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DC
islandblonde
member
Steel drum player (or how to find a very specific sort of musician)
in DC
My fiance and I met and fell in love during our six years of living in the Caribbean, so I think it would be a great touch to have a steel pan player do the music for our ceremony.
I'm having a difficult time finding one, and I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice -- either recommendations, or ways that I can find a musician who plays a very specialized instrument. I've looked at GigMasters and GigSalad, and there was a live music guy who works with our DJ who was trying to get us someone (at a very substantial markup for him -- so we told him no thanks. Unless you think $600 is what someone would actually charge for less than an hour of playing.) We've also got friends in the islands finding out if they know anyone who can locate a player for us.
We're fine with having a kid play -- in the Caribbean, kids learn steelpan in elementary school -- as long as it's a kid that will do a good job. But I'm not sure where to find these kids. I'm going to try to contact Caribbean student associations at the DC area universities, and I'm also going to try to get in touch with local cultural organizations.
Any other suggestions are more than welcome!
I'm having a difficult time finding one, and I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice -- either recommendations, or ways that I can find a musician who plays a very specialized instrument. I've looked at GigMasters and GigSalad, and there was a live music guy who works with our DJ who was trying to get us someone (at a very substantial markup for him -- so we told him no thanks. Unless you think $600 is what someone would actually charge for less than an hour of playing.) We've also got friends in the islands finding out if they know anyone who can locate a player for us.
We're fine with having a kid play -- in the Caribbean, kids learn steelpan in elementary school -- as long as it's a kid that will do a good job. But I'm not sure where to find these kids. I'm going to try to contact Caribbean student associations at the DC area universities, and I'm also going to try to get in touch with local cultural organizations.
Any other suggestions are more than welcome!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Steel drum player (or how to find a very specific sort of musician)
http://www.oasisbanddc.com/
0 Yes
0 No
0 ?
http://www.lennardjack.com/
Here is the email we used to communicate with him: marlene@lennardjack.com
We ended up getting several bids through my inquiry on GigSalad.com. They were all over the place, including a band from New York City that would perform for $500! (I'm getting married just outside of Baltimore. It's not like New York is anywhere close.)
We got two that were feasible: one for $350 and one who did not quote a price. The $350 player never returned my phone calls or e-mails asking to talk more about what he could offer. The other player's manager quoted a price of $50. Then called back and apologized -- it would actually cost $100. And yes, we signed a contract with that player. We figured it would get no more reasonable than that, and his samples on his website were what you'd expect for a pan player this far north. (He is a longtime player from Trinidad, so we are getting someone who knows what he is doing.)
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions and help!