Bluewine Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 What do you guys think about private event gigs? I'm hot and cold on them. Our regular bar gigs are bars that feature live bands every week. The people come there to see live bands their favorite local and regional bands. Private events are different, they can be hit or miss for us. Many times were hired by someone who was really turned on by our bar show. Our hard rock and blues bar show does not always tranlate to the ' private event". Many times your playing to and uninformed crowd that hasn't seen a live band in years. Many are there for food and conversation and can be annoyed by any type of live music. On the plus side you can name your price because there is usually a generous budget and you can quadruple your normal bar fee. Let's Talk About It. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 How much!? Of course I will play in your party. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 You often get great food too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 The tips can be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) 5 minutes ago, bassace said: The tips can be good. Interesting comment as you guys look at tips a little different in the UK then we do in the States. We love tips and we have a tip jar out at every bar gig. Tips on a good night can be an extra $25.00 per man. However we absolutely will not put a tip jar out at a private event. We're already being paid a premium rate. Plus were not going to hold up their guests for extra money. Make sense? Blue Edited January 15, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Good ethic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 12 minutes ago, Bluewine said: Interesting comment as you guys look at tips a little different in the UK then we do in the States. We love tips and we have a tip jar out at every bar gig. Tips on a good night can be an extra $25.00 per man. However we absolutely will not put a tip jar out at a private event. We're already being paid a premium rate. Plus were not going to hold up their guests for extra money. Make sense? Blue No, I wasn’t referring to a tip jar which I consider a bit tacky both at private and public gigs. Thing is, a lot of private work comes through agencies so the host doesn’t often get a chance to pay the band at the end. So he shows his appreciation in a tip, often £5-£10 per man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 (edited) I wonder how the folks that hire a live band band feel when they realize their guests don't share the same enthusiasm and appreciation for the band as they do. I guess it's similar to the bar or pub owner that out of nowhere wants Timo try a swing at bringing be in live bands not realizing the work and time involved in being known as a music venue. In some cases live bands alienate the existing clientel. Blue Edited January 15, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 3 minutes ago, bassace said: No, I wasn’t referring to a tip jar which I consider a bit tacky both at private and public gigs. See, there's that cultural difference. You will not find one bar band performing in Milwaukee without a tip jar out. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 13 hours ago, bassace said: Thing is, a lot of private work comes through agencies so the host doesn’t often get a chance to pay the band at the end. So he shows his appreciation in a tip, often £5-£10 per man. And the other factor is when you're playing a party of some sort and it's time to stop - sometimes one of the whizzed punters will offer you £100 on the spot if you keep going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 13 hours ago, Bluewine said: See, there's that cultural difference. You will not find one bar band performing in Milwaukee without a tip jar out. Blue Yup - wouldn't work at all in London. The punters would genuinely not know what the jar was for. If you told them, most would be shocked - that's just not how we do things over here. Worst of all, any Brit facing the prospect of leaving a tip - especially in a highly visible way in front of all the other punters - goes into a state of catatonic shock. Even if you want to tip someone, most find it an embarrassment and a struggle. There's a reason that most American waitresses think the Brits are unbelievably mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDaveTheBass Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 14 hours ago, MoonBassAlpha said: You often get great food too! The catering is usually a big plus! I played two private gigs in December - one we got fed at, the other we didn't. At one gig we had a really lively and receptive audience, while the other one was a bit 'meh'. As you say Blue, private gigs can be hit or miss. The only common downside for both gigs was having to set up early and then hang around for ages before playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I'll happily play private parties, weddings, corporate etc. Why not? If you're in a cover band you can make these gigs work. Other styles I'm not so sure! We have played when it was obvious that it was a bad idea from the start. Band not needed or wanted by the party guests. A square peg in a round hole is never going to have a good outcome so you have to be realistic about your suitability before you take the gig. Once when it didn't work. . . . I was in a Chicago blues band that got booked for a wedding! I didn't think we were appropriate but the brides dad insisted we were. Well, I was right. We played to an empty room and the wedding reception effectively took place in the car park! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 I've done private functions for years in my previous band, some amazing and some quite underwhelming. What you need to remember is nobody has come just to see you, they are there for the event and the socializing. We used to find it rewarding when a corporate / professional kind of do which looked like it would be full of people not listening turned into a jolly event with a full dance floor. With my ELO tribute band we occasionally get asked to do private events, usually because the guy booking the entertainment is a massive ELO fan and doesn't understand that most of his audience won't be. At one such event we were asked by the punters to play Mustang Sally / Brown Eyed Girl etc and they didn't get why we didn't do them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 10 minutes ago, casapete said: What you need to remember is nobody has come just to see you Exactly. We did a wedding and were totally ignored in the first set. The singer was really cross, "The audience just isn't interested!" I had to slowly explain that they were not an audience, but wedding guests and that our second set had better be more appropriate. We played covers for the rest of the gig and managed to rescue the evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 17 minutes ago, casapete said: I've done private functions for years in my previous band, some amazing and some quite underwhelming. What you need to remember is nobody has come just to see you, they are there for the event and the socializing. We used to find it rewarding when a corporate / professional kind of do which looked like it would be full of people not listening turned into a jolly event with a full dance floor. With my ELO tribute band we occasionally get asked to do private events, usually because the guy booking the entertainment is a massive ELO fan and doesn't understand that most of his audience won't be. At one such event we were asked by the punters to play Mustang Sally / Brown Eyed Girl etc and they didn't get why we didn't do them The cellist didn't have the dots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 9 minutes ago, Steve Browning said: The cellist didn't have the dots? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Happy Jack said: Yup - wouldn't work at all in London. The punters would genuinely not know what the jar was for. If you told them, most would be shocked - that's just not how we do things over here. Worst of all, any Brit facing the prospect of leaving a tip - especially in a highly visible way in front of all the other punters - goes into a state of catatonic shock. Even if you want to tip someone, most find it an embarrassment and a struggle. There's a reason that most American waitresses think the Brits are unbelievably mean. Yeah completely different over here. I recently found out from a woman whose daughter cuts hair if a guy gets a $14 00 haircut they get angry if you tip less than $5.00. Say your shopping and you buy a big flat screen TV and an employee from the store helps you get the TV into your car, they expect to be tipped. I was in NYC a long time ago and remember seeing a cab driver get out of his cab after he had let his passenger out. And threw a coin at him and said " keep your flipping quarter". So yeah tipping is no joke over here. Our tip jar is always on the merch table. When a gig is hot it's not unusual to see people dropping 5s, 10s, even 20s into the tip jar. Punters will at some gigs pick up the tip jar and pass it around the room. Now these are bar gigs, at private events we do not employ the tip jar. Once a couple cane in and tipped everybody in the band including our sound tech $100.00 a piece. Here's the real kicker, a few months later they came to another gig and did the same thing. I wonder how we became a society where tipping is expected for so many services. And why it's frowned on in the UK? Blue Edited January 16, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 42 minutes ago, chris_b said: Exactly. We did a wedding and were totally ignored in the first set. The singer was really cross, "The audience just isn't interested!" I had to slowly explain that they were not an audience, but wedding guests and that our second set had better be more appropriate. We played covers for the rest of the gig and managed to rescue the evening. I'd venture to say in the States bands at weddings are slowly becoming a thing of the past. DJs are more effective IMO and cheaper. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, chris_b said: I'll happily play private parties, weddings, corporate etc. Why not? If you're in a cover band you can make these gigs work. Other styles I'm not so sure! We have played when it was obvious that it was a bad idea from the start. Band not needed or wanted by the party guests. A square peg in a round hole is never going to have a good outcome so you have to be realistic about your suitability before you take the gig. Once when it didn't work. . . . I was in a Chicago blues band that got booked for a wedding! I didn't think we were appropriate but the brides dad insisted we were. Well, I was right. We played to an empty room and the wedding reception effectively took place in the car park! It's amazing how a fan of a band doesn't get that there's a high probability their guests will not share their appreciation. And we have tried to educate some of these folks their guests are probably more interested in the food and socializing And while we know how these events can be a disaster it's hard to turn down the money. Blue Edited January 16, 2018 by Bluewine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 5 hours ago, Bluewine said: I wonder how we became a society where tipping is expected for so many services. And why it's frowned on in the UK? Big subject. My take is that there were two factors in play. 1. The USA has always been a meritocracy - people expect to be rewarded according to their performance. The UK has long been an entitlement culture - people expect to be rewarded regardless of their actual contribution. 2. The UK's famous obsession with class, and the associated snobbery, mean that there's no culture of service here - that's something that menial, inferior people do, dontcherknow. The USA took loads of immigrants from countries where providing a good service was seen as an honourable profession (Italy springs to mind) and so feels that good service should be rewarded. Of course the flip side to all this is that bar staff and (I assume) bands get paid little or nothing because they're expected to get their money in tips ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 22 hours ago, owen said: How much!? Of course I will play in your party. Nailed in the first response. Well done, sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 28 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: Big subject. My take is that there were two factors in play. 1. The USA has always been a meritocracy - people expect to be rewarded according to their performance. The UK has long been an entitlement culture - people expect to be rewarded regardless of their actual contribution. 2. The UK's famous obsession with class, and the associated snobbery, mean that there's no culture of service here - that's something that menial, inferior people do, dontcherknow. The USA took loads of immigrants from countries where providing a good service was seen as an honourable profession (Italy springs to mind) and so feels that good service should be rewarded. Of course the flip side to all this is that bar staff and (I assume) bands get paid little or nothing because they're expected to get their money in tips ... Nice! Interesting, I go to Starbucks everyday and the tip jar at the point of sale is always full. Huge tip culture at Starbucks. They teach those young ladies to be so nice to you, you feel guilty if you don't tip. Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 You get asked to play and get well paid. The food and drink is usually free. I love them. The audience may not love what you play but the people who are paying would have to take any flack for liking and booking the band. Whats not to like? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluewine Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 46 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: USA took loads of immigrants from countries where providing a good service was seen as an honourable profession (Italy springs to mind) and so feels that good service should be rewarded. Does this make any sense. A buddy of mine to me the history of tipping in the USA has roots in slavery. Since slaves weren't paid for their labor some people in order seen more enlightened and superior to other would tip slaves. Is that possible, seems highly unlikely to me Blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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