Lame Sales Pitches 2.0

Michael writes in response to "Lame Sales Pitches:"

I got a lot of flack from _______ when I announced my engagement.

I am from New York, but I got married “out of town” in Chicago. There were basically three ‘Jewish’ bands in the Chicago area, and my brother-in-law, himself a wedding singer, suggested one. We were able to get a great deal on a nice-sized orchestra – I think we had five or six musicians and two vocalists.

Then _______ called me, urging me to fly out any five of ‘his guys’ instead of going with local talent. “They don’t do Jewish weddings every weekend. They’re not as familiar with the arrangements and the music. They’re just playing off the sheet music. They’re not leibedig,” he explained. He actually sang a few bars of “Od Yishama” in a very bland and formulaic arrangement to demonstrate what the band there would sound like.

“Any five of my guys would sound better than any ten Chicago guys,” he told me. “And besides, we’re friends. We know each other for a long time. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.”

Now, to go with _______’s plan, I’d need to pay airfare for the five guys, plus pay them for the gig, and have fewer players on the stage. Needless to say, we went with the Chicago band. Were they perfect? No. Were they leibedig? Absolutely. Did they stay strong through four dance sets? Yep. Everyone had a blast.

I am also a fairly demanding customer. I had the chuppa processional music planned out down to the last song, and some of the tunes were unfamiliar (obscure Carlebach ballads – long story short – I promised Shlomo I’d invite him to my wedding, but then he passed away, so I ‘had’ him at my chuppa). I sent the band a tape of each tune I wanted, and they did a nice job of the Chupa. They did mess up one thing, though: I wanted to start the first set with the INTRO of Cream’s “White Room.” I even sent them a tape of the intro, just the intro. They played the first section of the melody instead. And they announced my name wrong. But other than that, it was really fabulous.

Here’s a separate thread I’d like to see covered – what are some of the strangest or most unique or original requests you’ve gotten from a choson/kalla? I’m not talking about starting the set with ‘final countdown.’ That’s so 80s. Have you ever been impressed with a request? Horrified?

Anyone else want to share?