What’s the advantage of hiring The MB Band over a DJ?
1. UNIQUE – there’s nothing unique in the music you already have on your iPod or CD. The artistry and talent that world class musicians bring to their performance is priceless, and becoming more rare all the time. Live solos on guitar, sax, keyboards, bass and drums won’t happen with a dj.
2. CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY – in real time, when they have to, live bands can extend, shorten, re-arrange, vamp, transpose pitch, modify tempo, and alter lyrics of songs to fit requests and respond to “spur of the moment” dance situations. Sometimes these tools literally save the day. Dj’s can’t do these things.
3. MEMORABILITY – a phenomenal, live performance will be talked about for many years, especially when they keep an entire audience rolling for hours. But who will remember a dj after a month? I often see clients from 15-20 years back who say “everyone is STILL talking about the music at our wedding!”
4. ENERGY & EXCITEMENT – most people rarely, if ever get to experience the raw energy and excitement of a sizzling, live performance up close and personal and when they do, they hit the dance floor with passion from the get go. But the dj standing at the table rarely moves. NOTE: a common remark on the quality of our live sound is, “before we saw you, we thought there was a CD playing”.
5. ENTERTAINMENT VALUE – how entertaining is it to watch someone wearing headphones and pushing buttons?
6. COST – a dj may save you money, or will he/she? You will likely spend $2000-$5000 for a dj. But that’s just for one or two persons. A reputable live band will run $3000-$5000, but that’s for 4-5 talented musicians. Comparatively, that’s a very good value.
7. REPERTOIRE – the MBBand’s songlist is so huge, it shatters the misconception that a live band is limited in what they can play. That’s not us! We play everything, 100% true to the original, or better as clients often say. Audiences from around the nation and the world continue to be stunned by the range and depth of our repertoire. And we always learn special requests at no charge.
8. COMPLETE PACKAGE – if there’s any song(s) the band doesn’t currently do that you want, you still get to hear it during the break. You can even request your own custom mixes for us to play on mp3/CD. So with our live band, you have absolutely everything!
Live Band with a DJ?
Are you considering having a live band and a dj at the reception?
You could, but sometimes it’s awkward. One often detracts from the other, so it’s better to choose one, not both. Several of our couples have learned this the hard way. Consider these issues:
1. Would you go to a live performance – rock, jazz or classical – and at the end, hang around to hear mp3’s of that same music?
2. Will guests want to step back to digital music with someone wearing headphones, after they’ve partied on a packed dance floor with a sizzling, live-band? A modern band like ours, playing current AND classic hits non-stop, leaves little room for the dj to go.
3. A change to disco might set up an energy let-down for the audience. When people’s ears have been tuned to a live performance, and there is a switch to disco, they will have to re-tune and re-orient.
4. The set-up logistics of a band with a dj can be awkward at best, since the audio systems are separate. Venue spaces rarely allow for two performance areas. And if the dj is following the band’s performance, the tear-down, packing up and hauling out of band gear will occur while the dj is playing. This will be distracting, and often sends a mixed message as to where the party is headed.
A good plan for having a dj after the band is for everyone to head to a bar at the end of the reception, where a completely new vibe can be set.