Thursday 29 September 2011

Down for the Count - Christmas Party Band

I know, I know, it's a beautiful sunny afternoon at the end of September (how many times have you been able to say that in this country?!) and Christmas is probably the last thing on our minds, but it's creeping up on us and now is the perfect time to think about your Christmas party.

We've played for many Christmas parties in the past, but this year we've gone for it in a big way - arranging and learning some fantastic Christmas hits that will really give you a party with "class"!

If you're anything like me, you probably can't stand 95% of the Christmas songs that get played on the radio - which is why we've selected our Christmas repertoire very carefully.

For one thing, no-one wants a function band that plays JUST Christmas music - I couldn't think of anything worse - so we will be working our new Christmas repertoire around our great mix of Swing, Rat Pack, Soul and Motown classics.

We've also selected songs that sound 'right' next to the songs we perform - they have to be songs that suit a swing and soul band.  You probably won't be surprised to hear that we've started with two classic Frank Sinatra arrangements -  "Let It Snow" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town".  I'm not sure who the original arrangements were written by, but they're both fantastic - especially Let It Snow, complete with muted trumpets, swung saxophones and cheeky transposition into the vocal chorus where you would normally expect the horn soli.




We've also arranged "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year", by Andy Williams.  It's a fast jazz waltz, and probably the ultimate opening to any set of Christmas music!





Also on the set lists will be everyone's favourite Christmas Song - Maria Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You".  We've made a habit out of re-creating scenes from Love Actually this year and can't wait to play this for you - Amelia is particularly excited about the tubular bells part!




Of course we're also planning lots of other Christmas songs - but we don't want to spoil all the surprises just yet...

Head over to our website today to enquire about having the band perform for your Christmas party - and don't forget that we are hosting our very own Christmas party at Winslow Public Hall on Saturday 10th December - more information about this great concert will be released soon!

Mike

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Anthony and Becky's wedding with Down for the Count

Anthony and Becky Kolodynski booked Down for the Count to perform at their wedding at Heatherden Hall at Pinewood Studios on Saturday 6th August 2011.  Here is their account of their special day.  

Many thanks to Richard and Sarah at CaptureIt for the fantastic photos.

“As most people would attest to, finding a band to play at your wedding that you feel you can trust is difficult. We certainly struck gold in finding Down for the Count.

Firstly, in the run-up to the wedding, Mike, the band leader, was incredibly professional, courteous and enthusiastic, which instantly put our minds at ease, and we felt that we could put our faith in this band. He was also proactive in his suggestions of these things that might work during the wedding, and was helpful in assisting with the timings.


We had the piano-sax duo playing during the wedding breakfast, which was much better than simply having a CD or iPod playing, and it was played perfectly in harmony with the mood during the meal.


Our first dance was to a song not in the band’s repertoire, but they showed great flexibility to learn it in time for the wedding day – and it was played and sung beautifully. Shame about my dancing…!


In the evening, we had the 9-piece band play and the sound was simply fantastic! The best sign that you have a good band in front of you is that everyone is on the dance floor having a great time. People are still talking about the music at our wedding now…


All in all, we highly recommend Down for the Count – a great band.”



Photos courtesy of CaptureIt

Monday 19 September 2011

Down for the Count 6 years on

This week Claire looks back at the last 6 years with Down for the Count!

For my blog entry, I found myself thinking about how far the band has come since we formed way back in 2005, and how many different and exciting things all the band members have been up to in the past 6 years!

Some quick facts showing how far we’ve come since 2005:
  •  Our first album was recorded in Mike’s living room. Our most recent album Say No More was recorded in the Limehouse Recording Studios in London.
  • Our first gig was for a 50th birthday party in a marquee - now we’re headlining the Herne Hill music festival and playing at prestigious venues such as Pinewood Studios.
  • We started off playing for events in small villages in Buckinghamshire, now we’ve played in Somerset, Nottingham, Gloucester and everywhere in between.
Steve and Rich at our very first gig - as a 6-piece band, performing for Hugh Martin's 50th Birthday Party on April 2nd 2005. We've done hundreds of gigs since - but this one still takes some beating!

Down For The Count first started when Mike asked Steve, Claire, Stan, Rich and some other musicians to play for a village production of Aladdin, and of course we all jumped at the chance to be part of such a cheesy, entertaining production…
Well, it was a pantomime...
Although panto music clearly had its appeal, Mike was keen to create a jazz band, and “Poinciana” (our first working name) was born. Little did we know that 6 years later, we would have evolved into the band you see and hear today! (And if you haven’t seen or heard us, come and see us at the Herne Hill Music Festival!)
Our first recording session - for one day only, Mike's living room and garage were converted into a temporary recording studio.
Poinciana quickly grew in size, firstly with additions to the horn section. Kate and Simon added alto sax and trumpet, and then Milly joined the band on keyboard so we could have lots of different extra sounds without all the extra players. During this time we were all in various stages of secondary school, doing GCSE’s and A levels. Mike, Milly, Katie and Steve were getting ready to go to university to study a variety of topics - medicine, media arts, more medicine and psychology. Even though many of us didn’t study music at university, it was our shared passion in music that kept the band together and going strong. It’s also interesting just how spread out the band members were once we all left school. We had DFTC members in Bangor, London, Oxford, Leeds, Bristol and Manchester!
Our most recent recording session, in the absolutely amazing Limehouse Studio, East London.
Over the years the band has gone from strength to strength and also through a few changes. Our lead trumpeter Stan went to study in Singapore in October 2010, and Max joined the band as his dep. In June this year Katie joined the touring production of Dreamboats and Petticoats, so we have Nicky filling in for her.
The band at a wedding in 2006
So what are we all up to now whilst we continue to play with the band? Well, just like when we all started playing together - we’re all doing very varied things! Steve, Milly and myself are living and working in London. Steve’s working as a waiter while he ponders his next move, and Milly and I are attempting to turn our hobbies into full time jobs. I’m working as a freelance musician and Milly has set up her own vintage homewares business. A third of the band are still being educated at UCL - Mike’s in his final year of medicine, Max is starting his Masters and Nicky is going into her second year of studying history and French. Kate is starting a career in recruitment and also plays with the ska punk band The Amendments. Rich is working as a drum teacher and is also playing with the pop punk band FlipSideUp. Finally, Simon is starting his Masters in composition back up at Manchester.

The band at one of our first performances as a 9-piece - Magdalen College Auditorium, Oxford
So that’s Down For The Count in 2011 - who knows what we’ll be up to in another 6 years??

Down for the Count in August 2011