So I went to the company Christmas party and was wondering ....

P

Panhead5

Well-known member
Do any of you guys play in Pop/ top 40 / Dance corporate event style bands?? I know this is RT so I'm not passing judgement but I know these events usually pay excellent money for a few hours work , you can travel lightly , and don't have to put up with too much bar bullshit.

Now that I think about it --- it sounds boring !!!!! LOL

Just wondering!
 
Panhead5 said:
Do any of you guys play in Pop/ top 40 / Dance corporate event style bands?? I know this is RT so I'm not passing judgement but I know these events usually pay excellent money for a few hours work , you can travel lightly , and don't have to put up with too much bar bullshit.

Now that I think about it --- it sounds boring !!!!! LOL

Just wondering!
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I would and do. But since I never get paid to play, I will follow the request with song selection and sprinkle in a habanero for the crowd about every 10 songs just to show them who is the real boss.
“That’s too loud”. Wah Wah.
 
I used to and Corp gigs are great money generally because they are not in the market for bands every week like bars etc. At least around here, bars pay the lowest. Weddings and Corp gigs pay the best. Of course, there are also generally other requirements to doing those gigs. Thy can be fun and also can be boring. In my experience, it either great or bad. It all depends on the crowd and how into it they are. I have done weddings where the crowd was crazy fun and others where no one dances much at all. When that happens the gig is not fun and you just wanna get out of there and go home. Corp gigs are stiffer typically but can be fun with the right people.

I am at the point where my fav gig is a packed small club vs local festivals or private gigs that are boring. The money does not matter much anymore to me.
 
I've done it for a few years too, weddings & corp gigs. Yep, the pay was somewhere between triple and tenfold of what my previous metalband was making in club gigs.
But I had to be "musical wallpaper" and play some meh songs, so at a certain point musical freedom mattered more than pay.
 
I would say that I do, have been in the same group for 15 years now. We do play in bars, but by far our preferred gigs are corporate/private/festival type things. It is what it is, and I have to play stuff like Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, lots of country, Michael Jackson, basically all the known suspects and whatever pop crap du jour is currently getting the hits/plays. In bars we play more rock stuff, but that is more on the 80s side, which is fine with me as its lots of guitar. Yes, I use a Fractal device, as often stage volume is a huge issue. I carry my Fractal and a mono dual guitar case to gigs. We have 6 guys including a keyboard player and two lead vocalists, one of whom plays acoustic. Thankfully, while we do play a wedding here and there, we are not a wedding band. I have had to wear a tie and jacket a few times, which is pretty horrible.

As I am in my early 50s, this is fine for me. I spent my 20-30s dragging half stacks in a van around to grungy venues playing original music on 10 band bills and hawking tickets or opening for some over-the-hill or lesser-known touring act. That band got some local airplay and had some very minor local success.

I like to play, and this low stress gig is pretty good. Some of the music I have to play makes me want to cry, but on the other hand, it is fun to watch a room full of people dancing, and we draw well to local bars and get some wild crowds dancing drunk to Journey and Bon Jovi tunes. Sometimes I hear in my head that guy from "Cool Hand Luke" saying "I don't like it any more than you" but most times I just enjoy playing guitar. Its certainly not at the soul-killing stage, and if I had to rely on this as my main income it might be.
 
I worked for a big name wedding band in the nyc area years ago that did the occasional corporate kind of parties, this was 15 years ago at least and the musicians were making $75 an hour back then, most gigs would be four hours with breaks. I think the owner was charging $1k per band member, most gigs would have a six piece band and another 5-6 singers. While I don’t know I’d call it “fun” it definitely wasn’t a bad gig
 
I do. I bring a Fractal Fm3, Headrush 108, 2 guitars, and a bag of cables. I also own the lights so I bring them too. 2 trips to the truck. We play 3-4 hours, about 35-45 songs.
Like Rayneman above, I spent many years hauling 4x12's ,tube heads and pedal boards to my original band's gigs playing seedy clubs trying to get a break. usually for free or maybe gas money, to a handful of sweaty dudes, or the 3 other bands girlfriends.
Now,I don't love most of the music but people are having fun, drinking, and enjoying themselves and the band. I make some money and usually have a good time.
 
I played a corporate Christmas party a month ago. 50 watt head into a 412 cab playing Van Halen, The Doors, Thin Lizzy, etc. If we were worried about getting a lot of gigs we might change shit up to be more "easy consumption" but fuck that.
 
I play in a few different bands that have different brands so to speak. If I want to rock out there’s a time/place/band for that. If I want to play something women are going to sing/dance to, there’s a band for that. The lattter pays way more. For the ultra crazy/out there songs I have my home.

I like it as a challenge to being a musician and empathizing with others and what they like vs what I would want to play. Remember, when you go fishing you use the bait fish want to eat, not steak or whatever we would eat.
 
abrackas said:
I play in a few different bands that have different brands so to speak. If I want to rock out there’s a time/place/band for that. If I want to play something women are going to sing/dance to, there’s a band for that. The lattter pays way more. For the ultra crazy/out there songs I have my home.

I like it as a challenge to being a musician and empathizing with others and what they like vs what I would want to play. Remember, when you go fishing you use the bait fish want to eat, not steak or whatever we would eat.
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I have a friend that does that but it's the same group of guys. They just pick a set list to suit the crowd!
 
I’ve got a buddy who landed a serious corp party band, they play all over the US. He was making so much $$$$ he bought properties to rent and opened a music store. The store did so well he left the band to just run it.
 
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