Band recs?

DarylE

Venue is booked (Pleasantdale Chateau, 6/6/10)!!!  But now I've been lazy and really need to get the show on the road with picking a band!Has anyone gone through wedding band agencies?  Or just through the bands directly?Can anyone recommend any bands?Looking for mostly standards (Sinatra/Gershwin/etc) with a mix of 50s/60s/70s/80s pop.  Not really in to Top 40.  Ideally 7-10 pieces.  My dad is a music nut so he's willing to splurge a little on the band.On a similar note, has anyone booked a band to also play their ceremony/cocktail hour?  Would love 2-3 piece string group for the ceremony.  Have any band members done double duty?Tons of questions, I know.  But now that I'm in full planning mode, I'm sure I'll be asking many many more on here in the futureThanks in advance!--Daryl

erikag23

we used brian kirk and the jirks.  they were awesome! www.jirks.com

amy232323

Do you have a price range??  We booked the Silk Band and they will also be playing during ceremony and cocktail hour (I believe they have 10 pieces).  http://www.2sayido.com/silkband.html

Spanisheyes00

I did not use a band for my wedding, but my BIL got married in May and they had the Infernos.  Definitely play the standards, and they were excellent.  Highly recommend.

BrideMaidPro

As PP said, The Infernos are great...I am using The Rhythm Shop who I also think are great.I think someone on here, at some point, had a spreadsheet of a lot of the nj's bands and costs...can't remember who

I <3 Seabass

The keyboard player for our band will pull double duty and play our CH. I think that's pretty normal, if you have the pieces already it makes sense to use them rather than hiring another musician to come in

I <3 Seabass

Oh that's me! I forgot about that. If you want a spreadsheet of bands that have been rec'd on the board leave your email.

FutureMrsF111

Im using Barry Herman. They have a bunch of different bands to choose from, some of which meet your requirements. They are on the pricey side but from what I have heard they are well worth it. Congrats on the venue - pleasantdale is beautiful!!

ddelo23

We used starlyte entertainment. I absolutely loved them. They really made the night. They can do cocktail music also!

USER876

We used smokin section, under 6K for 9 pieces, killer brass section, played all night (even during dinner) and included cocktail hour live music too.  They do private showcases every few weeks or so, so contact them via their website email.

rinski04

We're using the Rhythm Shop Band. www.therhythmshopband.com

Throwabug

Chaser (musicbychaser.com) - our guests are still raving!

Jessica0306

I got married @ the Pleasantdale last Oct. and we used a band from Barry Herman Entertainment - they were great to work with the Barry Herman and PC have such a great relationship - it made everything much easier, IMO.

Jessica0306

I should also mention we used Barry Herman for our ceremony (string quartet) and cocktail hour (different musicians around the Chateau.)

stapletond

We booked the Dream Team of NYC Swing.  I've also heard that the Original Phase 4 band is AMAZING although I was quoted $14,000 for a 10 piece band.

Laurms15

I'm using The Projekt and they have been great to work with so far. I'm getting 9 pieces but I think they range from 7-11 depending on what you want. They are also playing my cocktail hour. I originally heard about them via an agency and before calling I decided to google them and ended up booking them directly. http://www.theprojekt.com/ tons of video of them on their site.

neilly18

We booked our band through Elegant Ensembles.  They have a lot of different bands and DJs. We went to a wedding in December and the band there was Phase 3 and they were AMAZING.  We happen to have a little bit older crowd than that wedding so we book a band called Right on Time.  My Fi is a musician on the side and he is very impressed by them.  Both bands are through Elegant Esembles

lucyslove

We booked Soul Revival for our wedding, saw them at a showcase in NYC and they were AMAZING. They're also playing our ceremony and CH. Check them out, www.soulrevivalband.com

olomanany

We used the Rhythm Shop for our March 27th wedding.  They were absolutely fabulous and people are still talking about them.

Brooke_TheSequel

As suggested by others, Rhythm Shop is a really great band.We used (and adore) The Original Faze 4.  DH and I met working in the entertainment field so good music was important to us...  and now life has moved us into seeing a lot of wedding bands instead of rock bands, so for our taste, we knew hands down we wanted The Original Faze 4.They also did our ceremony music.  Originally we booked their string trio, but switched it to a guitar player, keyboard player & singer.  Consider our backgrounds together, we wanted to talk down the aisle upbeat songs with words...  as opposed to the wedding march.  But both options are available.White Lights by Stan Alan is good.  Mirage is also top notch (but I've only seen them at Italian Weddings).  Ariel, JK Music...   should both be a little less of an investment but are solid.I would just avoid bands where they don't have the same members from week to week.  Those bands never sound as tight to me.  And honestly when the room is getting set up, they stand around and compare notes on what songs they all know and don't know and what they can fake - and that's how your wedding playlist is built regardless of what you've requested.  HTHPleasantdale is beautiful.

Brooke_TheSequel

Opps forgot one...  I'd also put Time Machine in the Ariel and JK.