That was crazy. Super disorganized but you handled it very professionally. You did what you could with the resources you had. Coming from a professional photographer for just under 10 years, as long as the bride is happy that's all that matters. Great job you two.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Agreed. If we all did our jobs right, I don't think the couple had any inkling of the last minute needs. At the end of the night, they were all happy and complimentary, so we'll take it as a win.

Thanks for the posts, these remind me of the many years I worked / volunteered in AV. I worked for 13+ years as a casual for a large PA company doing everything from staging, PA, lighting, pyro and later projectors / flat screens etc. I volunteered at church for 30+ years (sometimes being the only "production" operator) and having a lot of my own gear, I was asked by friends & family + others to help with birthdays, engagement parties, weddings & more. All I can say is great job (once again). Unless you are hired directly by the couple, then the "coordinator" is responsible to plan & arrange everything & make sure everyone knows when they are on, what they are responsible for & what times everything is happening. Subcontracting to the band makes things tougher for you.

@thesoundcouple

4 ай бұрын

It sure can! If you check out our recent NYE video, it was kind of the same thing where we were interfacing between the band, client and venue....We generally don't mind this work when it's appreciated not expected.

Hi Bart, I always watch to the very end! You guys are great.

The sound company I work for, on occasions, was hired to provide sound for a band that was to play after the dinner at a wedding. A few days before the event, we were told that there was a DJ/MC that was going to tie into our system. The event was to start at 4:00 and the band was on at 7:00. We were going to arrive around 10:00 and set up, have sound check and leave and return at 6:00. It was a big venue that has national acts play there. When we found out about the requirement of the DJ tying in, that meant someone had to stay there the entire time. After sound check the band was going to leave and return at 6:00. The owner of the sound company requested more pay, as we would be providing support for the DJ and wedding, all of which was beyond what we were hired to do. The band (they hired us, not the wedding party) refused to pay the additional cost and the contract was terminated.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Not a fan of people that don't value your time or expertise!

@robfriedrich2822

Жыл бұрын

The usual way should be, the manager requests something additional and gives us some extra money in cash into the hand.

00:14:00 - I would have been very stressed in this situation. Time is running out fast and additional requirements were given. But you made it through very well. Good job, SC.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! We were lucky to catch some of this.

Love the classic recording Mr Bart. i need that for my playlist. awesome recording.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Ha Ha! Feel free!

Hi Bart and Stacey, Great job as always, Yes I agree it is so frustrating for lack of communication. But as always you all handled it with class. Always making it happen. Keep up the great work

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chuck!

salute to SC. Although with all the chaos, you guys still have time to record and provide us with this video!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

There is always some luck involved!

Wow… you are WAY more patient than I am!! When I did weddings, it was always in the same venue (church), so I had access to pretty much all I needed. But I definitely had my favorite coordinator. When she coordinated, things went smoothly. Well done.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

This person was at least pleasant and open to actually having a dialog with us. We literally have one identified coordinator that we will never work with again. This gig was unfortunately a logistics mess, this other person was simply not a nice human being.

Great vid again guys. It’s taken me 40 years, but our checklists save us, mostly.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

We have a list, but with everyone involved, it's tough to get answers sometimes!

You did what you could with the info that was made available. Thanks for documenting the difficult moments. Honk!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome and thanks for making it to the end!

This one was awesome! This is how most gigs have gone for me...haha...people have gotten bad a communicating their needs and we do our best but man, gonna add a clause to my contracts, stating stress pay if everything is thrown at me the day of...haha....great stuff guys!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

If only we could add the stress clause, we'd be millionaires by now!

Man! This is real world education for all those looking to do this for a living! You guys handled all that greatly, thanks for sharing! Oh yeah... Honk!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks John for letting us know you made it to the end! We are glad that our goal to keep it authentic is recognized....the good, the bad and the ugly never goes away...it doesn't matter how long you have been doing this!

Thx for another great video. Love seeing you when they popup. YES - this is probably more common than anyone realizes. Yes - we are we expected to be fully on a swivel when they do. NO - we seldom get “all” the right info. There’s always one more last minute wrinkle. We are from the same school of training… gentle push back just to be sure people realize we are going above and beyond what was originally agreed, expected and paid for. But of course in the end, we’ve always got one more mic, or one more speaker “in the van” just because experience has taught us to be prepared and we will be as accommodating as possible. When the “crowd” doesnt even realize or suspect there was an issue, then we’ve done our job. PS - Honk! And thx again for all your effort

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Appreciate the confirmation at the end! Yes, can totally relate to your perspective. Thanks for sharing.

You handled it pretty well.

@thesoundcouple

8 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Wow - well done for keeping your cool and getting the job done. Basically the wedding coordinator is there to make sure everything is COORDINATED! There should be no surprises for anyone - including what happens when it rains and what the schedule is. At the end of the day it looked a great show and that’s what counts. The final twist is that they want you out in 1/2 hour!!! 😂

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Alastair...I think you bring up a good point and that is what is the scope of the coordinators job? From our experience, a lot of them want nothing to do with the entertainment portion unless they need you to do something for them.

I am literally gobsmacked by the unbelievable confusion The Sound Couple had to face at this wedding reception gig. The failure of communication from whomever was being paid to coordinate the wedding and reception is almost unforgiveable. I cannot imagine how production company personnel work through these utterly ridiculous situations without going “postal.” There isn’t enough money to begin to make up for the stress that Bart and Stacy must feel in the midst of such chaos. As usual, the major lesson in this particular learning experience is to expect almost anything to go wrong and to come prepared to deal with whatever happens with the maximum professionalism possible. Certainly, The Sound Couple always rises to the occasion, as they did in this particular video. As a strategic planner, I can imagine constructing some type of detailed contract that would clearly spell out the exact limitations of each gig. I sincerely believe that it is very likely that Bart, with his 25-plus years of experience, has already done exactly this, drawing upon his absolute best to try to anticipate the worst that can happen. For the rest of us who view these videos, we need to understand the importance of anticipating needs-even unspoken needs-on the part of clients. Thanks to Bart and Stacy for your willingness to allow us to experience, through the lens of your cameras, the kinds of experiences that will help make us into the kind of professionals you have become. It is rewarding for us to learn from you. I hope you realize the positive impact you are having on those of us who view your videos, time and again. (I am on my eighth march through the entire catalog of your videos and find myself learning something new each time I watch one of your instructional masterpieces.) By the way, I always watch to the very end and enjoy the post-video “Easter Eggs.”

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Dean! Your comments make me think about budgets as well. The time we are spending outside the gig counts as well so the more time we spend with e-mails/telephone directly impacts the bottom line. In some cases, the gig has consumed too much energy prior to our arrival for what we are getting paid, which is when we think we are actually earning our money.

I feel your pain, Stacy and Bart! Been there too many times. Always enjoy your videos. Gives me something to compare my own work to, though I have to admit I skip through alot of the setup and band playing footage. (No offense). I've seen it a million times! Merry Christmas to you both! Here's to a great 2023 full of awesome gigs!!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Joel! We figure we put the footage in for the new peeps! Every now and again we do capture some pretty interesting nuggets! Wishing you a happy new year as well.. we’re looking forward to some down time, enough to catch up on our back log of videos and other ideas!

@joelglaser5657

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple - And the nuggets are why I always watch your videos. You do have some good ones!

Always to the end! It ain't over till it's over.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

That's what life is about...and we can add Vikings games to that list too!

I feel for you guys. This video shows why I don't do weddings. If I feel like doing the wedding I still charge more than normal, because they will always put you in a difficult time-sensitive situation that could have been easily avoided. It really never fails. Weddings are the worst.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

After last season, we have continued to keep on learning from all of this. With that, we are being very picky in our choices for this year - keep watching and you'll see how that works out for us!

Hey Bart and Stacy, Soundasauris here. Wow, this was a great video... among your best and most meaty! The following are my comments: 1. "Honk"!!! 2. Your ability and capability to turn even the worst situation into a roaring success FOR ALL involved is what makes The SC the best at what you do!!! Consummate professionals! 3. The video post production has gotten to a new level. I love the on-screen sit reps, explanations, and comedic inserts! They also help support us understanding the issues that you are dealing with. 4. Although (fortunately for everyone) I'm not in the sound business any more... retirement is fantastic, I really connect to you and your plight on every video you have released! 5. Is that a 4001 CS on the wall behind you!!! I am a bass player (even to this day) and that is one bass that is still on my GAS list! I do have a 2022 4003s MG that I love... it was the closest to the CS that I could afford. Hold on to that one Bart, they are rare as hens teeth and worth a fortune these days!!! In the words of Mike Tyson: "Everyone has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth"... It's what you do after that is what sets you apart from others! 'Till next time... Have fun and be safe!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! We appreciate that because we really didn't know what direction this video was heading until we dug into it. 1. Appreciate the confirmation! 2. May be obvious, but I wasn't feeling good that day so it was extra hard to be "professional". 3. That's good...making these videos is an adventure of its' own! 4. With every year that passes, we look more forward to watching other people work too! 5. To Stacy's chagrin, I could do a video just on my Ricky collection, but yes, that one is a C64S. It's a fantastic guitar and I am sure it has gone up a lot in value. As much as was a drummer first, I get more personal enjoyment playing the bass. However, the chops these younger guys we work with makes it hard for me to want to play! I enjoy watching them more!

Love that song at the end from Spaghetti Western

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

It typically works really well to signal..we're done!

there is an event that is a struggle! w when the subject is organization on the part of the ceremonialist and they don't do it there it is out of general control! congratulations for the excellent work,,,

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your comments and watching!

After a myriad of these kinds of disasters, we built a solid defense strategy bringing "all the other stuff they might ask for" when its a wedding or other likely non-professional type event. It just became a standard part of the pack. Battery powered speakers, and/or portable battery for playback of cheap speakers and cheap mics both wired and wireless, adapters so someone can playback whatever music they want that no one planned for, etc. That migrated to up-charges we are happy to provide because we always want to say "yes" but negotiate what is extra. Its a fun game of outsmarting the chaos.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

It's a sad fact of reality that we have to resort to being the "Boy Scout" and prepared for any unforeseen scenario that gets thrown at us. One would think in this day and age that most venues/wedding coordinators have seen it all and can provide the necessary insight to all parties involved in the planning! Glad to hear you're getting compensated for it. We think that weddings in general we don't get enough credit for the entertainment portion that's being provided compared to what was spent on the rest of the wedding!

We used to work with agents in the past and all I can say is, it never ends well! There’s always items missing, this changed and never handed over. We’ve stopped working with agents and only work with a handful of co-ordinators that we can truly trust. A few thing we’ve learnt. Whether we’re just providing Dj services only, or dj and event services, the music, mc, venue, photography and videography all need to be across the same changes whether whether it directly affects them or not. Knowing what’s going on ensures the entire night runs smoothly for everyone and that rubs off on the event itself. It should never be about ohhh us or you. It’s a collective and when you’re all on the same page, you tend to have a ripper night and happy from all fronts. You guys did the best you could with the circumstances handed to you and made it work to the best of your abilities. Hats off to not just saying too bad so sad and trying to help where you could. Trust me when I say other people wouldn’t. Well done in keeping it professional guys 👌

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your insights. Love all of the feedback we are getting on this topic!

Very well done. It’s extremely frustrating and we’ve been there many times. Looks like a lack of communication from the other parties, especially the coordinator. The very definition of a coordinator is to organize the event and “coordinate” with all parties to make sure everything is runs smoothly.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

One would think that a coordinator could/ should anticipate these kinds of logistic issues! Hopefully we have all learned a lesson!

Great video! Good that they moved you inside, but that's just bad planning and coordinating if they didn't plan for an indoor PA for MC duties in a separate space. If a venue is open to the public, in my experience there are always timing issues for load-in and setup. The fact that the venue needed you out in 30 minutes on top of all of the last minute requests is just crazy. It's always sad to see people spill drinks on expensive equipment; the bassist looked helpless and defeated. Looking forward to seeing your solution for reinforcement in different rooms. Happy holidays!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

A lot of lessons learned this day, including what you said about public venues. As to people spilling their drinks all over, it's the sad hazard of gigging - all you can do is be proactive and protect your own gear! (maybe our drink sliders worked too well...)

You handled everything pretty well....despite all the disorganization..

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! We probably could have been more engaging, but we were in a hurry and trying to ready when we were scheduled to be. This was a tough situation to want to take any ownership of these issues.

Whenever an event is booked outside, I always give a headsup: what is “your” plan B? So they have to think about it.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

In this situation, I think the only thing that was planned for outside was the band so the issue would have existed either way....but yes, it is important to understand the plan B. Another thing we have experienced is a term I will call "client exhaustion". It's easy to say it's important to get details, but sometimes the customer can become annoyed with the number of folks they are dealing with just to hire a band for their wedding. I have experienced that phone call trying to get the info we need and they are clearly annoyed.

Omg I would have lost it with that woman holy cow. You handled that well I think.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

These are tough situations. Have seen it go different ways but it was clear to me that she was in over her head….being difficult would have simply made it worse.

As a wedding DJ, you and the band adapted to the situations thrown at you very well. Weddings are always tricky as things can change instantly, so being able to adapt to change is key. As to what went wrong on this day, really falls mostly on the day of event coordinator. It seems she did not plan before the event. Making the day run as smooth as possible is completely her job. That means that she should have reached out to the venue, the band and all other wedding vendors to make sure everyone was on the same page. For you to be on that same page is on the band to include you in the loop for logistic and sound requirements to be met, but it sounds like they weren't in the loop themselves. From what I saw and heard in the venue is the day of coordinator showed up with a piece of paper that was not shared to the wedding vendors involved. All i can say for future reference is to reach out to these day of coordinator and make sure your information matches. In my experience most of these coordinators are novices at there duties and are unaware of sound requirements and logistics. That one phone call can keep you from headaches at the event.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Good points...I spoke to the venue, but did not reach out to the coordinator. I still struggle with that, but I understand that it is about protecting yourself and providing the opportunity to avoid problems the day of. I still wonder how this would have gone down differently if we were outside!

@XIIMonkeysMusicGroup

Жыл бұрын

Those coordinators know zilch about audio production.

We do lots of weddings,unfortunately the crap you went through happens quite a bit. If there is a coordinator I try to connect ahead of time to work out details, also, I always bring a battery powered wireless satellite speaker. We can throw it up in a pinch, add a mic and music play back as needed. It's saved us at many events

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

As our wedding date are starting to book for '23, we are coming to terms that we will likely invest in a "wedding pack". Like you mention, battery powered speakers, wireless mic pack (including lapel...ugh!), and perhaps BT connectivity. There's a trade off to managing more gear, but we are doing more of them and lugging around 50 lbs cabinets connected to a 32 channel mixer is too inefficient for this application.

I made it to the end and have you worked with bands with e-drums like electric ones since they are powerful and the band I worked with on shows has a drummer on a e-drums and I need help how to get a proper mix on drums and the full band and glad you guys made it through

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for making it through! Personally, I am not a huge fan of e-drums, although I understand their benefits and do serve a good purpose for certain applications. The biggest reason I find they are needed is more about the drummers that can't play and adjust appropriately to a room. If you are mixing them, I would try to have as many independent lines as possible and not the entire kit being fed through one line.

Hey guys! Big fan, absolutely love the channel. Can I ask a question Bart? In regards the DI from the bass, do you take this with his eq on it or pre eq? I mean, do you take the signal flat and add your foh eq? What does he get in his iem's, his own peadal/amp/preamp eq or the eq from the foh? Thanks in advance!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Hi Pat...to be completely honest with you...I'm not sure on both answers. The band handles all of their own staging/monitors. What's most important to me is if I am getting a good signal and good sound. I get both from him, so I don't need to go into any further. The band carries their own IEM system, so what they mixing in their ears is completely independent from anything we are doing. Thanks for watching and I am sorry I don't have a definitive answer for you!

If your hired by the band then your responsibility is the band and nothing else. They are the ones that are responsible to give you direction. Bottom line is who ever is writing the check should have sent all the info to you.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Well, in this case, it was the band and honestly, I tend to agree that ultimately, that's where the buck stops when solutions are required at the gig.

All of these items must be set forth in advance in a Service Agreement document, signed by both parties. If someone walks up to you with a change, you may point to the signed service agreement.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Ideally, that would be the case...sometimes it can be hard to get a phone call returned!

Welcome to italian's normally situation, especially weddings... here disorganization is the rule, and until the day of the ceremony you won't be able to know that 30% of what will happen to you, even the best wedding planner will certainly put you in difficulty and we at the service are used to the most bizarre requests of the 'last minute!

@thesoundcouple

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! Good to know, but not good news!

That wasn't an easter egg, it was a van! I tend to click on as soon as the credits start rolling, assuming you're not doing a Marvel movie with extra scenes :D I'm impressed by watching Stacy carrying one of the top speaker units up the ramp and into the venue, good workout there! With regard to the wedding planning, I guess that if you are just hired by the band to do the sound and lights for the band, then there's not a lot you can do about additional requests ... though *someone* obviously needs to make sure there is going to be sufficient power etc. Nevertheless I think you've now got enough experience to come up with a checklist that you can send in advance that asks for things like "How many additional rooms do you require sound in?", "Do you require sound for the wedding ceremony?", "What are the first dance songs and will you provide them on USB stick, do we need to provide them, or are you asking the band to play them?", "Do you need sound for speeches during dinner, including microphone(s) for speeches", "Do you need sound for any kind of video presentation? Note: we do not provide video projectors or screens so you will need to provide your own/talk to the venue" .... there are going to be technical questions for the venue so you know how big the room(s) are and power provision (also where you can and cannot run cables) and then there are going to be questions for the wedding planner (and unless you get back a signed confirmation of what services you'll provide, then you won't bring the tech (aside from some spares) to handle any non-agreed additions. Of course you could just always have a spare monitor and a wired microphone in the back of the van for emergency PA/speeches duty. Or even a Boss Street Cube to allow a singer with guitar or speech maker to have a standalone battery powered unit that can be used out on a patio or in the car park or whatever :D And a ring binder with laminated pages for "Emergency Exit ONLY - Keep Closed" to stick on doors like the one you had in the video. You don't want to block a fire exit but you don't want people allowing rain to blow over your mixer and laptops. With the signed checklist of what you are expected to provide, you can then tell the "day of" planner no to any additiional requests (or quote an additional price!) and it would be really great to get the contact details of the "day of" organiser ahead of time to confirm with them what *they* think they are doing. Doesn't help if they only show up a couple of hours beforehand and discover that the Irish Dancing School needs a wooden floor, and a sound setup for an acoustic Irish band for between the ceremony and dinner, with the main band in another room after dinner.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Good points....I guess it's a balancing act of what we are told it will be vs. prying for all of the details before we take a gig....that approach has backfired as well unfortunately.

I have ran into this before. They believe miracles can happen when you just plug the power in…BUT Bart, all she needed is a microphone…😂😂

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Just a microphone, just a speaker, just a song, just not too loud, just a request.....never ends!

@RegularTennesseeJoe

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple 😂😂

I always make to the very end.

My anxiety levels were on fire throughout that whole interaction during setup. It's understandable that a coordinator may not understand acoustics, but every vendor needs to be sent a complete schedule along with any rain plans ahead of time, and it all could have been clarified days before. The day of coordinator clearly was in the dark about it as well... it's unclear who was doing the advance planning here and sending out communication, but I think that's the source of the issue. honk!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I think you are absolutely right. I believe there was another person involved that was doing the "coordinating" and she sent another person out the day of. Thanks for letting us know you made it until the end!

yes I look to the end ! 11:27 ;)

Setup in 32 minutes?!! Tear down in 30 minutes?!! Neither is humanly possible!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

LOL! We setup in just over an hour and our gear was out of the building in 30 minutes....trust us!

That rickenbacker bass and sweet tele and Ibanez 🤘🏽 didn’t you jammed too

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I love all of my guitars, but my playing days have been on a long hiatus, but I still take them down to strum and wipe 'em down. I imagine one day I will join a geezer group and we will sit around fumbling through Smoke on the Water on a Saturday afternoon remembering the good 'ol days!

@dallasslim1838

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple btw wedding planners drive me nuts too changing everything on the fly and not knowing what to do next I’m a wedding Dj happens a lot I have my way to hav a good evening and they have their own plans lol

As a former DJ of 15 years, I feel your pain. It used to amaze me with the "it's your problem, now" mentality of some. BTW. Honk!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for clarifying that even DJ’s get stuck with situations like this!

At least the Coordinator apologized and asked very nicely...Last Weekend was really stressful for me...we set up a small Play (with Livestream) for a Local church in my old school's cantine room, where we have a Stage with Lighting. We set everything up till midnight when we called it a day. But just 2 days before I got told that there would be an Event on Saturday. But with no Info so far, except they just wanted the Lights to be turned on. Upon arrival (I only went there so none of my stuff gets moved or stolen) they wanted me to move the already set-up FOH (which was already at the end of the room). Then some Video Person arrived with their camera and asked if they could use my Tripod which I had already set up for the Livestream I then told them we could also use my camera (which was on the tripod and I had brought it to do tests for Sunday anyways) for the wide shot so that she could get some Close-up shots for a more interesting video...she agreed and we started setting everything up, including running audio to her camera see we could have a clean audio feed instead of her Audio guy which later came to record off of the speakers with his boom (he later also got an audio feed from me). I also then hooked up our 2 cameras to the Streaming computer to do a live edit. When we were almost finished the event coordinator asked if we could do a soundcheck to see if all the mics were working (he hadn't even told us they would need any...and then behaved like he can tell me how to do my job). I told him we already did that yesterday and that they all worked. A few minutes before the Show was scheduled to begin we got asked for monitors for the Band they brought (a few African Drummers, a Flute, and a Guitar looking thing) I just told them we don't have any which he accepted but he probably rolled his eyes and went away. I stayed there till Midnight to hand the video person the edited Video (Editing while kids are running around you is not very fun and also having to get up to get kids off of the Stage...) And yes this was all unpaid...I love what I do so it's okay but some people should really get their expectations down when they get FREE Tech set up for them. And they also shouldn't even complain about things they didn't even ask for in the first place. Great Video as always! And sorry for my English...I'm not a native speaker...

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

No issues with your English! Appreciate you sharing this story....wow!

This is a venue 'F' up as far as I can see. The Sound Couple were booked by the band to provide sound for the band, not for the venue. It would be no different than if the band was a self contained unit running "speaker on stick" sound themselves. It really annoys me that venues and organisers assume that the band, DJ or PA company will provide mics for speeches and announcements without any prior agreement or discussions. I laughed with you when you were told you had to be out by 10:30pm, the venues have no idea what is involved!! You remained very calm, I would have probably told them the 'F' off by this point, which is why I am banned from talking to any of the clients or venues, I just do the techy stuff 😂 You both coped with this very well 👍

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

We fought this for years and sort of gave up as an additional line item. I remember getting into a pretty heated discussion with a venue manager years ago that was freaking out because we wouldn't them use our system for speeches because the house system was broken and we wanted to be compensated for them using it (I assume they charged the client for it, so they were trying to cover their ass and get it for free from us). That said, we try trying to build it into pricing as much as possible. One band we work with will ask us what we need and will bill the client into their pricing. Other bands we work with will bump up the budget when extra's are needed. All in all, not as bad as it once felt.

In that situation we should be able to say not my problem, but like me your a professional who goes above and beyond to get the job done. I think the fault lies with the coordinator, the clues in the title 😂. It’s her job to ensure the day goes smoothly, giving someone a clipboard doesn’t automatically mean they are in control.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

We hope that by sharing these experiences it demonstrates that all challenges will not be resolved with simply hard solutions, but it will help others navigate similar situations...it's difficult to place the blame on any one individual just like there wasn't one right solution either. She perhaps dropped the ball, but at least she was working with us and sympathetic to the situation. If not for that, these situations can get ugly when you are being talked down to and told what to do.

I've been to several weddings as a guest and this was the worst planning I've ever seen and I'm sure it's the same for you guys too. I understand the weather situation but the day coordinator was clueless on some things. There was I think a couple of times I was actually involved in the planning of 2 weddings for my sisters they had the say but I was there for moral support and as you know there's a lot in planning a wedding and yeah they had DJs for the reception not a live band but the DJs knew everything that was going on and to me it looked like everything went smoothly for my sisters weddings. I'm sorry that you guys had to deal with this it sounds like to me a very poorly planned wedding to me regardless of the weather. One last thing I put the blame soley on the planners not on you guys nor the band at all. I also want to say you guys and the band did great considering all the screwups on the planners part.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for your insights....not to get too deep, but I think in part, with COVID isolation, it's harder for people to work together and think past their own tasks. So many things seem broken still.

@bretthibbs6083

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple I'm also sorry if I sounded harsh. I agree about the Covid Isolation and I felt really bad for the musicians during that time cause that's their lively hood for some and companies like yours I now that you and Stacy have full time jobs but still. For me during the month that everything closed down 2 years ago I was sick it didn't really bother me and also I work in the food industry so I was able to be around people after I got better.

Bart! I have to say that you are pretty fly for a white guy! 😊 And one heck of a sound guy also, keep up the good work.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Kieth!

OK...where do I start? If the band hires you, you have to ask the questions to the issues that came up at the venue...that's all on you. The band should have asked all the same questions to their employer. I ALWAYS ask for plan A,B,C, and D. , it drives my manager crazy but he always thanks me when it's over. Now... Most weddings have a "Master of Ceremonies" / DJ who coordinates the event, and to me...that was the missing component to this shindig. An official "Wedding Band" would pick up most of this slack and do it quite smoothly. Nice vocal/drum chops Bart...............Hi Stacy! 😁

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I think “official wedding band” hits at the heart of this gig. While this band does do weddings, it’s always been treated like just another gig for them, and they are not in the mindset of the true day of logistics. Lesson learned on our part! Ask for more details if we do another wedding with this group!

@buddylove9484

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple I would add…anytime you’re hired specifically by a band and not a wedding coordinator. Fun stuff you guys are putting out there .👍🏽

Nice black van for sure. What I would have done: 1) explain to “day of” that none of her requests were part of my contract. Anything she needs over what’s in my papers will cost extra to be paid immediately. 2) find out from her what she needs, and if I have it and she can pay the costs, get it set up. Now I’m working for not only the band, but also the coordinator. 3) if she can’t pay in cash, it stays on the truck or trailer. That may seem bad, but it keeps them honest and I’ll help all I can. I’m tired of giving away services (value) to unorganized people. The adage, “your emergency is not my priority” comes to mind. That said, I’ve done some of this in the past and it always bites me in the a$$. Every time. They get something for free then complain it’s not what they wanted and they make me out to be the bad guy. Also, I really pause long and hard before I do something for a “benefit” anymore. I have to get the minimum of the costs to bring out the system. This includes gas, helpers, and rental of equipment. I have “donated” my time personally, but I can’t not pay my helper(s). Been awhile since I’ve done one of those. I don’t want to work for free anymore.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Yes, the feeling of working for free is a not a good one. Will add one more "we will provide you helpers at the end of the night" to bring down costs...yeah, they were either long gone or too drunk...never again!

If you were hired by the band, your there to support them. I would be sending the wedding couple a bill for the additional stuff that they used your equipment for, unless that was in the contract with the venue then they would get the bill.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

We will typically support a complimentary mic for weddings (as the band does) and we knew there would be a need for "a mic". However, it was more about the capacity and expectations here. Clearly more was expected than we were aware of.

@lesterkaufman5612

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple yes, I too will provide a wireless mic for general announcements or even general background music when the band is not playing. Covering multiple locations and additional services would be extra if not agreed upon with the band beforehand. Like dropping your van off for an oil change and telling your mechanic to go ahead and rotate your tires and check for trouble codes, because they already have their tools out it should be no charge.

What sucks even more is when your already setup outside and they decide to move it indoors.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thankfully we have have that as a condition. Once we’re set up.. we’re there, or in most cases the gig is called for inside before we arrive.

I would have dropped in several "I'd love to chat about the issues you are facing, but we have just 30 minutes to do a 45-60 minute setup due to the stage change." Rushing to help her take up her shortcomings has the potential to spill back and affect your part of the band support. This is one time where showing her the last communications you have [and none from her] several times wouldn't be labeled petty. Saying "we're just the sound people, I don't know how you are going to handle those tasks." It almost sounded like she came back to use you as her crying towel once she realized how F'd up her delivery was becoming! I ran into a small few of those in doing touring sound support. Mostly was venues not hiring good/sufficient pre-gig staff. Annoying but I stood firm with my boss's support as he wanted no part of gig coordination beyond for-hire sound (he even stated it in his contracts).

@fullscale4me

Жыл бұрын

Lots of great comments and suggestions below, esp reminding them Plan B is on them, not the sound couple!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your insights Mike....not easy to always know what to do. We did a wedding a few years back where I pushed back on issues that were definitely not our problem (in a nice, but firm manner) and I was mentioned a few times in the feedback to the producer that we were basically terrible to work with....and then I needed to defend us again afterwards. There is no winning it feels like sometimes.

I could not count the times a bands was supposed to stop at a certain time but kept playing because the crowd screaming for more and then your screwed for load out.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I know someone that will simply shut down the PA when the band over played!

Well sounds like the venue was expecting a DJ that comes and set some speakers up and a table and it's done. Not a full band! They also overbooked expecting the wedding to be outside. The a coordinator assume they could just piggyback off the band, without asking for that ahead of time. It's also one of those they have sound equipment they must all be the same kind of things. I might recommend getting a direct contact with venue / coordinator ahead of time and asking if there's any preconceived assumptions ahead of time if possible. To confirm assumptions and what not. "It's always frustrating when everybody has a little bit different info", let me finish that sentence because the information wasn't shared with everybody as the scope of works expanded. Weddings are getting more and more expensive for reasons… So everybody wants a piece of the pie whether they know what they're doing or not. So there's a lot of assumptions to assume a band is just like a DJ. Wow out by 10 they definitely assumed DJ on the venues part of things because that's probably what was communicated with them or not communicated. The venue was not told there would be a full band and probably didn't know what that would entail. I wonder if that exit time was communicated as guest and wedding party have to be out official closing? I don't see why that would be a hard deadline as the staff will probably be there cleaning up yet. And of course everybody's being rushed which makes your decisions worse. Stop and take a deep breath and think through the problem(s). Oh boy sounds like something got spilled. I have considered putting absorbent material near my kit and trying to make it quick to grab. Usually I have something nearby enough to start well somebody runs to get more. Even if it is just a couple of napkins from that restaurant I stopped at three weeks ago. Easter egg? Am I looking or listening. I'm assuming in the Drive back?

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I did talk to the venue manager, but none of this came up. The key would have been talking to the coordinator behind the scenes, which is likely the conversation that was missed and we did see a name so we had an opportunity. We are way down on this list of an entire communication chain that unfortunately things were missed. We were told everything was set so we didn't think there would be a need to keep prodding for more information.

Wow! No assumptions should ever be made when it comes to the coordination of things. The "day of" coordinator should never have been put into the position where they were making assumptions on anything. It seems to be whoever planned the event did a shoddy job in handing things over to the day-of coordinator and anyone who actually needed this information; makes me wonder if the person or people actually responsible for things were there on the day at all... I suspect not. I always do my best to make things work (as you did) when supplied with duff information.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Lesson learned - Weddings will always keep you on your toes! (No matter how much pre-planning went into it!)

Didn’t know Bart plays guitar!!!

@thesoundcouple

9 ай бұрын

I was playing in bands, etc. throughout a good chunk of life and transitioned to production only. I was that guy in the band.

@captainsoot

9 ай бұрын

@@thesoundcouple I used to play drums then i moved to doing lighting for bands, gigs, etc.

28:45 Why are you sometimes wearing that stoopid surgeon's mask, then other times looped over one ear as though a fashion accessory?

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

I was under the the weather that day, so I was trying to be considerate to others of that fact. I was just taking a break from it for a few moments when the room cleared of guests and patrons.

Who hires the Sound Couple? The wedding client... or the bandleader? As a vendor I would be looking to whomever hired me for the job for information, instructions...

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

In this case, it was the band that hired us, but we did the advancing.

@joewrigley4962

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple yes understand, thanks for reply and thanks for your great videos

I made to end of the video. Honk if you made it here!

you get some curly onescf

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

??

If I had to guess, the planner assumed they could use the "unnamed performer's" PA for those extra bits, and never told the day of coordinator, or the "unnamed performer" and because you clearly had the bigger PA, she came to you looking to solve all her problems. If you guys were outside, they probably would've done the same thing, and saddled the performer with the extra duties.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Sounds reasonable! Pretty much someone had some clue but never conveyed it to anyone!

"Honk!"

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sticking with us to the end!

Вот для этого всегда нужны письменные договоры или хотя бы онлайн переписка! Чтобы правда была на вашей стороне и вам ничего не смогли предъявить для обвинения в непрофессионализме.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Очень верно - хорошо сказано!

Sounds like they need a new wedding planner.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

The lady there was just going off of what she had, same with us, so someone dropped it on the back end.

This lady could not coordinate taking air out of a paper bag. She needs to run a daycare.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

This was a learning experience for us...we have a lot of weddings on the books this year so we will see how it goes!

Clients are cunning, they continually find new ways to shoot themselves in the foot. We try to find ways that our systems can catch these problems, we don’t always succeed.

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Hopefully by us sharing, we keep the conversation going!

A good time was had by all. smh

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

That's what counts in the end!

😖

Extremely poor communication from advance and day coordinator; recommend not working with them again unless/until you have an advance call where you can ask pertinent questions including rain policy and full AV requests. Honk! 😊

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

After thinking about it, I believe we just received the "timeline" schedule and not the "itinerary"....I can see a difference and will note moving forward. We never saw the itinerary so if we did, perhaps we would have seen the red flags. I believe the "Unnamed Musician" stayed past his time to accommodate the speeches which just makes this situation even a worse oversight.

Hi The sound couple and I'm 13 and you've taught me how to cable manage my light tree thankyou for the help and it makes my setup more neater thanks you two (I'm a DJ my main channel is @TheNHSDisco)

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Hi Scott - thank you for sharing your comment! We are so happy that we were able to help you out a bit! Just remember that the learning never stops and through all the mistakes, it's part of learning and making you a better DJ!

@scottblount6409

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple That's okay and keep up the good work

I watch the end. Honk honk

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Nice!

Honk honk

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Will!

Honk Honk!!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for making it to the end!

@theSimonManuel

Жыл бұрын

@@thesoundcouple I cannot be more grateful for the videos you put out. The work ethic, the way you handle curveballs and I love especially the recording of live performances while documenting the whole thing for us to learn from. I am so glad I came across your channel. There is much I have learnt and much that helped me in my own journey with sound. Keep doing what you do! Thank you Bart and Stacy!

@thesoundcouple

Жыл бұрын

@@theSimonManuel Thank you Simon - you just made our day!