Archive for the ‘Tips & Advice’ Category

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FAQ: How long Will My Band Take To Set Up?

Monday, February 27th, 2012

This tends to vary depending on which band you book, but we like to leave 2 hours to set up. We bring along a professional sound man who will usually arrive a little earlier than this whenever he can, but 2 hours is the minimum time we like to leave. This means we have oodles of time for surveying the playing area, setting up, having a good sound-check and dealing with any difficult sounding rooms, and of course tidying up the stage afterwards.

In restricted situations we can often get set up quicker than this, but this is the amount of time we like to leave so we can do the best job possible :)

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FAQs: Can The Band Play Outdoors?

Friday, February 24th, 2012

This is another question we often get asked for Summer gigs (and sometimes winter ones believe it or not!). The answer to this is pretty simple – of course we can! What fun! However we do bring along a LOT of expensive gear and so have to have a few rules in place (get ready for the serious bit):

  • The staging area must be covered and shielded from all elements. This means a covering for the top, and the sides, and with a front ‘flap’ that we can pull down if the rain starts to come down heavy. I know this seems like a bit of a pain, but it can get pretty dangerous with all our electrical equipment and we simply cannot risk it getting rained on.
  • We don’t usually ‘demand’ a stage (we’re no divas, haha), however if the event is outside, we do need to request this. Our musicians use a lot of floor pedals, and if we were playing on a non-raised floor, rain water could wash into the staging area and not only blow up our equipment (meaning we were unable to perform) but also be very dangerous.
  • We would highly recommend using a generator if your event is outside. We’ve played at far too many events where people have tried to cut costs and brought their power from a nearby building, and sadly this tends to lead to a lot of power problems. There’s nothing worse than putting on an awesome party but having all the power cut, so not only are your band unable to play, but any caterers etc will also struggle. This goes for marquee events too!

Please don’t take these rules/regulations as a downer on the idea though – some of the best events we’ve done have been outside. There’s always a fantastic vibe, playing in the great outdoors, and we love it! We just have to be super careful with safety and protecting our equipment.

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FAQ: Should We Choose Our Band’s Setlist?

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

This is a question we get asked all the time, so I thought it might be a handy thing to talk in more detail about.

It’s a tricky one – because I totally understand why you would want to have all your favourite songs played at your wedding or another special event – of course you would! However, there are a few things to consider…

1)      It’s worth listening to the expertise of your band… and keeping in mind that they play at events all the time, so will know how to structure a dynamic set-list. It’s actually quite an art – putting together a good set list – you have to think about many different aspects of the music, and the heights and lows of the evening. There are some songs that will work best in the first set, and some later on. You’ll probably want to start the evening on a high point – but then you don’t want to be ‘too high’ all the way through the evening, or there’ll be nowhere to build to! Similarly, you don’t want to be too ‘low’ either, or it wouldn’t be a very fun party! There’s a lot to think about. You may also find that the band like to Segway songs together, which is fantastic (because they will mix between songs like a DJ would) but does mean you’ll need to leave it to them to decide which songs work together.

2)      Some songs work better than others with a live band… A song that is a complete crowd pleaser for a DJ isn’t necessarily a good live band tune. For example songs that are very electronic may not always work as well with a band.

3)      Do you want to play to your audience’s taste in general, or play to your own tastes?… Again this is a tricky one, and there’s really no right or wrong answer because it’s your wedding! I think usually you can find a nice compromise though.

The best thing to do is get in touch with your band and chat through your favourite songs, and the songs they usually would play that go down well, and put together a setlist using their expertise, alongside your taste and knowledge of what you and your guests may want to hear.

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FAQ: Can I see The Band Live Before I Book?

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

This is a question we get asked a lot! We don’t tend to do a lot of public gigs, because we don’t tend to play in pubs or clubs – more weddings and corporate events. However we do organise regular (3 or so a year) showcase events, usually where we team up with some of our favourite suppliers/venues and show you exactly what we can provide, featuring all our bands/acts/and optional extras. This is not something you will find with many other bands, but we like to make the effort to put on free evening, not just for potential clients but also for our friends, family and past clients to come along and see us (they never get to see what we’re up to otherwise!). It’s always a great night and a fun evening out too – a free event in one of London’s top hotels, with around £20k’s worth of entertainment for your viewing and listening pleasure.

A lot of clients ask why we don’t allow them to come and see us at other weddings or private events. We never really feel comfortable asking our clients this because as far as we’re concerned, when we’re performing at someone’s event, we are 100% there to give them the best evening possible and don’t think it’s fair to have even one ounce of our concentration based on anything else, or anyone else. We also have to keep in mind that it’s their big day, which has had oodles of planning, thought and love put into it, and a lot of people don’t like the idea of strangers coming along, even if it is just to pop their head through the door.

So, generally you won’t be able to see us at another wedding, however we hope you can come along to our next big showcase event instead (dates will be announced on the blog/facebook/twitter), and occasionally our bands will play at charity events or festivals which we will also announce.

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Fantastic Entertainment Packages

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

It’s not been long since we officially launched our ‘MIB Experience’ package, and already we’ve found clients are jumping on the idea of having us organise their whole day & evening’s entertainment. I thought it might be nice to take you through a few options that people have gone for so far… The fact that this idea is completely tailored to exactly what you personally want, seems to be what people are attracted to… (and if you haven’t had a play on the website yet then I highly recommend you do – its very interactive and good fun!)

Wedding – July 2013

We met up with this lovely couple a few weeks ago to come up with some ideas for their big day. The main focus for them was just the fact that they LOVED live music, and wanted it to play a real part in their day. They didn’t particularly want  anything too traditional or typical either – so rather than string quartets, jazz bands and classical singers, they were interested to hear some original ideas.

We’re very excited about the package they’ve gone for – its going to be absolutely unforgettable!

The Schedule

The Ceremony: They decided to go for a singer and acoustic guitarist here, which you don’t see that often in the ceremony but I find is just lovely. It definitely brings a less traditional feel to the ceremony. The duo will learn and perform the song of the couple’s choice – and this can take the place of a reading within the actual service.

The Drinks Reception: Our fabulous ‘buddha bar’ sax set will be played over the drinks reception… this is where our saxophonist will improvise over ibiza style ‘chill-out’ tracks. Its a fantastic alternative to jazz or classical music, and is totally modern and different which is the vibe that this lovely couple wanted to go for.

The Wedding Breakfast: They went for something a bit different here – adding in the Live Loungers to perform beautiful relaxed arrangements of well known pop tunes (Rhianna, Adele, Pixie Lott etc), but also arranging a surprise performance of our ‘Undercover Superstars’, who will be posing as a waiter and two guests throughout the meal, and will then burst into song and shock everyone! Great fun!

The Evening Reception: The MIB 12 piece hits the stage, with a selection of rock, pop, disco and motown hits which will keep everyone dancing til the early hours, and our DJ to fill in the gaps!

What they had to say:

‘Its such a relief to let you guys deal with the whole entertainment package – I had envisioned a complete nightmare trying to co-ordinate everything. Also, thank you so much for your fantastic input…you’ve introduced us to a whole load of  ideas that we didn’t even know existed for weddings!’

Corporate Event – December

These guys were really taken with the 12 piece MIB, and as they are holding a very large event for their christmas party (which has a conference earlier in the day and then the party during the evening), seemed to be keen to have one company who would take charge of all of the entertainment for the whole event.

The client started looking at the experience package options – however also came across our ‘Crazy Xmas Band’ and fell in love with them! So…we swapped into the package the Crazy Xmas band, rather than some of the earlier extra sets.

The Schedule

Drinks Reception: Live Loungers to perform lush background music to set a lovely atmosphere for guests as they chat.

Towards the end of the meal: The Crazy Christmas Band take to the stage, and start with some beautiful background traditional Christmas songs, and then work the guests onto the dancefloor for some festive fun!

Evening Reception: The MIB 12 piece perform 2 x 70mins of high impact party tunes – featuring 4 stunning lead vocalists, a 3 piece brass section, live percussion and a rhythm section that will get everyone throwing shapes on the dancefloor!

What they had to say….

‘We can’t wait to see the 12 piece band…its just going to be a fantastic evening, and the Crazy Christmas band look like such good fun!’

Jewish Wedding 

I love chatting to this couple about their wedding…in fact, its fantastic because their whole family has gotten involved in the planning stage which means we have got to know them all. Each of them has ideas, and the couple are keen to involve their close family members as much as they can with their big day, so we’ve put together a package that has brought in an element of them all! Its been an interesting one to plan, but I must say I think its going to be brilliant!

 

The Schedule

The Ceremony: They wanted to keep a sense of tradition here, so we’ve worked in our String Quartet to the package. They’ll be performing while guests arrive, and at points throughout the ceremony.

The Drinks Reception: This was a much debated topic, but in the end they went for the jazz trio here. The venue is very classic and traditional, and although the couple are relatively young, they’d like to keep a more traditional feel for this early on in the day.

Entrance Music: As the happy couple enter the wedding breakfast, they’d like to have the band play Bruno Mars’s song ‘I think I wanna marry you’.

Jewish Traditional Music: The band will then perform a 15-20minute Jewish medley, guaranteed to get everyone up on the dancefloor and kick off the wedding breakfast in full swing!

The Wedding Breakfast: This is where the whole family agreed perhaps things could get a little less traditional, so they chose to alternate between our buddha bar sax (which is very much a modern option), and a more classic piano and vocal duo. I think the mix of these two styles is going to be brilliant and will really keep the dynamics of the evening flowing brilliantly.

The Evening Reception: Keeping the ‘traditional vs modern’ themeing, the MIB 12 piece band will be joined by our string quartet, making the band into a mind-blowing 16 piece unit! The quartet will join for the party set and its going to be just stunning! Our DJ will be filling in on the band’s breaks and at the end of the night, then going for the club classics that the bride and groom know their friends will love.

What they have to say….

‘We are SO excited about our wedding now! We love the idea of the mix of tradition and a more modern take on things… our families are both relatively traditional and we wanted to encorporate that into our day, but with an essence of what we are personally into, as well as all our friends. Its going to be perfect!’

 

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FAQ of the week: Should the band play my first dance?

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

This is a question that really depends on personal preference to the bride and groom, but here are a few factors to think about:

Its more dynamic for the band to play the first dance

In our experience here at MIB Music, we do find that the first dance is a fantastic opportunity to kick off the dancing/evening reception with a big bang! So…making your first dance as dynamic as possible is a good idea. If you get the band to play your first dance, its always going to have more impact than having the DJ play it, or a CD, and its then a great moment for the band to get straight into the rest of their set afterwards, taking advtantage of everyone being gathered around the dancefloor! (In fact, even if you do choose to have the DJ/recording played, its a good idea to have the band straight on after that anyway!)

 

However, bear in mind it may not sound exactly like the original…

If you’ve chosen a song which is personal to you, chances are you LOVE the original recording – and so, how would you feel about it being sung by a different singer? Also, instrumentally, it won’t sound exactly the same…no matter how great the band are! The recording will probably have multiple instrumental parts, and the band will need to simplify what they are playing in order to make it suitable for a live band.

This is something to also consider if you’ve practiced a choreographed dance and have moves to remember… if you’re waiting for that one cymbal crash or guitar part before you go to your next move, it may be missed out by the band and mean that you get confused in your dance!

Some bands won’t learn a specific first dance song, and you’ll have to choose from their list…

All of our MIB Music bands will learn your first dance song (as long as there’s enough notice and its a ‘band friendly’ tune), however a lot of other bands out there prefer not to, and will give you a list to choose from… In a way this is a good idea because at least you know they will be comfortable with the song, however it does mean you are limited as to what song you can choose.

The general consensus from us….

…is that if you’ve chosen a song that works well with a live band (and please do feel free to ask if you’re not sure if it will), and are Ok with it not sounding exactly like the original, then definitely go for the band playing it live! However if you’re really fond of the original recording, or worried about choreography (and want to practice at home), it might be better to go for the original recording.

 

A few suggestions… (although this is totally a matter of opinion of course!)

Classic tunes like ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, ‘Cant Take My Eyes Off You’ or ‘At Last’ work really well with a live band

Songs by artistes with particularly original voices like James Morrisson, or John Ledgend, you may prefer to have the original recording.

Anything thats very electronic (like a dance classic) or particularly orcehstrated (like Shirley Bassey) may be better to have the original recording

Songs like ‘Greatest Day’ (Take That), ‘Still The One’ (Shania Twain) and ‘Lets Stay Together’ (Al Green) are very popular tunes for a live band to play.

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Reccomended Venue – The Captains Club in Dorset

Wednesday, October 19th, 2011

Funkadelics had the pleasure of performing at The Captains Club Hotel, in Christchurch, Dorset, last week, and I just wanted to say ‘WOW’, what a venue!

The hotel is absolutely stunning – set right at the waters edge, and the design of the building just blows you away…it certainly is a beautiful place for a special event. The thing that really makes it for me though, is that the staff and management were all SO lovely – and I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, its all about the people! I just think it makes such a difference when people are friendly and accomodating. For us as a band, of course it means we are much more comfortable, which I think naturally leads to a better performance – but also more importantly, if a venue is friendly to us (who is, essentially, their staff for the evening!), I think that reflects really well on just how fantastic they will be for you and your guests.

We were given the most AMAZING dressing room – a 3 bedroom apartment, which was just stunning!

Everyone certainly seemed to have a fantastic time at the party! There was a full dancefloor all night and a room full of smiling faces :)

The hotel has various events throughout the year, and I’d definitely reccomend popping along to one if you’re based in the Dorset area. We spoke to a few people on the night who said they had got married there, or will be in the future, and I must say the photos on the website look absolutely beautiful for weddings! So definitely one to check out ;)

Here’s a lil pic of us too, taken by Joe our soundman!

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A Christmas Wedding…

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Today I’ve been having all sorts of fun writing my latest article for The Wedding Community (The article will be published in the next few weeks, but you can check out my previous articles here). The subject was ‘how to incorporate Christmas Music into a Christmas Wedding,’ and it got me thinking!

Christmas is officially the most popular time of the year for proposals, and also incredibly popular for getting married. Its such a wonderful, romantic time of year – and weddings are just beautiful when everyone is in that gorgeous ‘christmas spirit’. So… I had a little think (well, I shouldn’t really take credit – myself, the guys in the office, plus all our friends on facebook and twitter got involved!) and have come up with some top ideas for Christmas music throughout the different parts of your wedding. Obviously, you probably wouldn’t want to go too overboard with this, but here are a few ideas for you to pick and choose your favourite bits:

The Ceremony –

To Walk Down The Aisle: ‘Silent Night’ in the Style of Beyonce’s version – I think this could be gorgeous performed live by a solo singer, or singer and pianist. Have a listen to Beyonce’s version here:

Performed in place of a reading:  ‘A Christmas Love Song’ Barbara Streisand

While signing the register: ‘Baby its Christmas’ Amy Grant, ‘Silent Night’ by Boys ii Men, ‘Joy To The World’ Aretha Franklyn.

The Aretha Franklyn one is my absolute favourite – soooo full of happiness (and, Joy!)

 

The Drinks Reception – ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ Bruce Spingstein,  ‘Let It Snow’ Dean Martin, ‘Rockin Around the Christmas Tree’ Brenda Lee

As Your Entrance Piece to the Wedding Breakfast – ‘What Christmas Means To Me’ Stevie Wonder – imagine walking in to this happy tune:

 

The Wedding Breakfast – ‘2000 Miles’ Pretenders, ‘Stay Another Day’ East 17, ‘Please Come Home For Xmas’ Eagles, ‘The Christmas Song’ Nat King Cole

The First Dance –

‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ Mariah Carey (if you fancy a fun choice – starts off nice and slow and then launches into full on Christmas fun!)

OR

‘Santa Baby’ (if you fancy something a bit sexy!)

OR

‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ Frank Sinatra (for something lovely and romantic)

OR

‘Merry Xmas Baby’ by BB King (for some awesome Christmas blues!)

 

During the Reception –

‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ Shakin Stevens (my personal fave!)

‘I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday’ Wizzard

‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ Slade

‘Step Into Christmas’ Elton John

 ‘Do They Know Its Christmas’ Band Aid (for nearing the end of the night when you fancy a sing-along!)

 

 

Last Song of The Night –

‘White Christmas’ Bing Crosby – beautiful classic to end on

OR, if you’re feeling a bit ‘80s’…

‘Last Christmas’ Wham!

 Let us know if you have more ideas! :)

 

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Another beautiful idea for a first dance…

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

Last weekend we had the honour of playing this beautiful track for Anthony & Dejana’s first dance at their wedding in East Sussex. It was just gorgeous – what a lovely choice! I couldn’t wait to share it with you all…

This is Adele’s stunning cover of ‘lovesong’ by The Cure.

Enjoy xx

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The MIB Experience

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Yesterday we were incredibly pleased to announce the launch of our latest product and website – The MIB Experience. This is something we’ve been working on for absolutely ages, and it’s really exciting to now be taking bookings!

Something many of our clients have said about us is that they loved the fact that we have a number of different bands, a huge circle of musicians and a wonderfully flexible attitude when it comes to putting their entertainment together for their event. This has helped us to provide some fantastic packages for weddings, corporate events and private parties over the past few years.  More and more clients have been going for our package deals, and we wanted to put together the absolute ULTIMATE package for people who want something unequivocally top class.

The idea of being able to use just one supplier for the whole of your entertainment, sound and lighting is very attractive to a lot of people. Not only does it save oodles of time and hassle for you, but also usually means it will save you money too.

Not for the faint hearted, The MIB Experience features live music for the whole of your event, from start to finish. For weddings, this means your ceremony, your drinks reception, your entrance music to the wedding breakfast, during the meal, and of course the evening reception. We provide many options for each part of the wedding, so you can tailor make your day depending on your tastes and ideas. To finish off the day, the stunning MIB 12 piece band will perform during the evening reception 2 x 70minutes sets, backed with a DJ and full sound, lighting & staging.

This has been designed with clients in mind who want something super special and bespoke, who love live music and want a real sense of ‘wow-factor’ to entertain their guests.

I’d highly recommend checking out the website for more information. It’s an interactive site (which is ever such fun) and means you can play around with different options for each part of the event. There are also lots of ‘optional extras’ which add a little to the cost, but are well worth having a look through. These include things like having a song especially written by one of our in-house writers for your big day (perhaps for your wedding ceremony or your first dance), or perhaps adding in our ‘Undercover Superstars’ (singing waiters) into the package.

For anyone who is interested in package deals, it’s well worth checking out a few of our smaller packages also, to be found here on the blog. And any ideas you have, just let us know. We can completely tailor a package for you based on your own original thoughts & ideas.

 

Thanks to Matt Pereira & Ken Buist for the lovely photos for this blog :)

 

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