Wedding Gigs - Differing Opinions Within Band

[jaywa]

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]

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]

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]

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.