[Dixielandjazz] Pay for gigs

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

Had a great wedding gig last night in Jerusalem. The families and most of
the guests were black coat and hat Orthodox Jews. (Yes, there was a
partition and a men's and women's side, but that was mainly for the dancing.
There was mixed seating at the tables. This was a compromise situation in my
experience, since the separation is usually pretty complete when practiced
at all.) The great twist was, the bride and groom are both jugglers, as were
many of the guests. So in addition to exuberant singing, dancing and
celebrating, there was a constant display of juggling -- knives, swords,
fire, you name it.

We were practically hired by the bride and her mother before we figured out
that I know the groom, and we have worked together on many occasions
entertaining in settlements in Judea and Samaria, including some that were
recently evacuated. The story of how we got the gig is worth telling.

There are some local active internet lists where people post anything and
everything from services available to want ads to general questions about
getting things done or finding foreign products in Israel. Of course I post
our band's availability on the list periodically. But I also read the other
posts, and whenever anyone asks for recommendations for a band, or for
anything related to event planning, I write them a personal email trying to
provide the information they asked for, if I know it, and I always introduce
myself and the band and refer them to our website. No hard sell. Just try to
be helpful and let them know we are available and possibly suitable for
their event.

In this case, the bride's mother posted a desperate plea for a
recommendation for a wedding band that does not play loud. She sounded like
she still had a headache from the last wedding she attended. This is a big
problem in Israel, as the DJs and bands always show up with a ton of
equipment and crank it up so loud you have to leave the building to have a
conversation. I have often gone home from such parties with a headache.

Well, we advertise ourselves as unplugged and mobile. We work for less money
because we don't have to buy, maintain, transport and operate a sound
system. We have a battery operated portable mike and speaker to boost
vocals, and for announcements. When we work with a keyboard, which we
usually don't, we set it up to sound as much as possible like a natural
piano. We don't use drums. Our rhythm section is banjo and tuba, and
sometimes a washboard.

So I wrote the woman back and said we might be just what the doctor ordered,
and referred them to our web site for sound samples and pictures. Then they
asked for a price quote. We're trying to offer a 5 piece band in a market
where most people hire DJs or an electrified duo or trio, so we try to price
ourselves competitively. We're also not yet well enough known to have name
recognition. Most people don't even know what Dixieland music sounds like,
so we don't advertise in newspapers or other venues where they can't hear
us, because it would be practically meaningless. At the same time, we're
trying to find our level in the Israeli market so we can charge what we are
truly worth and not undersell ourselves. So I bid $150 per player for 4
hours, total $750 for 5.

At this point they had checked out the web site, and they loved the sound of
the band. They later told me that the least expensive band they asked quotes
from was more than twice what we charged them. And I don't know for how many
players, but probably less than 5. Now it only remained to successfully do
the gig.

We came early and set up in the main room, but we were asked to play in
another room while people were arriving and having cocktails before the
ceremony. So we gave the keyboard player a break, and took banjo, tuba,
soprano sax and my trumpet and bone, and played by the entrance, completely
acoustic. Our usual dress is white shirt and pants with a red stripe on each
leg, red silk vests embroidered with gold brocade that I had made in India,
and straw boater hats. The vests ALWAYS draw compliments. The response of
the guests was immediate and overwhelmingly positive when we started
playing. It was great to watch people of all ages moving gently to the music
(no time and place for dancing yet, and they don't do mixed dancing). My
unamplified vocals probably were only heard by anyone who wanted to hear,
and concentrated on listening to them. But we were background, not
foreground, and I did see various people singing along from time to time.

After the ceremony, we led the people from the Chuppah down 2 flights of
stairs to the main room with Bourbon Street Parade (instead of the Saints,
lest the religious overtones bother anyone in that setting). We then
alternated jazz sets with traditional Jewish circle dancing music throughout
the evening. During the dancing, one of the young men asked if we can play
louder. I smiled and said we were hired by the family NOT to play loud, but
we'll be glad to play a little faster if they want to liven it up more, and
so we did.

At the end of the night, the flood of compliments and expressions of delight
from the bride and groom, their families, the wedding planner and many of
the guests were incredible. People were saying they cannot remember being at
a wedding where they didn't go home with a headache. They loved the
off-the-beaten-path music (we were a little concerned that people might
expect more religious music and be put off by the jazz, but there was no
hint of that at all). Lots of requests for business cards. We're
anticipating some good business in the wake of this one. One guest from
America said he wants to have a party when he returns to Israel this summer
just to hire us and have some good music for his friends.

Since we stayed and played an extra hour, they agreed to another $100+. So
my guys went home with $150 each and I with a bit under $250. Quite
respectable on the Israeli market, though I will add another 50% to that as
a starting quote next time, and we'll still be under the full commercial
rates the big boys charge. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a DJ who
would work for less than we charge for the whole 5 piece band! The point is,
people who are going to plan an event using the usual service providers are
going to  pay big bucks anyhow. It's just a question of our valuing our
services enough to feel confident about charging full commercial rates, and
then of course being able to deliver the goods and make them happy they
hired us.

One last footnote to my story: March was a busy month partly because of a
holiday that generates a lot of party business and partly because of the
arrival of spring. I expect to finish the month with a total gross income
from music of about twice my mortgage payment. I don't succeed in doing this
every month yet, but it's nice to know it's possible. And each successful
gig lately is generating more business for us.

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Elazar "you mean I can get paid for doing this?!" Brandt
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537

-----Original Message-----
"Laurence Swain" <l.swain at comcast.net> wrote:

> How often do most of us see a gig paying that?