Is The Party Over There????

'Tis the season.  Whether it's office parties, house parties, or Grand Openings this is the time of year a lot of bands find themselves in the position of getting out of the clubs and performing at privately hosted functions.  It's a welcome change of scenery for a lot of us, and it's usually better money than you'll pull down at a club.  And of course, there's the opportunity to play in front of people that haven't seen you before (and possibly recruit some new fans).

But these affairs can also be royal pains in the neck.  If you're lucky and it's a pretty big shindig, then likely the host will have hired someone to put the party together for them.  Those people will usually have had experience dealing with bands, and have some idea what goes into putting on a great performance.  But then again, there are folks who while they might be good at planning appetizers and center pieces, may have never dealt with a band (or think it's the same as a DJ), and then be totally shocked with you roll in with 20 or 30 road cases.  This is where you have to be as much a diplomat and counselor as an entertainer.

I've played parties at those two extremes and everything in between.  So in the spirit of the holiday season, let me pass along to you a few of my survival tips for playing private affairs:

You're Not The Center Of Attraction
Just get over it now.  As much as our fragile egos want to think it's all about us, it ain't.  Unless you're an established artist, your importance falls somewhere between the crab dip and the door prizes.  Depending on the agreements (and you got everything in writing, correct?) you may be anything from background music during dinner to the jukebox for the company limbo contest.  No, it ain't about us tonight, it's about the guests and making sure they have a good time.

Take Your Usual Set Up Schedule...Now Double It
Hotel gigs are the most notorious for this, but be ready for delays at any party.  I've waited two hours for the stage to be erected, only to be delayed another hour because the party planner wants everything moved 12 inches to the left.  You'll wait on dance floors, decorations, and sometimes skit rehearsals.  On second thought...better triple your setup time....she might want it all moved back where it was.

Find Out Who The Boss Is Early
That's the wonderful thing about private parties...you'll get conflicting information from several well meaning folks.  This is why when I book these things I specify that there's one person for me to deal with throughout the night.  And that's either the person writing the check or an appointed representative that has the authority to make decisions on the spot.  That way, when the cousin of the CEO's neighbor's brother comes and tells you to move something, you simply say "I'd be happy to do so...I just have to clear it with the boss".  

Make Sure They Know What They're Getting
Once the deal is put together, I send 'em a contract, rider, and stage diagram.  They're required to sign everything and send me a copy back.  Make sure they know exactly what you need in order to put your production on (stage size, power, set up / tear down time, sound levels, etc). That's saved my bacon many times, but two that really stick with me are: 

• The event coordinate starting raising holy hell with us when we put the front of house console in place.  "That can't go there...it's ugly.  Does it have to be out front?".  Well lady, that's why it's called "Front Of House".  I pulled out the contract package and showed where the client had signed off on it.  I said we would be happy to pack it up, along with everything else, take our money and leave (that's how it was spelled out).  That ended that discussion.
• I booked a company Christmas party with a young lady, making sure she understood we're a rock-n-roll band (and including that in the contract).  We got the deposit and contracts back and thought we were good to go.  We show up for the gig and start rolling in.  The owner of the company comes up and says "Y'all don't look like a country band."  Well Billy Bob, there's a good reason for that.  He tried to start a fight with us for misrepresenting ourselves, but I showed him the contract his representative had signed.  The asshole wrote us a check for the balance and sent us on our way (fine).  He also fired the girl that hired us right there (not cool).  His company went bankrupt in 6 months.  Karma, baby.

Now, don't get me wrong...if the client needs something moved or changed and we can do it in a reasonable fashion then fine.  In the case of setting up front of house, I've suggested to event coordinators that they could drape the racks with table linens and add other decorations to the area as long as it doesn't impede our sound man.  That's smoothed over a lot situations.  But putting artificial Christmas trees on the stage that we have to maneuver around...I gotta draw a line there.

Make Sure You Know What You're Getting Into

If there's anyway to advance the gig...do it.  Go to the venue and look it over.  If you're playing at a hotel, talk director to the special events manager.  Find out where you're loading in and out from (don't assume it's the closest door...we had those blocked by catering before).  Ask if they've had other bands with production similar to yours and find out how they set up.  

 

If you're playing a venue that's out of town, talk to the manager there.  Most places that host a lot of parties will be able to send you a drawing of the room with dimensions, location of power, and load in/out locations.  It's better than nothing.

 

And review my post from September 30 (Before You Leave For The Show).  Don't be a rookie and have to ask for an extension cord.

Trust, But Verify
If you've negotiated for the client to provide sound & lights for you, be sure to get the name of the company / person providing that and call 'em at least 2 weeks prior.  Just because you send a technical rider to the client doesn't mean they're going to send it to the sound company.  

 

One such incident happened several years ago.  I negotiated sound and lights for a party we were doing.  I sent a very detailed rider along with the number of channels we needed (16 minimum), mics, monitors, effects, etc.  Being the thorough guy I am, I called the sound company 2 weeks early and asked what they were bringing.  The guy on the other end of the phone said something to the effect of "they said there was 4 of you in the band, so I figured I could just bring a Peavey 6 channel mixer and we'd be good".  When I asked if he had seen the rider, he said that the client had attempted to read it to him and he quoted a price, but they said that was too much and asked what was the cheapest thing he could bring (yet, they thought nothing of a $3000 ice sculpture for the affair).  

I called the client back, and tried to explain how that was going to severely limit our ability to deliver the best performance we could, but they just said "oh, we just want some noise to fill the background at the party".  At that point I told them that we were not the band for their event, cancelled the gig and sent their deposit back.  As Kenny Rogers once said "...you've gotta know when to hold 'em, and know when to fold 'em."


Be Prepared To Be Interrupted
You know that killer set list you wrote out?  Be ready to toss it out the window.  Between awards, door prizes, "thanks for a great year" speeches and such, count yourself lucky if you get to play 3 songs in a row.  But hey, they ain't paying you by the song...so just smile and take the money.  I can recall one Christmas party I played where we contracted for 3 hours.  By the time the evening was over, I think we had played 9 songs. 

You're Not A Guest
As a rule, I don't approach the guests about anything.  Now, if they come to me and strike up a conversation, I'm more than happy to talk to 'em.  But it's their party, let 'em enjoy it.  And don't assume you've got access to the open bar or buffet unless you're specifically told that it's cool.

Welcome To Amateur Hour
If the function is like 99% of the ones I've played, you're going to have a room full of people who are not very good at holding their liquor.  The drunkest and most abusive a-holes I've ever played for are 7-figure company executives with 4 shots of tequila on board.  Keep in mind that these folks will have no recollection of what they did the next day, and unless they try to get physical with you best just to nod your head every now and then like you're agreeing with them, and then excuse yourself.  

"Thank You...Good Night"
Wrap the show up at the agreed upon time, and no encores unless your "boss" says OK.  Then load up and get outta there.  The guests who haven't passed out yet are lookin' for the hook up, and the rest of the hired help for the party want to get out of there too.  Don't linger and talk.  If someone asks how to hire you, hand them a card and explain you're on a dead line to get out but you would love to talk to them next week about their event.  Nine times outta ten, you're never going to hear from 'em.

Private parties can be fun if you don't stress over 'em, and as I said are usually much better money than club gigs.  Just be prepared to earn it.

This year has been a little unusual for me.  My band of 13 years, The Rhythm Dawgs, took a break in March and just picked back up a couple of weeks ago.  Consequently, I've done more "band hopping" this year than I have in quite a while, and also played a lot fewer gigs than the typical.  I was thinking about sharing some of my "lessons learned" for 2012 in next week's installment.

Until then, Merry Christmas (there...I said it).  And this time, just for the holidays, you can let the meters go into the red a little.

Ken

Ken Carver has been a musician and performer since the early 70's, and involved with live music production since the mid 70's. He worked for 15 years as a broadcast engineer, building numerous studios and transmitter sites around Texas. He's also worked in Critical Care Communications for the medical industry, R&D for an automated lighting manufacturer, and owned Project Lighting & Sound in the 80's. He currently heads up an R&D Hardware Technician Team at National Instruments in Austin, and still performs on the weekends in the Central Texas area. You can reach Ken at itsjustlogistics@gmail.com