When playing to a mixed audience, the band needs to be very careful int their selections.
If you get it right, you can play 'everybody's music', but if you get it wrong, you will end up playing 'nobody's music'.
It's good to have a number of genre crossover tunes in your book.
I enjoy playing a variety of music genres.
When working on the cruise ship, the secretary of the CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines, a Cuban-born American, had her wedding reception on the ship. She and her extended family cruised all week.
We played a lot of Salsa and Merengue for them, and they asked us if we were Latinos. We told them "No" and they dubbed us "Official Latinos" because our music was so authentic. I told them my grandparents were Italian and they decided that was the connection (in jest of course).
On the run we did to Jamaica and the Western Caribbean, there was a Reggae Band playing poolside. They told us we were the first white band they ever heard that played Reggae right.
A lot of little nuances make a lot of difference.
For example, while in port on the cruise ship, I made friends with musicians in Puerto Rico. One of them told me the hand drummer always plays behind the beat, and the cowbell is always right on. He said that if he heard the hand drum and cowbell play at the same time, he quits listening.
In Reggae, the backbeat is always a few milliseconds late, making you wait for it. I could hear this one, the Reggae band didn't have to tell me.
It's not only the notes you play, it's when you play them and how you play them that makes the music art.
I haven't gotten every genre perfect yet, although I'm quite good at a lot of them. I am always learning and getting better. It's one of the things I like about music, there is always something new to learn, some new skill or nuance to make me happy when I hear it sounding right.
My Motown band did a 6 night thing on a cruise. NEVER AGAIN!!!
First of all, because we were technically employees that week, we had rooms by the engine. This was back before impellers. This was HUGE piston engines. Imagine finding a guy using a jackhammer to break up concrete. Then have 24 of his best friends join him with THEIR jackhammers, set up a cot in the middle of that circle, and try to sleep.
Then there was the schedule. We did a 60 minute set every hour on the hour at 8,10,12,2, and 4. Yes, we had to play a set at 4am. People have this idea that a cruise ship gig is heaven. All I did for 6 days was eat and work 5 times a day, and sleep during the day out by the pool where there was no engine noise.
And the whole time I was thinking "WHY do people like this? It's a whole week of 'Oooooohhh. Look. Water!' This is boring."
Here in Cleveland there is a famous boat called the Nautica Queen. They do Lake Erie 4 hour cruises on weekends. 3.0 wanted to take that cruise for New Year's Eve. And I said "What if it sucks? At least if we go to a party in a hall somewhere and it sucks we can leave. We can't leave from a party many miles offshore."
That cruise gig may have been the most horrible week of my life, and I was in a war zone!
I have played some gigs where we played mostly cover tunes. We played what ever the crowd wanted to head to the extent we knew it. That was before cell phones and being able to look up any song ever written. I never thought it was a good idea to play something we did not really know to begin with.
As far a the "Last Band", things were very different. We had paid rehearsals on Wednesday for two hours. There was a setlist and written music. Two sets one and one-half hours long. The first set was all original, in the second set we played a few covers between songs from older albums.
The problem with our band and I guess every band was finding the right people. The lead guitar player could play anything. The keyboard player was a monster, we sometimes had to tie one hand behind him to keep him from overplaying...lol The vocalist was professionally classically trained and could sing in many styles.
The drummers and there were many, were a bunch of dumm azz problem child thorn in my side words I can not say here. Occasionally a pro drummer from one of the studios would come to play with us. Greg Bissonette would come to play when he had the time.
We had a super good bass player but she was playing in another band who that year got nominated for a Grammy and only played with us when she could She wanted to play with us but it was her cousin who got nominated. We had access to a couple of good bass players but they could not read.
The sound man Benny, was a god send, one of the nicest hard working people I ever met.
Money was never an issue. I worked my butt off 100 hours a week and we did some super good shows and a few that were really 3rd rate. Had our share of BS trouble, fined for being too loud. Fined and shut down for having too many people at the venue. Fined for not having enough stage security.
It's called "Pay to Play in LA" Pay the cops that is....
One day I had enough, I only play music for fun. I shoved all that equipment in the back of the garage and flew to Cabo San Lucus and went fishing. I helped Lewis finish one more album and that was the last 30K I dumped in the toilet playing "Live IN Los Angles". No more dealing with people with black sunglasses, black shoes, black pants, black underwear, black shirts. and their.XXXXXXX black attitude.
After all that crap I moved back to Europe.
Just so you don't think it's all like that, there are some very nice intelligent, warm, and friendly people in LA. There are thousands of wonderful musicians. That was a different time and a different world.
It is extreamlly difficult to find a group of musicians who are all on the same page at the same time. How many bands have come apart when some member of the band left for whatever reason.
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
When we worked on Carnival Cruise Lines, it was a good gig.
We had the run of the ship, except the casino and passenger cabins. We played 6 nights and one afternoon set per week on a sea day.
Eventually we set our own hours for those 6 nights. On passenger talent night, when everyone was in the main room we sat and drank coffee until they came out, and when they did, there was only about an hour or two left to play. Other nights when the room was jamming, we skipped breaks and/or played a little late. We were setting revenue records, so nobody minded.
We did a short stint for Celebrity in 2005. They treated the musicians like dirt. We jumped ship at the earliest opportunity. Fortunately, it was a short contract, and we didn't pick up the options.
I heard from other musicians that Princess treated the band right, NCL wasn't bad, and RCL was as bad as Celebrity. That was decades ago, so things may have changed.
Well, that was a smart move actually, otherwise they would have taken every dollar you earned back off you
One cruise I went on (as a passenger), virtually nobody collected at the casinos, and when the ship pulled in to port, not one - but two Cash Security trucks were waiting at the dock while they unloaded the takings.
By keeping you away they actually did you a favor.
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When we worked on Carnival Cruise Lines, it was a good gig.
We had the run of the ship, except the casino and passenger cabins. We played 6 nights and one afternoon set per week on a sea day.
Eventually we set our own hours for those 6 nights. On passenger talent night, when everyone was in the main room we sat and drank coffee until they came out, and when they did, there was only about an hour or two left to play. Other nights when the room was jamming, we skipped breaks and/or played a little late. We were setting revenue records, so nobody minded.
We did a short stint for Celebrity in 2005. They treated the musicians like dirt. We jumped ship at the earliest opportunity. Fortunately, it was a short contract, and we didn't pick up the options.
I heard from other musicians that Princess treated the band right, NCL wasn't bad, and RCL was as bad as Celebrity. That was decades ago, so things may have changed.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Well Celebrity and RCL are the same company so that tracks.
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
Well, that was a smart move actually, otherwise they would have taken every dollar you earned back off you
One cruise I went on (as a passenger), virtually nobody collected at the casinos, and when the ship pulled in to port, not one - but two Cash Security trucks were waiting at the dock while they unloaded the takings.
By keeping you away they actually did you a favor.
Yeah, they don't build those billion dollar hotel/casinos for the fun of it.
My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.
That casino and cash wagon comment made me smile ear to ear. I have been to casinos, but mainly to eat and see shows. I have never sat at a table or a machine and gambled. Just not in my DNA. However, whenever I found myself in Las Vegas, usually for eating contests and once for 3.0s food writers convention, I would put ONE quarter into a machine and pull the arm JUST to say I gambled in Las Vegas and that I broke even.
I was once there for a hot dog contest and my buddy and I went to Sunset Station to beat up the breakfast buffet. As we were leaving I said "Hang on a sec. I have to gamble." So I put that one quarter in a machine, pulled the arm, and walked away. In about 15 seconds I heard noise and some guy started yelling to me "Dude! Dude! Your machine hit!!" I won $150 on one quarter and walked out with my winnings. NO "Let it ride" for me. I just don't gamble.
Well, outside of getting married 3 times... I did better with that slot machine.
1) Don't go into the Casino. If a crew member was winning and a passenger was losing, they could cry "FIXED". Bad publicity. Since we roomed in the same area as the casino workers, rigging could be a possibility at the poker games.
For those who cruise and play the slot machines, on the ships I was on, the odds of winning were better at the beginning of the cruse and slowly got worse towards the end. That way they let you win money at first, and then take it all back, and then some, before you are done.
2) Don't go into a passenger's cabin. It's OK if a passenger comes to your cabin. If a crew member happens to have sex with a passenger, if that passenger comes to your cabin, it implies consent. If you go to the passenger cabin, and the passenger is remorseful, he/she could claim it was forced.
I don't gamble in casinos. Why? I know the house always wins.
Actually, I played slots once just for the experience. I was in a band, and we rented a house while playing a season contract in Fort Meyers, FL. The owner of the house had an old mechanical slot machine. He said we were welcome to play it, but it was his piggy bank, and any money we lose in there is his. I put 4 quarters in there and lost them all. But I got the experience.
I went on the cruise ship with Mrs. Notes, so seducing a passenger was not going to happen. Besides, I have the best, and don't need to sample the rest.
I did enjoy gigging on the cruise ships. There was no TV in the corner or pool table to take attention away from the band. Nobody had to work the next day or drive home, so they didn't worry about drinking a bit too much (the more they drink, the better we sound). They generally come in small family groups, don't know the other passengers, so we get their undivided attention. Around the ship and in port, we get semi-star status.
We got vacation pay too!
We worked 8.5 months on and 3.5 months off for 3 years. We chose our 3.5 months off to be the peak of the tourist season in Florida when work was easy to get. That build up our reputation.
After 3 years, my mother-in-law got sick and needed care, we had enough work around here by then, so we stayed ashore to take care of her.
That was a long time ago.
Carnival treated us right, gave us the big cabin with a porthole, ignored that we were selling cassette tapes (it was officially against the rules, but the top entertainers at the time did it as long as it was low-keyed), and allowed us to adjust our hours for the mutual benefit of us and the ship.
That is when we started playing 'baby-boomer' music.
The orchestra and the Filipino band played standards, the disco played top40, the piano bar did what piano bars do, another single act did country, and the band by the pool played soca and reggae. We analyzed it and decided the missing niche was 50s and 60s music (that was back in the late 1980s). We went to the passenger introduction show, put on a little shtick, and announced to the audience, "although we play a variety of music, tonight there will be a 50s/60s party in our lounge as soon as this show is over."
So instead of playing during the introduction show, something we couldn't compete with, we played after the show, got a great crowd because nothing else was happening but the disco, and immediately made friends who probably wouldn't have discovered our little lounge until mid-cruise.
Around 1980 or so I had a duo with a 6 night a week house gig at a very nice restaurant in Calgary Canada. My partner was an Irish singer/guitarist who also was a comedian who could do some pretty good jokes. For the dinner set we would do in addition to the usual Ipanema, Satin Doll etc other instrumentals like Close Encounters or Shaft and they loved it but they were only showcase tunes, it's good when you can do something they don't expect. The bread and butter stuff was the usual Brown Eyed Girl, Sweet Caroline and Eddies favorite, Mustang Sally and some country because Calgary was also known as Houston North.
We were offered a six week cruise ship gig out of Florida. At first it sounded great until we were told the pay. It was half what we were getting at the restaurant and I was told it was because "everybody" wanted a cruise ship gig. It was basically free room, free food and some spending money that's it. It works great if your wife is your musical partner but if the pay is just for you, it's not even close. Maybe tips would have made it up, don't know because we turned it down.
I did get to "play' a cruise ship about 10 years ago when we took a three day cruise from LA to Mexico. I was in the piano lounge checking out the player who sang pretty well and was a decent player. We chatted on his break and he said go up and play something so I did. He said sounds good keep playing, I'll be back and took off for about a half hour. I got a few bucks in tips which of course I left on the piano for him. It's a nice envoronment and I would have enjoyed doing that other gig but not for what they were paying and certainly not if I wound up sleeping next to the engine room. Wow, I can just imagine...
Billy, I hear you about trying to put a band together in LA. Tons of great players few of which are willing to commit to anything or rehearse because they all have projects going with no clue if any will pan out or not. These guys are pros in the true studio meaning of the word and it's called just give me the set list, I'll be there. Typical example, Kenny and Lou the former drummer and bass player for Barry Manilow for nine years. Both monsters and they joked they were known as the band that cried themselves to sleep every night but they didn't care because that gig paid for their homes in LA. Like anybody at his level I'm told Manilow was strict, you show up on time, be straight and do your job. Don't and you're gone.
Lou is the bassist and his wife told me to call her for any gig within reasonable driving distance that paid $50 or more. She said Lou would get occasional well paid studio gigs or maybe a few weeks in Vegas for 5K a week but other than that, it's $50 minimum local LA gigs.
Then there's Kenny the drummer. We did a gig at an exclusive fitness club in West LA and for the end of some tune I can't remember he says "I got it" and proceeds to do a full blown solo and concert ending for a few minutes. This after two hours of him just being a good drummer playing the songs. He blew everybody away. When you get a chance to work with guys like that you think I want to work with them all the time but you can't. They're not interested, they already made their money, they're just doing it for fun now and are not interested in some band where you get to rehearse in somebody's living room. They're way beyond that. Just call them if you have something and if they're available you can get them. Maybe the stars align and you can get him again in two years or something.
These stories that drive home the point of music being real, actual work make me laugh about something I did on Facebook once.
Some guy, a lower tier player, posted a gig notice for his awful band and I watched as over the next few days people were posting the thumbs up icons, the smiley faces, the hearts... All of those inane, nonsensical icons. So, of course I couldn't leave that alone.
I put up stock pictures of some guy mowing a lawn and asked "Where is THIS guy's thumbs up icons? And his hearts, and his smiley faces? After all, he is doing HIS job just like the musicians who get all the icons are doing theirs."
And I went on to rage against the nobody and wannabe types who think there is something magical or mystical about playing a gig. It's just another night of doing what we do. It's another night at work. There is nothing different between playing a gig at some bar or going to your metal fab shop and doing some pristine, complicated welding, other than the welding may pay better.
WHY do people do that? I really don't get it.
If you go into your life already convincing yourself that and 9-5 job will suck, it will. I LOVED working in IT. I just didn't like GOING to work, getting up at 6, showering, drying all this hair, putting on dress casual clothes... But the work was actually fun. I worked with so many people who came to work already hating the day because they hated their life. I finally learned that I just have to accept that there are people who choose to live in a world where it rains every day.
It still amuses me when I talk to people who think it is some badge of courage to say that they never had a real job. They are the same people who had to live with 3 other grown men until they were 50 because they couldn't support themselves. If I had to do that out of necessity I would probably have swallowed the barrel of a gun. Talk about levels of failure when you can't afford your own place at 50 years of age!
But yeah! Let's give those thumbs up icons because some awful musicians are play in a dumpy bar for $200 on Saturday night.
I literally had death threats over that thread.
It honestly makes me sad when I am having a conversation with someone and the topic of hobbies comes up. I am a better than average woodworker. I am a really good cook. I am great with computers. I wrote a well received blog for a couple of years before I got bored with it. I am 33,500 words into a book. I can fix cars. I can backyard engineer with the best of them. But let me mention music and I get "Oh wow!!! You're in a BAAAAAAAAAND??" Man, it's just one thing I know how to do! People who are so singular in focus that they are worth nothing to the world outside of playing music simply annoy me. I know about a half dozen of those borderline idiot savants.
I prefer people who can honestly say that it is them as a person who brings light to the world, not things they have learned to do out of shear repetition. During Covid time when we had no sports, out of sheer boredom I watched a cornhole tournament. I lasted maybe 20 minutes with it. And I said out loud to nobody "Wow. THIS is your contribution to society? Throwing a cloth bag full of beans through a hole in a board?"
But somebody somewhere will probably think that deserves a thumbs up icon!!
I had 2 'day jobs' in my life, neither one worked out because I prefer being a musician.
Yes, it is going to work, but I love my job. I would play music for free if I was independently wealthy.
The most work to me is schlepping the gear, and it keeps me fit. I don't need a gym membership.
Learning new songs is interesting, performing them for an appreciative audience is blissful.
Plus, I am of retirement age, with zero debt, but I have no plans to retire. Why should I? I can truly say I'm having the time of my life on my job.
And not all of us are the 'poor starving artist' types.
I live in a house that is paid off. It's on a half acre, about 200 feet from the eastern coast of the mainland of Florida. I take vacations every non-covid year, and I've been to much of Canada, 49 US states, from Mexico down to Costa Rica, plenty of European countries, China, Africa, Australia, and quite a few Caribbean Islands.
Now, I'm not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. If I had pursued the Cable TV engineering career that I started in one of my day jobs, I would have made a lot more money in my life. But I really didn't like the job, so I'm happier now.
Life is short, to be happy is the true success in life.
It's not a badge of honor that I'm making a living doing music and nothing but music, it's what I do for a living. I'm proud that I'm good at it, I'm happy that I enjoy my work, I like playing any kind of music, including pop music, and if I could go back in time and do it again, I'd still choose to be a career musician.
I have a friend who is an engineer, and is happy about being an engineer, as I am a musician. And I know a lot of other people who quit their job in a minute if they could afford to.
Those of us who earn a living doing something that we love to do are the lucky ones.
If one is unhappy and always complaining about their job they should do something about it. BUT I know a number of people who hate their jobs but do nothing about changing it. A lot of people are just lazy and/or not willing to change; I saw this where I worked.
I worked in R&D for 39 years and loved it most all of my time there; the last couple of years the bean counters took over R&D and ruined it. I also loved being a weekend musician warrior. However if I didn't like what I was doing I took steps to improve my situation. I went from a machine operator to a lead technician with patents by accepting change.
Happiness is up to you, i.e do what you love or change.
The fitness trainer asked me, "What kind of a squat are you accustomed to doing?" I said, "Diddly."
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I wish we could put our collective creative musical brains together and come up with a verb that accompanies music that is NOT "play". I can't even tell you how much it bothers me that the verb with music is "play". I have never PLAYED a gig. I performed often, but I never PLAYED. People would call me and ask "Are you PLAYING tonight?" and my reply, every time, was "No. I am WORKING tonight. The band is PERFORMING tonight. Is that what you mean?"
At a recent gig, just before we started, one of the band spouses wandered by the stage and asked me "Are you excited?" I looked at her with my best "Huh?" look and in a perfect tribute to Robert Smith I said "Not as much as you apparently..." And she said "What do you mean?" My brain said "Wow. She just doesn't get it." though I didn't say that. I just smiled and said "This is just another night of music to me. No different than rehearsal other than we don't get to stat over if we mess it up." She seemed a little irked as she walked away, but that's the reality of it.
I used to idolize Jack Nicklaus when I was young. I would see him every week on TV playing in the final round of a tournament and I would pay attention to his demeanor. To look at his face and how he approached golf, you couldn't tell if he was up 10 strokes or down 10 strokes. Every facial expression was the same. Every swing was the same. He kept emotion completely out of his game. Chris Evert did it in tennis. Tom Landry did it while coaching the Cowboys. THAT is how I have tried to model my approach to music, and I think I have been pretty successful at that. A gig on a Saturday is no different to me than the rehearsal was on Tuesday.
That's why it is comical to me that all the non-music people think a gig is some major event that deserves thumbs up and heart emojis. It's just another day (night) at work. When you don't enjoy your work, as Mario says, it's time for a change. I now really don't enjoy the gear schlepping aspect of it, particularly when during hiatus like the one coming up I have to move everything up a flight of stairs, wire the home studio back up, write my mediocre songs, only to then have to do everything in reverse when spring comes and rehearsals start up again for the summer season.
All that said, I think it's time for a change for me. Like Danny Glover said in the Lethal Weapon movies, "I'm getting too old for this sh**."
Honestly Mark, he doesn't feel "hell yeah". After 40+ years of this, it's just another night in front of more nameless faces to at least him and me. The other people, I can not say.
When you get excited, your focus tends to wane and that leads to errors. Even keel seems to work best.
For me, anyway.
I can't imagine the landscaper getting excited to mow my neighbor's lawn or the mailman getting excited about putting junk ads in my mailbox. Music is just a job like any other. A job many enjoy, but nothing more than a job. One thing I know how to do. I have been at music for 65 years now and while I enjoy the creative aspect, the playing copy music by rote, after weeks and weeks of rehearsing these songs as well as me playing through the stuff at home, is now very tedious to me. We are very good, but that's not the point. We are good BECAUSE of all the repetition, but the repetition is tedious. With a lot of people of varying skill levels in a band, some need the reps and some don't. That's why it has gotten old. I believe in putting in the time at home to learn and then rehearsal is where you assemble. It is clear in our band that some of the players don't play their instrument at all between rehearsals. That annoys me beyond description.
I agree Mark. I get up for a gig and I would have said to her You bet Baby, It's...SHOWTIME.
I'm like the old time comic who said he's such a ham that when he opens his refigerator door and the light comes on, he'll do twenty minutes in front of a dead chicken. That's me, it's all about the roar of the gresepaint and the smell of the crowd.
As for rehearsals, they're great for getting the basics of a song together but I'm a terrible rehearsal keyboardist. I'm not into it but yes I'll learn the songs. It's like a vid I found years ago about Paul Shaffer doing a tribute to Jimmy Smith's The Cat using three monster B3 players plus himself. Great vid, great music but he also released the rehearsal vid which was interesting. They went through the tune and learned the cues but the whole point of the show was these organists including Paul ripping a solo. Joey D didn't even show up and Dr Lonnie Smith literally was just going through the motions, his rehearsal solo sucked, but the show itself? He killed it.
For me if you can't get excited about performing in front of a crowd you're in the wrong business and I've been doing it since 1964.
Hi, I read through all this setting here in the The ICU after surgery that has gone well.
I have always liked plying guitar
It has almost always been fun I have been lucky to own my own business and make enough money to not be concerned with what I made playing music
How much you get paid is not always in your control other than to say yes or no
I have played in many places for free just because I liked the people and the place I always payed my guys no matter what I always hear about playing in bars. The truth is not many bars make enough money to pay a band We set a rate of 2500 If it was a five piece everybody got 600 If it was a six everyone got paid 500 except me. The agent generally arranger for air travel and hotels plus back line equipment
Ther is nothing more disheartening than having your drummer tell you he is to scared to fly the night before the plane is to leave for Japan I was able to replace him at the last moment but by the time I payed to get him dress and there it took a lot of the fun out of a life long dream to play in Japan It did turn out to be a night I will never forget
Everyone should go operatorate how they they see fit On the day job issue I never had one those, had to work both night an day
A long time ago someone told me if I wanted to make a lot of money I would have to work a lot harder than I could dream was possibly at the time That turned out to be more than a little true
No gig is worth money alone There has to something more than money Don’t ever let anyone talk you out of your dreams
Billy
“Amazing! I’ll be working with Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Parker, Art Tatum, and Buddy Rich, and you’re telling me it’s not that great of a gig? “Well…” Saint Peter, hesitated, “God’s got this girlfriend who thinks she can sing…”
For me if you can't get excited about performing in front of a crowd you're in the wrong business and I've been doing it since 1964.
You nailed it Bob. That's me right now. It's just another night of music. 1000 in the room or 25, it's all the same to me. As long as my check doesn't bounce.
Now, to do a night of MY music, that would have my juices moving a little faster, but telling somebody else's story means zero to me. If I was to perform my song "I Hope Somebody Cries", which was posted here a few years ago, that's a soul baring story about how my shining personality has left me with a grand total of 4-5 people I can call friend, and that song died the slow death of silence that you risk with originals, that would hurt my soul. But to go out and play copy music, I don't care. That's why I don't gig other than with this tribute band (which is just another way of saying copy band).
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Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you over the phone. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday, and 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST Saturday. We are closed Sunday. You can also send us your questions via email.
One of our representatives will be happy to help you on our Live Chat or by email. Our hours of operation are from
6:00AM to 6:00PM PST (GMT -8) Monday thru Friday; 8:00AM to 4:00PM PST (GMT -8) Saturday; Closed Sunday.
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