Now that you've learned about The Spectrum Band, I wanted to share a few perspectives that you may not have considered regarding your quest for musical entertainment for your event. This is intended as an educational tool since I realize that most individuals have never booked a band before and don't know how to go about comparing different groups. I've received many positive responses in the past from clients thanking me for helping them learn about booking a band and how to make an intelligent decision. I hope that you also find this information to be helpful.
The most helpful advice that I can provide to you regarding booking a band is to determine the mood that you want to set for the evening and then choose a band that meets your criteria. Choose a band that YOU like and that you think will keep your guests happy for four hours without them getting tired of listening to the same basic sound. Blues is a great style of music but if that's all that the band plays, you're possibly going to disappoint a large percentage of your guests. Does the band have female and male vocalists that compliment each other musically and provide variety to the listener's ear? I'm a little biased in that I always prefer a band with a female and male vocalist. You have a captive audience in a private party, unlike a bar with changing audiences each hour, and the female vocalist allows the band to play a much larger body of music. Even if there are several male vocalists in the band, the audience will basically always be hearing the same "range" of vocalist all evening. Does the band have a horn section to authentically play those great Motown and R&B songs or are these sounds emulated by a keyboard or guitar? Does the demo CD truly represent the band that you think you're hiring? Do you hear three part female vocal harmonies on the demo but there is only one female vocalist in the band? This is a studio enhancement and the band will not sound like this at your private event. Does the band have a professional stage presence? A band can sound great but if the stage is cluttered with equipment that looks like it has been thrown down the stairs a few times, this takes away from the elegance of the evening (if you're in an elegant location). Bent and scratched music stands, inadequate stage lights, and nearly antique speaker systems may not be bad in a bar but formal events require higher standards in all aspects. These are only my opinions based solely on my experience and personal preferences, but I have structured my band to conform to these criteria to maintain my standards. My band certainly isn't the only band that aims for the top of the quality scale so look around and find the band that "trips your trigger". Hiring a band (or performing in a band) is a completely different experience compared to only to watching a band on stage. It's also completely different from hiring a photographer or florist since you are hiring a group of individual professionals, not just a single person. That said, I'll address three main points about bands one at a time based solely on my opinion from years of experience:
#1 --> THE KEY TO HIRING THE PERFECT BAND:
The key to hiring a "consistently" great band is not with the bandleader, it is ultimately with the band as a unit. Watch the band, listen to the band, listen to the demo, and ask the leader questions. As a bandleader I'm not so naïve that I think I am the "key" ingredient. The key is to have a consistent group of musicians that all know the band's diverse repertoire and are great performers individually that love to play music. Obviously the bandleader has to be a musician, manager, mechanic, and banker but these qualities are expected of anyone desiring to excel in a leadership position. It's definitely true that a professional bandleader always wants to hire top quality musicians since their reputation is at stake. However, that isn't always possible when the band doesn't perform regularly enough to earn "first call commitments" from the musicians. Even the most desperate bandleader would never hire an amateur musician. But without a committed group of band members, finding quality performers can be a problem. Any bandleader that tries to find the best local musicians during the months of May, June, September, and December is not going to be very successful because of the popularity of these months for performances. Believe me, I've had to do this and the best players are already booked. Every band has to use substitutes every now and then for a variety of reasons. It's real and it happens but a committed band member will keep these instances of missed performances to a minimum. The goal should be to find a band that doesn't base their future performance on the bandleader's possibility of finding the best musicians available. Local bands are not national acts that can always fill a void with an incredible musician with a single phone call. I probably have one of the most extensive lists of St. Louis' best local musicians and I sometimes have difficulty replacing only one musician.
There are definitely talented musicians in St. Louis that earn a living doing sub-contract work with other musicians. They will perform with any band (almost) as long as the paycheck justifies the time. These musicians all have stories of performing with great bands that they respect and also performing with bands that gave them cause to count the minutes until they could leave the stage. All professional musicians have been in each situation. There are good bands that use substitutes on a regular basis but it's pretty simple to understand that they have limitations since they don't perform together on a regular basis. That's one of the main differences between being a good band and a great band on a consistent basis. The bandleader's job is to honestly represent his or her band to a prospective client, help answer any questions and/or make suggestions regarding music for the client, coordinate the logistics for the event if the client books the band, and then deliver a great performance. This brings us back to the key: evaluating the band as a unit and not based on a bandleader that obviously wants you to book his or her band.
#2 --> THE DEMO:
The CD presented by a band should most definitely represent the accurate sound of the band. The ability of the band to sound like their demo CD in a live performance is primarily dependent on three factors:
- Does the CD incorporate vocalists and musicians that won't be on stage? Or better stated, does the CD include vocalists and musicians that are inferior to those that are currently in the band?
- Does the CD incorporate overdubs and effects that can't be reproduced on stage?
- Does the band have a poor sound system that isn't capable of accurate sound reproduction?
The studio will obviously provide a more sonically pleasing sound from a band with a relatively poor sound system but it should still be an accurate representation of the instrumentation in the band. A great band should have a great CD that accurately represents their capabilities without using studio augmentation. I personally make it a point to inform prospective clients that our band's demo CD is very representative of our band since some of it was recorded "live" in my studio without any studio enhancements that we can't reproduce in a "live" performance. Most of the songs on our demo are from a "live" performance at the Starlight Room at The Chase Park Plaza to be as realistic as possible for the listener.
#3 --> THE BAND MEMBERS:
There are good bands and then there are great bands. Which one do most people want to hire? It's definitely true that musicians and singers do move from band to band. If the individual was a very visible and/or audible element in the band (especially singers), the demo no longer represents the product that the client thinks that they are purchasing. It's not impossible for the bandleader that builds his band from a Rolodex file to deliver a great product. In fact, it happens all the time. However, you don't have to be a musician to realize that the band that always uses the same core musicians is going to consistently be of a higher quality than the band made up of substitute players. Some bandleaders simply hire free-lance musicians based on the musician's availability and they create multiple bands that perform under the same name (there is a large agency in St. Louis that regularly books bands using this practice). There could be as many as four or five bands of the same name performing at the same time. Obviously, each one of these randomly constructed bands will reflect varying degrees of quality and musicianship so some may be good but the others are not going to be able to keep the crowd happy and dancing all night. Consequently, the client doesn't know what band they are hiring so the risks are high. There is only one Spectrum Band performing in St. Louis so you can be assured that we do not subscribe to this practice. I always try to point out to a potential client that we are not one of these types of bands and that consistent quality is our focus. An educated client is certainly to my advantage so the more you know about bands, the better my band looks (and sounds). Again, feel free to read the comments from recent clients on our "Testimonials" page on our web site. Choosing a band is quite a significant decision regarding the music and resulting mood for you and your guests and should be a thoughtful process. The band that you hire should be representative of the band members that you thought were being offered to you while you were choosing your band. When you test drive and order a new Lexus and then go to the dealership to pick it up and it turns out to be a Cadillac, you're not happy. The Cadillac may be a nice car but it doesn't drive like the car that you ordered. Being honest and up front is expected from a band, florist, event coordinator, photographer, etc., and no one should settle for less. This goes back to the key: look at the band as a unit.
We are lucky in St. Louis that we have many professional bands to choose from that offer
many different levels of quality and price. I target the high end of the quality scale and
our entire band is proud to be in the company of the top bands in St. Louis. Achieving that
level of success requires a significant amount of talent, time, financial investment,
organizational skills, and the love of playing music. Having several bands to choose from
allows you to choose your band based on personal taste rather than having to choose from
a limited selection. From a broad perspective, there are basically two types of bands
that you might want to consider avoiding when planning your event in addition to the
build-a-band format mentioned earlier. The first type is the older band playing weak
renditions of the same tired songs over and over. Playing together for 30 years or more
is a positive attribute only if the band can still play with a young enthusiasm in the
performance. Earning the reputation of being a great band is in no way synonymous with
how long the band has been in existence. This isn't to say that ALL of the older local
bands are just going through the motions but you can usually tell from their demo, i.e.,
it sounds like KEZK on steroids and/or "cheesy". You can also recognize from a live
performance if "the thrill is gone" and they just aren't creating magic any more. Of
course, some day we'll be one of these older bands but we don't intend to perform if
we ever lose our edge. Fortunately, that's a moot point for a very long time. The
other type of band to avoid is the very young band that is trying to graduate from
playing bars to performing at private events which requires a different set of skills
as well as a more professional appearance and sound. We pride ourselves on having
the combination of: over 20 years of extensive experience, dedicated and talented
musicians, and the important ability to perform all styles of music with an authentic
sound and the appropriate level of energy and enthusiasm throughout the performance.
Knowing how to play lightly during dinner and cocktails is just as important as knowing
how to connect with a floor full of dancers and keeping them there all night. We even
take some of those tired old songs and play them with a fresh energy that puts them
back on the top of the dance list!
Finally, thanks for taking the time to read this page. I like to be very thorough and address as many questions up front as possible. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding music for your event. We specialize in private events so I'll work with you to make sure that any special details are addressed for you to make your event unique. I not only manage the band, I also perform in the band so I make every possible effort to attend each appearance to ensure that every detail is addressed.
Sincerely,
Tim
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