I call it the W.W.L.C.P.M. equation.
When was the band been created ?
Where have they performed recently (list of venues) ?
Letters of recommendation from past clients hopefully with letter heads of their companies (eg. for corporate events).
Credits of the band members. Who have they played with in the past - this not very important since thousands of good musicians have not played with stars, but if you are lucky enough to find a band that you can afford composed of guys who also have played with big names, and who are now playing together, chances are that you will live a great experience!
Performance abilities: listen to the demo. Is it a live demo? If yes, you can see how comfortable and skilled the lead singer acts with the audience and judge his/her stage presence and easily take your decision.
If not, judging can be much more difficult unless you are able to view a live video in front of real audience or see the band performing live on stage, the latter being your best decider.
For any reason, some band leaders are recording top studio demos, spending thousands of dollars for this, as if they were in the business of selling CDs. They are NOT. You don't want to buy a CD, you want to hire a LIVE BAND, to know how they will sound like during the party!
It is impossible for any covers band on earth to sound like a studio recorded CD when performing live with a 800-2000watts PA in a balllroom or a marquee. There is NO way to judge a band on such a medium.
Members: Are the band members always the same or not? By asking many high profile bandleaders, you will find that it is almost impossible to guarantee that the musicians who will come to your party will be all those on the CD, video, photos.
This happens only in two cases:
(1) this bandleader has so many very well paid bookings that it can secure work for its musicians all year long - usually paying them a monthly salary - this is VERY rare, or
(2) it is not a band composed of professional musicians but friends who play together during the week-ends for the fun of it. This may be a good band too, by the way, but...
The guys who tell you 'make sure that they have always the same musicians' has no clue about the reality of our business.
The leader of a professional band who is not in situation (1) above and tells you that he always has the same musicians is being unreal, to say the least. Unless he accepts poor musicianship in his team, he HAS to accept replacement musicians every now and then. Good musicians are in demand. they can be hired for a tour with a big star or for a TV show, or to record on an album full time for several days/weeks, or called for a private function for the Sultan of Rajiapore at any time, for very high fees. And you can only keep such musicians as 'main members' in your band if you accept this.
So, a professional and experienced bandleader will have 2-4 guitar players, keyboard players, etc. to choose from, each one of them being a high profile and reputable musician. And he will make sure that any replacement will know the songs of the repertoire well, before the engagement.
This is the truth of the matter and is a very good way to check who you are dealing with when you contact a band leader.
It can take 4 years or more to build a network of such great musicians who all know the bands' repertoire amd are good at all the styles that the band plays.
They often have to be seasoned players in several styles of music. A professional band may have 1 or 2 replacement musicians every 5 gigs, as an average however the difference is only noticeable among themselves. You will not be able to tell. And it is a pleasure to perform with each one of them.
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