Lead vocalist Melissa Asbridge (above, centre) together with her husband Paul founded the Jam Hot Showband, a 10-21 piece ensemble that’s been performing for many years at luxury events of all descriptions around the globe. Here we talk with Melissa about the band and how it can add a super hot highlight to your private or corporate event:
C&B: “Melissa, you’ve put together one of the best known bands in the business – how did the Jam Hot Band originally start out?”
MA: “We were originally much smaller and only evolved into the Jam Hot Band that we are today during the time when Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake began performing more choreographed stage shows with their full band – incorporating musicians dancing as well as the vocalists. We were already doing that in a smaller way, so we decided to create a larger, full stage show that would perform for bigger events…”
C&B: “Do you have one word that would you best describe your musical style?”
MA: “Eclectic! Essentially we perform songs that everyone wants to hear on the dance floor – we perform older pop, contemporary pop, funk, soul, garage, disco, RnB, pop punk, rock and roll etc! We also perform songs in several different languages, depending on our event type and audience…”
The iconic Jam Hot Showband is the pinnacle of luxury live entertainment. This multi award-winning 10-21 piece powerhouse is known throughout the world for their unique and utterly spectacular live show. Trusted by top event planners in many countries, these exceptional musicians are wholly dedicated to their craft and boast an enviable reputation as being the number one choice for global brands the likes of PepsiCo, ITV, Hewlett Packard, BBC, Rolls Royce, KPMG and Channel 4 – no one parties like Jam Hot!
C&B: “When you’re putting the band together for an event, how do you choose which musicians will play?”
MA: “We’ve all known each other and worked together for many years – Jam Hot is like a family, and we work solely as one unit that performs together all the time. We’re very close and have so much laughter amongst us, which means we truly enjoy spending time together – which is just as well as we’re on the road all the time!”
C&B: “Regarding the music itself, who chooses the playlist prior to an event?”
MA: “The client always chooses the songs – we send over our full show, and they choose their favourite medleys to be included. With our repertoire being so varied, we want our clients to have the fun of selecting most of what we’ll play for their guests on the night…”
C&B: “Out of all the songs you play, which is the most popular, and why?”
MA: “Ooh, that’s a tough one! Everyone goes crackers for all of our show, for various reasons. We have a 90’s medley that audiences absolutely adore, and when we play our pop punk medley, guests absolutely bounce off the ceiling!”
C&B: “Is there a particular song that’s the best to get the party started?”
MA: “This depends on the event that we’re performing after, or if we are creating the party atmosphere in the first place. For a slightly older crowd, we may choose some soul, whereas for a more mixed audience, we would usually start with some contemporary pop…”
C&B: “And would you say is the most popular ‘wind-down’ song that you perform?”
MA: “If our DJ is continuing on after we finish playing live, we keep ramping everyone up until the very last second, so the atmosphere continues. Then our DJ usually chooses something ‘anthemic’ that the room can sway and sing along to, such as a good old Oasis song for the end of the night – depending on the audience, of course!”
C&B: “When it comes to your stage presence, what style of outfit do you typically wear, or do you always vary it?”
MA: “Our signature colour has always been black and gold – but we have a big range of formal costumes in all sorts of colours, meaning we can often complement an event colour theme…”
Fronted by 4 jaw-dropping vocalists, Jam Hot plays stunning arrangements of the world’s finest pop, rock, Motown, disco, garage, pop punk, RnB, indie, soul, dance, reggae and funk. Featuring musical legends the likes of Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Michael Jackson, Oasis, Tina Turner, The Beatles, Pharrell Williams and Bon Jovi – every guest will fall in love with their high-octane signature medleys that draw audiences to the dance floor like magnets and compels them to jump around and sing along!
C&B: “How long are your sessions typically, and how late into the evening do you normally play?”
MA: “As we perform for a lot of international events, timings tend to be a lot later than here in the UK. We’ve played until around 4am for some destination weddings, but we may not have started our performance until after midnight! In the UK, we usually finish playing between midnight and 1.00am….”
C&B: “Are your engagements mainly corporate events or private parties/weddings?”
MA: “We’re lucky enough to be busy with all event types – which we love doing! We perform for many corporate events, but also lots of Jewish weddings, English weddings, Indian weddings and Greek weddings…”
C&B: “What would you say has been your most fun/challenging occasion?”
MA: “Different event types present different challenges; for example, we perform for some very complex corporate events, where we perform live songs that are timed down to the second, with minimal rehearsal on the day – we love working under pressure though, and relish the chances to stretch ourselves! A different challenge is when we perform for high profile clients, such as royalty or celebrities – we are always careful to conduct ourselves appropriately and to be flexible where the situation calls for it – again we love working on events like that….”
C&B: “What do you personally most enjoy about performing in Jam Hot Band?”
MA: “I think it’s just that we simply have a blast! We have so much fun doing what we do, and we get to travel the world with our friends – it doesn’t feel like work! We have made so many memories, and definitely never take any of it for granted, even when we haven’t slept for three days and are on our third country of the week!”
C&B: “Talking of travel being a perk of the job, which countries have you travelled to?”
MA: “We’ve performed in rather a lot and they include the Maldives, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Lithuania, France, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Uzbekistan, Morocco, America, Norway, Greece and Portugal – and we always love to add new places to the list…”
C&B: “When you’re travelling frequently, do come up against any challenges”
MA: “Occasionally communication with production companies can be a bit of a challenge – despite our best efforts, sometimes you just have to hope that all of the gear will be of the quality that the client expects. It can also be a challenge to be rested enough – we often finish a show in a country, before heading straight off to an airport, where we’ll fly straight into the soundcheck of an event in a different country. We try and make sure our team is able to rest where possible, but it doesn’t always work out that way! That being said, we always brush away the cobwebs – with caffeine and carbohydrates – and are back to jumping around on stage, having the time of our lives!”
C&B: “Do you regularly find yourself working with the same event organisers?”
MA: “We always welcome new clients, brands and planners – but we’re privileged to be called upon frequently by some incredible event planners and brands…”
C&B: “And, last question, what would be the ultimate dream project for you?”
MA: “Every time we get a call from a client and family that really want us to perform for them – that becomes a dream project! We love performing for large scale clients and events – but the ones where my team ‘really makes’ – in their words – someone’s big day, is the reason for why we do what we do!”
WEBSITE: http://www.JamHot.band
TESTIMONIALS FROM THE JAM HOT WEBSITE
“Your name is correct, that was HOT!!! Thank you so much for making our Christmas party this year. It was all a little dull until you took to the stage and then the atmosphere was buzzing. Will not hesitate to recommend you to anyone and everyone that needs entertainment for their do.”
“Your band Jam Hot were absolutely amazing. They totally blew every expectation we had away. The hotel staff told me they had never seen anything like it and I do hope you keep in contact with them and get lots of referrals. The effort the band made to come down from the stage and engage was brilliant. You, the band and the crazy sound system really made the wedding. Wish I had a heads up on Anna singing as I had no idea!! That was the ultimate show. Many thanks to you and your amazing band. If you ever need a review or a recommendation please do not hesitate to ask.”
“We discovered Jam Hot on a wedding blog. We wanted to find something different to the half a dozen bands that we had seen at countless other Jewish weddings; something more unique and current and, after checking out their amazing videos online, we got in touch to see if they were available for our date. From the first phone call we were immediately drawn in by Paul’s warm and professional approach, we felt reassured that using them would mean we were in expert hands and that they would help make our wedding an amazing party. We were not disappointed. Paul, Melissa and the band put on the most phenomenal show. They are so talented, so energetic plus they have some fantastic set lists to choose from. Our guests loved it and it showed – the dance floor was full from the Simcha dancing, right through to their final note. In fact so many people have since mentioned how great our band were, and we’ve already passed their details on to a friend who is putting on a bar mitzvah next year. The team were accommodating with our song choices, they even learnt a new song for our first dance, and they helped us to sort the sound equipment for the ceremony, which was a massive help. They communicated really well in the run up to the wedding, which is needless to say very important when you’re planning something that has the potential to be very stressful! All in all we would recommend Jam Hot in a heartbeat. They were an absolute pleasure to work with from start to finish and it’s safe to say our wedding would not have been the same without them and their energy! Thank you!!”
“We just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the best band we could have wished for. We had never met you before, never seen you perform and only booked you based on your promo video online and the ‘feeling’ that we had about you. You surpassed all of our expectations! The talent that we saw was incredible and you kept the party going all night. The lighting really added to the room and we couldn’t have asked for more from you. We wish we could do it all over again. All of our guests loved you too and we will be sure to spread the word of Jam Hot band to all! Thanks again for an amazing night, the newlyweds!”
“We saw Jam Hot online through the recommendation of a colleague. Having produced shows for artists such as Elton John, One Direction and alike, I would like to think that I know a good, tight band when I see one. Jam Hot were just as impressive in real life at the event. Friendly, easy to work with and as musicians they were excellent. The two sets they did flowed seamlessly from one floor filler to the next. Choreography amongst the singers and musicians only added to the entertainment value. The end result? We had a very happy client who has already asked for the band to be at their next conference in the summer.”
“I would’ like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for your excellent performance and the level of professionalism you showed at the event held at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi resort. Your excellent performance has given our guests such an excellent celebration.”
“Amazing, what more can I say! Just exactly what it says in their profile, stunning singers and the band were incredible too. Thanks so much, you’re all amazing!”
“When planning our wedding, the one aspect we both agreed had to be perfect was the wedding band. We don’t believe we could have found a better band than Jam Hot. From start to finish, the band were professional, friendly and were in regular contact with us and answered every questions we had. All members of the band are outstanding musicians and made every song feel like the real thing. The band had so much energy, especially the 4 very talented singers, who got every wedding guest dancing all night long. When we spoke to our wedding guests, the one thing they all commented on was how incredible our band was. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Jam Hot, in fact, we will probably go out of our way to do so!”
“You were so professional and accommodating the whole way through the booking process (I’m sorry about the 7000 phone calls!) and really made us feel like you wanted us to have the perfect evening – let me tell you that we did. You are the best musicians we’ve ever seen, and for you to be that good when you were jumping around on the dance floor with our guests (my mum especially loved it when your horn players started a conga during your Michael Jackson medley!) was astonishing. Thanks you so much!”
“Jam Hot are the easiest recommendation I have ever made. Flexible, collaborative and brilliant to do business with comes as standard. But all that aside, musically, they are simply incredible. Beyond being entertained, my guests were literally in love with them and the dance floor was on fire. Feedback included comments like ‘I’d pay to see them in convert’. I’m already looking for excuses to hire them again. Any doubts, give me a call.”
“We knew the band were going to be great! However, we had no idea that they were going to be so much better than we could have hoped for!!!! They had everyone up dancing from the second they took to the stage until the end of the night. The mix of music appealed to everyone, and the crowd really loved every minute… thanks so much for making this so special.”
WEBSITE: http://www.JamHot.band
