Assuming you're not talking about JAIL, we endeavor to make "booking the band" an easy, efficient, and pleasant activity.

But first a few frequently asked questions and answers...


This web site contains all the information you might need in researching, auditioning, and booking the Ruby Reds Band!

• We play a variety of musical styles
• We play in a variety of personnel sizes
You can learn more about our musical stylings and how a band of different sizes SOUNDS when you add or subtract instruments by exploring our
sound samples.

Keep in mind that our price fluctuates based on...
• Time of year
• Day (or night) of the week
• Length (in hours) of engagement
• Distance of the event from Atlanta
• Number of instruments (musicians) for the engagement
Although we don't publish our prices on the web site we make every effort to reply to your
form request in a timely manner.

What kind of band do I need? Quite often that depends on the kind of event you are holding. The Ruby Reds Band has played thousands of events and parties in our 55+ year history. We can be the opening act to a nationally known group or soloist (for a concert or a corporate event), we can provide tasteful background music for a New Orleans-flavored event (like a dinner, cocktail party or even a jazz funeral), or we can put on an entertaining, high-energy audience-oriented show (in a night club, at an arts festival, or even in your living room or around your backyard pool).

What kinds of music do you play? Here's where it gets tricky... all kinds! Our musical backgrounds are very diverse and we all grew up liking and playng all kinds of music. With our history of being a very 'for-the-public' band we've had to learn to entertain all aspects of the public and try to fulfill requests of all kinds. That experience has stretched us to play and enjoy all kinds of music. Our instrumentation is that of a Dixieland or New Orleans Jazz band but we also play lots of Second Line, Bluegrass, Country, R&B, Rock and Roll, Blues, Gospel, Broadway and more. We've been known to roll out a Polka or two every now and then and, if the crowd is right, we'll crank up a TV theme song or do some banjo Hip Hop... whatever it takes to keep your guests happy, laughing, dancing and entertained.

How many musicians do you use? That depends on your event and budget. We often perform with our basic trio (banjo, trumpet, bass) when the budget is tight and the priority is background music. If more sound power is required we may add a trombone or clarinet. If there is any chance our audience may want to dance or celebrate we will add a drummer before we add more horns. When you want us to entertain with a show we may add a piano for even more variety and versatility. That's why we want to know something about your event... so we can tailor our personnel to match your specific needs.

What about a Sound System? We bring our own sound system for our appearances (unless you just have a spare that's itchin' to be used). The size, capabilities and complexity of the system we bring will depend on the size of your event, the location, and how many people you expect.

How PORTABLE are you? You can take us anywhere! If we're not tied to a sound system we can move around quite a bit... relocate every other tune if you like. Heck, we even carry an old-fashioned megaphone so you can hear the singer when we don't have a sound system! We've marched and played through many a wake-up breakfast at 7:00 am to the delighted cheers (or hung-over groans) of corporate business folks. If nothing else, we are flexible!

What about dress... do you wear UNIFORMS? Yes... and no. It all depends on you. For years we've been associated with white pants and candy-striped vests. More recently we've taken to dress slacks, vests and vintage hats. If your event requires a specific uniform, that's what we'll wear. We can arrive in tuxedos if that works better; or dressy casual when it seems appropriate.

What about CONTENT? We are most proud of our ability to read a crowd and put on an entertaining show that is 'right' for that audience. We will never embarass you with inappropriate content. In fact, a great deal of our show is tied to the actual people in our audience. We play off of their energy, background, response and requests in creating entertainment that is perfectly suited to them.

Is there anything you don't do? Well, we don't do anybody else's schtick. If you want a band that plays nothing but 50's Rock n Roll, or nothing but Lynyrd Skynyrd, or nothing but the latest Hip-Hop hits you probably don't want us. We are a New Orleans Jazz-flavored band that plays a variety of music. When we are engaged to play New Orleans Jazz as a background, we deliver that as well as anybody on the planet. When we are engaged to entertain an audience we have found ways to do that which are often funny and always musical. We play everything with our basic instrumentation of banjo, trumpet, tuba/bass, and drums... which is not the typical instrumentation of a cover band. We are not very good at being like or sounding like somebody else.... but we are great at being US! (and hardly anyone else is...)

OK, I'm sold! How do I BOOK THE BAND? Nothing could be easier. Follow the checklist below and we'll be setting up in your living room in no time...

  1. Decide on the KIND of entertainment you need along with the date, time and duration.
    (Of course, you can ask us and we'd be happy to make suggestions... just don't be surprised when our 'suggestions' turn out to be music we specialize in!)

  2. Go to our PRICE & AVAILABILITY page to share with us the details for your event. After you tell us nearly everything you know about your event and yourself, we'll get right back to you with a price and whether we are available on your date and time. Yes, we do require a modest deposit to hold your date and we try to be as flexible as possible when things change at the last minute (see THE RULES below). We don't publish prices online but you'll be talking to Rocky Ball about our availability and price for your specific event.

  3. Sneaky us! Somewhere in step 2 you BOOKED THE BAND and didn't even realize it! Congratulations!

The Rules

Deposit
The Ruby Red's Band requires a non-refundable deposit of only $100.00 for each date we hold for you. The deposit can be paid via check, or credit card online (PayPal®) [This service coming soon-].

Reschedule a Date
Depending on our availability, The Ruby Reds Band can be rescheduled to another date without an additional fee.

Change the Start Time
The Ruby Reds Band will typically arrive 60 minutes prior to the agreed 'start' tme. If your event needs to begin more than 20 minutes earlier than scheduled you will need to notify us as soon as possible. Most often this kind of time shift will cause no problems but occasionally we will be coming from another event and the time shift may not be physically possible.

Overtime
It's not unusual for us to get the party started and discover that the party wants to continue past the time we were scheduled to stop. We will make every attempt to accommodate playing longer. Our normal fee is to pro-rate the additional time based on an hourly fee [Here's where musician rocket science comes into play: take the fee for the event, divide by the originally scheduled hours, multiply by the additional hours needed. Whew! Think what we could do for NASA!]

The Sound System
The Ruby Reds Band is fully equipped with portable sound systems that will accomodate most small to medium events. We'll want to know things like how big an area the sound must cover and how many people will attend in order to bring the right sound system for the event. (If you want us to play a stadium or arena or amphitheatre, we'll add on a fee for that kind of sound requirement! But then, you knew that...). We are very aware of volume and you won't have to worry about us generating excessive or aggravating volume. After all, we're out to please you and make your event turn out great!

Feed the Band
Yes. By all means.

Tipping the Band
Often! (Always encouraged, never required...)

Flash Photography and Video
Only if you have the stomach for it...

Dancing
If we get fired up enough even WE may start some shameless and embarrassing dancing. At that moment it will become painfully clear why we chose to PLAY music for a living... but the audience is welcome to dance on anything you deem safe. (Hey, it's YOUR coffee table...)

Special Requests, Uniforms, etc.
Many times our clients want to request a special tune for a special event or occasion. We know thousands of tunes but give us a little heads up in case you pick one we don't already know. We can also accomodate a special uniform (like a tuxedo, for instance). For most of our corporate engagements the band wears a 30s dressy casual look with dress slacks, vests, vintage hats and a bow tie now and then... but we can accomodate any request with a little notice.

Fun
Required.


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