...with the sound of music

Calvin and I knew before we were officially engaged that we did not want a DJ at our reception. Both of us had too many bad experiences with it, and besides, what are the odds that they would have the right music? Both Calvin and I were involved in college radio not that long ago, when WCWS 90.9 FM transitioned to

College radio staples such as Iron & Wine, The Postal Service and (my personal favorite) The Magnetic Fields were definitely groups that we would want played at the reception. And what better way to do it than on one of our own laptops? The only drawback would be that we would have complete control over the music, and no emcee (darn!)

Cue the parents.

Both sets insisted that we have a band. Absolutely insisted.

So, we thought, why not? If they want to pay for it, we can have a band. Only they have to be good, and not cheesy at all, and not do any covers of disco music. Given our own musical preferences, we decided that we wanted a band that would cover jazz/swing standards, as well as some Frank.

::sighs:: I love Frank.

That led me to google, where I found our first contender: The Dukes of Wail

Now, that picture is deceiving, because there are currently only six members in the band. Both of us have heard them before when they played at our college's Winter Gala (like prom, only with better food and without the awkwardness), and they were great. We contact them for a contract.

But Calvin's jazz band experience convinces him that they sound, well, a bit empty for the sound we are looking for. Which is true, given that they only have two horns. He wants a big band. I think that they must be outrageously expensive.

Ernie Krivda did some work with his high school jazz band, so we contact them for information.

Look pretty snazzy, don't they? But given that Ernie Krivda is pretty famous (at least locally), I feared they would be out of our budget. After intense scouring, I came across two other bands.

The Dave Banks Big Band


The Dan Zola Orchestra

Keeping in mind that we (I at least) would have been more than happy with the Dukes of Wail, we emailed each group for prices. Ernie Krivda was $1300+ more than the Dukes, and the Dave Banks Band was $500+. The Dan Zola Orchestra? A mere $75 more. Score!

We then sent Calvin's sister and her boyfriend to scout them out, as they play every Tuesday at the 100th Bomb Group restaurant. (For those interested, they also have a nice place for wedding receptions). They went, and although the crowd consisted entirely of senior citizens (aside from them), they had a great time, and said the band was fabulous. So we signed a contract, and the Dan Zola Orchestra will be entertaining us and our guests for 4 hours at our reception. And during the band's breaks, we can play a bit of our college radio indie rock music if we feel so inclined.