On Tuesday, we had a guest performance from the band Colour Blue. Their set was approximately 25 minutes long, which is the same length as our set for the final performance. During the performance the band played many famous songs, all of which were played solely on djembe and guitar with vocals and occasionally keyboard (played by Nic). The djembe is a unique selling point of their band because not a lot of people use them, especially to play pop music and it was sentimental to the band member who was playing it.
I enjoyed the performance because it was done with high energy and confidence, which helps us as an audience to believe in them and that is helped by their song choices. The performers knew that if the audience reacted poorly to the songs, they would have to change. This was only possible due to their repertoire of songs and their ability to improvise and communicate well with each other as well as the audience. Another thing that helped them with this was their lack of nerves. They told us that confidence comes from performing hundreds of gigs but that at the beginning, they would imagine a teddy bear at the back of the room and look at it if they were too nervous to make eye contact with the crowd. I tried this method on Thursday when rehearsing and it was actually very helpful.
Another interesting thing about this band was their ability to set up their PA system and instruments quickly. They said it only takes them around 45 minutes at most when setting up in larger venues, including the DJ booth they use at wedding receptions in the later evening. This is done with their own PA system which has to be PAT tested, along with any other instruments. With regards to health and safety, they also discussed the importance of Public Liability Insurance (see health and safety page) and use of the Musician’s Union. Without abiding to these rules and regulations, they could be seriously hurt or seriously injure someone else and possibly be sued for a lot of money.
During the Q and A session, they told us about their earnings for the year. They said that before getting an agent, they sill had to have a side job to earn money. Now though they earn around £25,000 a year depending on the amount of gigs that they do. As they are predominantly a wedding band they only really make their money during summer (wedding season). However, they earn more than other wedding bands because they also DJ and can therefore play the music during the evening reception. Their advice was to play the couple’s wedding song for them so that they will hire you. The only downside to having an agent is that they cannot really book their own gigs and they have to pay their agent 20% of their earnings.