subject: How To Start A Pro Function Band [print this page] Wedding bands are being created every day, what is the secret to becoming a top wedding bands.
First thing to do is finding your musicians. You do need a collection of good musicians, but the most key issue is, do you bond? I have seen some of the top musicians perfoming live together and sounding fanstastic but with a really bad live stage presence, because of an disagreement on the way to a gig. This is very important when you are trying to create a memorable performance. Also if you get along it will give your cover bands longevity, there is nothing worse than auditioning a new bassist every week and this stop start motion can quickly make the artists loose enthusiasm and quit.
Next on the list is getting a regular rehearsal schedule. At the start try to rehearse as much as possible at first then maybe about once a week as the songs becomes solid. The most important thing to making practice more productive is to set everyone home work for the week. Getting band members to learn their parts for the song at home makes for a much more effective practice, than sitting there while your drummer is trying to figure out his solo for an hour.
Your next mission will be choosing the songs. This can be a bit of trial and error trying to figure out what kind of songs will make a crowd dance, but there are some styles that you should avoid from the start. Pretty much your songs will be decided by your front man if he/she doesnt sound good singing it then you shouldnt be playing it, no matter how hot the rest of the musicians sound. Always remember that the vocals are the main instrument!. Try to select songs that are well-liked and not just songs that you like. Your job is to entertain a room full of people and unfortunately your not going to find a whole guest list of Metalica fans. Find tunes that have lasted the test of time like James Brown or good tunes that have been a sucsess in the charts.
Performing live is the real acid test for any wedding band and ultimately where most fall apart. There are 3 very important things to get right when you are performing on stage which are your look, your sound, and turning up on time.
Getting there on time sounds very obvious but a lot of function bands dont. If you fail to get to a gig a minimum two hours before you are set to play, setting up will be rushed and you wont get to sound check. If you fail to sound check this will massively affect the most important thing on the list, your sound.
Getting sound volumes will vary in difficulty from gig to gig depending on the room you are performing in. Play through about three tunes that represent the variety of instruments in your wedding band and moods in your set. The most vital instrument you want to attend to is the vocals, all the other instruments can sound as distorted as you like, as long as the vocals are clear and audible, you will sound better than most cover bands out there.
Last of all your look appearance. It is important to look neat and part of a team whenever you are performing. Appearing the same helps to identify you as a group and will help elevate you from a pub band to a covers band. Try to incorporate the style of music and the theme from your logo into your cover bands attire to generate a consistent identity.
