Event Advice and FAQ
Hiring entertainment for your event is a big deal and needs to be taken seriously. We have loads of experience with this and have provided these pages of wisdom below. Please take time to look through them no matter who you end up booking. It's seriously useful information.
Q: What kind of events do you perform at
A: Here are just some of the common events we perform at
- We are regularly asked to perform at family events such as Birthday Bashes, Retirement and Wedding Receptions. It's a great way to get your family and friends together and see who can still swing those snake hips. some prefer a Hotel and some prefer the village hall either way it's alwayas a good fun evening.
- Corporate and Office Parties used to mean improper photocopy use, flat sterile outsourced musicians singing songs about going home to Alabama but that was way back in the olden days. Modern audiences have much more sophisticated tastes. They are looking a bit more fun perhaps dressing the boss as Dolly Parton and performing 9 to 5 or perhaps a We are Family team building dancefloor hug. Line us up and give your work even more to talk about around the water cooler.
- If you are organising an evening for your sports club or Social Club, say a Christmas Party then a band and DJ option always go down well.
- Charity Events - We aim to perform at two charity events each year for free. In 2011 we performed for Cruse Bereavement Care and T in the Park (supporting x y and z). For other worthy causes we will offer a signicantly reduced rate which allows us to cover our costs and enable fundraisers to prepare a thoroughtly worthwhile event.
- For next year we really want to play some festivals - maybe a VW Festival, Beer Festival or local sports club bash. If you are involved in organising a festival, then we would love to hear from you.
- Last Minute Bookings - sometimes things happen out of your control and you left in the lurch. Love Vultures can help we are a dynamic band that can often pull together something on the day. If you are looking for something urgently please call Charlie directly and skip the contact form.
- We regularly play the Blue Lagoon and are on the look out for some other regular gigs. If you are looking for a band for your pub or club feel free to get in touch.
Q: What is a Love Vulture?
A: We often get asked why we are called the Love Vultures and the truth is that it was an accident. In the early days we thought of calling ourselves Love Walrus after Barry White. But what happened was that we got a booking and the advertisement contained the wrong animal. Well we rather liked it and stuck with it.
Q. How much do you charge?
A. It's a little complicated due to possible options:
- £850 for the Love Vultures band playing, dressing up and shocking and amazing your guests. Incudes:
- Two sets of music approximately two hour worth of music
- Stage lighting
- Fantastic 1.5 KW Mach sound system - perfect for up to 200 guests
- Travel costs in Bristol area (25 miles)
- Plug in your own ipod or DJ
- Let us handle the playlists
- We will set up discretely before, or during the party according to the itinery, and leave an hour after playing.
- Add £100 to get specialist Retro vinyl junkie: DJ Top Rank
- Add £100 travel costs if it is over 25 miles from Bristol
- Add £50 an hour to use the PA after we have finished playing. Or add £150 to use the PA until the next morning
- If our PA system is inadequate for your party size, we will hire in a system and engineer. Typically this will be £250 for upto 500 guests but clearly this vary with venue
Q. How far will you travel for an event?
A. Up to about an hours travel around Bristol. We cover Bristol, Bath, Chippenham, Portishead, Winscombe, Burnham-on-sea, Yate, Nibley, Thornbury, Wotton-under-edge, Sodbury, Stroud, Stonehouse, Tetbury, badminton, cheddar, Clevedo, Weston-super-mare, Stroud, Melksham, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Cotswolds, Cardiff, Newport, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, south west, south wales - and apologies to those left out. This just gives you an idea of places that we have played in the past.
Q. Do you have insurance?
A. We have public liability covering injury or damage to anyone at the party.
Q. Is your equipment safe?
A. We use a lot of electrical equipment in the form of sound and lighting equipment it is all PAT tested to ensure that it is in tip top order.
Q. How long do you play for?
A. During an evening reception we generally play two sets of music over a 3 hour period (eg 2 x 1 hr with a 20 - 40 minute interval). We would suggest that you allow an hour between dinner and the band playing - allows time for people to catch up and for the venue to move things around.
Q. Do the Love Vultures just perform at weddings and civil partnerships?
A. No, we do all kinds of parties (anniversaries, birthdays, naming days, University Balls etc) and corporate events such as Christmas Parties, Leaving parties, Retirement affairs
Q. Do you provide your own PA/soundsystem and lights?
A. Yes, our PA is suitable for most average-sized function rooms/halls up to about 200 people and it scales down for smaller events. For larger events we might need to hire in a bigger one. We can provide disco lights to light up the dance floor area in front of the band (multi-coloured & flash on and off in time with the music).
Q. How much space does the band need to play in?
A. 6-8 metres wide by 3-4 metres deep is ideal. We will fit in anywhere though
Here is a rough plan of an ideal small stage area for the Love Vultures to perch upon
18' (6m) wide by 12' (4m) deep.
A raised stage is always preferable both from performance and safety perspectives. Tipsy
revellers falling into stage equipment is not to be desired! Once again however,
this is NOT essential and in fact no stage will work better in a small room where a more
intimate atmosphere will be greated.
Q. How much electricity do you need?
A. We need several standard 13 amp sockets. The band itself will draw about 2000 watts and the lighting about 750 watts - If your event is outside, you will need to provide these numbers to the company providing the generators. Safety is important, if the electricity supply resembles this - we might have a problem! If in doubt we can liase directly your venue / marquee company.
Q. How long do you take to set up?
A. 1 hour - a bit longer if access is restricted e.g. there are lots of stairs. If your party is already underway we will set up with the minimum of disruption to you and your guests.
Q. Do we need to allow food and drinks for the band?
A. Yes, you need to provide food and two drinks for each band member. Rememebr for us it will be a six to eight our session including the travel and fuel is important.
Q. Can you play recorded music in between when the band is playing?
A. Of course. Before playing, in between sets and after playing we have a selection of ipod playlists that we can put on. Or you can plug in your own Ipod, arrange your own DJ.
Here are some venues that we have played at
