Good luck,

Gary

I have played a few places where there was no dancing. A Sunday Brunch at a seafood restaurant, Ralph and Kackoo's, an art show I play every October (BORING), political fundraiser dinners (they would have to dance on the tables, but that would probably be all right at $200. a plate!), a couple of funerals, a wedding (not the reception).
I sometimes play for special occasions in the dining room, rather than the lounge, at my "regular" job. There is no place to dance in there, but sometimes a couple will get up and dance anyway!
However, I still do pretty much the same music anyway.

They dance at the political fund raisers up here, Don, and they pay $1,200 to $1,500 a plate for finger food - they usually have a small, open space right in front of the stage where the political wannabees tend to gather with the ladies and, if they're drunk enough, which they usually are when it involves free, high end booze, they will dance a lot until the speeches kick in. Then they get bored and tend to pass out in their seats. Sure paid well, though.

I never thought about a funeral, but don't people dance at Irish wakes? Don't know - never been to one.

Gary

I play 3 or 4 fundraisers each election year at the same place, a private venue. It's really nice, but no place to dance. The prices vary according to the political office involved!

I did one for George Bush, he wasn't there, but instead, sent a representative or some sort. It took place in a huge hall in Abingdon, MD, probably 1,200 people there, mostly lawyers, building contractors and state politicians. I don't know how much they paid to be there, but someone told me it was in excess of $2,500 a plate. All the time I thought I was doing well charging them $500 for the 45 minutes I was able to play music before and after the speeches. George Bush did, however, show up on a couple big screen TVs and they were yellin and screamin just like he could see them, but I knew he couldn't cause there was no camera to telecast our end, at lest I never saw one. It was a wild night, though.

Those were the days,

Gary

The widow of a sax player I had worked with several times asked me to play at his church funeral. I balked. It was the first time I ever had such a request. She said she had already asked and received approval from the Episcopal priest. She wanted me to play the songs (all dance tunes) that her husband and I played on jobs which featured mostly 40's era swing and latin, ..also approved by the priest.
I played Embraceable You, Satin Doll, It Had To Be You, Begin the Beguine and other well known favorites as mourners entered the sanctuary and at the end of the service. I was careful to keep the volume and dynamics of each song at a respectful level

During the service the priest explained that the Widow had asked for and arranged my contribution to the service. Naturally, there was NO dancing but several in attendance sought me out with positive comments about how appropriate the music was in light of the deceased's musical interests and his wife's wishes....including the priest.

I know this is a bit off topic...but I'm sure many pros and part-timers here have been asked to play events that go beyond the norm.

Eddie

All very interesting but I don't know what it has to do with my premise that there is no single, guaranteed formula for success in the music business. Sure, dance is usually related to music but it's certainly not absolutely required for a performance to be successful. And, I don't always have to KNOW a song to be able to enjoy it. Maybe I will just enjoy a song for the beauty of it's melody or chordal structure or lyrics or just the artistry of the musician performing it. At least Don was kind enough to acknowledge that there are at least a few places on earth where there is no dancing. In my opinion, what works musically depends as much on the type of audience as it does with the musical act being presented. If you enjoy dancing the night away and trying to converse with your friends over the din of the music, then fine, but if you enjoy a good glass of wine, great listenable music played at levels that allow for normal conversation, then you'll probably choose someplace else. Some people like Jeeps and Pickups, me, I prefer MB CL550's. Luckily, we live in a world where both are available.

chas

Luckily, we live in a world where both are available.

Yep, I fully agree, Chas - why does this keep happening to me?

All the best,

Gary