Need advice on how to go about picking a band

DrBeLLaRoSe Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:38 PM

Need advice on how to go about picking a band

ok girls i am going to try to pick a band soon, but i have no way to go about doing it.

i have a list of some bands that have been suggested on these boards but the list is so long i cannot imagine going to hear all of these bands. I dont think i would have time to go see them all, and i went to see one last weekend and it was a huge waste of time. How did u girls do it? Any suggestions?

july06bride Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:41 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

I got some dvd's and cds in the mail and listened, if they were good i would see them at a showcase..i also went with recommendations from here, family and friends

I LOVE Heart and SOul- they are pretty well known and they sound fabulous

The website is franklinewaynemusic.com (i think)

Daybreaks night is also really good- i have a family friend using them

psf80 Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:44 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Definitely call and ask for dvds. From there you can narrow it down. If they don't sound good on dvd, they probably won't sound good live. We went to see a lot of bands, it took us three months to decide on one. It seemed like every week we were going to another showcase but in my opinion it was well worth the time and effort. Good luck! Oh another way to narrow them down, is to get a price range from brides on here, and then if someone's out of your budget, you can get rid of them.

DrBeLLaRoSe Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:47 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

it has been kinda of hard for me because i need to have some italian music at the wedding and i want it to sound authentic, but some of the mc's in italian american bands are not my style (they talk too much).

The only band i have heard at a wedding was Code Bleu and me and my fiance loved them but they did not sing any italian songs at the wedding (they say they can though).

And on top of it all i also wanted somewhat of a violin/ piano/ harp etc feeling for the cocktail hour. Any suggestions on how to get all that?

Do i have to sacrifice the italian to get good american? do i have to sacrifice the cocktail hour music to get good contemporary music? i am so confused

july06bride Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:49 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

you can always hire a separate harpist/violin whatever you choose to do cocktail hour only... and still have the contemporary music at the reception...i dont know much about italian music though- heart and soul does some, but not too much

DrBeLLaRoSe Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:50 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

i think i annoy even myself with some of my posts! sorry girls

july06bride Posted: Apr 26, 2005 06:51 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

youre not annoying at all !

janelovesharry Posted: Apr 26, 2005 07:49 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Hi,
I know how you feel...I have felt like with the planning of everything
I called about 10,000 bands and recieved about 10,000 more cds. Then I found my band I am using Soul Revival and they are great. They play Italian music too, that seems like it's important to you. Their website is www.soulrevivalband.com. I liked that I could just hear their music online, that was one less cd that I got
Good Luck!
Jane

diggity10 Posted: Apr 26, 2005 07:56 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Posted by july06bride

I got some dvd's and cds in the mail and listened, if they were good i would see them at a showcase..i also went with recommendations from here, family and friends

I LOVE Heart and SOul- they are pretty well known and they sound fabulous

The website is franklinewaynemusic.com (i think)

Daybreaks night is also really good- i have a family friend using them

I would have to agree with this!!! Love love love heart and soul.. On that website you can also hear samples of all the franklin wayne bands.. good luck!

Blu-ize Posted: Apr 26, 2005 10:23 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

I think you could get both Italian and American but you could always get a great band that plays American and get some of your favorite CDs to play just to make sure you get what you want. Some Italian American bands can be real expensive. I had Niteflight, I think they were awesome. I'm pretty sure they would do Italian if you asked although I didn't have them do that. How much Italian music do you want? Please feel free to FM if you want more info.

bridejune04 Posted: Apr 26, 2005 10:48 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Some of the bands websites, you can hear them on there.

KandM2006 Posted: Apr 26, 2005 11:00 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Why don't you list some of the bands you're thinking of looking at and then you'll get some specific reviews?

otherme Posted: Apr 26, 2005 11:00 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

I just finished the process and it was tough because i don't have too much time to spend on it! I basically looked at all the bands recommended here, then went on their websites and listened online. If i liked them, i checked to see when they were having a showcase and then for the past 3 or 4 weeks have been going to showcase after showcase every night. It was tough but once i heard Code Bleu, i knew they were what we wanted.
Good luck - there are some good bands out there (i liked Timpiece a lot too) it all depends on your personal taste.

ssdbk Posted: Apr 26, 2005 11:13 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

I heard my band, Niteflight, 3 times at 3 different places before we booked them. They play at night clubs (but with less peices) and I love to go see them. There are some songs that they are known to do really well and I'm glad I got a chance to learn that. I went to some showcases and I felt that the other bands did not sound as 'together' as Niteflight did. Also, they don't use a booking agent, you book directly with the keyboard player. It saves $$ as there is no middle man taking a chunk of the band's fee.

DrBeLLaRoSe Posted: Apr 27, 2005 10:55 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

thanks girls for all your help!

i had another question: did any of you use classical music for the cocktail hour and contempory music for the reception? if so who did you use? thank u soooo much!

also.... how much time do i have before i really have to start worrying about booking the band?

thanx so much

Barakabella Posted: Apr 27, 2005 11:03 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

We used a classical quartet for ceremony and NYC Swing for reception. There were a few players for jazz during CH. You can do whatever you'd like.

FTRBRIDE Posted: Apr 27, 2005 11:11 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

Just get some names that are in your price range and go to a few showcases. You don't need to go to a million of them. You'll go to a few, find the one you like the best, and call it a day.

Barakabella Posted: Apr 27, 2005 11:33 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

We LOVED our band, NYC Swing and would rehire them in a sec. I am editing to say that we planned our event from out of town and relied heavily on the advice of friends locally. This couple with DVD's and CD's enabled us to set up meetings with the top four or five. We then met them with a list of questions and between that and price negotiations were in a position to make a clear choice.

wintergirl06 Posted: Apr 27, 2005 11:39 PM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

We're using Code Bleu (we love them too!) and we've heard them do some Italian stuff both times we saw them at showcases. They sounded great. Their song list has a whole section on traditional music of different cultures.

You can book all different kinds of musicians through them...with their package, you get a musician for your ceremony or cocktail hour thrown in. But you can add any type of other musician that you want. They're part of Skyline Orchestras.

Klarabelle Posted: Apr 28, 2005 12:22 AM

Re: Need advice on how to go about picking a band

I COMPLETELY understand how you feel!! Honeslty booking our band was the hardest part of my planning so far! It gets totally confusing after you hear CD'S, watch DVD's, go to showcases.....everything starts to sound the same and then you forget what the band's you previously heard and have to go back and listen again, and agian! But after all is said and done when you hear 'your' band you just know that its the one for you and you wont second guess your decision or even compare them to anyone else! We met with tons of bands from bands on Oheka's vendor list, to bands recommend on this site and when I heard the band I booked I just knew it was the one for us!
When you meet with them they help you choose all your music, styles, and pieces for your cocktail hour.....we chose a quartet ( I think) and a pianist for our cocktail hour. If I were you I would start looking and listening to bands now because believe it or not they are already booking for 06 and some of them have been booked for months which shocked me! If you have any questions you can always FM me...GOOD LUCK!