Wedding Gigs - Differing Opinions Within Band

[jaywa]

Originally Posted by Factor88

Jaywa,
I am starting to see why maybe some of the cats in your band grumbled a bit. Looking at your earlier post I'm seeing 14 hours of time between a guy getting to the band leaders house to leaving the bandleader's house at the end of the night. Even though I get that the long drive is par for the course in your area no matter what the gig, less than $300 for 14 hours isn't a great deal. Now I'm not saying the complainers in your band are in the right, just saying I understand why they are complaining......

Yeah... the thing is though that the chief complainer is retired, and these gigs constitute his primary source of income. So when I heard him basically say that he'd rather be home making nothing on a Saturday than playing a gig for pay, I just thought that was a weird perspective. Currently I'm the sole breadwinner in my household and believe me, anytime I can trade some spare time for cash I'm all over it.

That being said, yeah the dollars per hour is a little weak but this band is only going into its 3rd full year. The BL is a pretty smart guy and I think that early on he was concerned about overpricing us out of the gate but now I would expect these wedding jobs he's booking now for next summer will be at a substantially higher pay grade. At least I hope so.

[two fingers]

Originally Posted by ahc

Yes, the "total time" can be long, but if you're doing it right, the compensation should make up for that. Plenty of bar gigs have setup constraints, too. Especially bar/restaurant gigs.

This. It's a give and take. I love to play weddings for all the reasons you listed. But I have a family. If the wedding is two hours away and we have to be out of the way by 5 pm then I am leaving my family by 1:00ish and not getting home in most cases until way after midnight. That's more than TWELVE HOURS for a (usually) 2 or 3 hour gig. It breaks your pay down in per hour terms. Now if you are single and play usic for a living that's great because you don't have any other demands on your life. For a family guy, or just anyone (like me) who actually puts a value on TIME, it's a different story. But I still think it's worth it in most cases (again) for all the reasons you listed above.

[duff beer]

Originally Posted by jaywa

Re the "why all the downtime" question:

My band's situation is very much like Modulus describes. The wedding we played last weekend was pretty typical of those gigs for us logistics wise, and went like this:

1 PM - Whole band meets at BLs house, loads trailer, etc.

1:30 - Band vehicle departs (we ALWAYS ride together in one vehicle unless the gig is in our hometown which only happens 3-4 times a year)

3:30 - Arrive at venue (110 mile drive with a potty stop); begin load-in and set-up (we don't have any additional help; the 5 guys in the band do everything); set-up full P.A. and a "moderate" light show; soundcheck

5:00-8:00 - Down time; during this time the wedding party arrives and is announced, dinner served, toasts, etc.

8:00 - Midnight; we play, with two breaks of 20-30 mins each

Midnight - end of show, teardown, loadout, drive home

As Friskinator said, a mid to late afternoon deadline for being setup and soundchecked is pretty routine at these things. The client / wedding planner will give you a cut-off time and you had damn well better hit it even if it's several hours before you go on. This particular wedding the cutoff was 5 and we've done weddings where it was even earlier than that.

Our band hasn't done any weddings but we've done a few corporate banquets that have a similar time line. We meet at 1:00 to load gear, drive to the haul, set up, and do sound check. This normally has to be done by 5:00 - 5:30 as cocktails start at 6:00, dinner at 7:00. We usually hit the stage 8:30 or so, play 4 sets, done at 12:30 - 1:00. By the time we tear down and drive home, it's 2:30 or later, which is a 13-14 hour day.

[Kmonk]

I've played some weddings and while it usually makes for a long day, they are some of the most enjoyable gigs to play. Everyone is there to celebrate a happy occasion. They are almost always in a good mood. They usually do a lot of drinking and dancing. The pay is better than clubs and you usually get fed and get free drinks. Not a bad gig at all.

[electracoyote]

Originally Posted by duff beer

By the time we tear down and drive home, it's 2:30 or later, which is a 13-14 hour day.

I've done hundreds of weddings over the years, they are routinely at least a 12-hour day. I'm in Colorado, and many of the popular wedding destinations involve long winding mountain pass drives to places like Vail, Breckenridge, and Estes Park. There is a lot of prep work, a lot of waiting around, and you have to be very courteous and mindful of the other wedding vendors and the wedding couple's special scheduling needs. It takes a total pro mentality, even tiny details can make a big difference. It's the bride's dream come true, her most special day ever, and everyone involved has to be at their best.

Still, the pros outway the cons IMHO.