Additional band information on MySpace Music

www.myspace.com/thecontrabandmusic

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Video Links on 'Sound & Vision' Page

Something to declare...

The Contra Band

Playing music from the Pre-Light Emitting Diode Age of Vinyl through to the modern digitally enhanced - but still classy - songs of "Generation iPOD", The Contra Band have the music you need.

Having played live venues throughout the Midlands as The Bootleg Rhythm Band we have expanded our line-up and our ambition. Extra vocalists bring a more varied set of songs ranging from classic rock songs and one hit wonders through to modern day classics. If it’s good, we probably play it ... or will play it... or have tried to play it but found it too difficult. (A covers band can only get so far in sounding like a full orchestra...).

To get the level of ability and enthusiasm you want in a band we have musicians from Telford, Birmingham and Leicester - all with experience of performing in other covers/function bands playing the best party (and drinking) music around. As with The Bootlegs we still want to play music which "girls can dance to and blokes can drink beer to" so whether you're out to boogie or prop up the bar you need to come along to one of our gigs. Check out our Gig Guide to see where you can catch up with us next. And if you want to know whether we are a start up band or have paid our dues, check out the gig history which includes the things we've done as The Bootleg Rhythm Band.

The REALLY GOOD NEWS is that we also play private functions, parties and celebrations such as weddings, 21st birthday parties, end of term balls, civil partnership celebrations, etc. In fact, we love ‘em because it means we can get out the really large PA sound systems which we hire in from a couple of friendly PA companies (see Links section). Naturally, an exchange of money is required for our services but we're happy to discuss fees once we know what you need in terms of size of venue, date and time, location, number of people attending and whether representatives of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs will be present. (We are joking.... we don't earn anywhere near enough to register for VAT which is good news for you and bad news for us). We're very reasonably priced compared with some bands given the size of our line-up and the variety of the music we play, however, unlike many function bands where you can only download their expensive studio-recorded demo tracks, with The Contra Band you can actually turn up at one of our public gigs and check us out to see what we're like in a live environment. In the meantime, we will soon be arranging our own expensive studio-recorded demo tracks for you to download but if you can't wait then check out some of the things we did as The Bootleg Rhythm Band in our Downloads Section. (Our sax player / keyboardist / midi programmer has probably sneaked a few of his own offerings in there as well).

Now hardly anything ever goes wrong with our gigs - except the one occasion when a light when out on one of the bass player's 3 amplifiers and he got nervous that he might have to do a gig with only one spare - but if something does go wrong you can have peace of mind that the band has a £1m public liability insurance policy. (Arranged for us by our bass player / main worrier). In addition, we are mates with other classy bands in the south Birmingham / Worcestershire area and so if we cannot make a gig we can arrange a replacement. However, we have NEVER cancelled a private function booking yet despite broken fingers, ruptured tendons, bad backs and throat infections.

And remember... if you don't like Soul Man or Mustang Sally, wait 5 minutes - Guns'N'Roses or Bad Company will probably be along in a moment, probably preceded by a bit of Simply Red or Alannah Myles. (Voted "Best Music To Drink Stella Artois To" by our bass player / main worrier).

The Contra Band … all dues paid..!