Wedding Gigs

Yes. My cover band played for the wedding of someone from Scotland and a local Chinese Mauritian girl. So the five star hotel reception hall was filled half with men in kilts and half traditional chinese families.

We played songs like "smells like teen spirit" or "a tout le monde" (Megadeth) and the Scotish, and some of the younger Chinese, handbanged like crazy.

True story, I swear :cool: :lol: in fact I have some pics of the groom in kilt along with our bass player
 
Oh man that is about right. No band would ever play a wedding if they didn't pay so damn good.
 
Last wedding gig my old band did, we were waiting to play after the speech's finished. The groom
who had been totally silent to everyone's worry stood up asked for a mic' and then thanked everybody for coming to the Farce' ? but most of all the best man who he was told (by a well wisher) had been screwing the bride for over a year :shock: including two nights before the wedding, he then decked' the best/worst man with a rocky' style punch :evil: , threw his new ring down and walked out. After that the gig went downhill :lol: so we packed up, had a good
bash at the food and went home. GOT PAID THOUGH :D
 
That was fabulous!!

I have only played two weddings, both with my own band doing a short set of my music and they where fun and we where treated great. I have also been that guy (cousin/friend) that the bride or groom interrupts the band and request that I (their friend/cousin) sit in with the band. every time there where lots of snickering, grunts and smirks until we started playing. and I never took lessons in the 5th grade. :)

Oh... I hate wedding planners. especially the one my wife hired for ours!!

:)
 
Dear Bandleader:

We look forward to your performance at our daughter's wedding. If you
don't mind, we would like to request a few of our favorite songs.
Please play these during the reception:
A Keith Jarret composition from his solo series. Please arrange it
for full ensemble in the key of B but nothing in 4/4 please.
Mahavishnu Orchestra, "Dance of the Maya" and please have the
guitarist play John McLaughlin's solo from the live performance Nov.
16, 1972 at Chrysler Arena. My wife and I were at that show and we
liked his use of polyrhythms.
One of John Coltrane's duets with Pharaoh Sanders. Our guests love
high register tenor saxes.
We thought a little Stravinsky right after the toast would be nice.
So, please play "The Rite of Spring". We like a tempo of about 1/4
note=93 and transpose it down 3 half steps - it will be so much more
appropriate for this occasion in the slightly lower register.
Then for the candle lighting ceremony, please play Frank Zappa's "The
Grand Wazoo". The original key of B flat, would be fine but my cousin
Jeannie would like to sing the baritone sax solo in the key of D - she
has kind of a high voice.
When my new son-in-law takes off the garter, please just a little of
Varese's "Ionization". It's such a funny piece, we think it would go
over real well. Much better than the "The Stripper".
And for the bride and groom's first dance, please slow things down a
bit by doing Barber's "Adagio for strings". It's so much better than
"We've only just begun" or the "Anniversary Waltz".When my wife and I
join in the first dance, could you segue to Thelonius Monk's "Ruby, My
Dear" it's in honor of my wife's grandmother whose name was Ruby, It
would mean so much to the family.
Thanks for all your help. Depending on the outcome, we'll certainly
be happy to recommend your band to our friends.
We'll have your check for the fee of $250.00 (minus our expenses in
contacting you of $12.50) by the end of next month; we're a little
short, as the young lady doing the balloon arch wanted her $1,850 in
advance and the DJ had to be paid up front his $2,500 as normal.
Our daughter assured us that your love of music was greater than your
need for money, and that you would welcome the EXPOSURE you would get
from playing this wedding.

Before you leave, please feel free to ask the caterer for a snack
sandwich and a soda (the bottles are returnable or you can pay the
deposit to the butler). Oh, and please use the back entrance to avoid
disturbing the guests
Sincerely yours,

Alice Rockefeller Gates
 
Jay Mitchell said:
Dear Bandleader:

We look forward to your performance at our daughter's wedding. If you
don't mind, we would like to request a few of our favorite songs.
Please play these during the reception:
A Keith Jarret composition from his solo series. Please arrange it
for full ensemble in the key of B but nothing in 4/4 please.
Mahavishnu Orchestra, "Dance of the Maya" and please have the
guitarist play John McLaughlin's solo from the live performance Nov.
16, 1972 at Chrysler Arena. My wife and I were at that show and we
liked his use of polyrhythms.
One of John Coltrane's duets with Pharaoh Sanders. Our guests love
high register tenor saxes.
We thought a little Stravinsky right after the toast would be nice.
So, please play "The Rite of Spring". We like a tempo of about 1/4
note=93 and transpose it down 3 half steps - it will be so much more
appropriate for this occasion in the slightly lower register.
Then for the candle lighting ceremony, please play Frank Zappa's "The
Grand Wazoo". The original key of B flat, would be fine but my cousin
Jeannie would like to sing the baritone sax solo in the key of D - she
has kind of a high voice.
When my new son-in-law takes off the garter, please just a little of
Varese's "Ionization". It's such a funny piece, we think it would go
over real well. Much better than the "The Stripper".
And for the bride and groom's first dance, please slow things down a
bit by doing Barber's "Adagio for strings". It's so much better than
"We've only just begun" or the "Anniversary Waltz".When my wife and I
join in the first dance, could you segue to Thelonius Monk's "Ruby, My
Dear" it's in honor of my wife's grandmother whose name was Ruby, It
would mean so much to the family.
Thanks for all your help. Depending on the outcome, we'll certainly
be happy to recommend your band to our friends.
We'll have your check for the fee of $250.00 (minus our expenses in
contacting you of $12.50) by the end of next month; we're a little
short, as the young lady doing the balloon arch wanted her $1,850 in
advance and the DJ had to be paid up front his $2,500 as normal.
Our daughter assured us that your love of music was greater than your
need for money, and that you would welcome the EXPOSURE you would get
from playing this wedding.

Before you leave, please feel free to ask the caterer for a snack
sandwich and a soda (the bottles are returnable or you can pay the
deposit to the butler). Oh, and please use the back entrance to avoid
disturbing the guests
Sincerely yours,

Alice Rockefeller Gates


:shock: WHAT? NO HI-HO SILVER LINING ! morons :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I've lost count of the number of wedding gigs I've done.
They have covered the whole spectrum of playing on the porch of a double-wide (in 20 knot wind) to an airport hanger to Wedding Chapels and hotels.

Unfortunately, none of the following is funny, and makes one wonder what kind of masochist one must be to put up with this stuff to play some music ~~ :roll:

Hotels have generally been the hardest as you get routed from the wedding planner to the hotel "contact". They have all sorts of rule about how you have to load in, when you need to be there, what time you should be out and invariably the banquet rooms are NOT on the ground floor, so freight elevators are used.
Did one in January that was in the "club" on the 9th (top) floor. Only ONE service elevator, shared by wait, kitchen and maintenance staff.. and US !! Main dock doors were secured, but they wouldn't have someone "watch the door" while we made multiple load-in trips. So for each trip we had to go "around". 400yds to main front entrance, then same distance back to loading dock (thru the building) to open the door from the inside.
Another had the ballroom on the 5th floor of a hotel. When we got done, we couldn't figure out why the elevator was so-o-o slow. Finally figured out that catering's dishwashing area was on the 3rd floor right next to the elevator, and the staff was pulling the stop button when they got there - so tjhey could get done and leave quicker.
Another refused to let us set up our sound desk at FOH. Square box stage 20 x 20 feet, access doors in rear, 8-piece band and they want us to run sound from side of stage. There was simply no room - even if it was logistically possible. To do that, my keys player would have to have been stacked on top of the bass player (or was that vice versa?). They venue would not budge from their stance and didn't want us to contact the bride/groom as it was "against their policy"!! Luckily the groom used to be in a band and had no problem with us setting up out front with a small footprint after being contacted. LOL - maybe that's why we haven't been invite d back to that venue :D

The list of stories goes on and on !!
 
You forget the best part about playing in the big hotels... "eau de loading dock". There's nothing like the beautiful perfume of a hotel loading dock to clear the senses.
 
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