function band, pros and cons

[nomis]

recently I have been doing the odd bit of session work here and there because i dont get to play that often, it pays pretty good but there is no banter!

really want to ask a few mates if they want to start a function band just to get some money comming in and have fun while we do it.

think its worth it or will it be more time consuming than its worth?

[Bilbo]

Its a great way of making money, having a laugh and will suck the life out of you

Don't listen to me. I talk sh*t

[lemmywinks]

There's loads of fun to be had, especially if you're all mates. I used to prefer gigging to going out to the pub, it's a different party in a different venue every night!

Bear in mind that it's quite a big financial outlay and you may need to have very understanding bosses at whatever day jobs you do.
If you don't already have it you'll need a full band PA with lights, somewhere to keep it and something to drive it (and you!) about in.

But yeah, get the right balance and it's a pretty cool situation to be in, just don't let it strain friendships for whatever reason.

[JPS]

Pros
Can be quite good money (although you have to take into account all the prep etc involved).
Might improve you as a player.
Can get to play some nice/interesting venues.
Playing to a lively crowd is a good buzz
Satisfaction of a job well done etc.
Excuse to buy more gear.
Time away from family.

Cons
Can very long days/hours.
Having to play songs you detest.
Having to play songs you love and realising after a while that you now detest them as well.
Time away from family.
Boorish drunks and overly demanding bridezillas.
Lots of waiting around.
Lots of preparation and organising pre-gig.
Realising that it's a Saturday night and there's lots of things you'd rather be doing.


I did it for five years, largely enjoyable, some real highs, but ultimately became utterly jaded and bored by it to the extent where I rarely play bass anymore, have no desire to join another band etc. On the bright side I now enjoy listening to music a lot more than I have done for years.

[nomis]

any recomendations/advice for getting a set list together?

[Dave Vader]

[quote name='JPS' post='1237026' date='May 19 2011, 04:02 PM']Pros
Can be quite good money (although you have to take into account all the prep etc involved).
Might improve you as a player.
Can get to play some nice/interesting venues.
Playing to a lively crowd is a good buzz
Satisfaction of a job well done etc.
Excuse to buy more gear.
Time away from family.

Cons
Can very long days/hours.
Having to play songs you detest.
Having to play songs you love and realising after a while that you now detest them as well.
Time away from family.
Boorish drunks and overly demanding bridezillas.
Lots of waiting around.
Lots of preparation and organising pre-gig.
Realising that it's a Saturday night and there's lots of things you'd rather be doing.


I did it for five years, largely enjoyable, some real highs, but ultimately became utterly jaded and bored by it to the extent where I rarely play bass anymore, have no desire to join another band etc. On the bright side I now enjoy listening to music a lot more than I have done for years.[/quote]


This. He speaks the truth, I've been doing it for 2 years now, and am utterly sick of it, and sit in silence whenever possible now, rather than having to hear music all the time.

Some days it's a laugh though. It doesn't help that I'm doing an exclusively 80s function band, and I hated the 80s when I was there. They have not got better with age.

[risingson]

Pros:
Good money
Flexible hours (you're working for yourself)
Good fun
Get to see the world if you're clever enough about booking gigs
Good experience playing live music
Working through agencies can be a good thing for regular work (not all the time though)


Cons:
You might end up feeling like you're wasting your time playing over people's music. In fact I guarantee you'll have nights like it.
If the crowd or venue is inhospitable or indifferent to your music you're likely to suffer a bad night
Can be sporadic dates, especially in Jan/Feb when not a lot happens
Waiting around (although whether you're a pro musician or not this will never change)
You need to be able to keep your cool in every situation
People will try and mess you round with money.
In my opinion, a suitable stop gap to make sure you've got money coming in but not a full time vocation.


The best piece of advice for you: sort out a contract that outlines pay, stage, space and P.A. requirements/soundmen for larger venues, catering (within reason, i.e. whether or not you'll require food, soft drinks), whether or not you're happy to play at venues with sound limiters, expenses for petrol and travel costs, accommodation, damage liability, etc.

Edited May 19, 2011 by risingson

[4000]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1237005' date='May 19 2011, 03:44 PM']Its a great way of making money, having a laugh and will suck the life out of you

Don't listen to me. I talk sh*t [/quote]

I'm with you all the way on this one. But then I talk sh*t too.

[witterth]

Pro: good money
con: not much fun involved

play the same set in a pub and hey presto fun again.
weird world isnt it?

[Doddy]

[quote name='witterth' post='1237096' date='May 19 2011, 04:54 PM']Pro: good money
con: not much fun involved

play the same set in a pub and hey presto fun again.
weird world isnt it?[/quote]

I have much more fun playing at a function than playing in a pub-Having said that I've only done 3 or 4
pub gigs in the last two and a half years.

The thing with function work is you need to have your sh*t together. I'm not talking about playing,although that
is important-I'm talking about all the other stuff like arriving long before you play and leaving well after you finish,
dealing with people,attitude,image...all that kind of stuff.

[crez5150]

Don't do it.... it's a complete waste of your time..... honest.... I really wouldn't bother if I were you.












...that's another one out the way....

[lojo]

Obviously the fees vary depending on the band and the level you are pitching at, but fees aside ....

Pros

Can be a real laugh

Often there is some nice food, even if its not part of the deal, kitchen staff are usually friendly

Cons

Once you have committed its a serious commitment, pulling out of a pub gig due is one thing (not that I do that), but a function is either a business who expect or an event that means the world to those at the centre of it, so if you have the lurgy and cant stand up or something happens in the family, you have to do it

We tried to get something going where every instrument is doubled up, but this has proved difficult


Edit. Oh and you get to play all of Bilbos favs

Edited May 19, 2011 by lojo

[witterth]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1237167' date='May 19 2011, 05:51 PM']I have much more fun playing at a function than playing in a pub-Having said that I've only done 3 or 4
pub gigs in the last two and a half years.

The thing with function work is you need to have your sh*t together. I'm not talking about playing,although that
is important-I'm talking about all the other stuff like arriving long before you play and leaving well after you finish,
dealing with people,attitude,image...all that kind of stuff.[/quote]
What makes you think my (informed opinion) means I havent "got my sh*t together?"
Daddio? dig? Sheeeeyit man!
agreed on all the cons you list though Mr Dod
I find Function gig audiences to be cold and unintested, corporate/weddings have "in gags" that only employees find a source of "humour" in, sliding children, "its too loud" grannies/uncles& aunts no matter what you do, set up on postage stamp despite what has been arranged months in advance, surly caterers who ask if your "staff?" rudely,Tune requests as bizzare as "sommat by focus" "Bon Jovi" (one for jazz trios) "come on Eileen" or "Tracy Chapman" when everyones dancing and resultant, sulk, when told,err.. no, " can the best man play/drums/bass/guitar/keyboards? at 00:00hrs when hammered ( ok on occasiaon when arranged for 19:00 in advance it may be ok but that my boils my pi$$ that does) but no err..NO also (Ive not finished) having to listen to "Thats the best/worst band Ive heard in years by "good laugh" Barry who used to play with "loads of bands back in the day", and procedes to give you give you lots of "advice", generally containing a story about being wasted with some "known celeb muso" that you may have allready read about in "Q" or "word" magazine, happening to another reader.
some of the BEST stand ups or named comedians and tribute bands have died on thier asses at function/ corporate gigs.
gimme a sweaty good laugh pub any day
got a wedding on saturday....
note in Diary simply says ....
"Bugger"

Edited May 19, 2011 by witterth

[JTUK]

It is relatively easy to get £1000 for a function with little or no work or outlay...you just need to be in that network of people who pick up those gigs and you need to be able to deliver
once you get them.
But that isn't a plan as such, but then you haven't worked at it, you are just picking off a few morsels here and there.
If you want a regular income and for it to form the backbone of your wages week in, week out, that is another thing.

If you want to or have to travel 300 miles to and from a gig, then you'll have to put the time in..if you just want the bonus work now and again
you can just lets these things happen

I think by and large, you get work from work ... pub dates can lead to functions but a party here and there or a wedding, if you want £1600-2000 that takes a LOT of time and effort and thinking.

It does, of course, depend what network you are plugged into as well.
a friends band..who aren't frankly that good, get offers to go all over..Kenya, Austria etc etc i the last year, and that is all down to who you know..

[Doddy]

[quote name='witterth' post='1237329' date='May 19 2011, 07:52 PM']What makes you think my (informed opinion) means I havent "got my sh*t together?"
Daddio? dig? Sheeeeyit man! [/quote]

I didn't say you hadn't. I made a general comment.
There are a lot of 'pub bands' that do the odd wedding gig and,frankly,are not right for it. They treat it the same as a pub gig,
and it's not-it's a completely different situation.

The other stuff I mentioned weren't really cons,except the waiting around for hours after you play.

[witterth]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1237351' date='May 19 2011, 08:12 PM']I didn't say you hadn't. I made a general comment.
There are a lot of 'pub bands' that do the odd wedding gig and,frankly,are not right for it. They treat it the same as a pub gig,
and it's not-it's a completely different situation.

The other stuff I mentioned weren't really cons,except the waiting around for hours after you play.[/quote]
Agreed
I find most wedding gigs "odd" in some way!!
my point was if you're a good covers & function band(doing covers) the odd pub gig is an absolute blast!! and restores your enthusiasim
you can leave the "dinner/buffet/suit/ set at the door.
also I'd say I'd agree that very often people will book a pure "pub" band, that the've enjoyed elsewhere and not undersand how it wont work at a wedding/corporate function.
Pub bands are ace and the most fun for playing covers (the Law 1981/to present)

[teej]

On the whole I agree with Doddy, I frequently enjoy functions more than pub gigs: we get well paid, well treated, and have a great laugh. And we don't play any material we don't like. We only do a handful of pub gigs, and they're more for the fans than for us.

I think it's important to remember that there's more than one way to skin a cat, and we're probably not what people think of when the term 'function band' is used.

All our work comes to us, from people who see us performing a mix of material from the '30s-'50s - up-tempo blues, rhythm&blues and rockabilly - in some busy town centre on a Saturday (and buy a cd/pick up a business card). That's what they get when they book us. And they book us because that's what they want. The very fact that they've approached us shows that they're not looking for the soul revue/disco or pop/rock covers outfit that most likely forms the general impression of what a function band is.

I suspect that may well be one reason why we don't get the kind of nightmare clients that get written about in threads like these.

We're busy too, often playing 2 weddings on the same day. All three of us are professionals paying mortgages and supporting families through music, and so far we're busier year on year, so this is an approach that works, at least for us.

It's a subject for another thread really, but there are a whole wealth of benefits from the discipline of successful street performance.

[bassfunk]

I've done it fairly recently. I studied music and a few of us got together to start a function band. We had some line-up changes and people going travelling/moving away after we graduated so it took a bit of time.

Apart from paying for rehearsals and buying instruments (which we already had) we haven't really had too much of a financial outlay. We hire in PA and lights at a fairly cheap price, a friend did our photos, another built the website, I work buying print so I got free business cards.

It's been a bit of hard slog at times but it's starting to come together now. The work is trickling in, but as people hear have mentioned word of mouth is the way to get gigs, so just get out there and play. I really enjoy functions, I like my band mates and I enjoy the challenge of playing stuff I wouldn't play if I was in a pub rock band.

I would say though that somebody has to be in charge, both on stage and off. I take all the bookings, meet with the clients, sort out the deposits/contracts and logistics. On stage I call I drop tunes and add them in to the set on the fly if I think the crowd will be more receptive to them. It's hard work but it's worth it when a couple or guests at a function tell you how much they love the band etc.

Cheers

Pete

[LawrenceH]

Out moonlighting as a sound engineer I've got to say I've seen good, versatile functions bands die on their arses just because the audience aren't up for it. It's amazing how far from appropriate some bookings will be.

[pete.young]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1237448' date='May 19 2011, 09:27 PM']Out moonlighting as a sound engineer I've got to say I've seen good, versatile functions bands die on their arses just because the audience aren't up for it.[/quote]

I think it's important not to rely on the audience reaction for job satisfaction. Some gigs work amazingly well, and some gigs you have to feed off one another for your own enjoyment.

[crez5150]

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1237448' date='May 19 2011, 09:27 PM']Out moonlighting as a sound engineer I've got to say I've seen good, versatile functions bands die on their arses just because the audience aren't up for it. It's amazing how far from appropriate some bookings will be.[/quote]

You cannot control the audience. As I've harped on about in countless similar threads, Wedding/Function market is a very different gig. You have to put yourself out there as an entertainment supplier rather than a band. It's a different mentality altogether.

The worst/best scenarios are when you play these functions where the bar is in a completely separate room to where the Band/DJ are performing. This happens a lot and does make me wonder if the planners think about this at all.

I think overall it really depends on where you want to pitch yourself in the market place. There are great bands that go out for little money and 'bands' that go out for big wedge.

One 'band' that I really admire is the Bogus Brothers, not a band in the traditional sense but they put on shows which are very cheesy but their work roster is quite enviable. You should check them out, they have their sh*t together.

[Rich]

[quote name='crez5150' post='1237697' date='May 20 2011, 08:09 AM']The worst/best scenarios are when you play these functions where the bar is in a completely separate room to where the Band/DJ are performing. This happens a lot and does make me wonder if the planners think about this at all.[/quote]
We played a corporate at the Hilton in Brighton that was like this. It was for a financial institution who will remain nameless, but let's call them 'Boil Skank of Rotland'. Anyway, by the time we went on all the little bankers had been glued to their seats for hours sitting through the dinner and the speeches and the award ceremonies, and all they wanted was to hit the bar. In the other room. We ended up playing to 20 people, 10 of whom were band members' partners. Ah well. They paid us big wedge and put us up in the hotel, so while we were playing I just kept telling myself, "It's a paid rehearsal and a free weekend away, a paid rehearsal and a free weekend away...".

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='crez5150' post='1237697' date='May 20 2011, 08:09 AM']One 'band' that I really admire is the Bogus Brothers, not a band in the traditional sense but they put on shows which are very cheesy but their work roster is quite enviable. You should check them out, they have their sh*t together.[/quote]

Oh yeah! Just checked out their promo video. They know how to work the crowd

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Mustang Sally

[whynot]

[quote name='crez5150' post='1237697' date='May 20 2011, 08:09 AM']Bogus Brothers.[/quote]
Brilliant.
They were on the same bill as us at the Grosvenor a couple of years back. Had the audience captivated for an hour.