isn't entertainment very important at a wedding

clint_silver

mcrods wrote: »

But isn't entertainment very important at a wedding

Paramount. That's kind of the point I was making. A-Bit-Dodge is trying to say a band should price themselves by the amount of musicians in the band. I (as a full time musician) know a band should price themselves by their entertainment value and how much people are willing to pay for that.

If you go and view a 3 piece tracked band @ 1750e and an 8 piece brass band @2000e and more entertained by the 3 piece, who do you think you should book?

ShaShaBear

Anybody that's recently booked The Glitterbugs for a wedding? Me and OH were thinking about them, but can't seem to get any up-to-date information on a price.

byte

ShaShaBear wrote: »

Anybody that's recently booked The Glitterbugs for a wedding? Me and OH were thinking about them, but can't seem to get any up-to-date information on a price.

Hah, funny you should mention them, as myself and OH are looking at booking them too. Want something different!

We're going to see them at another wedding first to see if they will work for us (this has been agreed with the relevant folks getting married)...

We saw them before when we first started dating, though that was a gig and not a wedding environment.

The pressure is on to book them, but not until we see them in action first.

ShaShaBear

byte wrote: »

Hah, funny you should mention them, as myself and OH are looking at booking them too. Want something different!

We're going to see them at another wedding first to see if they will work for us (this has been agreed with the relevant folks getting married)...

We saw them before when we first started dating, though that was a gig and not a wedding environment.

The pressure is on to book them, but not until we see them in action first.

My OH has seen them in action and insists they are fabulous! We watched a few videos but the quality was awful (however the ones I did see looked like the crowd was rialled). We're trying to get someone who will get a laugh, keep people engaged and to avoid all those nasty slow songs I love their sample set, and the costume is hilarious, but I also need to see them myself (got in touch today to find out where I might see them soon). Any ideas how much they look for a wedding? I've heard about 2 grand!

cpoh1

All depends on who you are looking to entertain, old folk with some waltzs or a younger crowd. If its the latter then J90, the glitterbugs, smash hits and spring break are all cracking bands and well worth the money.

Glitterbugs were brilliant at a wedding we were at last year.

ShaShaBear

cpoh1 wrote: »

All depends on who you are looking to entertain, old folk with some waltzs or a younger crowd. If its the latter then J90, the glitterbugs, smash hits and spring break are all cracking bands and well worth the money.

Glitterbugs were brilliant at a wedding we were at last year.

There are very few elderly people to be at our wedding. Grandparents on both sides have passed away and mostly everyone else would enjoy a good rousing dance. Something I always hated at weddings was when a band played slow songs over and over, and everyone sat down. You just knew no-one was entertained!