How did this band become so BIG?

At first glance, when looking at a band of this size, most people simply think- wow that’s a lot of people onstage, and it’s going to be a big sound. Well, that’s true on both accounts, but it hasn’t always been this way for us.

I remember the days when just our 5 piece band was all we could handle and producing the amount of energy that a 15 piece band could produce was exhausting. We pushed ourselves on how to control a room and we did everything imaginable to add more value then anyone else. So how did we get to this point, and what was driving us to keep producing a larger band, when everyone else was scaling their bands down in size? Well, we always knew that there were larger bands on the national circuit and to compete with them we had to produce something of equal or better value. I remember daily meetings in our condo in Florida where Nina, Dave and I would sit for hours strategizing about the market and creating marketing plans. It was all we could do, and there were no other options, we simply had to make it work in order to survive. The thought of an 8 piece band was daunting because there was so much coordination and planning involved, yet somehow we knew that in order to be an 11 piece band, we needed to be experts at managing our band at a smaller level and then gradually scaling upwards. I remember when we first had our 8 piece gig, Nina, Dave and I looked at each other and said, this wasn’t that bad at all… At that moment we knew we were on our way.

Today there isn’t a size restriction on us, and with the right people in the mix, anything is possible. Did we have challenges, of course we did. However, without key players within the group who are dedicated and willing to do whatever it takes to make things fantastic, it can be very difficult. It’s taken us years to find the right people, but anything worth doing should be done with the attitude of doing it right and never giving up.