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Alex Govier is now available at very reasonable charges mid-week for Restaurants Hotels Background Music New Car Launches or special main dealer customer evenings. Clubs Weddings and Banquets Cabaret Work Enhancement of orchestral sound with keyboard for shows, theatre, etc. French or Italian Themed Occasions including his piano-accordion Rehearsal piano for shows, choirs, or choral societies. Dance Nights (including Modern Ballroom, Old Time and Sequence) Keyboards or superb Digital Piano provided where no piano installed Some weekend dates still available
Check out Currently available in Yorkshire, or, depending on other commitments, in Cornwall |
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ORGAN |
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ACCORDION The Accordion is an instrument which is physically demanding to play and I would normally expect to play only two or three half-hour sets on it in an evening. However I can, for a slight addition to the fee to allow for the extra set-up time, provide music on a more continuous basis by using keyboard with occasional 20 minute highlights on accordion, just long enough for the novelty of the instrument to make its effect. |
Obviously if playing for a French evening on accordion, I would include mainly French and numbers with a continental flavour, occasional popular operatic tunes, Edith Piaf, Michel Legrand and older favourites such as Bridges of Paris and so on, mainly on the musette sound. Similarly for an Italian evening mainly continental, Neapolitan, operatic melodies, although in both cases a touch of variety from more modern ballads and musicals may come in handy. |
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My repertoire depends to a large extent on which instrument I am playing, my audience, the style of venue and whether I am playing alone, in a band or with a drummer or backing cabaret. One of my delights in backing cabaret with organ, keyboards or piano, is to absorb and re-reinforce the style of the artiste I am working with, whether it is for standards, jazz, country, heavy rock, rock and roll , modern ballad, old favourites or even operatic. For cabaret of course my music-reading and sight-reading skills come to the fore - although rehearsal is good, the sheer adrenalin rush of producing a live performance for the first time in front of an audience only two minutes after first meeting the performer and quickly scanning the music is hard to beat. |
As I have already covered accordion repertoire in that section let me deal with my approach to playing piano and keyboards. Keyboards will be similar to the piano repertoire, although with build-ups to string orchestra and some breaks for pseudo jazz or classical guitar, electric piano etc. as previously mentioned. Any good tunes from any style from classics to 40s, 50s and Sinatra era jazz and modern ballads make up a good piano or keyboard programme. There is even a useful overlap bridging the generations, where for example Beegees songs will be interpreted as Boyzone ones and vice-versa and Andrew Lloyd Webber compositions. Many popular classical tunes, presented in a modern manner that will also please even the uninitiated.
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However successful you are, every establishment has a midweek night or nights which do not seem to repay you sufficiently with a healthy influx of paying customers. Paradoxically, these are likely to be the most cost effective to put some extra effort into to turn the situation round. Reasonable Fees Although my fees (vat-inclusive with full documentation so you can reclaim as expenses) are always reasonable, with less competition for my services midweek, I can afford to charge a lower fee for these nights than at weekends, and at the same time this is when the extra effort is most needed to pull in the customers, Another reason to choose you, especially Why not give your customers an extra reason to come and see you on such a night by adding a luxury romantic atmosphere of piano or piano-style live music as they enjoy their meal or their drinks. You might also of course optionally combine it with a special menu or drinks item and give it a fancy name as a romantic evening for couples or whatever theme you can devise yourselves. Get New Regular customers and an extra discount! By making it a regular weekly event, your customers will remember to come and make a regular spot for you in their lives, your advertising for it works extra smoothly, and it becomes even more worth while for me to offer you an advantageous rate as soon as the night becomes established with a regular playing contract. Free Help to Promote your new musical night To help this work you can add the special night to your regular advertising if any, or simply do no more than putting around your establishment in key positions some neat full colour flyers about it, including a picture of myself at the piano, laminated for a glossy stay-smart finish. I can even provide some flyers for you in the contract if you find this useful. Advertise the extra feature on your website free. You might also wish to add the item to your website, and here again I can help you with jpg images to insert or even produce a targeted extra page in your own style for you on our undertaking. (I write, edit and design my personal website myself and also the two websites of The Music Box, Meadowhall, which I own). Visualise the effect of one of my musical evenings. To try to imagine the effect of one of my musical evenings you may like to refer to the playing style paragraph, repeated below.
You can contact me on or via 0114 256 9089 (The
Music Box) |
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PLAYING STYLE Although I greatly enjoy working with other musicians I do not usually use a rhythm unit. In my view it makes for easier more relaxed listening (particularly when customers are eating!) and with the style I have developed it is definitely not missed. |
All my playing is entirely live and I do not use MIDI files or backing tracks. Not only does this produce a more natural relaxed atmosphere, but I feel I can more flexibly echo and manipulate the ambience and mood of the room and use contrasting musical moods by maintaining full control this way. However, if you look at other parts of this site, you will see other styles that I can call up, depending on the needs of the occasion. |
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Contact info: Name: Alex Govier or Ellen Govier
Telephone: 0114 256 9089 Mobile 07760 3555 92 Email: misterpianoman@aol.com Geographical Locality Currently centred mainly around Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds and Bradford for work, but gigs will depend on suitability and may be prepared to do other styles of work, e.g. residencies, cruises, and wider areas according to fee and suitability. As a Cornishman, Alex spends a considerable part of his time in Cornwall and can arrange to play there also if contacted. For this reason each engagement will be priced separately, though reasonably, depending on distance travelled, duration of engagement, number of instruments to be brought etc Within a 30 mile radius of Doncaster virtually all mid-week gigs will fit very comfortably inside three figure price, even including VAT. Further pricing adjustments downwards available for regular weekly appointments, once established as regular.
Why not contact me by e-mail
to discuss your ideas now. |
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help that special occasion of yours become even more special
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