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Here’s what some of our recent booking clients and booking agents have said: Note:
The following are "unedited" original letters. On Monday, October 03, 2005 8:54 AM -0500 Barry Herndon bherndon@eastcoastentertainment.com> wrote: Good Mornin- The attached letter is from Michelle Ray - she used to be the “sales and catering” director at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. The band I booked for her was THE TROUPERS! (based out of Durham, NC). THE TROUPERS are an outstanding variety dance band! They ALWAYS deliver. In short - this group is a “sleeping giant”. I (and several other ECE agents) have used the band in the past w/ the same results. Excellent band leader in Bill Butler – every time I book THE TROUPERS I know I can breathe easy because every “i” will be dotted and every “t” will be crossed! Bill advances dates well in advance, and bends over backwards for customers. Paying attention to every detail is Bill’s forte. Hands down - one of the best in the business. The band has dynamite female and male lead vocalists and great musicians. Simply stated - they can do it all: from a 1st class dinner set to beach oldies, to funk and disco to even current music. The following testimonial speaks VOLUMES about this fantastic group. Do yourself a BIG favor - book THE TROUPERS! Barry Herndon, EastCoast Entertainment, Raleigh NC Talent Division _____________________________________________________________ October 1, 2005 Dear Bill, Please accept my apologies on the delayed note to thank you and the Troupers for all you did to make our wedding day magical last month! Ross and I have received dozens of compliments from guests and family about how much fun the reception was - and specifically about what a wonderful band we had chosen. I appreciate the extra efforts you made to consult with me before the wedding to make sure that the tone of the evening would be consistent - sophisticated but high energy. You pulled it off in grand style! Our entrance with the trumpeter and your group to “The Saints Go Marching In” created a sense of fun from the first moment we entered the Old Well Room, and your musicians worked tirelessly to ensure that the guests had a reason to dance song after song. The song list was comprehensive, and allowed me to accommodate my parent’s generation with some wonderful swing and blues melodies while making sure that my friends had plenty of contemporary and classic pop songs to enjoy. I loved being able to join you and one of my friends onstage for a grand version of “Brown Eyed Girl” – I suspect photos of that will make many albums! It was a special treat to have you offer to play an extra 15 minutes so that you could honor my last song request - who knew that we’d still have 80% of the guests on the dance floor that late? You guided our event highlights (first dance, toasts, cake cutting) in an understated and appropriate way, making sure that the band breaks corresponded to natural pauses in the event and were very minimal. As the former Director of Catering at the Carolina Inn and a current Director of Sales at the 5 Star Four Seasons Hotel in Boston, I can say with confidence that recommending bands can be a very important part of the role as event consultant. The music sets the ambiance for a party, and along with decor and food, creates the memories. Barry Herndon at East Coast Entertainment guided me to select the Troupers after learning what was important to me, and I would be delighted to recommend you to any bride who wants an elegant event with a full dance floor! I have already suggested you to the planning team at The Carolina Inn as a regular band referral, and would be happy to serve as a reference to any potential customer considering your group. Ross and I are blessed in so many ways with having wonderful friends and family, and I thank you for making sure that we had an amazing evening in which to celebrate with them. Kind
Regards, Michelle
Ray Thompson From: Barry Herndon <bherndon@eastcoastentertainment.com> Subject: The TROUPERS deliver again.... Below is more feedback on THE TROUPERS! This is from the job this past sat. My buyer was somewhat nervous. Needless to say - MONSTER comments on band-leader Bill Butler. BOOK BOOK BOOK!!!!!!!!! Barry: If you have a form that you’d like for me to use, then just sent it. Otherwise, let me just say that Bill Butler is excellent at managing his client relationships. He’s easy to work with and makes it clear that his job is for us to have a good time. We went to a practice and knew we hired the “right” band. We had some communications up to and including the night of our event. He’s professional, flexible, customer-focused, and a talented musician with a great sense of humor that he probably reserves based on who his client is. I’m so glad he let me get a glimpse of it since I think he’s a witty guy. All of our feedback from the guests was positive and I believe his business will just grow and grow. I had a tough crowd because of the huge age range and some close, close friends in the music industry who are somewhat critical. The Troupers won them over. Not to mention, he’s well respected by Margaux’s Stephen (the premier Raleigh restaurant) which makes it a win-win situation. Kind
regards, D.
Andee Treinis Baur “We could not have been happier with our choice of The Troupers for our daughter’s very special day (Kiawah Island, SC 3/05). We are already looking for a reason to have another party so that we can hire them again! All contact with The Troupers prior to the wedding was met with prompt and courteous response. I cannot begin to tell you how WONDERFUL a group The Troupers are. They are awesome performers, and they really brought all of the wedding guests together. Within minutes of the beginning of their performance, it seemed as if EVERYONE was dancing and enjoying the event. They were also extremely professional, from their dress to the manner in which they conducted themselves, both onstage and offstage during breaks. We have since had numerous guests tell us it was the best band at a wedding event they had ever seen/heard….” Amy
R. Jordan, L.L.C. , Johns Island,
SC (843)
768-0562 “Everything was fabulous! Everyone commented on how wonderful The Troupers were and you sure keep us dancing all night!” (Bolivia, NC 5/05) Lauren
Lorenzo, Convention Services Manager, The
Westin Buckhead Atlanta, GA 30326 404-992-0922 The Troupers were fantastic!! All of our guests kept coming up to us and saying “this band is fabulous!” The dance floor was never empty. I think y’all knew exactly how to play the best variety to keep people involved and that in itself is an art. The whole group was amazing ~ and your female vocalist is SO talented! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this such a special night for Blair & Jeremiah AND for all the nice, supportive emails before the wedding. It was just a pleasure having you all there. Astor
Taylor (Blair’s Mom), Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, NC
(12/04) October
10, 2005 Dear Troupers Band Members:On behalf of the staff and management of WNCU 90.7 FM, thank you for your performance at the WNCU Funk Brothers After-Party on September 24, 2005. The evening was filled with lots of fun and dance music from the 70’s and 80’s. Many good memories were brought back to remembrance by every tune played by the band and everyone in attendance complimented us on how outstanding the band’s performance was. We were extremely pleased and in the very near future would like to book The Troupers for a monthly performance at the same venue. I will be in touch very soon so that we can talk about the plans for a monthly old school party WNCU will be sponsoring there. Our development director, Uchenna Bulliner will be in touch with you regarding the trade portion of our agreement. Again, thanks for your grand performance and we look forward to working with you in the very near future. Warmest
regards, Edith
Thorpe, General
Manager, WNCU 90.7 FM "This
is my favorite band. The
Troupers play all types of music, sound just like the record, and
had me dancing on the tables!” George
Bakatsias – renowned Chef and Owner of Parizade, George’s Garage,
Spice Street “New
Year’s Eve – The TPC at
Wakefield Plantation and everyone couldn’t stop dancing until well
into the next year! The
Troupers are best band we have had at The TPC at Wakefield.”
John Sluck – Food and Beverage Director “The Troupers were wonderful! I received many raves and compliments for them and many people were asking for their name to use them in the future. Thank you so much for everything. We had a fantastic time!” Michele
Moore – April 3, 2004 Wedding Reception 12/7/2004 Bill, Thank you for your follow up note. All comments about your performance, including my own, were very positive. In fact, to the point we would like to book you for next year. All the best and Merry Christmas, Raoul
Rushin, Owner,
Govenors Club Realty, Chapel Hill, NC 9/13/2005 Dear Bill, What a fantastic time Gary and I had at our wedding this Saturday! Your band was fabulous!! I can’t tell you how happy it made me, (being the anxious bride of course), seeing one of your band members setting up before I even got there. It really calmed my nerves to see that all our communication before the wedding was being implemented. I want to thank you and the members of the band, for the most memorable night of fantastic music. To see my dad, (who is 70 by the way), out there dancing with my mom, my great aunts, his granddaughters and then line dancing with my girlfriends was a HOOT. What an evening to remember. Once again, thank you Bill....The Troopers were the best (oh by the way, when are you playing in Durham so we can come and see?) Sincerely, Donna Hamm
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