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06-04-2011, 12:51 PM
| | | | Big Band? I was expecting songs like Take the A Train, Moonlight Serenade, and Pennselvania 65000 |
06-04-2011, 01:13 PM
| | | | Great band.
Thanks for posting the link. |
06-04-2011, 02:31 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Pechanga  Big Band? I was expecting songs like Take the A Train, Moonlight Serenade, and Pennselvania 65000 | Penn 6...5....oh...oh..oh was on our playlist last week. |
06-04-2011, 07:34 PM
|  | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | | Thanks for the kind comments guys - it's really nice to know some fellow bassists enjoyed the stuff. I just got back from a gig with the smaller band (10 piece) and Susanna subbed for us tonight, did a great job too. She has the regular gig with the bigger band.
As far as money goes, we do some local gigs just for fun and promotion and on these we just about cover our expenses. And fairly obviously, a 22 piece band is way beyond the budget of private party/wedding type gigs that are bread and butter for the smaller outfit. But some big corporate events have huge budgets and at these we can more or less name our price. If they want a big band that does what we do, they can afford to pay us really well to do it. I'd like to do more of these! At the moment they're not anywhere near as frequent as I'd like, but when they come up, they're great - we've been really well looked after, wined and dined, had accommodation thrown in at a nice hotel, all expenses covered and I still drive home with a big chunk of cash in my pocket (I cleared £300/$480 for the last one) for basically having a blast of a weekend with some really great fun buddies. Can't beat that, I love it!
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-04-2011, 09:11 PM
|  | Registered User
HPF Technology: Protecting the Pocket since 2007 | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Madison WI | | What a great band. But I have to ask... are British big bands like your cars, with the drivers seat on the wrong side? 
Big-band is an absolute blast. It's definitely worth letting people know that big-bands are not limited to playing swing era music.
And who said you can't rock an audience from behind a music stand? |
06-05-2011, 08:26 AM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by fdeck And who said you can't rock an audience from behind a music stand? | Oh yes! Only an idiot would assert such nonsense. Whenever I hear that crap, I think of this pic of our front line, cowering behind their music stands and failing to engage or entertain the audience... 
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-05-2011, 08:35 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio | | | Nice sound you guys have. You guys must charge venue owners a fortune in order to pay everyone enough. |
06-05-2011, 08:44 AM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by capnsandwich Nice sound you guys have. You guys must charge venue owners a fortune in order to pay everyone enough. | Thanks! See post #24 for my take on the money aspects.
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-05-2011, 09:12 AM
| | Registered User
HPF Technology: Protecting the Pocket since 2007 | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Madison WI | | | On the issue of money, I play in the Madison Jazz Orchestra, a 20-piece big band that specializes in what I call post-swing-era jazz. There's no way that a club can afford $2k for a band on a regular basis. We have to operate more like a community orchestra. |
06-05-2011, 09:15 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Columbus, Ohio | | Quote:
Originally Posted by bassybill Thanks! See post #24 for my take on the money aspects. | Yeah, that would be a successful weekend IMO. Around here, you wouldn't make that kind of money in a week with a 4 piece band. Times are tough but as long as you enjoy it, you're successful IMO. |
06-05-2011, 09:44 AM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by capnsandwich Yeah, that would be a successful weekend IMO. Around here, you wouldn't make that kind of money in a week with a 4 piece band. Times are tough but as long as you enjoy it, you're successful IMO. | Yeah - there's no way to earn decent money in local music venues for the general populace, as I said. That's tough to do even with a small band. But some of the big corporate things we do have a budget in the hundreds of thousands. Finding £6k or so for a band is small change when they're organising stuff on that scale and they're paying maybe £50,000 or more just for the catering (without drinks).
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-05-2011, 03:16 PM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | |
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-05-2011, 04:59 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: USA | | | bassybill, it must suck to be you! Thats some nice stuff, a really good gig. LOVE the horns and generally the whole thing. I didn't catch where you come from, but 22 members? Must be some great venues to make it all worhtwhile. |
06-05-2011, 05:07 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northeast, US | | | Love the video of the big band. 22 pieces. Man, I'd soil myself playing in a band like that. That's - Awesome. Those gigs have to be some ride.
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Frank
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06-05-2011, 05:19 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: West Warwick, RI | | | Step 1) Find HOT female front person
Step 2) Learn some smokin funk/sould covers
Step 3) PROFIT!
Love the band! The Youtube clips were great! Keep up the funk!
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U.S. Peavey Club Member # 93, Rhode Island Bass Players Club #10, I.D.I.O.T. #35
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06-05-2011, 05:20 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Deep Creek | | Great! The soft, stage lighting looks great on your singer in the photo!
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“To play without passion is inexcusable!” ― Ludwig van Beethoven |
06-05-2011, 05:25 PM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by SBassman Love the video of the big band. 22 pieces. Man, I'd soil myself playing in a band like that. That's - Awesome. Those gigs have to be some ride. | Excuse me, but I just HAVE to sig that!
Again, thanks for the love, guys. 
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-05-2011, 05:31 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Northeast, US | | Quote:
Originally Posted by bassybill Excuse me, but I just HAVE to sig that!
Again, thanks for the love, guys. | I've been sigged! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people.
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Frank
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06-05-2011, 05:33 PM
| | No need to ask, he's a smooth... Moderator | | Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: West Midlands UK | | Quote:
Originally Posted by SBassman I've been sigged!
This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. | LOL!!!
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Originally Posted by SBassman | |
06-06-2011, 09:18 PM
| | Registered User
HPF Technology: Protecting the Pocket since 2007 | | Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Madison WI | | Quote:
Originally Posted by fdeck What a great band. But I have to ask... are British big bands like your cars, with the drivers seat on the wrong side? | LOL, right after I said that, I played a big band gig on Sunday, and when I arrived, the rhythm section was on the left side of the band. It was totally unsettling. But it was the only way that we could fit into the space. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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