YPO Gold Christmas party at Outfitter's Cabin in Park City

One of Mark's pictures

We were approached by Howard a few months ago to play at his annual YPO Gold Christmas party. We've played a few events for him, so we were eager to play another one.

This was a formal event, where the participants were wearing tuxedos. We were told to wear formal/casual. We decided to be matching, so we all wore black shirts, black pants, black shoes, and red ties. Aaron joked that we looked like the mafia. I countered that black is sleek, white shirts would make us look like we're going to church, and red is a Christmas color.

A picture I took while I had a break

This cabin was kind of hard to find on GPS, but we all made it up there. It was an elegant and charming cabin that sat on top of a big valley, with a beautiful view. We were also fortunate enough not to have any snow while driving there.

This was our third time playing live with Dean, and the first time we played a lot of these songs. We were hired to play for 5 hours, so we practiced all of our material, just in case. In the past, we've mostly been ambiance/background music for Howard's parties, but this time, we had people dancing, so we mostly stuck with our dance songs, and mostly oldies and 80's stuff.

We were fed dinner, and it was fantastic! Several types of gourmet salads, fish, steak, potatoes, and delicious deserts!

One of the GoPro sills

I'm really glad that we started doing lighting at our shows, because we were on the porch, and there were only a couple of dim lanterns out there. I was excited because I had purchased a third light stand, to try and get a "halo" effect by placing it behind us. I wasn't expecting there to be a dance floor, so I didn't bring my derby disco lights.

For the past 40 shows, we've made it a priority to have at least one photo from each show. This night was tricky, because usually we have friends or family come and take pictures of us. I set up my GoPro to get stills, and Mark and I took some photos while we had large breaks on songs.

Overall, it was a great event and we had a lot of fun.

Halloween Party DJ Gig

Last year, we had a great time playing at a Halloween house party in Sandy. This year, Mark and Dean were out of town, and we weren't able to play the party as a band when they requested. Aaron and I offered DJ services for their party and they accepted. In addition to playing music, and lighting, we did karaoke as well.

Aaron dressed up as Link from the Zelda game, and I dressed up as a lion. (My wife and I were the Lion and the Lamb)

We had a good time. Although, lots of people were dancing and singing, this crowd reacted better when we played as a full live band. They want us back next year, but the whole band. We also met some people at the party who are looking for a band for upcoming parties.

We had such a success, we decided that we might do more DJ gigs when they present themselves.

Aaron with the whole sound and lighting rig

Me with the whole rig.

The backyard where we played last year

They had some delicious food, including this head made of prosciutto 

Independence Day Party 2017

We played at an Independence Day party last year at a private party, in Park City. It was really the gig that kick started our band. Prior to that, we only had about 1 hour of cover song material. We had to learn 3 hours worth of songs. Howard, the host really made us feel special; like we were guests of honor. He loved us so much, that he invited us to play at charity event that he had later that month, and he wanted us to play at his Independence Day party, the following year. We graciously accepted. He left us a glowing 5-star review and kept telling us how we were his favorite party band. That was such a confidence booster, and has helped us feel like and act like a professional band.

We played again this year, and it was awesome as usual. One of the party guests remembered us and some of the songs we played and was really to see us again. The food was great, the people were awesome, and the fireworks were spectacular. We got a solid lead for another gig!

This was Nate's last gig with us. He moves out this weekend. It's going to be sad, and we're going to miss him! We're going to be taking a break while we audition a new guitarist, and get them up to speed. We'll be booking again in September.

Taking an intermission with my band at this party to enjoy the fireworks. Since we're up the mountain, you can see them at eye level! #eighthdayslc

A post shared by Daryl Bennett (@dben41) on Jul 4, 2017 at 9:01pm PDT

Independence Day Gig 2016

We were contacted in late May to play a gig for an Independence Day party up in Park City. While we were expanding our set list to be 32 songs long, about 3 hours, this gig required us to prepare 4 hours of music. While it was a lot of work, we were up to the challenge and now have a setlist of 44 songs. It was especially challenging, because summer is a busy time. Aaron had National Guard Drill, I was still recovering from brain surgery and couldn't do much for a while, and others had vacation. The secret was to practice individually, A LOT, and to make in-person practice really count. We played up at a house in Park City, that was perched on top of a mountain, that had a glorious view of the whole city, and of the beautiful natural landscape that surrounded it. The house was yuuuge and it had many windows to enjoy the view. There was a drink bar, a chef who made BBQ food and crepes, and two Sushi chefs who made some of the best Sushi that I've ever eaten. The host was very hospitable towards us, he let us eat when we had breaks, and bring a spouse or significant other. The ambiance of the party was very positive; people were socializing, having fun, and dancing. The best part was watching the city fireworks show down below. The bottle rockets bursted at our eye level. It was unlike anything I've ever seen. We did our very best at this gig, and we nailed it! Our sound tight, we had charisma, and our levels were well mixed, and at an appropriate volume for the event. (Sometimes we like to really crank it during band practice!) Needless to say, the only thing better than showing up to a gig prepared, is having a great execution. Our host was very pleased with our performance. He flattered us by saying that he has hired 10 rock bands previously to his house parties, and we were his favorite. He gave us a great review on our GigSalad page.

I hired Eight Day without hearing them for a fourth of July party. They were perfect. Great sound , great songs and right on with volume Etc. In fact so good I will hire them again. I highly recommend you use them for your adult party!!!

So we can't wait to play at his next event. View more photos on our Facebook.

We had a great #independenceDay gig last night! It was a blast. The house was so high up the mountain, that we could see the city #fireworks at eye level! It was awesome. The BBQ and Sushi didn't hurt either. :) #rock #band #murica #4thofjuly #parkcity #utah

A photo posted by Eighth Day (@eighth_day_slc) on Jul 5, 2016 at 2:37pm PDT