[Dixielandjazz] Playing too loud

[Ministry of Jazz]

Shalom Jazz Fans,

I just saw a post today on a local Jerusalem list by the host of a private
event who hired a band with the specific provision in the contract that the
host (i.e., customer, the guy with the money) will determine the appropriate
volume level, and the band must lower the volume at the host's request. The
poor guy says the band played so loud that his guests couldn't hear each
other even if they screamed, and when they told the band to lower the
volume, the band either ignored them, or turned it down a little bit and
then raised it back up again a few minutes later.

It is a known problem in Israel that party bands play way too loud, and it
is a rare event that one does not go home without a headache. This is why my
players often try to tell me that the audience can't hear the vocals if we
don't use an amp, or that we can't adequately fill the space of an outdoor
event for 100 people with sound with a 4-5 piece brass band. So far I have
stuck to my guns and refuse to use amplification except
for a small portable amp for vocals.

I wrote the guy and said a) next time he should hire us (I said it nicely),
and b) if the band was really that bad that they didn't meet the terms of
the contract, he should have refused to pay. If the band was not willing to
play at the customer's requested volume level for artistic, egotistical or
any other reasons, they should not have accepted the job.

What's wrong with players who are so wrapped up in their own egos that they
will leave a trail of unhappy customers behind them? Gigs don't grow on
trees! And you can completely ruin someone's once in a lifetime event. For
what?!

Playing solo or with a small combo in a restaurant, I have had the problem
of people complaining the music is too loud even when I'm barely playing
loud enough to hear myself, and  completely unamplified. There has to be
some reason to the issue. If a restaurant has a jazz night, then presumably
people come to hear the jazz, and a reasonable volume level should be
accepted. If somebody wants to make a toast or give a short speech, I always
stop playing for this when requested, but some people are more gracious
about the requesting than others. Once in the middle of a song, a fellow at
a nearby table turned around, waved his hand at me rudely, and barked at me,
"Can you stop playing for awhile? I want to give a talk." I stopped on the
spot, which I feel is rude to others who may be listening to the song. (I
prefer to finish the chorus at least.) The fellow then proceeded to give a
religious talk on manners!

I have found one way to solve the problem. Sunday I'll be going with a small
troupe of entertainers to play music, do juggling and balloons, in Sderot,
the Israeli town that has been on the receiving end of the Kassam rockets
from Gaza for some time. I figure, if a Kassam lands in the area while we're
playing, people probably won't complain that the music is too loud. Will let
you know how it goes.

Best regards to all,

Elazar "cover me, I'm going in" Brandt
Dr. Jazz Dixieland Band
Tekiya Trumpet Ensemble
Jerusalem, Israel
www.israel.net/ministry-of-jazz
+972-2-679-2537