In the last few years many if not most bands are offering what they call a DJ service when you enquire about their service as a band.
Some do work with professional DJ’s and indeed I have done this in the past myself
From the outset it certainly seems very convenient. One point of contact for all your entertainment, and more often than not it can be cheaper than using an independent DJ.
All good right?
Well before you agree, maybe let’s look a little bit deeper into what you are actually getting.
If it’s a tired band member plugging in an iPod he probably won’t want to be there.
He won’t be removing his equipment bit by bit as the evening goes on, so there is only one speaker left for him/her to remove at the end of the night.
He/she certainly won’t be sitting on a chair yawning wishing the night away possibly looking at an empty dancefloor and not really caring otherwise.
If you attended a few weddings where the “DJ service” is being provided by the band, chances are you will have witnessed something like this. Indeed there are some horror stories going around backed up by video of empty dancefloors for the last few hours of the wedding.
The fact that the band are usually the first point of call for the entertainment means that they usually get to offer the DJ service before you even considered looking for a DJ.
From their perspective they’re are already set up, it’s a few extra hours for some more money, and they can probably do it cheaper than a professional DJ so who cares if it’s not great?
Whereas when a professional DJ is booked for a wedding, they want to be there.
I for one would be mortified to be seen dismantling my equipment before I finished.
Certainly I’m not going to continue with some playlist which is totally unsuitable for the crowd on any given night.
Most DJs don’t do playlists really (there are exceptions if the client is adamant that they want certain songs played in a certain order but that would be specific), we much rather work with your guests on the night and customise the music to their personal tastes.
Ultimately a professional DJ wants to finish the full dancefloor smiling faces and people looking for more…