**FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS**
What information do you need from me in order to give me a quote for my event?
Does your quote include everything (travel expenses etc.)?
How far in advance should I book?
Can I provisionally book the band?
Do you provide me with a contracted service?
Do you require a deposit in advance?
What is your pricing policy?
How quickly will you respond to my correspondence?
I received your quote and I would like to book the band. What is the next step?
What differentiates Soul Selecta from other soul bands I could hire for my event?
Can I see some testemonials of the band?
Can you send me a publicity pack, quote and DVD?
How experienced is the band?
How Reliable Are You?
Can you play recorded music in the intervals between band sets?
What is the instrumentation in the band?
How can we hear you play live?
What are your standard performance times and how long are your breaks?
What time will you arrive? How long do you take to setup?
What kind of music can I expect to hear at my wedding?
Can I pick all of the songs I want you to play?
Will you learn a specific song for my first dance?
How loud is the band?
Are you able to play with a sound limiter?
Do you have your own lights?
My wedding venue is pretty tight for space. How much space do you require?
How much power does the band require, what are the minimum electrical requirements?
Where are you based and how far are you willing to travel for my wedding?
My friend is a singer. Can he/she join you for a couple of numbers?
Our friends are in a band, can they play your instruments during your break?
Do you do Jewish weddings?
Can the band play outdoors?
Can the band play requests?
Can we take photos of the band or video the band?
Can we use the band microphone for speeches at our event?
Can you recommend a disco for after the band have played?
Can you recommend a jazz band for the drinks reception?
Do you have public liability insurance and is the electrical equipment PAT tested?
What do you wear on stage?
What happens if I need to cancel my booking?
What happens if one of the band members cannot play?
Can you extend your set on the evening of the event if required?
Do you have any special conditions?
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ANSWERS:
What information do you need from me in order to give me a quote for my event?
Use the Contact Form providing your contact details, your budget if you have one in mind, the date, venue and location details, whether you have any special requirements and if you will also require us to play music in the breaks.
Does your quote include everything (travel expenses etc.)?
Yes the quote we provide you with is fully inclusive unless we have asked for more information to be able to give you a final quote.
How far in advance should I book?
As far in advance as possible if you have your heart set on a particular date. Some people book up to a year or more in advance.
Can I provisionally book the band?
We can only hold the date once you pay a deposit and sign a contract. However we can always let you know if another possible booking comes in for the same date as yours if you haven’t yet made up your mind.
Do you provide me with a contracted service?
Yes. A contract will be drawn up (with Terms and Conditions) once you give the go ahead and signed by both parties.
Do you require a deposit in advance?
Yes. In order to secure the date we require a 10% deposit.
What is your pricing policy?
Booking fees may vary depending on your requirements so please get in touch for a quote.
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How quickly will you respond to my correspondence?
Please allow up to 2-3 days for a response to your enquiry. Unless you receive an auto-reply telling you otherwise.
I received your quote and I would like to book the band. What is the next step?
Please let us know that you would like to go ahead and a contract will be drawn up for you to complete. The contract will need to be signed by both parties and a 10% deposit paid. We will then speak when necessary between then and the actual wedding date to agree the finer details.
What differentiates Soul Selecta from other soul bands I could hire for my event?
We pride ourselves on being very easy to work with. We predominantly cover soul and funk classics but are very adaptable and versatile to cater for across all the genres and decades to suit most people’s tastes. This makes us a perfect wedding band!
Can I see some reviews of the band?
Yes please visit our ‘Testimonials’ page.
Can you send me a publicity pack, quote and DVD?
Most of what you’ll need will be on our website but we understand you may want some hard copy information and music/video on disc. Please use our ‘Contact Form’ to make your request and don’t forget to provide your address!
How experienced are the band?
We have been together as a band collectively since 2003 but we have all been experienced musicians as individuals for over 20 years.
How Reliable Are You?
We are an extremely professional and reliable band and have never not been able to fulfill a contracted gig.
Can you play recorded music in the intervals between band sets?
Yes you can leave it up to us to put together a play list with your suggestions or you can provide us with your own cd’s or mp3 player.
What is the instrumentation in the band?
Vocals, Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Sax
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How can we hear you play live?
Please visit our ‘Gigs’ page to see when we are performing at a public venue. Should it not be possible to see us live, please view our ‘Showreel’.
What are your standard performance times and how long are your breaks?
For weddings we normally do 3 x 45 minute sets and let you decide the set times and how long the breaks are. Our first set normally starts with the First Dance but that is also your choice. You should also bear in mind that it is best not to put the band on when food is being served. You might want us to do the first set and then serve food in the first break. Suggested set times might be: 8-8.45 / 9.30-10.15 / 11-11.45. We can also do 2 x 45 minute sets or 2 x 1 hour sets. Whatever your requirements are really.
How long do you take to setup and what time will you arrive?
We typically need at least an hour and a half to set up and sound check. We need to have a full sound check at normal volume so it’s important we can do this when your guests are not around. Please let us know at what point we will have to stop sound checking. This may not be necessary if your guests do not need to enter the reception room immediately when they arrive but you need to bear this in mind if your wedding breakfast will be in the same room.
What kind of music can I expect to hear at my wedding?
We normally do all the soul classics, with some modern pop thrown in and a few other special requests you may have. We can also cover other genres at your request to cater for varied tastes such as Jazz, Reggae, Rock & Roll and Rock. Please see a selection of songs on our ‘Song List’ page. You can also request our full song list from there.
Can I pick all of the songs I want you to play?
We ask clients to make some suggestions but it’s usually best to leave us to put the sets together as we know what works well in terms of the flow, keeping people on the dance floor and appealing to a wide audience.
Will you learn a specific song for my first dance?
Yes we are more than happy to learn your First Dance if it’s not on our Song List already providing we have at least 1 month’s notice.
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Are you able to play with a sound limiter?
Yes we have worked with a sound limiter several times before.
Do you have your own lights?
Yes we currently have lights for the band but not for dance floor area. Please let us know if you require us to source other lighting for you.
My wedding venue is pretty tight for space. How much space do you require?
We require a stage area no smaller than 16 feet wide by 12 feet deep (5 X 4 meters). In some instances we can adapt to smaller or different dimensions but best to discuss this with us.
How much power does the band require, what are the minimum electrical requirements?
Please also ensure we have suitable access to a minimum of 2 x 13 amp electric sockets.
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Where are you based and how far are you willing to travel for my wedding?
Not all of our band members are based in one location so we can cover a wide area of bookings. Areas we have covered include Bucks, Northants, Beds, Herts, London, Surrey, Middlesex, Hampshire, West Midlands, Stafford, Worcestershire, Suffolk and abroad!
My friend is a singer. Can he/she join you for a couple of numbers?
Not a problem. Please give us advance notice so that we can discuss which numbers they would like to do.
Our friends are in a band, can they play your instruments during your break?
Unfortunately we do not allow anyone else to play our instruments or touch the equipment as this will be expensive to fix should something go wrong and will be chargeable to the person responsible. If there is a musician in your wedding party that would like to play with us on a number, they should bring their own instrument but again we prefer that this is agreed in advance.
Do you do Jewish weddings?
We have been booked for Jewish weddings before however we do not play the Jewish music. We can play Jewish music for you on cd/mp3′s.
Can the band play outdoors?
We can play outdoors providing we have something suitable to cover us and suitable heating should we experience bad/cold weather.
Can the band play requests?
We may be able to take requests on the night if it is something in our repertoire but please bear in mind we have a large repertoire and some songs may not have been performed for some time. We can take special requests in advance.
Can we take photos of the band or video the band?
Yes please feel free. In fact we may ask for a few photos from your wedding that include the band and any video footage you may have along with a testimonial that we can use to promote what we do on our website (with your consent).
Can we use the band microphone for speeches at our event?
This would need to be agreed in advance as our equipment may not be set up at the time speeches are made.
Can you recommend a disco for after the band have played?
Yes we can recommend Apex Sounds who are based in Aylesbury. For more specialised Soul we recommend...............Frank..
Can you recommend a jazz band for the drinks reception?
We can provide a stripped down version of the band to play instrumental jazz during your drinks reception. Please enquire for more details.
Do you have public liability insurance and is the electrical equipment PAT tested?
Yes each band member is covered by their own insurance and all equipment PAT tested on a regular basis.
What do you wear on stage?
We generally wear smart black clothing but will fit in with your dress code where possible.
What happens if I need to cancel my booking?
Our contract covers this and states that bookings can be cancelled without penalty if they are prior to two months of the performance date. Some discount may be negotiated if a month or more notice is given of change of arrangements. Your deposit will be returned.
What happens if one of the band members cannot play?
In the unlikely event that one or more members of the band cannot play, Soul Selecta will endeavour to find replacement personnel of a suitable standard. We have access to a large number of fantastic quality deputies (deps).
Can you extend your set on the evening of the event if required?
It is possible but we would need to agree a top up on the agreed fee and of course it would depend on the time of evening. We can normally play or play recorded music on our system up until midnight.
Do you have any special conditions?
We do ask to be fed and watered (soft drinks) and be given a room to change etc due to the number of hours we need to be available for a wedding.
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