Hello lovely people! After a few days busy making music I'm back and I've got a fabulous fun musical discovery for you in the form of the fantastic Yorkshire based Party Band The Superlicks!
If you're looking for a group to get your wedding guests up and dancing then The Superlicks are definitely the guys for you, covering a great range of music from the 1950s up to recent chart hits in an upbeat set designed for fun and dancing.
In fact, I've had a bit of dance around the office to these guys today!
The Superlicks have performed at a range of venues across Yorkshire for weddings, charity events, corporate gigs and lots more but the best thing about their fun loving attitude and fab music is that they go the extra mile to design a great musical package for your event.
Whether you want the bells and whistles live band or an acoustic set for a smaller more intimate venue, The Superlicks will deliver. Also included in their packages are full lighting rig, all the equipment they need and DJ to keep the music going whilst the boys take a well earned comfort break! Or, if you and your guests fancy a spot of karaoke then The Superlicks will do the honours and organise that too.
A cool bunch of gents, check out The Superlicks' promo video here:
If you love them, book them! Either contact me or get in touch via the band's website and remember to mention you saw them here! http://www.partycoversband.co.uk/
I was asked the other day: "How can I turn my wedding reception into one big party soul and motown party?" and then I discovered a band that might just be able to fulfil that very request!
If you're looking for a fab band to "crash" your wedding, then the Wedding Crashers won't crash it, but at your invitation they'll certainly supply the va-va-voom required to get your wedding party swinging!
This 6-piece party band is just ace, providing a mix of live soul, rock and Motown classics which are guaranteed to get your guests up dancing the night away.
The band has plenty of experience with every type of performance under its belt from weddings to corporate events to live open air festivals and whilst based in West Yorkshire, they have toured and performed in the UK, Europe and the USA, bringing their mix of energetic musical performance to numerous stages to the absolute delight of audiences, party-goers and wedding guests.
They're great value for money too, with realistic fees and some great music for your money, these guys will rock any wedding, party or event and certainly come as my recommendation of the day for some great, funky tunes to get dancing too.
So have a listen and enjoy. If you're interested in finding out more or booking them just drop me an email at expressivoweddingmusic@gmail.com and don't forget to check out the band's own website at www.theweddingcrashers.eu
It's Saturday morning and many suppliers and couples are off to wedding fayres up and down the country. Wedding fayres are fab as they allow you to meet suppliers, gain inspiration and negotiate some good deals and discounts.
To be honest, I wish I was at a wedding fayre today but for me, a day of admin and musical rehearsals ensues as I embark on a very busy week of music-making!
However, in this very quick journal today (I'm preferring the word 'journal' to 'blog' so go with it whilst I try it out for size!) I thought I'd give you the first of a few hints on things to consider when talking to potential music suppliers for your wedding.
Most importantly, whilst searching for music for your wedding, even though it might not be a priority in your budget, do remember that musicians have to earn a living and pay bills too. If you want professionals you will have to pay for services. If you want live music but only have a small budget, think of cutting down the required time, what kind of ensemble you have or even consider getting a fabulous semi-professional or amateur organisation (like your local town bass band or village choir).
Having said the above, don't be afraid to negotiate prices.
Make sure the musicians are able to accommodate your exact music requests and make sure there is plenty of notice so they can source or arrange the music you want. I'm sure they will be happy to add in any piece of music to their repertoire with a little bit of notice.
Be realistic. Your musicians cannot play continually for six hours without a break. They will need suitable comfort breaks and refreshments so be kind! Playing a musical instrument is like being an athlete, the musicians have to look after their muscles, bodies and minds.
Make sure your ensemble is suitable for your venue. No good booking a full scale symphony orchestra for a very small church.
If you're unsure of anything just talk and ask. I'll give you any advice I can so don't be shy, just get in touch.
Enjoy your day at the wedding fayre or however you're spending your Saturday.
Good Morning lovely people! I've spent the last 24 hours discussing music choices for a wedding this Spring with a lovely bride and, to match the elegance of the wedding, we've settled on a subtle string quartet to supply the music.
It got me thinking about how music can reflect the style of a wedding and how quite often, elegance and sophistication is associated with string quartets (though as a brass musician I know we are just as sophisticated!).
Thanks to the powers of being a professional musician for many years I've been so lucky to meet and work with some amazing musicians, but a few weeks ago I happened upon a lovely London and South-Eastern based string quartet called Carnaby Strings.
Consisting of four beautiful ladies (apologies gents as all this week's musicians have been female, but superiority, bias and all that!), the group have been working and performing together since their days of musical studies. Each, in their own right, are talented and sought after musicians, performing for some of London's most famous musical establishments such as English National Opera, Royal Opera House, BBC Concert Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and numerous West End Shows and they join together to create some stunning music through the medium of Carnaby Strings.
Tailoring each event perfectly, the ladies offer a wide selection and genres of music for weddings, private functions and corporate events and they have performed at weddings and events at some of the most distinguished of venues. Just check out the venue list on their website! Ranges from The Ritz and The Dorchester to The Houses of Parliament.
With quite obvious style and class, there's no doubting they would offer the most fabulous touch of elegance to your wedding and the sounds they provide could be the most fabulous accompaniment to processionals, recessionals and reception music.
You can hear and see for yourselves how beautiful this string group sounds and looks and they will not disappoint, working closely with you to make your experience perfect, and that's what we love about all our musicians we feature, the personal musical touch to make your day perfect.
For more info on Carnaby Strings get in touch with me at expressivoweddingmusic@gmail.com or check out Carnaby Strings website at http://carnabystrings.co.uk/
Yes, it's true. I'm in Love! Of course, I love my other half very much, but this week I'm particularly in love with all the wonderful music themed wedding finds.
This blog is a fantastic opportunity to showcase fabulous musicians and promote their work and bring you inspiration of sounds, but I've also discovered a much bigger world of wonderful musical themed wedding ideas!
My particular love today is these wedding invitations, from a picture I found on Pinterest.
Don't you just think they're adorable? I think they're so fantastic I've decided I'm going to start trying to make some of these fabulous ideas, I mean, it's not like there's a shortage of sheet music in our house from vintage, to the brand new music composed by my wonderful partner, Simon, every day!
In fact, How fabulous would it be to have your own special music composed or arranged for your wedding day, printed out to create the invitations and then performed on the wedding day itself. Well, that's an idea - I'll be launching that one and you lovely readers heard it here first! I'm loving all this wedding music fever, puts a smile on my face every day!
Having found the above picture obviously I had to look for some more and so here they are:
Simple, clever and adding a beautiful musical touch, there are a variety of ideas available.
But one of my favourites is this! Little, perfect musical packages!
It's Sunday and it was fantastic waking up with the window open and birds singing; true sounds of spring and I love it!
I'm looking forward to today; a day of musical rehearsals and then relax time for the evening before two weeks of intense music-making. Therefore, I have decided that we need to make the most of the few hours relaxation we get on a Sunday, so I am re-naming Sunday 'Sunday Sounds.' The day when we get to listen to some great sounds and music.
My plan is to find you some great accessible music to listen to from the traditional to a little different, hopefully it will give you some ideas and inspiration, either for your own wedding or just inspiration of some great music to listen to.
So, where shall we start? Let's start at the beginning, with the traditional and for the Processional (the bit where the bride walks down the aisle!) sometimes there is nothing better than the sounds of Trumpet Voluntary by Jeremiah Clarke. Now I might be biased as I'm a trumpet player but it is superb!
This version is the fantastic London Symphony Orchestra performing the classic piece of music.
Lyndsey and Mark and the salute from the Slaithwaite Band
In December 2012 two lovely people, Lyndsey and Mark, married in the beautiful Yorkshire town of Holmfirth and by request from Lyndsey, she walked down the aisle to Trumpet Voluntary, played by me on this occasion and accompanied by the Slaithwaite Brass Band, the band which Mark plays with and Lyndsey is one of the 'WAGS!'
It was a fantastic day, even in December the sun shone and the music was so special, mainly because it was performed by friends and people who love the gorgeous young couple, and they had a fantastic trumpet player too!
Their service music also consisted of hymn tunes including Shine Jesus Shine and a fantastic, but slightly unusual choice of recessional music (the going out bit!) of a march called Killaloe, which is the regimental march of the Royal Irish Regiment.
This was chosen not because of any real connection to the Military but purely because Mark had played it several times when a member of a brass band and loved it. It's a rousing finish to any concert or musical event and I think it made the perfect finale to this wedding. Have a listen here and see what you think:
Music played such an important part in the wedding day of Lyndsey and Mark, with the Slaithwaite Band also playing at the evening reception, before a DJ took over the evening.
A mix of the traditional and unusual, enjoy the Sunday Sounds that made Lyndsey and Mark's wedding perfect.
