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I never thought I'd play a wedding, much less enjoy the prospect. "Wedding Band" always seemed too safe, too watered down a concept for what we liked to do as a band. But people asked, and asked, and we finally said, OK - but NO TUXEDOS. They said, "we don't care, we just want to have a great party with everybody laughing and dancing". We said, OK - but no predictable "Celebration" type songs, unless Kool and The Gang is on your guest list. They said, '...play whatever you want, same as you play in the clubs, just throw in some Frank for my mom'. We said, OK - but NO TUXEDOS. About 150 weddings later, we can honestly say we've seen some of the best parties, some of the rowdiest crowds, and some of the funniest stuff that rivals our wildest club dates. We've had brides and grooms request '...nothing but the heaviest stuff you guys can play', we've watched Mongo struggle through "Through the Years" - and everything in between. We've heard a priest say "I've had more little boys than you could shake a stick at" to a room full of awestruck guests, as well as best-man speeches that would make Helen Keller blush. We've watched a western-style barroom brawl break out at one wedding, and a full scale actual fireworks display at another a day later. We played a very formal indoor wedding that featured a live goat and chicken in the reception room, and another in a park complete with a Texas style barbecue pit and the head of a pig placed at the head table wearing sunglasses. It poured later that day and we helped the GROOM squeege the dance floor clean. Got pictures of that. Too many stories...and more bloopers than Spinal Tap outtakes...Like when I introduced the parents of the bride from the provided list, only to look closer and find the names scratched out with the word "deceased" alongside... ("The Parents of the Bride...uh, will NOT be here tonight, except in spirit") as the maitre'd just looked out into the room still smiling and casually paddled his hand toward me in a very 'let's keep it moving' gesture. I never did another cold reading after that one. But hey, they're all still married. And we've never left them wishing they'd insisted on tuxedos. Sure we've made a few guests uncomfortable, but in the end, they loved us the most. And who wouldn't... |
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