 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: ClariTone
Date: 2006-04-13 22:48
Hello
I was wondering if you needed to wear a cumberbund w/ a tux, or if you could go without. Is it necessary??
Thanks for our thoughts and your time!!!!!
Clayton
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-04-14 00:48
Like much else, it depends. There are varying standards of dress for different venues.
White tie is seldom seen except for soloists and the occasional throwback operation. (Some classical groups do the white tie and tails route, but they are the exception rather than the rule.) Instead, most of us will find that black tie (black dinner jacket, black cummerbund (or, if you are lucky to find it, sash), black satin striped pants, white pleated front shirt with winged collar and studs and such like) will be what's required.
As the casual factor rises, so the "overall standard" slides. You've all seen pops orchestras with sport coats, blouses, palazzo pants and so on. Many community groups maintain this as their standard, and 'tain't nothing wrong with if they do.
If you are going to be working in the field, you need to be ready to meet the dress requirements. My players all have the standard "class operation" waiters outfit of dinner jacket et. al because they know that it's part of the job. Tools of the trade (and tax deductible as well).
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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Author: pmgoff78
Date: 2006-04-14 01:04
I agree with Terry. I RARELY wear a cumberbund, but I have one. I've only played one place where I needed to have the cumberbund, I'm glad I did.
I simply go with the Vest. I like it.
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Author: Cuisleannach
Date: 2006-04-14 04:21
<<<My players all have the standard "class operation" waiters outfit of dinner jacket et. al because they know that it's part of the job. Tools of the trade (and tax deductible as well).>>>>
Also good when you have to work as a waiter at a high class operation!
ha-ha-ha
-Randy
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Author: BobD
Date: 2006-04-14 13:18
Very good Randy. I can picture Harpo Marx now playing his clarinet, blowing bubbles all fancied up. "You are what you wear"
Bob Draznik
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2006-04-14 14:08
Personally I wear a vest. I don't like the extra elastic around my waist from a cumberbund, just gives my abdomen that much more to push against. I have both full back and backless vests depending on how warm it is. It's a nice alternative and in my opinion, it looks a little like you have the "rented tux" look going on.
--Michael
http://www.michaelnorsworthy.com
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Author: Ed
Date: 2006-04-14 15:08
Honestly, I think if you are wearing a tux you need to wear the cummerbund (note that the word is not cumberbund- etymology:Hindi kamarband, from Persian : kamar, waist + band). It completes the outfit and looks better. To me it just looks a bit sloppy without, otherwise, you may as well wear a black suit. You can do the vest look if you prefer, as some mention. Heck, I always feel if you are dressing up, go for it!
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2006-04-14 15:44
No sequins??? Shucks.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-04-15 00:31
Terry commented:
My players all have the standard "class operation" waiters outfit of dinner jacket et. al because they know that it's part of the job. Tools of the trade (and tax deductible as well).
My remarks:
I know this thread is about men's concert attire, but I just have to jump in here and complain about how much more difficult it is for women to write this stuff off of taxes, since one can wear black just about anywhere!
Katrina
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Author: mnorswor
Date: 2006-04-15 00:44
Katrina,
Where you get many write offs, we only get ONE. I've had my tux for 10 years and it's still in really great shape. How many dresses have you deducted in the past 10 years? Also... I'd KILL for the choices that women have in their attire. The shoes alone .... WOW!!
-Michael
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2006-04-15 01:39
Oh, Michael,
I'm familiar with this whole male/female clothing discussion...
I have never written any clothes off for performance, because they're just too darn versatile.
Would you trade the write-off to be able to wear whatever you want with no tax write-offs whatsoever on apparel?
Katrina
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2006-04-15 05:28
Unfortunately, the determination as to what can be worn is often not under your control. Options that aren't options don't count.
You may not think that it makes a difference, but the totality of how a group looks is often quite important to a client. Yeah, I know it's all supposed to be about the music, but the people who pay the bills are the ultimate arbiters of what's right, and to them appearance matters.
You might pull it off with a one-time client like a wedding or the like. But, when getting into the benefit racket, you're looking for repeat sales, and they notice every little detail, be it the sloppy looking trombone players or the vocalist who drinks a leetle bit too much.
So, show up without a cummerbund, and we'll loan you one the first time. Do it a second time and you might not be back a third time. (I had a trumpet player show up once in some weird bedroom slippers. I lay emphasis on the word "once".)
My group also has a "casual look": black pants, socks, belts and shoes worn with the much-coveted SOTSDO polo shirt with embroidery logo on the breast. In that case, we provide the shirt (have a big box of them in all sizes) and the business side writes them off as an issue item.
For the formal wear, we maintain a stock of "emergency" formal wear, including six or seven sets that run the gamut of sizes, all bought as "lightly used" used items. We also maintain an assortment of sizes of spare cummerbunds (which we require for the consistent look across the group), spare black socks and ties (all carried in the "gig box" that gets loaded for every gig). But, everyone who plays with us more than once ends up with their own.
So far, I've only employed one woman exclusively as a musician. She too wore the dinner jacket combination, albeit one tailored for a woman and styled in a more feminine fashion. When my lovely wife isn't singing backup, she wears something similar out of her selection of the same. (There are quite a few different "tuxedo style" woman's outfits available from the likes of Lew Magram and others.)
For the other women (the "girl singers"), it's a bit different. Usually, it's full formal gowns for the beginning and end of a benefit, wedding, and the like, and something more "with it" for the up-tempo sets in between. We even have a Sixties style set of dresses for some jobs (think dressed-up Barbara Eden on I Dream Of Jeannie for a visual example.)
In a restaurant job or the like, we might go with cocktail or tea length, and for an outdoor job it's usually "upscale sports wear" (whatever that means in manspeak).
Now, in IRS terms (the authority here), the clothing that you use in your trade (be you a musician or a ironworker) is only deductible when the "special clothing" is not capable of being used for your day to day life.
In industrial situations, protective coveralls have been judged deductible (by an owning employee), while certain shoes (even if steel toed) have been judged as not. The dividing line is a fine one, and it can go on a case by case basis.
For us musical folks, the line can shift even further. I've known musical types who were allowed their formal wear in an audit, and I would submit that a formal tailcoat would pass the bar wherever it is set. The dinner jacket is allowed for waiters and staff (there are paper trails there as well), so most likely you'd clear that hurdle if called into question.
With the ladies, it's a bit different. I've worked with professionals who have been in the entertainment field for a while, and from their statements I get the feeling that there won't be much problem with six or eight evening gowns for someone "in the business". However, moving to cocktail wear or tea length starts to shift to the "you can wear this as every day stuff", and thus becomes an IRS no-no. The sportswear is in much the same category.
And, I need to go on record here as being a cummerbund hater of the first order. I used to have a sash (which is where the cummerbund was derived), but too many good meals have consigned it to the Goodwill box. The only place that I can find one is in England, and the cost is prohibitive. So, I wear the fake version and try not to think about it...
leader of Houston's Sounds Of The South Dance Orchestra
info@sotsdo.com
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