Knowledge

If you want to know a bit more about the function band industry and all the terms, people and equipment mentioned across the site, take a gander at the information below. Make sure you feel confident when booking any entertainment and ask all the right questions to set your event off without a hitch. If any of your questions aren’t answered here, give us a call.

- What are the benefits of booking through an agency as opposed to a local band?
- Sound Engineer
- PA Equipment
- Public Liability Insurance

What are the benefits of booking through an agency as opposed to a local band?

It may seem like a good idea to book a local band. They are often cheaper or you may feel obliged to give your neighbours nephew’s band a chance, but is your big event really the best place to cut corners?

Though everyone started out in a local band, there are a few reasons why booking such an act for your wedding or special occasion may be a false economy and better left to times when there is less riding on the quality of your entertainment.

If you book any band directly, you have no legal cover if anything goes wrong. At the very least, always check any act you book has public liability insurance and their equipment is PAT tested. But if you don’t know the band already they’ll have no loyalty to you and may have little care for ruining their reputation by letting you down with bad service. But by far the biggest danger with booking a band direct is them getting a better offer and pulling out of your event. If you book via an agency then they will have put a contract in place preventing this.

A local band has no one to control their standard of performance and overall quality as a live act, their behaviour, song choices, appearance, equipment quality are all totally ungoverned and unmonitored. With a reputable agency your act will have had to pass an audition process and will be held to account for any feedback from clients the agency receives. In fact, the band will rely on positive feedback to keep them with their agency and guarantee them a steady flow of work.

Cheap local bands are likely to sound cheap. They are usually only part time musicians and so have limited time for rehersal and practice to perfect their craft. Professional function band should have much better quality PA systems, lighting, instruments and performance ability, especially as in all likelihood they are full time musicians.

Chances are you’re looking for live entertainment for an important event. So you shouldn’t be looking to cut corners at the expense of quality. A good agency will listen to your needs and budget, and be able to advise you and adapt their offerings to find a perfect fit that doesn’t break the bank. That said, keep in mind that like good quality ingredients, you get what you pay for. You will notice the difference; you will wish you’d booked a quality band. Professional function bands provide a totally different service to a local band. To put some of the quotes you will get into perspective, your act will usually work a 10 hour day to fulfil their obligations to the average wedding/function. This will include travel to and from the venue, set up, sound check, performance, contractual breaks and packing down. Factor in as well how much of the equipment they are bringing with them. A professional function band will have high quality PA, lighting and instruments that hired independently would cost a small fortune but give a huge impact to your entertainment. Another thing to consider is how many members there are in your chosen band. A good agency will be able to offer you a bespoke line-up to your chosen act by use of professionally recorded backing tracks meaning you can to a certain degree increase or decrease the size of your band to suit your budget. Check with your agency what is included in their quote. Will you need to pay travel costs or refreshments for the band in addition to this?

Finally, if you book through an agency you have the security of knowing that there is a reputable organisation, governed by all the same laws and trading standards as any other service provider to whom you can return with any questions, concerns, comments or complaints. Agencies rely on and value their reputations because unlike a local band, it is much harder for them to reform if they receive bad reviews. Your agency will want to work with you to make sure you are one hundred percent happy with the service they have provided and will act as a point of contact for any adjustments or requests for your band on the lead up to your event.

Sound Engineer

A sound engineer is the person responsible for delivering impeccable sound quality to the audience, working with sophisticated electronic equipment at live music events and functions.
Think about the difference in sound quality between music at a professional concert, and the music at your local karaoke night. The sound engineer is there to make sure all things audio sound as good as they possibly can. Mixing desks and various control panels help them to equalize noise, control gain and compression, increase and decrease certain tones and add special effects to all aspects of the performance. That is why you can almost always hear the voice of the lead singer high above the rest of the band, while still being able to appreciate the nuances of every guitar strum and drum fill.

Most people think of a sound engineer as the person who stands behind the mixing desk at live music events, mixing the sound the audience hears (sometimes called the front of house sound). While this is one of the key responsibilities of a sound engineer, there are other areas in which a sound engineer delivers perfect sound quality that you may be less aware of.

A sound engineer will also be taking care of the sound the band hears in their monitors. This ensures the band can hear themselves play or sing, meaning they can deliver a perfect performance for you.

Sound engineers also help set up any PA equipment at the event, and run the band through their sound checks to make sure they sound fantastic from the very first song to the last.

So that covers what you get if your band does have a sound engineer, but what if they don’t?

We’ve all seen a local band play where you are struggling to make out the singers vocals above the beat of the bass drum, or heaven forbid the first song is interrupted by that unforgiving feedback. Without a sound engineer you are relying on your band to react to and fix any technical sound glitches. And because they are also performing, chances are they wont be able to fix the problem until that song has finished. Worse still, they may not even be aware that what your hearing isn’t the same as what they are hearing, relying on you to come and tell them. A sound engineer can react immediately during a performance and will have ironed out most if not all of these issues during a quick sound check before the band start.

Another consideration is how not having a sound engineer can affect the performance of the band. Most professional bands will use monitors during their performance so that they can hear their performance and make sure their timing and pitch is perfect. The sound engineer will create the right monitor mix for the band so that each performer feels confident and comfortable that they can deliver their best performance. Without this the band may feel like they are having to compromise their performance, causing a lot of added stress, and inevitably mistakes on their part.

Finally, many people forget to consider the effects live music can have on the audience’s hearing. Not only do you want the music to sound great, you want it to be at a volume that is both comfortable and safe. The band are behind the speakers and so will not be aware of the sound levels in the way that a sound engineer is. The engineer will be able to make sure your sound is always at a safe and enjoyable level.

It is always recommended to get a sound engineer where live music is playing a key part in an event. Admittedly these can be expensive when hired separately, so ask your band if they come with a sound engineer as standard. If not, consider looking for a band who do, or shop around to find an independent sound engineer. The extra cost (if any) in advance, will ensure you don’t lose any of the quality of your live performers, and will ultimately make for a more stress free experience.

PA Equipment

A public address system or “PA” system is an electronic amplification system with mixing desk, amplifier and loudspeaker, used to distribute sound throughout a venue or building. These vary largely in size and quality, and what you will need depends on its intended use.

A person making a speech or playing pre-recorded music for example will need much lower level equipment than live music. These systems are often referred to as a “tannoy” and you will no doubt have come across them in village halls or schools and other small functions. For a larger function, live event or festival where the sound quality is required to be much higher and the area to be covered is greater, a professional PA system (sometimes called a Sound Reinforcement System) is mandatory. The better quality the equipment, like so many things, the better it is at fulfilling its purpose. Think of the difference in sound quality you get from your portable speakers as opposed to your Hi-Fi or cinema system speakers.

Just as no band is the same, PA systems are all different too. Taking the time to investigate what equipment your live act comes with will guarantee you get the best sounds possible at your function. There is no use hiring a great live band if their equipment lets them down.

Good PA systems take a lot of investment, smaller bands may not have such good systems as it costs so much, or may need to hire it and so pass this cost onto you. A good agency will own all their equipment which means they are not only confident in the kit they put out with all acts, but they can pass this saving on to you the customer too.

Lower budget PA systems like Peavey and Behringer are suitable for acoustic sets but have less clarity and clout than top end PA equipment. To go back to our earlier comparison, you probably know the difference between Alba speakers and Sony speakers, it’s the same principal here.

Another consideration is how are the band using the PA system. Does the band mic up the drum kit? This is done in all professional recordings and means you can control the tone and volume of the individual drums, ensuring no matter where you stand you get to hear each nuance clearly. The same goes for all the instruments, it’s common sense that the more you divide each sound that is fed into the PA system, the greater the control you have when it comes to the level of each individual sound. Your sound engineer should know to do this and will use the mixing desk in your PA equipment to monitor and control levels. Beware the band that only puts their vocal microphones through the PA, this will mean they can only mix the vocals and none of the other sounds.

Where is your event taking place? How many people are coming? All this should be taken into consideration by your band or agency. Different venues, marquee, indoor, outdoor, number of people, all affect the wattage your PA system needs to perform at its best. Outdoor events will need a larger PA system than indoor because the sound continues to travel rather than being reflected back in by the walls for example. The problem comes if a band only has one PA system and cannot adapt to their surroundings and compensate for these things. Make sure their PA system is large enough for your venue and number of guests.

Finally, it might sound silly, but what does it look like? You’ve spent a long time getting the perfect venue and decorations, a great looking band, do you really want a beat up old PA system sitting around them? Make sure their equipment is up to date and PAT tested. Terrible looking equipment reflects on your band and looks clumsy. I’ve been to a wedding and seen bands prop their speakers on tables, this looks unprofessional and ruined the overall look of the performance.

Any band or agency should be able to give you all this information with regards to the equipment they are bringing. Consider what is important to you and don’t be afraid to ask. A respectable band or agency will want you to feel confident in them and their equipment.

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance, in short, is insurance for accidental bodily injury or damage to the property of a third party. It is designed to cover individuals and businesses from the risk of being sued by a member of the public.

Let’s look at some scenarios. While unloading their instruments, the band drum kit slips and cracks the ornamental carvings of your venue’s doorway. An over zealous guitar flourish and an enthusiastic party goer collide resulting in personal injury. Heaven forbid any of these things should happen, but who is responsible for any costs relating to these cases should they come to pass? In all likely-hood it will be you (as the event organiser) or the venue. That is unless your band has public liability insurance.

With public liability insurance your band will cover any bodily injuries or damage to third party property as a result of their actions or equipment. Not only is it nice to know that they will be taking responsibility, in many cases your venue will insist on this insurance being in place before they will allow a live music act and their equipment to enter the venue. Make sure you check with both your venue and your band what is required and what is covered. Most full time musicians should be a member of The Musicians Union which covers them for public liability insurance as part of their standard membership. That said, it is better to ask if they have this before your event than after an incident has occurred.

This type of insurance covers you for most of the things that could go wrong with relation to a live performance, but not all. Unfortunately Public liability Insurance does not cover you if your band do not turn up or members of the band pull out at the last minute. When booking a band for a wedding for example, you have probably booked and paid your deposit up to a year in advance. Imagine all the eventualities that could occur in this time. Your singer leaves the band, your guitarist breaks his arm the week of your event and can’t play, your drummer gets snapped up by a world famous artist to support his tour and decides to accept. What recall do you have on the band or agency and what should you do? If you book a local band direct then you are at the mercy of their conscience. A band that is not with an agency and has no loyalty to you has no one to answer to but themselves, and as you are unlikely to be able to damage their reputation they will have little regard for ruining their good name by letting you down.

When booking through an agency you will be covered by their terms and conditions , and any band booked through them should be contracted to attend your event, even if they get a better offer. Check the terms and conditions of any agency you look to hire a band from, these will vary widely. Some agencies will guarantee their band as part of your contract with them and so will be legally obliged to provide you with your band or a suitable replacement, though of course, their terms and conditions will have its own exclusions such as acts of God. Some agencies will not guarantee your act but will offer your deposit back. This is all well and good if you have time to book another act. Make sure you know what your agency has guaranteed you before parting with your deposit.

In all these cases, a reputable agency will provide you with written confirmation of what insurance and guarantees are included in your booking.