Gui Cavalcanti and Jenn Martinez are swing and blues dancers/instructors who live in Boston. They are also beyond cool cats, always ready to give 200% when it concerns things they desire, or people they love.
In this case, those two things are the same thing: Buddy Guy. Gui and Jenn are getting married in July, and would love nothing more than to bring Buddy Guy to play at their wedding.
Gui having the moxy he does actually called Buddy Guy's agent, who quoted him at around $75,000. Seemingly impossible, right?
Well then they saw that Crate & Barrel was having a contest giving away $100,000 for a wedding, the grand prize winner decided upon by votes from the internet public.
So I call upon YOU, Yehoodi. Please go here: http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22729. Please vote for Gui and Jenn. Please bring Buddy Guy to them, because since their reception will be open to the public, you can dance to him too!
Thanks everyone. Seriously.
-Jan Marie
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The couple that is currently leading wants the money so they can have a Cupcake Cake at their wedding. Come on... Buddy Guy is so much more worthy than that.
Does anyone know how often you're allowed to vote?
Agreed, Buddy Guy is overpriced. He's a great side-man but I'd take Magic Slim if I want Chicago Blues guitar or Muddy Waters sidemen from the 70's: Willie "Big Eyes" Smith or Bob Margolin.
Hopefully they at least beat out the Cupcake thing.
So many people have supported this, I hope we keep doing so. If this thing happens it will be one of among the more impressive moments in the national dance scene.
I doubt he thinks it's worth $75k. But his manager got an insane call to perform at a wedding, and so he quoted an insane number back. Buddy Guy (or at least his manager) probably has very little interest in performing at weddings.
It reminds me of the urban legend of MicroSoft licensing "Start Me Up." Reportedly, MS said "We want to use your song, how much?" So the Stones said "$10 million," expecting anyone to be scared off by that, but MS said "okay." I can't find out how true that story is, though.
Which is ridiculous. He should quote a real price. He probably hasn't gotten paid anything near $75,000 for any performance in his entire life -- he's a blues musician, not Madonna. If he's getting paid a more than fair amount (like, $5,000), with travel expenses and all else, what does he care if it's for a wedding or not?
I say offer him something (a lot) less - just watch him refuse it. He won't.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
He probably charges that amount so that way a lot of people *won't* book him for a wedding. Malcom Gladwell charges a pretty steep speaking fee in order to keep his number of gigs down.
Why is that ridiculous? Maybe he really hates the idea of playing a wedding, or going from "Hall of Fame" to "Wedding Singer." Who are you to decide that the choice of venue shouldn't matter to him, and what wages he should accept for his work? He named his price, and that price says "I don't need the work, you'd have to make something like this worth my while."
He can set his prices at whatever he wants, but no one has to hire him. And, as someone who generally knows the monetary worth of musicians, a blues musician charging $75,000 for a single performance - wedding or not - is laughable to me.
Looking at his website, he's actually pretty booked up, which means he isn't hurting for gigs these days (and why he might actually say no to a wedding that'll pay him more than most of his gigs - even at $5,000). But I'd be willing to bet that he'd do a wedding for way less than what he quoted.
Plus it's not just any old wedding where he'd be any old wedding band -- it's basically a swing/blues dance that follows a wedding, with a huge audience. He'd have a bigger audience than in most of the blues clubs he performs at.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
Wow...that's just....wow. It's Buddy freakin' Guy - he can charge whatever he wants. I didn't blink when I saw the amount, yeah it's more than what I have laying around to spring for a wedding but that's his price and the man has earned the right to charge what he wants to charge.
Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?
It's my job to know what the "going rate" for all kinds of performing musicians - a big portion of my job is keeping track of the finances from non-profit organizations that hire these guys!
Well, if you all think he's totally worth $75,000, then he is. Because you'll pay it.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
$5000??? Um... That's not a lot. Sorry, but someone like him... No. I also have intimate knowledge of "musicians' worth."
Admittedly, $75 is high. But Wombat has a great point. He probably doesn't want to stoop that low, but he would if the price was right. His manager doesn't want to insult him with a gig like that unless it's worth it. Weddings are great and all, but there is a certain stigma that goes along with those gigs. And for someone like him who sells out venues and has his own bar which he probably makes plenty off of...
So, yes. $5000 is an insulting number, and so is $75k -- for different reasons.
If they're lucky, he'll go ahead and do it for $75k.
I'm sorry, but I've got to drop some knowledge on this thread.
$3,000-$10,000 is what people often pay a no name band to play their wedding. And $50,000-$100,000 is often what a jazz legend will charge for some of the gigs they accept at SFJAZZ - one of the best jazz festivals in the world (where I've worked for the last 2.5 years).
So pocotell, I'm not sure where you get your information but it's off.
Alright... $5,000 might be low-balling it, especially with the wedding stigma. But I maintain that $75,000 is way overinflated. (There are musicians who are better known than Buddy Guy who don't charge that much for a single performance.)
And Nicole, I don't know what jazz musician charged $100,000 for a single performance. I cover the nine day International Jazz Festival in Rochester (also known as one of the country's best jazz festivals; it's the only major jazz festival in the state of New York now that NYC no longer has a jazz fest), and I can tell you that even the big stars that come play here don't ask $100,000 for one night of performing. Maybe - just maybe - if they were asked to play multiple nights and concerts over the festival. But that's not the case with this wedding.
(At the least, I'm with Toni that Buddy Guy is a way better cause for a $100,000 wedding than a cupcake cake...)
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
Suffice it to say, the Rochester festival is not the same as SFJAZZ.
That said, let's look at this logically. A large venue with proper ticket prices that sells out can end up bringing in $100,000 to $300,000 in revenue. Should the artist not make a good portion of that? Sure there are production costs. Let's say $30,000 or so. Although it could be far less than that. And SFJAZZ operates (as do most art organizations these days outside of pop music and movies) as a non-profit. So, yes, some artists get very large payments and it is my belief they should. I mean, if not them, then who should get a big chunk of the money they bring in? Just where should that money go exactly?
And yes a wedding doesn't bring in money. But the artist, if s/he is someone with integrity, performs the same show for the wedding as they do for a major venue and has every right to ask for a similar fee.
Once an artist reaches legend status, it is very common to play far fewer shows a year, making more money per show. Hell, that's how many successful businesses work. People like your cupcake cakes? You charge more, make/sell fewer of them (hence less cost), work less hard and get paid more. Duh.
So Buddy Guy's manager gets him 10-20 great gigs a year that earn him an excellent living and show him the respect he deserves for his talent and success...? That sounds like a good manager to me. Hell, a great manager!
I don't think you know enough about the RIJF to compare it to the SF Jazz Fest. San Fransisco is a bigger city than Rochester, and I'm sure the jazz festival there is awesome, but the RIJF is also one of the biggest jazz festivals in the country. Looking at the roster for SFJazz this year, we've had all the same musicians out here.
We have large venues here that sell out too, but the sold-out acts are more rock acts than jazz acts. My point, in general, has been that jazz and blues aren't enough of a mainstream kind of music to garner a hundred thousand dollars per performance. Perhaps the SF Jazz Fest has the capability to give artists those kinds of fees, which is awesome for the artists, but most presenters of jazz and blues (especially non-profit ones; RIJF isn't non-profit, actually) are never going to be able to hire these guys for that kind of money.
And if you look at Buddy Guy's schedule, he actually has a lot of gigs booked - some major concerts where he's a co-musician and/or sideman to a huge name, or smaller gigs in blues clubs of the sort. I'm sure he's not making a hundred thousand dollars per performance, or else he wouldn't have the need to have so many gigs. In the end, legend or not, he's a blues musician, and there's just not the same audience for a blues musician as there is for more mainstream music. So they can't overcharge for performances, and they have to be cool with playing smaller venues along with major ones.
The best argument I've heard for his $75,000 price is that he thought this was a ridiculous request so threw out some crazy number in hopes that it would deter the couple from booking him. Perhaps the fee would have been less expensive if Gui and Jenn sold the concert to Buddy Guy as a big blues dance with a huge audience, following their wedding, than simply as a wedding band. Maybe Gui and Jenn tried that, who knows! Perhaps it's why he said yes at all...
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
SFJAZZ is not a "jazz fest". It's a year round major presenter. One of the biggest in the world by far. It seems you are the one who doesn't know things. Stop assuming what I do and don't know.
You present yourself so authoritatively. But you're wrong about so many things. So you look even more foolish. Quit while you're behind.
While the SFJazz organization presents concerts year-round, they are are the presenters of the SF Jazz Festival - which is actually a true-deal jazz festival. It's also not the first, nor will it be the last, jazz festival organization to present year-round concerts.
Seriously, stop assuming what I don't know because you're the one looking pretty foolish. While the SF Jazz Fest is all great and good, it doesn't nearly have the reputation of the most famous jazz festivals such as Montreal, Newport (which turned into the JVC festival in NYC that called it quits last year, making Rochester's fest the major jazz fest in New York) or New Orleans.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
SUPPORT THE BRING BLUES TO GUI & JENN'S WEDDING COALITION!!!
jan.marie
Hello all,
Here's the deal:
Gui Cavalcanti and Jenn Martinez are swing and blues dancers/instructors who live in Boston. They are also beyond cool cats, always ready to give 200% when it concerns things they desire, or people they love.
In this case, those two things are the same thing: Buddy Guy. Gui and Jenn are getting married in July, and would love nothing more than to bring Buddy Guy to play at their wedding.
Gui having the moxy he does actually called Buddy Guy's agent, who quoted him at around $75,000. Seemingly impossible, right?
Well then they saw that Crate & Barrel was having a contest giving away $100,000 for a wedding, the grand prize winner decided upon by votes from the internet public.
So I call upon YOU, Yehoodi. Please go here: http://www.ultimateweddingcontest.com/entries/22729. Please vote for Gui and Jenn. Please bring Buddy Guy to them, because since their reception will be open to the public, you can dance to him too!
Thanks everyone. Seriously.
-Jan Marie
Page(s): 1 2 ... Next > (41 items total, 30 per page)
toniwbusch
The couple that is currently leading wants the money so they can have a Cupcake Cake at their wedding. Come on... Buddy Guy is so much more worthy than that.
Does anyone know how often you're allowed to vote?
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
pocotell
I think Buddy Guy has some balls to think he's worth $75,000 for a single performance. I don't even think Yo-Yo Ma costs that much!
I'd talk him down. He'd be lucky to get $5,000, with travel and accommodations thrown in.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
vsb
Once per entry, I believe. I voted yesterday and tried again today and it wouldn't let me.
Bli-Blip
Voted. Good luck!
Toon Town Dave
Agreed, Buddy Guy is overpriced. He's a great side-man but I'd take Magic Slim if I want Chicago Blues guitar or Muddy Waters sidemen from the 70's: Willie "Big Eyes" Smith or Bob Margolin.
Hopefully they at least beat out the Cupcake thing.
dontmeanathing
If you use a different browser, or delete the relevant cookies, THEN use a different e-mail address, you can vote multiple times.
:-)
dontmeanathing
If everyone makes a thread like this on their local swing board this could really happen!
jan.marie
Good point, Mark! I'm attacking some local board right now!
dontmeanathing
So many people have supported this, I hope we keep doing so. If this thing happens it will be one of among the more impressive moments in the national dance scene.
Apache
Voted, hope you guys win!
If you are bored check out my blog... http://taintwhatyoudo.wordpress.com/
snazzyjas
I signed up and voted for them too! =) that would be awesome!
Don't forget to breathe - me
Wombat
I doubt he thinks it's worth $75k. But his manager got an insane call to perform at a wedding, and so he quoted an insane number back. Buddy Guy (or at least his manager) probably has very little interest in performing at weddings.
It reminds me of the urban legend of MicroSoft licensing "Start Me Up." Reportedly, MS said "We want to use your song, how much?" So the Stones said "$10 million," expecting anyone to be scared off by that, but MS said "okay." I can't find out how true that story is, though.
pocotell
Which is ridiculous. He should quote a real price. He probably hasn't gotten paid anything near $75,000 for any performance in his entire life -- he's a blues musician, not Madonna. If he's getting paid a more than fair amount (like, $5,000), with travel expenses and all else, what does he care if it's for a wedding or not?
I say offer him something (a lot) less - just watch him refuse it. He won't.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
dontmeanathing
He probably charges that amount so that way a lot of people *won't* book him for a wedding. Malcom Gladwell charges a pretty steep speaking fee in order to keep his number of gigs down.
Wombat
Why is that ridiculous? Maybe he really hates the idea of playing a wedding, or going from "Hall of Fame" to "Wedding Singer." Who are you to decide that the choice of venue shouldn't matter to him, and what wages he should accept for his work? He named his price, and that price says "I don't need the work, you'd have to make something like this worth my while."
pocotell
He can set his prices at whatever he wants, but no one has to hire him. And, as someone who generally knows the monetary worth of musicians, a blues musician charging $75,000 for a single performance - wedding or not - is laughable to me.
Looking at his website, he's actually pretty booked up, which means he isn't hurting for gigs these days (and why he might actually say no to a wedding that'll pay him more than most of his gigs - even at $5,000). But I'd be willing to bet that he'd do a wedding for way less than what he quoted.
Plus it's not just any old wedding where he'd be any old wedding band -- it's basically a swing/blues dance that follows a wedding, with a huge audience. He'd have a bigger audience than in most of the blues clubs he performs at.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
BluesForCP
Whether or not you think he's worth $75k, or whether or not he'll accept less, I think the man deserves a little respect. He's a friggin' legend.
If I were him reading this thread, I'd change my quote to $100k.
dontmeanathing
I hope not, they'll need the remainder 25K for the rider.
Air
Wow...that's just....wow. It's Buddy freakin' Guy - he can charge whatever he wants. I didn't blink when I saw the amount, yeah it's more than what I have laying around to spring for a wedding but that's his price and the man has earned the right to charge what he wants to charge.
Do you know how awkward it is to have a political argument with a naked man?
BluesForCP
re: "as someone who knows the monetary worth of musicians..."
I just re-read this.
Just so you know, this is an INCREDIBLY insulting comment.
Perhaps you meant instead "the going rate to hire a blues musician."
I hope so, anyway.
pocotell
It's my job to know what the "going rate" for all kinds of performing musicians - a big portion of my job is keeping track of the finances from non-profit organizations that hire these guys!
Well, if you all think he's totally worth $75,000, then he is. Because you'll pay it.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
Wombat
No, actually. I don't think he's worth it, and I never advocated hiring him at that rate. I just said it was an intentionally ridiculous rate.
toniwbusch
I wonder what Google paid him?
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.
Beckto
$5000??? Um... That's not a lot. Sorry, but someone like him... No. I also have intimate knowledge of "musicians' worth."
Admittedly, $75 is high. But Wombat has a great point. He probably doesn't want to stoop that low, but he would if the price was right. His manager doesn't want to insult him with a gig like that unless it's worth it. Weddings are great and all, but there is a certain stigma that goes along with those gigs. And for someone like him who sells out venues and has his own bar which he probably makes plenty off of...
So, yes. $5000 is an insulting number, and so is $75k -- for different reasons.
If they're lucky, he'll go ahead and do it for $75k.
mouth
I'm sorry, but I've got to drop some knowledge on this thread.
$3,000-$10,000 is what people often pay a no name band to play their wedding. And $50,000-$100,000 is often what a jazz legend will charge for some of the gigs they accept at SFJAZZ - one of the best jazz festivals in the world (where I've worked for the last 2.5 years).
So pocotell, I'm not sure where you get your information but it's off.
pocotell
Alright... $5,000 might be low-balling it, especially with the wedding stigma. But I maintain that $75,000 is way overinflated. (There are musicians who are better known than Buddy Guy who don't charge that much for a single performance.)
And Nicole, I don't know what jazz musician charged $100,000 for a single performance. I cover the nine day International Jazz Festival in Rochester (also known as one of the country's best jazz festivals; it's the only major jazz festival in the state of New York now that NYC no longer has a jazz fest), and I can tell you that even the big stars that come play here don't ask $100,000 for one night of performing. Maybe - just maybe - if they were asked to play multiple nights and concerts over the festival. But that's not the case with this wedding.
(At the least, I'm with Toni that Buddy Guy is a way better cause for a $100,000 wedding than a cupcake cake...)
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
mouth
Suffice it to say, the Rochester festival is not the same as SFJAZZ.
That said, let's look at this logically. A large venue with proper ticket prices that sells out can end up bringing in $100,000 to $300,000 in revenue. Should the artist not make a good portion of that? Sure there are production costs. Let's say $30,000 or so. Although it could be far less than that. And SFJAZZ operates (as do most art organizations these days outside of pop music and movies) as a non-profit. So, yes, some artists get very large payments and it is my belief they should. I mean, if not them, then who should get a big chunk of the money they bring in? Just where should that money go exactly?
And yes a wedding doesn't bring in money. But the artist, if s/he is someone with integrity, performs the same show for the wedding as they do for a major venue and has every right to ask for a similar fee.
Once an artist reaches legend status, it is very common to play far fewer shows a year, making more money per show. Hell, that's how many successful businesses work. People like your cupcake cakes? You charge more, make/sell fewer of them (hence less cost), work less hard and get paid more. Duh.
So Buddy Guy's manager gets him 10-20 great gigs a year that earn him an excellent living and show him the respect he deserves for his talent and success...? That sounds like a good manager to me. Hell, a great manager!
pocotell
I don't think you know enough about the RIJF to compare it to the SF Jazz Fest. San Fransisco is a bigger city than Rochester, and I'm sure the jazz festival there is awesome, but the RIJF is also one of the biggest jazz festivals in the country. Looking at the roster for SFJazz this year, we've had all the same musicians out here.
We have large venues here that sell out too, but the sold-out acts are more rock acts than jazz acts. My point, in general, has been that jazz and blues aren't enough of a mainstream kind of music to garner a hundred thousand dollars per performance. Perhaps the SF Jazz Fest has the capability to give artists those kinds of fees, which is awesome for the artists, but most presenters of jazz and blues (especially non-profit ones; RIJF isn't non-profit, actually) are never going to be able to hire these guys for that kind of money.
And if you look at Buddy Guy's schedule, he actually has a lot of gigs booked - some major concerts where he's a co-musician and/or sideman to a huge name, or smaller gigs in blues clubs of the sort. I'm sure he's not making a hundred thousand dollars per performance, or else he wouldn't have the need to have so many gigs. In the end, legend or not, he's a blues musician, and there's just not the same audience for a blues musician as there is for more mainstream music. So they can't overcharge for performances, and they have to be cool with playing smaller venues along with major ones.
The best argument I've heard for his $75,000 price is that he thought this was a ridiculous request so threw out some crazy number in hopes that it would deter the couple from booking him. Perhaps the fee would have been less expensive if Gui and Jenn sold the concert to Buddy Guy as a big blues dance with a huge audience, following their wedding, than simply as a wedding band. Maybe Gui and Jenn tried that, who knows! Perhaps it's why he said yes at all...
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
mouth
SFJAZZ is not a "jazz fest". It's a year round major presenter. One of the biggest in the world by far. It seems you are the one who doesn't know things. Stop assuming what I do and don't know.
You present yourself so authoritatively. But you're wrong about so many things. So you look even more foolish. Quit while you're behind.
pocotell
Nicole...
While the SFJazz organization presents concerts year-round, they are are the presenters of the SF Jazz Festival - which is actually a true-deal jazz festival. It's also not the first, nor will it be the last, jazz festival organization to present year-round concerts.
Seriously, stop assuming what I don't know because you're the one looking pretty foolish. While the SF Jazz Fest is all great and good, it doesn't nearly have the reputation of the most famous jazz festivals such as Montreal, Newport (which turned into the JVC festival in NYC that called it quits last year, making Rochester's fest the major jazz fest in New York) or New Orleans.
"If music be the food of love, play on!" - Shakespeare
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