Vijay Tellis-Nayak’s production and recording chops were recognized in USA Today’s Music Section (along with Snoop Dogg and Macy Gray, among others) for the work he did with funk band, The Right Now.
USA Today Link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2010-07-05-playlist06_N.htm
The right now link: www.therightnow.com
Temple will be playing guitar with the band, Little Nashville, on Sunday June 13th at 4:00 p.m. Little Nashville does rockin’ tunes for toddlers. Learn about them at http://www.myspace.com/littlenashville .
The first Monday of every month, Temple plays with Rikky Harriman as part of the acoustic duo called the Big Ditties. Temple and Rikky play their original music along with cover tunes of their choice. Lizard Liquid Lounge is at 3058 West Irving Park in Chicago.Everybody Wants You
Scott is the unofficial 4th member of the popular original band, Back Yard Tire Fire. The band frequently opens for Los Lobos. Check out the pic of Scott jamming with Los Lobos. He’s second from the left. Pretty cool!
Temple Schultz, Rhapsody’s Band Leader, will be performing a set of her original music from her soon to be released CD.
Date:
Friday, December 4th
Location:
4544 North Lincoln
Recital Hall
Time:
9:00 PM
Musicians:
Temple – vocals, piano, guitar and songs
Scott Tipping – guitar
Bob Garrett – percussion
Disparity in pricing is commonplace when shopping for musical entertainment for your special event. Some bands cost upwards of 10,000 while others may only cost a few grand. Ask yourself these questions when you come across an expensive band:
The magic answer here is OVERHEAD. All of the above are reasons why a band would cost a lot of money. Here are slightly more answers to the above questions:
Does the band have a free-standing office space?
Rent for office space is padded into the cost you are paying for a band. Your purchase also pays for utilities for that fancy office space. It’s not paying for better musicians.
Does the office or band hire administrative assistance?
Is the answer “yes?” If so, then you are paying for salaries as well as extra commissions that are paid to administrative staff that “seal the deal.” Some band leaders reward up to 20% commissions to administrative staff upon contract signing – more standard is 10%. I’ve actually gotten emails (by mistake, I’m sure) from a band leader whose offices are in Evanston soliciting me to come to a training seminar where I could “learn the ropes” in selling different bands booked out of his office. The invitation was extended to anyone looking to make some additional money. The kicker is that these people are not required to have any musical knowledge whatsoever. And they probably have never even seen the bands they are booking perform live. It’s all about the sales, not the music.
If the band you want is booked, are you pressured to book another band under the “umbrella” of the agency?
If the answer is “yes,” move forward with extreme caution. Here’s how if works: The main band is booked the most, then the secondary band and so on. The band leader for the main band is getting a cut off all the other bands booked out of his office. The secondary bands do not work as much. Therefore, musicians are pulled in on a sub basis. How do I know this? Because I have been one of those musicians on multiple occasions and so have the other Rhapsody musicians. If Rhapsody is not working on any given night, we will undoubtedly be performing with one of those super expensive bands. It’s called Trickle-Down theory, but the person at the top is the one making the most money here. Unfortunately, it does not guarantee better musicianship and often times means you are getting a band that is put together.
There is a remedy to this. If Rhapsody is booked, you will be referred to another band. The difference is that we will give you the number and direct contact information to the bands we refer so that you can contact the band leader on your own and work with their specific contracts.
Does the band have a large advertising budget?
There is a true story to be told here. Telling it will best answer this question. I once sang in one of my peer’s bands. His finances weren’t budgeted well and he ended up not being able to pay his musicians. Meanwhile the musicians that he was not able to pay (myself included) saw his expensive ads pasted on the sides of CTA buses, four-color full page ads in all the magazine publications, and preferred vendor placement on the Knot (at over $500 a month!) The musicians started planning for a class-action suit in hopes of getting their money.
Don’t fret. There is a happy ending to this story. A friend came to ultimately bail him out of the hundreds of thousands dollars he owed to many top-call musicians in Chicago. This friend is now a business partner. Also, thanks to his large investment in advertising and all the expensive wining and dining and cutbacks he paid out to hotel catering directors and wedding planners, this band leader now has a LOT of work in Chicago. So much, in fact, that he has multiple bands out on Saturday evening.
Alas, for every Yin there is a Yang. The bad ending to this story is that the best musicians in the city will not work for this band leader. Okay, they might work for him from time to time and if something better comes along, they will sub out. But his reputation is forever stained due to his lack of principals.
Bottom line – be leery of the band leader that sells music and doesn’t make music.
Rhapsody’s best advertisement has been word of mouth. The band’s good reputation precedes them and this allows them to focus on making, not selling, good music.
Did a hotel or planner persuade you to hire a particular band? Were scare tactics used?
Some wedding planners and venues’ special event directors only claim to hire certain bands. If they resort to scare tactics should you mention hiring a band not on their vendor list, then proceed with caution. They could be getting a nice cut of the pie. Bottom line is you should be able to hire whatever band you want to hire. It’s fine to go off of recommendations, but you should never be limited to those recommendations.
Rhapsody does work with many planners. Some of those planners do take a percentage of our contracted price. If you are not working with a planner, depending on the logistics of your gig, talk about getting a small discount.
Transient Sound is officially open for business. Vijay co-owns the studio with Steve Gillis (drummer for Grammy-winning rock band, Filter). The pair built out the studio from scratch and the result is amazing. The studio will feature recording and production services for musicians and bands of every genre. Already, multiple bands who have recorded at Transient have been showcased on WXRT. Learn about the studio at www.myspace.com/transientsound
Control Room A
Rhapsody’s mission for its blog is twofold: First, to provide the most updated information on the musicians in the band and second, to provide those planning their special event with accurate information and insider tidbits on the wedding band culture in Chicago. Peruse the blog. You will quickly see that Rhapsody’s musicians are of top caliber. They are involved in a number of professional and creative musical endeavors outside of Rhapsody. We also hope to provide answers to questions you may have regarding the logistics in hiring wedding bands in Chicago so that you can feel confident and comfortable in your final decision.
Rhapsody’s band leader, Temple, performed with popular Chicago cover band, Tributo-sauras, for over 1,000 people at Park West. The band covered the music of Pink Floyd and Temple showcased her vocal acrobatics singing Great Gig In The Sky.