What are my options?

Disco bands, swing bands, straight down the middle party bands, pop bands… the list seems endless and there is a never ending supply of options available.  Popular choices include jazz bands or instrumental jazz groups, pianists or harpists for cocktail parties.  Swing Bands, disco bands, funk/pop bands and big bands work great for larger events like an annual ball or company dinner.  The challenge with larger events is finding something that will work with the audience you will be inviting to the event.  A younger audience may respond better to a band that plays a good selection of pop / current tunes.  Where as a swing band is likely to appeal to a wider age range, particularly one that plays a cross section of music.  An example of this would be Dominic Halpin and the Honey B’s – www.dominichalpin.com. Although largely thought of as a swing band, they also play a great selection of rock and roll and party tunes to get the audience up dancing.  They also interact well with a mixed audience to connect with them.

Where do I start looking

A 5 minute google search will turn up hundreds of options for corporate entertainment or function bands.  Personally I think getting the right entertainment that matches  the theme  / atmosphere of your event is so crucial that there really is no substitute for seeing a band live first before committing to book. This is the best way to really measure them up and see if they will work not only musically, but will look right for your event and are easy to work with and accommodating.  A good band will generally have some public shows where you can see them – you never know, they may even offer free tickets for you and a friend to come see them and have a chat in the break!

Should I use an agent?

Even better than wading through the myriad of options presented by a google search is to get the help of an entertainment agency.  A good agency can offer a personal consultation to help you work through your options and find the best solution for your event.  Although there are a number of “supermarket” agencies out there that offer hundreds of acts of every style, It is my experience that a small boutique agency can generally offer not only better service, but more consistent quality acts.

But I want something really memorable!

Of course you want people to remember your event and be talking about it for months to come.  A good agency can recommend some really different options for your corporate event.  You may consider a dance troupe, a burlesque show, an orchestra (yes there are a few available and no better way to make a great impression!), or even a full big band with a singer.  Once again, it is always preferable to see the performer live before booking to ensure you really do know what you are getting.  At the least, a good performer / artist / group should have a video sampler to show you what they do.

Contracts and booking

Once you have found the ultimate function band group or artist for your corporate event, you need to get an agreement in writing with them to secure their services.  Once again, a good agency can make this process very easy.  Make sure you have a cancellation option. Often you will have a right to cancel without penalty up to a certain time before the event. Also, be sure the contract lays out exactly what the fee includes, i.e. number of sets and duration, can they play recorded music between sets, travel, production, lighting and of course VAT if applicable.  It is common to secure the booking with a deposit of 20% to 50% of the total fee with the balance paid before the show.  Don’t be afraid to question any clauses in the contract that you are not happy with.

Final Thoughts…

The right function bands can really make the difference to a corporate event and be a great discussion point for weeks or months to come.   Don’t be afraid to be bold and make a statement with your entertainment and get the help of a great agent to guide you through the booking process.  Good luck!

Painting my bass was quite an involved project and if anyone else wishes to undertake such a task, this site might offer some good advice as to how to do it and shows step by step all the stages from preparation through to completion of the project.

http://www.dominichalpin.com

The paint I used was Candy Apple Red which was used on some fender guitars back in the fifties. It has two parts, a silvery base coat with translucent red over the top to give the sparkle finish.

The good thing is that the paint is acryllic and so was the original finish on the bass so there was no need to completely strip the instrument back to bare wood. In fact, I was adviced not to and instead just lightly sand the whole thing prior to painting hence not risking any damage to the wood.

  

Obviously first I had to remove the strings, machine heads, tailpin etc and mask the fingerboard carefully especially the back of the neck which needs to be left unpainted. I managed to get some cardboard to stick inside behind the f-holes too so paint didn’t get into it.

Then it’s a case of taking a deep breath (scary thing to do taking sandpaper to your precious bass!) and start lightly sanding with fine paper making sure to get right into all the edges and fiddly bits. I then got some putty and filled all the dents and scratches too.

The next thing to do was to apply a couple of thin coats of primer, I used grey acryllic paint straight out of aerosol cans which I got from the auto parts store.

After one coat I lightly sanded the whole thing again and had to fill a few more little bits that I’d missed before with putty. The primer really shows up any imperfections and it’s important to be fussy at this stage to acheive a good final result.  

  

Unfortunately there’s no short cuts to doing this job so after applying the second coat of primer I sanded it back again with very fine grade paper until I was completely satisfied that it was perfectly smooth all over.

There’s no doubt, this project involved more sanding and later on cutting and polishing than you could ever imagine was possible!!!

I briefly mentioned earlier that the paint I used came in two parts. It consists of a silvery metallic base coat which contains millions of little metal particles, when you spray it’s like it’s snowing silver.

The main red colour is translucent so the silver shines through it giving a great sparkle effect.  

  

Because the paint came in tins, undiluted, I had to mix it with thinners and hire a spray gun and air compressor to apply it. Seeing as I hadn’t used this type of equipment before I had to experiment a bit with the mixture and pressure settings etc. I would recommend practicing on a big piece of wood or something until you are completely sure you have got it sussed out.

I was surprised how easily it went on and it dries very quickly so you can pretty much do a coat and then by the time you’ve refilled the spray gun, get straight on with the next. I did three coats of the silver base to make sure that I had it well covered and the great thing about this stage is that you don’t need to do any sanding.

Once the silver base coat was finished I had to really clean up the place, that stuff gets everywhere!!! Obviously cleaning out the spray gun with thinners properly too is very important before moving on to the next stage.

The red paint is translucent and looks really dark until mixed with thinners prior to spraying. I wasn’t sure how much to put on but ended up doing a few thin coats until I was satisfied that I had a good even covering.  

When it was completely dry I got some 1/8″ silver striping from the auto parts store and stuck it around the edge front and back about 1/4″ in. It’s self adhesive and thin enough to appear quite smooth when you get a few coats of laquer over it.

One more thing to do before getting onto laquering was to get some gloss black paint and a small brush to paint the inside edges of the f-holes and those two little strips of wood each side of where the neck joins the body.

This is the most time consuming stage out of the whole project because you have to let each coat thoroughly dry and then sand it back with very fine sandpaper before applying the next.

Once the last coat had dried and I’d sanded it back, I then got some cutting compound, which is an abrasive paste, and with a lot of the old elbow grease rubbed the whole thing back. This took a lot of effort but produced a very smooth result.  

Finally I got some auto polish which in itself is very slightly abrasive and with a whole lot more elbow grease managed to end up with a finish as smooth and shiny as a piece of glass.

So that’s about it, all that’s left is to screw the machine heads back on, knock the tailpin back in and set up the instrument.

Solution: We love building things! The latest bit of kit we have come up with was a solution to a problem that many horn players have – mainly because the singer wants to have his monitor too loud so no-one else can hear themselves!!

www.dominichalpin.com

Swing Bands have always been a popular choice for parties and wedding and any corporate functions. This upbeat nostalgic music hits a nerve with most people and is the reason why it’s popular even in today’s mix of modern music. It’s refreshing to see and hear a good swing band.

Swing bands can be as small as a trio, piano, bass, drums or saxophone to big bands of twenty or more. It’s down to requirement space and cost as to what best suites each occasion.

It’s become very popular to have a five or six piece swing band with piano, bass, drums, saxophone and vocals. this seems to cover most situations from weddings to corporate parties.

Always make sure you hear the band first or better still , see them, sometimes the live band can be somewhat different from the recorded band. Make sure the singer you see is the singer your getting on the night. Listen to them on Itunes

A good Swing Band will entertain the people and adapt to any situation.So do your homework and make sure you check out the band,

To see a great professional swing band visit

http://www.squidoo.com/Great-Swing-Band

http://www.dominichalpin.com

For more information visit

Swing Band

Hire the Perfect Swing Jazz Band for your Wedding

www.dominichalpin.com