‘Should we choose the playlist for our band or DJ?’ is a question I get asked a lot. It’s a tricky one because I understand that when you’re planning a big corporate event, there’s a lot of pressure, and there’s always that worry of wanting to be in control of every single detail, especially when you know that your clients or colleagues are really into their music.

However, I tend to advise clients that although it seems like a good idea at the time, it really is best to leave the song choice and design of the band or DJ’s playlist to the experts. I myself (with a ‘slight’ tendency to feel I have to please everyone!) used to let clients take free reign of the playlist whenever they wished to be involved, and sadly it rarely worked as well as if the band could be left to their own devices to put something together themselves.

There are a few reasons for this….

1. Don’t forget that your band or DJ is experienced and talented at what they do, and part of their talent is their ability to judge what songs will work well. Even just this one small statement has a lot of factors involved. For example, there are plenty of songs that a DJ could play that just wouldn’t work with a live band – tunes that would be ‘dance-floor fillers’ when the DJ plays them, but ‘dance-floor killers’ when the band plays them!  Certain songs may really suit your singer’s voice (or not!)… Some songs work best at different points of the evening…Bear in mind that if you’ve booked an experienced act, their playlist will be ‘tried and tested’ at hundreds of events, and they’ll know exactly what works and what doesn’t.
2. In order to keep a crowd up and dancing all night, the playlist needs to be constructed in a specific way. Any great and experienced band or DJ will know how to structure their set-list so they can work your audience in the most dynamic way possible. This consists of analysing tempos and styles of songs so that the playlist can ‘peak’ in the right places, or perhaps for a band, thinking about the ‘key’ of the songs so they can seg-way songs together (or similarly a DJ would need to analyse tempos so he can mix between one song and another). Certain songs are natural ‘openers’ (i.e. for the start of a set) and ‘closers’ (a big high impact finish!) and other songs are those classic ‘winners’. It’s all a bit scientific and there’s a lot to think about!
3. With Live Bands, and to some extent DJs, keep in mind that their usual set-list will be rehearsed and gigged every week. Most professional bands that work regularly will have spent months rehearsing their playlist, and then years performing it! If you’re booking a band that are busy and popular, their set-list will undoubtedly flow together. I know with the bands I run at MIB Music (www.mibmusicltd.com) , we always make an effort to either seg-way each song (go from one to the other without stopping, like a DJ would), or start the next song as soon as the other is finished, so you don’t have any ‘awkward’ silences between songs. However, if the band had a playlist that you have specified, it’s never going to be as flowing and smooth as the songs that the band always play week in and week out. Of course, a good band will always make an effort to perform this as well as they can, but what I’m trying to advise is how to get the best performance from them.

 

Bearing all this in mind, I tend to now recommend clients to try to relax about song choices and playlists.

‘But I’d really like to have some sort of input….what would you suggest?’

I totally understand you want some kind of input…the last thing you want is a band to start playing your most hated song, have the guests running for the door and ruin your evening AND reputation! Or a DJ who pulls out something awful like ‘Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny’ and clears the dance floor.

My advice is:

• Ask your band for their standard ‘playlist’ for a corporate event and then a list of their entire repertoire. I would definitely not recommend putting together your own list from the repertoire, however what would work better is to look through and pick out any songs in their playlist that you absolutely hate, or anything from the rest of the repertoire that you love. Then chat with the band representative and see how they’d feel about replacing them. Bear in mind that there are some songs which would need a lot of thought to replace, so let them get involved too. For example, if you want to change the opening number, you’ll want to work alongside the band to decide on an opener that you’re happy with and the band feel will have just as good an impact.
• You could always give your band or DJ an idea of ‘theme’… for example, perhaps you’d like your DJ to start off with music from the 50’s and 60’s, and then play mostly 70s with a little bit of modern music at the end. A suggestion like this is not too restrictive, and means your DJ or band can still ‘work their magic’ to ensure everything is well constructed and do the best job possible. In fact, this is really very common amongst our corporate clients – quite often they’ll suggest that they want a ‘soul & motown first set,’ followed by a ‘cooler, younger themed modern second set’. This is great for us as a band as it helps us have the flexibility to come up with something really fabulous and cleverly constructed.

 The most important factor to think about is that everyone you hire will want to do the best job possible. Remember that they are the experts, and you are paying them for their expertise. If you let them perform in the way they know works well, or compromise with one of my tips above, you can guarantee your event will go swimmingly and you have a full dance-floor all evening.

Happy Planning!

Sera

 

Undercover Superstars…How Singing Waiters Can Work At Your Event

People constantly ask us at MIB Music that age old question, ‘How do I find something truly different for my event?’ When you’re putting on a corporate product launch or seasonal do, deep down in your heart your ‘inner Hyacinth Bucket’ comes out (come on, we all know there’s a piece of her inside us all!) You want this to be the best party anyone has ever been to… You want this to be something your guests will comment on for years to come… You want this to truly be a spectacular occasion…Most importantly; you want this to be different to all the other events you and your guests have been to…

 

So why not consider singing waiters?

How it works

There are various ‘Singing Waiter’ companies out there, all of which work generally in a similar way. We’ll hide three vocalists undercover at your event. Traditionally this will be as waiters and waitresses, although some companies (Undercover Superstars especially!) will now offer a multitude of characters such as chefs, bar staff, firemen, policemen, event managers….even undercover guests!

The characters will work undercover at the event from when the guests arrive, lulling the crowd into the false security of believing that they are indeed staff for the event (but subtly drawing attention so they get noticed – perhaps an overly clumsy waitress, a chatty chef or a maybe a ridiculously pushy ‘networker’ at your corporate event).

At the given moment, one of the characters will draw attention to themselves – perhaps the chef approaches the mic to ask how the food has gone down, or maybe a waiter and waitress have a rather loud argument to attract everyones attention…and so then launche into a jaw dropping performance, shocking your guests at their stunning voices. One by one, each character comes out of the woodwork, each performance climaxing the next, and your guests getting more and more stunned each time!

Why Undercover Superstars? www.undercoversuperstars.com

We run ‘Undercover Superstars’, who are one of the UK’s leading singing waiter companies because:

- We are the first, and currently (as far as we know) the only company to offer this service with modern singers (all the others are opera). We find the modern option is incredibly popular and appeals to a huge range of people, young and old! Our singers perform tunes from artistes like Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, Aretha Franklyn, Queen, Frank Sinatra…and many more

- We taylor make each scenario to suit your event, which means working closely with you as the client to come up with a scenario that will keep your guests fooled, and absolutely shocked and speechless at the end of the night!

- Our vocalists are all incredible performers and have a huge wealth of experience, not only from performing at functions but also topping the charts with their own original material. If you fancy seeing a gorgeous ex boy-band member getting your managing director up to dance with him, or twirling your accounts manager round the dance-floor, Undercover Superstars is the place to come!

- Our vocalists have a huge amount of energy and vibrancy – they love to perform. Our Undercover Superstars have been known in the past to dance on tables, run round the room, perform back-flips across the dance-floor…one of them even ripped his trousers in excitement! We are proud to say that out of the all the singing waiter acts we’ve seen, we are the most high Impact, exciting to watch and memorable! (If we do say so ourselves!)

- We include a PA system and sound engineer in our basic price, which means you always get a smooth show! (A lot of other companies will not provide this unless you pay £600+ extra on top of their normal fee, and if you don’t, they expect you to find someone to deal with the sound engineering. This is something to watch out for when booking this type of act – the sound engineering is an imperative part of the show and we think its crucial to have someone who is experienced with working with the act).

- Our sound man will also DJ for you and your guests before the performance, and up to 2 hours afterwards, which creates more of a ‘whole package’ for your evening.

What Previous Clients Have Thought…

‘Just to say we had a fantastic time on Saturday night. The guys were superb and got the crowd dancing til the early hours. Thanks for everything!’

‘A big thank you to you and the rest of MIB Music, and of course ‘Undercover Superstars’ for making my party such a big success. Everyone has been talking about how great you all were. No one guessed Rachel was an imposter and the guys on her table were dumbstruck when she got up to sing! The waiter was a big hit in more ways than one…I have a queue of women here all wanting his telephone number…poor guy! Thanks again….’

‘What a fantastic performance…I was looking for something really different, in order to impress our clients from overseas, and wowee thats exactly what we did! Thanks so much to all of you! Your attention to detail and customer service was fab, and a lot more than I was expecting. And of course the singers voices and comic timing was incredible! What a hilarious show….I’ve had nothing but great comments…’

Greetings Corporate Entertainment World!

We thought it high time we split our Blog into two so we could have a space dedicated to Live Entertainment for Corporate Events. We’ll be updating with news, offers, ideas and inspiration for your company christmas doos, networking events, product launches and everything in between!

But first, a little about MIB Music.

MIB Music started as function band ‘Sera Golding & The Men in Black,’ who quickly became incredibly popular and are now known as ‘MIB’, one of the top party bands for Corporate Events not only in the UK, but the band are flown world-wide to perform for companies all over the globe. The company then developed other bands such as Funkadelics (a 3 or 4 piece party band), 21st Century Riot (4 piece indie tribute!), and Undercover Superstars (a modern take on singing waiters) amongst another number of acts.

As a company, we’ve provided entertainment for companies such as Coca Cola, Waitrose, M&S, Lloyds TSB, HSBC, ABN Ambro, Pepsi Max, Yamaha, Vodaphone, Boots, The Daily Mail, The Telegraph, OK Magazine..to name just a few, and pride ourselves on providing not only spectacular entertainment acts but also a truly reliable and professional service. Most importantly, every single one of us absolutely loves what we do…They say ‘music is the universal language of mankind’, and we would love work alongside you and help provide outstanding entertainment for your event.