February 24, 2012
Celebrations
The scarsdale Inquirer/Page 5A
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Feel the beat with best music choices
By MARY LEGRAND
O
ne of the biggest decisions in party planning involves choosing the type of musical accompaniment and who will perform it on the big day. After all, as President Ronald Reagan said, “Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music.” Deciding to have music accompaniment is the easy part. But should it be live or provided by a disc jockey or emcee, or perhaps even some combination of both? Nicholas Wells, a singer/songwriter from Katonah, has entertained at a wide variety of celebratory events for a number of years and says there are a number of factors to consider. “Making that decision of deejay versus live band depends on what type of music is going to be played and what kind of audience is going to be listening,” Wells said. “A deejay comes in very handy if it’s a party where you’re looking for some top 40 dance music, if you’re looking for harddriving beat-based sounds that you can’t get from any acoustic instrument. You can’t hire a band to emulate that.” Live music, he continued, “is perfect for outdoor events like big parties in the summer. Weddings are great with a live band because, especially for the more intimate songs, such as ones for the couple’s first dance, there’s a different energy than listening to songs you’ve already heard on recordings. What’s great about having a band is that you’re really able to hear the various parts of a song.” Another party option especially popular during weddings or corporate events is to have quieter acoustic music played during the cocktail hour. Wells, a vocalist who also plays the guitar and piano, is available for these kinds of events. Robert Moschetta, who owns Entertainment & Sounds Unlimited in Mamaroneck, said that a large part of his business is advising clients about the kind of music and additional entertainment that
are right for their particular situations. He said about 95 percent of his clients come to him through word of mouth, or they have quite literally heard his firm’s work at an event to which they’ve been invited. Potential clients are first asked to come into Entertainment & Sounds’ office. “I want them to meet me and meet my team and get comfortable,” Moschetta said. “Particularly with a wedding, the situation is stressful, sometimes overwhelming for a lot of folks. We like to bring them in and help make them at ease as far as the entertainment goes.” Moschetta said the in-office meeting provides his staff the opportunity to ask general questions about what the partygiver is trying to achieve through music. “We never try to hammer a square peg into a round hole,” he said. “With a wedding, for example, if they’re the type of couple who are maybe a little more laid back, we need to deliver a product that mirror images them.” Clients are much more sophisticated than they were even a few years ago, Moschetta said, with many asking for complicated lighting and multimedia presentations along with musical accompaniment. One popular musical option, particularly for bar and bat mitzvahs, is “fusion” entertainment. “If mom and dad want the
band and the kids want the deejay, fusion is perfect,” Moschetta said. “It’s when the deejay and band or live musicians come together. There was a lot of segregation before — a deejay might play only at one time during an event, then the band at another — but now we often have live percussion, saxophone or electric violin playing with recorded music.” The concept of fusion entertainment works well when there is acoustic or lightly amplified musical accompaniment at the beginning of an event, but louder, more beat-based music planned for dancing later in the evening. “We like jazz ensemble cocktail hours, and then those musicians can play during the down time inside the wedding reception and add live entertainment to the deejay portion,” Moschetta said. One of the many advantages of talking at length with clients is that Moschetta’s team at Entertainment & Sounds often learns about special requests. “There’s always room for them in any kind of event,” he said. “For example, there might be a Sinatra tribute for the young at heart, or even the repeating of a special song from the bride or groom’s parents’ wedding.” Moschetta emphasized that no matter the type of music a client chooses, firms
must be prepared to provide more than just a simple element of entertainment. “We’ve morphed into roles where we’re providing multiple services — the singers, the musicians, the special effects,” he said. “We’ve evolved into the ultimate party planner. An event has to be great from the beginning stage when someone first walks in to the very end, and in between we’ve woven in all of these unique and different elements. That way we know we’ve done our job, especially in the New York market.” Paul Scatt, owner of Stolen Moments Entertainment in Dobbs Ferry, describes his firm as a “full-line entertainment company. We have deejays, Caribbean steel bands, classical musicians, trios and harpists, jazz trios and, of course, full-size bands as well.” Stolen Moments’ clients initially fill out a basic questionnaire before they come in for their first appointment. “We have a lot of discussions with clients,” Scatt said. Examples of what comes into play when a client is picking musical accompaniment for an event can range from ethnic background to the type of event and where it’s taking place. “If you’re doing an event in some of the upscale locations, 90 percent of the time the client will book some sort of live band and will book live classical music for the ceremony or cocktail hour,” Scatt said. Weddings or corporate events, he said, often involve a “deejay wraparound” in which the live band is succeeded by a deejay in the final hour of the party. “The room then turns into a night club, with the younger group staying on after most of the older guests have left for the evening,” he said. All of the entertainers agreed that the client’s needs come first, whether the event is a wedding, sweet 16 party, 50th anniversary celebration or corporate gathering. “We truly care about these special events,” Scatt said. “They can be nervewracking for the hosts, and we try as hard as possible to ensure that every party’s entertainment is specialized. That way, the clients get exactly what they want.”
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