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secondline band...how many pieces?

Brooke4377Brooke4377
First Comment First Anniversary
in Louisiana-New Orleans
so I don't know whether we need a 5 piece band or 4.  I can't remember what I booked!  We are using Smitty Dee's.  Anyone have experience with either of these options?  Is 4 enough?  I know we want the grand marshall, but not sure if 4 is good or if we should have 5.  Money is getting tighter by the day, and it's a $100 difference, so if it doesn't really matter we would probably go with 4 :)
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Re: secondline band...how many pieces?

  • ZeroOrchestraZeroOrchestra member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    edited November 2012
    I think it depends on what instruments they are playing. We had 7 total, there were 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, tuba, bass drum and snare. I imagine they could have done with one of each but I'm not sure since we wanted the band as a whole. Maybe search YouTube for second line videos and see if you can find a difference.
    photo stringerbell_zps0f292e80.jpg Married! in New Orleans
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  • mnolsmnols
    First Comment
    I think we had 5 plus the grand marshall for Smitty Dee's?  Let's see, I know there was a tuba player, drum, trumpet, trombone, and saxaphone.  Yes, 5 plus the grand marshall.  They were great!
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  • Brooke4377Brooke4377
    First Comment First Anniversary
    thanks!  I wonder what you miss out on with only 4?  We'll probably just go with the full 5....lol at this point we are already broke for the next 5 years!
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  • NO2012NO2012
    First Comment
    I don't recall being given a choice with Smitty Dee's.  I'm looking at my pictures and I count 5 pieces plus the grand marshall.  I know what you mean about going for broke!  :)
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  • MarcusandMelissaMarcusandMelissa member
    First Comment
    We had 8 for ours, but that was because we had Rebirth Brass Band play our reception and they all just played the Second Line as well.  I feel like having the extra musicians made the sound VERY full.  We paraded down Bourbon at like 10:30 at night though, so it was good we had a loud sound or otherwise they may have been drowned out by the crowds of people.
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  • steveandmichelle2012steveandmichelle2012 member
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_louisiana-new-orleans_secondline-bandhow-many-pieces?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:84Discussion:12646394-b550-49fd-99a0-3eac748b6741Post:f261ff8b-97a7-485b-9798-9ce7fa0e7a5e">Re: secondline band...how many pieces?</a>:
    [QUOTE]We had 8 for ours, but that was because we had Rebirth Brass Band play our reception and they all just played the Second Line as well.  I feel like having the extra musicians made the sound VERY full.  We paraded down Bourbon at like 10:30 at night though, so it was good we had a loud sound or otherwise they may have been drowned out by the crowds of people.
    Posted by MarcusandMelissa[/QUOTE]<div>
    </div><div>If you don't mind me asking how much did the Rebirth Brass Band charge you? I am still researching our options and they are definitely on our list to contact. 

    </div>
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  • dreamgal8dreamgal8 member
    First Comment
    Smitty Dee's performed a second line at my wedding. I found out a year after my wedding that my wedding guests had to pay them several hundred dollars out of pocket when they were threatening to leave before performing (bc a guest passed out in the middle of the ceremony and 911 had to be called; the band got tired of waiting). They didn't play the song that was requested to be played upon the bride and groom exiting St. Louis Cathedral. They LEFT THE BRIDE AND GROOM and proceeded down the street, leaving my husband and I to have to RUN several blocks in our wedding attire to catch up with them!!?!? Then once we caught up, they stopped dancing. They literally WALKED the rest of the way to the reception venue. ALL of their music was monotonous and not exciting. They were the part of our wedding we were most looking forward to showing out out of town guests to give them a NOLA wedding experience. They were the WORST part of our wedding! DO NOT BOOK THEM FOR ANYTHING! They were by far the worst decision I made for my wedding.
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