Live Music Event Entertainment

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Private parties, fundraisers, wedding ceremonies and receptions, corporate events, civic events, grand openings, anniversaries of businesses, festival appearances, concerts and restaurant work.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Ask around, I believe we are the only ones customizing the songs...so see if other vendors will do what I do...plus minimizing the musicians necessary to pull it off...

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. The inside secrets are to remember that events and certainly wedding receptions have a lot of very high expectations....perfect in most cases...so to provide music that is close to perfect is the secret...play what they want to hear, keep the energy up and remember to satisfy all ages you see at the event...

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Location of event, times of service and expectations from us as a band...

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Rather than hiring a band with a specific song list, I find out the songs the client wants and create a group of professionals to play them....totally customized from classical wedding ceremonies to wild , knock 'em dead receptions, after all, it's the music that counts....

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I've been a musician for 48 years and playing professionally since I was 15. The joy and reaction from the audience is all I ever need to feel good about what I do....

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How much will it cost? I tell them, I will work with them to provide the best band I can given the budget, even starting with a small group and adding more players midway into the evening.....

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. One time, a friend of the bride came up and asked for 'Shout'...I told her, we knew it but had instructions from the bride to play songs she had asked for...later the bride comes up and says , please play 'Shout' for my grandma....sure enough, we play it and there's the grandma on her back on the floor, arms in the air, singing .'You know it makes me want to shout'....precious moment, all captured on video too...

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. How many years it takes to become really proficient on your instrument...

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. No one else was doing this, club scene was drying up and I wanted to have a bigger impact as a musician and create work for the better players.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. A recent wedding reception, the groom had asked for a lot of music we didn't know...so we found them on YouTube, learned them, wrote up charts and played them at the reception...the last song of the night, the groom's friends encouraged him to get up and sing something, (he's in a band himself), and we played one of the songs he had asked for....a huge hit, made the entire night...all captured on video....

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Keep up with new music...new trends, meet the event planners and destination meeting coordinators.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. iPods for receptions are displacing some musicians..otherwise, a live band is what it is....nothing can really replace one.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. Booking Fri/Sat. afternoons at a Hyatt managed shopping center with different duos each day....20 dates total involving 40 musicians...lots of phone calls and emails,,,I took no fee to put it together , wanting the musicians to make as much as possible....project is ongoing...

Q. If you have a complicated pricing system for your service, please give all the details here.

A. Not so complicated...$225 for each musician for the first hour, $100 per hour per musician after that and a $75 processing fee to put the event music together with a contract and 50% deposit up front, balance due on the day of the event.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Keep your day job and have a fall back career. Music work is cyclical especially in Arizona, very little happens in summer except in Flagstaff and Prescott...too hot otherwise and risk of monsoon rains

Q. Write your own question and answer it.

A. Why Artists in Rhythm?
We really are the best at what we do....I have access to over 450 musicians, most of whom are professional former studio musicians, current University faculty or career players, many of whom teach many students a week. With the ability to read and play all styles, I have the best at my fingertips..You benefit by that.