What is "party band?"

[Freekmagnet]

But the night ain’t over until everybody is good and drunk, and you break this out for the singalong….

Suddenly, everyone is an opera star. It’s like “Danny Boy” at a pub.

Yeah we do that one on New Years. Thankfully, our female singer doesn’t sing in Spanish, otherwise we’d be doing Sabor a Mi as well. The one we can’t seem to escape is Suavecito. The way people act, you’d think it was the most important composition of the twentieth century.

 

[Michedelic]

Yeah we do that one on New Years. Thankfully, our female singer doesn’t sing in Spanish, otherwise we’d be doing Sabor a Mi as well. The one we can’t seem to escape is Suavecito. The way people act, you’d think it was the most important composition of the twentieth century.

Interesting, I thought that it was more of a Bay area thing. You do any Brenton Wood and the Art Laboe related stuff? Rosie, etc?

 

[Freekmagnet]

Interesting, I thought that it was more of a Bay area thing. You do any Brenton Wood and the Art Laboe related stuff? Rosie, etc?

OK - our conga player/male lead plays (or played) keyboards for Brenton Wood. Sometimes, we back up the drummer for War (he sings), and he used to play for BW as well.

When I first joined the band, the Art Laboe playlist was basically the playlist for the band. We’ve since gained a few real R&B players, and I believe the conversation with the BL went somewhere along the lines of, “Dude, (R&B) folks aren’t that into the Oogum Boogum song.” So, we’ve been adding more stuff along the lines of EWF, Sly, Roger & Zapp, etc. We’ve had a few cultural conflicts, but I think everyone that the band has really grown as we diversify musically.

People in SoCal are really into a lot of Bay Area bands. Funny thing is I’m actually from Oakland, and virtually everyone here assumes I’m a huge Tower of Power fan. To me, the East Bay Area is Sly, Sun Ra, Headhunters, Digital Underground, etc. TOP just seem kinda square to make a legit claim of being the quintessential Oakland band.

 

[jerry]

Yeah we do that one on New Years. Thankfully, our female singer doesn’t sing in Spanish, otherwise we’d be doing Sabor a Mi as well. The one we can’t seem to escape is Suavecito. The way people act, you’d think it was the most important composition of the twentieth century.

That's a great summer song, I dig Malo!

 

[fhm555]

...Probably best to ask "the people running the event"...

Unless you have some sort of portable small flying object deflection system, this is the best advice I've seen for this situation.

 

[HHudson]

Unless you have some sort of portable small flying object deflection system, this is the best advice I've seen for this situation.

Thanks, but I was not the first to suggest that

=> portable small flying object deflection system

LOL, bring your own chicken wire

 

[Shalto]

I'd expect the music a "party" band plays would encourage Dancing.

 

[fhm555]

Thanks, but I was not the first to suggest that

=> portable small flying object deflection system

LOL, bring your own chicken wire

Which validates our belief in the value of that piece of advice.

 

[Ben Esparza]

Let’s not forget everyone’s favorite:

But the night ain’t over until everybody is good and drunk, and you break this out for the singalong….

Suddenly, everyone is an opera star. It’s like “Danny Boy” at a pub.

"Juana La Cubana" is a real crowd pleaser. This video is at the original tempo but if you bump the tempo up a few BPM, that'll get everyone on the dance floor. There's a local, L.A. area Burrito Circuit band named Chico. They've recorded this tune, every band I've played with has used that version, and that version gets everyone on the dance floor.

I know this is a party band thread, but I would rather pluck nostril hair any day over playing "Volver, Volver". The only thing good about that song is you can really screw that song up, not know the changes, have everyone sing along (or better yet, a sloppy drunk that cannot sing take the mic), and women, albeit huge women, will throw their panties at you. Nothing like watching a parachute flying through the air and landing on your mic stand!

Friday nights are best. To paraphrase Cub Koda from Brownsville Station: "Everyone has gotten paid and they're all looking to get laid. Any band that can't go over on a Friday night should be shot!"

 

[Ben Esparza]

Here's another one that goes over with the older crowd that wants to dance.

 

[richntiff]

Played a gig last night at Tera Femara in Stuart FL with Ashleigh. You need a strong front person and the right sets. Her boyfriend Connor plays lead and we had a solid sub drummer. The audience loved us and danced up a storm. We played the gamut of Sugar Ray, Sublime,The Cardigans, Daft Punk-Up all night , Pink Floyd-Another Brick in the Wall and even played Shakedown Street by the Dead. So a party band in my estimate needs a great front person and a solid band with the song choices that gets the audience up on their feet.

That girl could sing the dictionary and have a crowd.

 

[richntiff]

A party band plays rock/pop/funk/hip hop/country from the 80's to current. Could even throw in a couple cheesy yacht rock type tunes. Must play Sweet Caroline and some Shania Twain. Some Dua Lipa as well. All up tempo, hit songs that are dance/sing along. Song mashups, virtually no down time between songs. There is no southern rock. There is no blues. If you play ZZ Top or Skynrd, you can watch the crowd literally fleeing. There is no metal (unless you count Sweet Child O Mine and etc). They are there to entertain. They are the band winning with the 20-40 something girl gangs drinking Truly and White Claw while dancing with their eyes closed and hands up in the air.

In short - my ideal band . I hope to find/create one of these locally some day.....

 

[Freekmagnet]

I would rather pluck nostril hair any day over playing "Volver, Volver".

See, I actually don't mind playing Volver, Volver so much. We do the Los Lobos version, and it's basically just an old blues pattern in Spanish. Since it's one of our New Year's songs, the crowd is usually pretty drunk at that point, everyone sings along and tries out their best grito.

"Juana La Cubana" is a real crowd pleaser.

Juana la Cubana definitely gets everyone on the floor. My only beef with that song is that cumbía itself is a vast nebula of material with varying degrees of hipness and hokeyness, and we've just been stuck with playing the same handful of songs since I joined the band.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Huh... And to think all this time I thought a party band was a group of career drunks who were funny as hell and could play with top musicianship while totally inebriated (or stoned).

It's a bit more subtle. You want to look like a group of career drunks*. Watch our drummer screw up the ending of Love Shack, claiming the crowd response was too sloppy for him. BL going "This is a sh*t show!" and calling to shut off his mic. Totally unrehearsed! And in the end, it all works out, crowd is loving it.


*NRBQ made a career out of this.

 

[51PRI]

Yeah we do that one on New Years. Thankfully, our female singer doesn’t sing in Spanish, otherwise we’d be doing Sabor a Mi as well. The one we can’t seem to escape is Suavecito. The way people act, you’d think it was the most important composition of the twentieth century.

I love 'Suavecito."

 

[jerry]

It's a bit more subtle. You want to look like a group of career drunks*. Watch our drummer screw up the ending of Love Shack, claiming the crowd response was too sloppy for him. BL going "This is a sh*t show!" and calling to shut off his mic. Totally unrehearsed! And in the end, it all works out, crowd is loving it.


*NRBQ made a career out of this.

I dig your drummer!

 

[Bunk McNulty]

I dig your drummer!

There is only one Drummy. My BL has been known to look around on stage and say "OK, who's in charge of Drummy tonight?" It is usually me.

 

[BostonBassPlayer]

I'm so glad you asked that question, 51PRI. My name is Candido Bretto, and I’ve been a bass player since 1971. I attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for five semesters starting in 1975, where I was part of the work-study program. Working at the Mass Ave Front Desk, I met some incredible musicians while signing students into practice rooms alongside a redhead named Christy.

In 1978, I began gigging all over New England. The money was tight—just enough to scrape by. But the band was tight too. We lived together, rehearsed constantly, and enjoyed life on the road. Eventually, our keyboard player said, “I can’t keep doing this unless we make more money. The only way is to play private parties, weddings, and corporate events.”

So, in 1984, we became a "party band," and it changed my life. We started earning enough to upgrade our lifestyles. I bought a nice car, and eventually, a house where I built my own recording studio—something I’d always dreamed of.

To me, being in a party band was a way to improve my quality of life as a musician, and it worked.

Now, at 67, I’m still playing weddings with incredible talent, including Michelle Brooks-Thompson, a finalist on NBC’s The Voice. This year, she’s been nominated for a Grammy in the Blues category for her work on Antonio Vergara’s album The Fury. Michelle is phenomenal!!


Drawing from my experience, I’ve created something new: PartyBands.com. Built by a bass player, for musicians and event planners, it’s my way of helping others achieve the American Dream through live music. It’s a work in progress, and I’d love your input to make it better.

Visit PartyBands.com to learn more about what a party band can be, and feel free to reach out with your advice. Together, we can empower musicians to thrive.

 

[pepj]

Yeah pretty much this. My band is pretty close to this. We dont do "top 40" exclusively, but we get people up dancing most of the night and engage the audience alot so id say we are a "party band". Having played in classic rock covers and original bands, it is WAY more fun to have people up and dancing then roar when the song ends than getting the golf clap from 4 people.

If a band gig experience is typically the golf clap then the band should take the hint and give it up...

 

[DrBnz]

Play music that women will dance to. Encourage heavy drinking (of the audience, not the band members). Get louder and louder as the night progresses. About 1 am you have to start playing more drunk songs.... So Skynard.... Once everybody is too drunk or tired to dance you can play some old school rock. They'll love it...... Poof.... you're a party band.