Hiring A Band, Part 2

I recently posted a bLog entry on tips for hiring a jazz band. I thought I'd extend that into hiring a band, generally, and things to look for.

Starting Points

When considering hiring a band, when you visit their website, look for these things:

• Sound clips
  
• Song list / List of influences
  
• Testimonials or Press
  

Listening to a band's sound clips will give you an impression of the band's sound. If you don't like the style of music, the singer's voice, or something else, then you can immediately discard the band. Also, if they have any clips of live performances, it will give you a better impression of what the band will sound like playing for you (rather than in a studio).

I always include live sound clips, so people know there's no "studio tricks" to make us sound better than we should.

Scanning a band's song list, or viewing a list of their influences, will give you an idea of whether they'll play the music you're looking for. If they don't have a song list available, ask them for one.

Most professionally-minded bands are open to reasonable requests. When I get requests for quotes for The Diplomats, I ask the customer to let us know of any tunes they had in mind, so they hear some of the music they want. Why not ask? You are paying for it after all!

When I get requests, I can virtually always fulfill them. Occasionally, when asked for some obscure songs, I am upfront with the customer and let them know we can't find a copy of the song, but always try to work with them for alternate choices. Usually, customers will give me a list of 5-10 songs, and I can always provide them with the majority of those requests.

Lastly, scan through the band's testimonials and press. Generally, bands will only post positive things about themselves. However, its there, so why not get an idea of how enthusiastic the testimonials are. If there aren't testimonials, why not? It could be the band didn't think to provide them, it could be the band is too new to have any. If they don't have any though, you may want to consider them not having the experience to provide you with what you are after.

Keep the above in mind next time you're in the market to hire a band.