Help, got a gig at a five-star hotel

[gttim]

Originally Posted by carl h.

The guy who hired you did so based on what you do. Keep on doing it. If what you did wasn't appropriate, you would never have been hired.

+1

Dance with the one who brought you!

[funkingroovin]

I have yet to play anywhere in the US where no one requests Brown Eyed Girl or Mustang Sally..sad,but true.

[TimmH]

Keep your set list variable. If the audience doesn't seem too interested in what your playing, and since you have a wide variety of music to play, try to switch it up and find something that catches their attention.

[pklima]

Yeah, we have stuff to choose from... not a lot of classic rock, though. If somebody wants "Mustang Sally", I don't think any of us have ever even heard that song. The closest thing we got with lyrics in English might be the Cranberries' "Zombie" or Shakira's "Poem To A Horse".

[bassfran]

Congrats on the nice gig score!

Like many others have said- they hired you for what you already do, so go and do it. Pick your best material, look sharp, and have fun.

That 1st night's work will set the precedent for hopefully many more to come, so I'd encourage everyone to be courteous and professional on the job. Good luck.

[bherman]

Originally Posted by bassfran

Congrats on the nice gig score!

Like many others have said- they hired you for what you already do, so go and do it. Pick your best material, look sharp, and have fun.

That 1st night's work will set the precedent for hopefully many more to come, so I'd encourage everyone to be courteous and professional on the job. Good luck.

Two words of advice - be memorable!

People who travel and people with money typically have seen and heard alot. Forget top 40, do what you do best.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by pklima

Ha. Yeah, the manager made sure to pre-empt it too.

There is one thing which worries me and which I'd like some advice for, though... we will largely be playing for foreigners from rich Western countries who have corporate management jobs. We know our setlist works for audiences which are probably close to half foreigners, but they're mostly from Third World countries and work in call centers. Very different demographic.

What kind of music do Westerners with really good jobs like? Cause I'm guessing it's not country and reggaeton, but in reality I have no idea.

I think sophisticated westerners would like your eclectic mix. It'll be different from the same-ol' same-ol' they're used to. Don't sweat it - play your usual set list.

[pklima]

Yeah, we started making a setlist last night, basically just picked the most popular songs and took out any where the lyrics are NSFW or mention Bin Laden. Somehow we've done three songs that have Bin Laden in them - "Fat girls and weed", "Em plena lua de mel" which also mentions Hitler, and a short original called "Peeing in the water" which mentions Hitler, Stalin and Jesus Christ.

[delta7fred]

Back in the 80s and 90s the band I was in played anywhere from rough bars to corporate events. We had a very limited set list (don't get me started on that) so there was not much choice of what we played.

What we did do was tighten up the presentation so we looked more professional. Smarter stage outfits that matched or were at least coordinated. No time wasting between songs, slick starts and finishes, keeping a check on the volume.

We tried to keep the stage tidy, and carried a very basic lighting setup because most of the places we played had nothing. A couple of simple flashing sound to light boxes aimed at the dance floor and static coloured lights on the band.

Oh and congrats on the gig.

I agree that if I am in a different country I don't want to go out and see exactly what could at home, I want a bit of the local culture.

[octaverazor]

American top forty. "Slayer" and "Cannibal Corpse" mostly.

[pklima]

You can't fool me. I lived in Texas for 17 years. Those aren't top 40, they're classic rock. I think Slayer even had guitar solos.

[TinIndian]

Just do what you do best. You already said the manager has seen you several times so he knows what he is getting. I think you are right about dropping the songs you referenced about Bin Laden, Hitler and whatever. With an international audience, I think it would be best to not risk pissing someone off. Last thing you need is some guy declaring a jihad on you because bin Laden was his cousin or something.

[Brad Johnson]

I had a gig like this in Africa. They hired you to do what you do so don't overthink it, do that. And play nice with the management and clientele... that's why you're there.


Congrats and good luck.

[lomo]

Westerners with good jobs at high pay are generally in the 35-65 yr age demographic, so sme older USA and Brit classics will likely go over well (think Stones, Beatles, Motown) along with newish stuff from the 90s. Always good to have some of today's top 40 as well.

[pklima]

Gig's tonight. We'll see how it goes.

Brad, was it South Africa by any chance? This hotel manager was working there during the last World Cup, that might have been what gave him the idea of hiring us.

[TheBass]

Well ... if the dutch team is staying at your hotel, include some dutch football hymnes into your program. I guess there will be some dutch fans around.

[pklima]

It definitely went well. The party was kinda dead, but I guess when you put people from a bunch of different companies in one place they won't be too willing to get drunk and stupid. The waitresses were probably more into us than the guests were, LOL. We did all right, no real screwups, though I did want to punch our guitarist for playing short noodly solos right after the end of about half the songs. I had a very sore throat but fortunately I only do a small part of the vocals, so I managed. The manager of the bar was busy elsewhere so he didn't hear us and the hotel manager who wanted to hire us became a father a few days ago so he was on leave, but the general manager who is more important than either of them liked us so the weekly gig looks like a go as soon as the Euro is over.

We also had somebody else ask for our contact info so we might get more gigs out of that too. Funny thing is that he expressed surprise that he hadn't seen us in any of the big live music bars where the established cover bands play... I told him we've only been together for a few months and haven't played everywhere yet, but it's very flattering that he thought we're on that level.

Next step up: June 10th, a gig on a big boat. Gotta learn "I'm On A Boat" for that one.