We asked Jim Eppolito, the Founder of West Coast Music in Los Angeles, to share his story and perspective on wedding music and entertainment. If you don’t know Jim, you’ll want to after having experienced any of his amazing wedding orchestras, bands, performers and musical groups.  His passion for live music performance has kept West Coast Music at the forefront of the special events industry for more than 20 years. His vision when launching the company was to create a “live, music-services” business that would provide its customers with recording industry quality and reliability for their parties and special events. Today, West Coast Music is a nationally renowned, full-service production company providing live music for special events, weddings, corporate events, and social occasions.

From the get-go, Jim shared with us his unwavering belief that music has the potential to be an either a wedding’s greatest asset or its greatest liability.  If you make mistakes, in who you select as your entertainment, or in hiring musicians who don’t know how to manage an event, it can be a disaster. In light of that dramatically TRUE statement, we asked Jim to share his experience and approach to providing excellence in wedding entertainment.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY? 

(Jim Eppolito}:  I used to play drums in the late 70’s in California, getting into bands after being strongly impacted by music as a child. From there, the love for the music industry just continued to grow. Years later, I was working for a company that did private events when it came up for sale.  I started running the company in the late 80’s, and turned it around in many ways to a more service-oriented business that clients respected. As a result of the changes, West Coast Music really took off.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  WHAT IS WEST COAST MUSIC ALL ABOUT?

{Jim Eppolito}:  It’s about playing music to inspire people, to create a great mood or sentimental feeling or build energy in the room. That’s what music is supposed to do, at least that’s my feeling. If music has no personal impact then music should do something to impact the event as a whole.  It’s either dance music or background music.  It should be performed at a quality level to best engage your guests at a conscious and unconscious level.  West Coast Music also works to flow with the style of the wedding, like if it’s a black tie and very elegant celebration we play sophisticated music that’s timeless and speaks to the crowd.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  WHEN IT COMES TO BOOKING WEST COAST MUSIC, WHO COMES TO YOU FIRST?

{Jim Eppolito}:  The bride contacts us more than the groom and definitely more than the parents. Second to that is the wedding planner or event producer. On a regular basis, we work closely with wedding planners such as Mindy Weiss, Debbie Geller, Sharon Sacks and recently started working with Todd Events.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  WHAT DO YOU DO TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE COUPLE AND THEIR MUSICAL TASTES?

{Jim Eppolito}:  First, we need to organize their thinking, look at the event as a whole and then break it down with music. The first question I usually ask is how is the party being paced and timed as the pacing is vital to the energy as it grows.  We also talk about the demographics of the wedding, who is going to be there, the ages of the guests, and other key elements of the celebration. Certainly, we talk at length and it great detail about the kinds of music they like to listen to, what their parents enjoy, and then use key questions to rate on a scale of 1-10 how important is dancing to them, etcetera.  We want to play music that inspires them and that will impact them most in an emotional way.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}: WHATS’ THE WEST COAST MUSIC EXPERIENCE?

{Jim Eppolito}: What we know from years of producing entertainment is that every wedding is different. I have it be open to a new idea they nay have and I have to execute very well, and be a very good listener, I care about and I want the quality to be very high, and understand what inspires them, what we can do to take them happy, we work for the sake of our clients, we work to gain their approval. No ne came to hear us egos are left outside, we came to deliver an experience to the bride

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}: WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EVENT TO DATE?

{Jim Eppolito}:  There isn’t just one event. But there are many weddings where the guests and families were so close, connected and engaged with all that was happening in the party. That kind of unity and love in the room is an energy that makes amazing events. I think of my own children and how incredible it would be to feel that when they get married. Really celebrating the event in a personal way, and really feeling the love.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A COUPLE WHEN SELECTING A WEDDING BAND OR ORCHESTRA?

{Jim Eppolito}:  Keep an open mind, listen to what people are telling you and make a distinction between being sold something and being sold a service.  There is a big difference between sold and receiving great service.  Know the reputation of the band, find out the dates and locations of beautiful weddings they have done recently then ask them for recent references from planners, brides and friends.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  DO THE BANDS TRAVEL AND IF YES, WHERE?

{Jim Eppolito}: Majority of our weddings are in Beverly Hills, and Southern California. We have had weddings in New York, Tucson this year we did a big wedding in Singapore, we have done weddings in Cabo, Canada.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}: WHAT OTHER ELEMENTS DO YOU INCORPORATE INTO THE EVENT?

{Jim Eppolito}:  We work with different event teams, producers and planners from around the country. But one of the most important elements to incorporate into the entertainment is LIGHTING. It’s key in elevating or lowering a mood, and for giving the stage energy and life throughout the party.  We also see a lot of  new music and old music mixing together in cool, modern ways, different vignettes, performance groups and multi-media features being incorporated into the whole evening for a show quality. There’s also a huge interest in 90’s dance music.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  WHAT’S THE MOST POPULAR MUSICAL GENREAMONGST BRIDES?

{Jim Eppolito}:  Oh, hands down its contemporary music brides want to hear. We get the most response when when we play music heard on the pop stations as everyone knows the music and can get up and dance to it.

{THE BRIDAL CIRCLE}:  DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE?

{Jim Eppolito}:  “We work at your pleasure” – meaning we perform at our clients pleasure and we are there it make them happy, to gain their approval and instill pleasure in the moment.

We thank Jim Eppolito and his entire WCM Team for sharing their passion with us! For more information, we invite you to visit the West Coast Music website.