480: Before You Book Any Entertainment, Ask These Questions

Booking entertainment for a private club should not feel like a gamble.

In this episode of Private Club Radio, Denny Corby breaks down the exact questions club leaders should ask before booking a band, DJ, comedian, magician, speaker, or specialty act, so your club events run smoothly, match the membership vibe, and feel worth the spend. You’ll learn how to vet for fit and professionalism, not just talent, how to build a clean run of show around food service and energy flow, and what to confirm ahead of time for sound, setup, stage, timing, and room logistics.

Denny also covers content boundaries, handling hecklers, what to ask for in references and video clips, and the must know basics around contracts, cancellations, insurance, and safety. The goal is simple, fewer surprises, less stress, and more events your members rave about.

Want help dialing in your entertainment plan, or need a trusted recommendation? Connect with Denny Corby, the club entertainment expert who has performed for 350 plus private clubs, at dennycorby.com or on LinkedIn.

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Transcript

Why Fit Beats Budget

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Private Club Radio Show, the show where you get the scoop on life inside private golf and country clubs. I'm your host, Danny Corby, and each episode is a real conversation with club leaders, the pros, the people, and partners who help clubs thrive. We talk leadership, culture, food and beverage, member experiences, member engagement, marketing governance, and so much more. If you want practical ideas, better teams, and a club experience members actually feel and talk about, you're in the right place. Now, welcome to the show. So today, here are some questions that you can ask any performer, any outside vendor before they show up. Yes, this is more focused for the entertainment, but you can use this for anything. So, more particularly, uh, we're talking about magic, comedians, DJs, bands, speakers, specialty acts, all that. But you can use some of these questions for other people too. This is not the end all be all of all questions. I'm sure you have great questions you ask. I'm sure I miss some, but I think sometimes with these questions, we're not always going for perfect answers. Sometimes it's the value in how they respond. So it's not just interviewing talent, it's not just interviewing people, you're interviewing temperament, you're interviewing feel, and you're making sure we're creating that fit. Because sometimes clubs ask incredible questions. And sometimes they ask questions like, so you need a microphone? And sometimes the entertainer, like me, is the one asking the great questions, guiding the club, steering the ship, and saving the night before it even starts. Because most entertainment problems at a club are not talent problems. I would say they are fit and communication problems. And the good news is fit and communication can be handled way earlier and better by booking the right entertainment and asking the better and the best questions. And at the end of the episode, I will share with you my favorite question that I ask every show, every client, it's probably the best question ever. And I say this a lot, and I'm not going to stop, and that is stop hiring entertainment based only on budget. Start hiring based on fit, the fit for your club, the fit for your vibe, the fit for your membership, your room, your run of show, and the kind of night you are trying to create for your members, because you can book the most talented person in the world and still have a weird night if the fit is wrong or if the communication is sloppy. And before we get to the questions, which are in no particular order, if you are looking for some amazing entertainment and you want to have and ask some amazing questions and have an amazing bantery conversation about entertainment, check out dennycorby.com. There's excitement, there's mystery, also there's magic, mind reading, and comedy, a ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps. And if you're looking for one of the most fun member event nights, from someone who's done well over 350 clubs to great success with great reviews, head on over to dannycorby.com. Question number one that you want to ask your potential entertainment is describe what you do for this exact audience, not your best audience. And we're asking this because relevance beats hype. We want to listen for if they tailor things, if they mention mixed age groups, dinner environment, right? You're just seeing how they respond and what they say. Are they saying more me, me, me? Is it more about you and the audience? And those are some of the things that you're looking for. Remember, not always the answer that you're looking for. You're looking for how they answer. Question number one is you want to ask them to describe what they do for their audiences and more specifically what they can do for your audience, for your club. And remember, we're not going for perfect answers. We're going for relevance. We're going for hearing how they respond. Relevance beats hype. So you want to listen for do they talk about tailoring? Do they mention just different aspects of their show? Is it more about me, me, me, or is it about we, we, we and us and how we work together to create a killer event? Because you want to hear also how they see themselves, how they envision themselves in your space, in your room, in your environment. Next great question you can ask is what does their ideal run of show look like and why? Now, I know I'm a very flexible entertainer and I saw and I like to partner with with my with my clubs, with my events and my clients. And, you know, I like to inhabit we can make it a little bit unique, makes it a little bit more fun for me. But also, you know, what does their ideal run of show look like and why? Because they might have or say something that clicks with you, or maybe they mention something that you may have not thought about, and not just for this event, but other events as well. So it's just always listening just to hear what their dream scenario looks like. Um, because a lot of pros know when they hit the hardest and a clear preference plus reasoning about attention, food service, detail, room energy, all that stuff can hit and make sense. And piggybacking off the last question, it's what do you need from the room to be at your best? So, kind of like the last question, which was, you know, what does your ideal run of show look like? The next part is what do you need from the room to be your best? And we're asking this because we may uncover just different things that they might need that we might not consider or think about, specific needs, mics, lighting, performance area, seating, distance, sound, stage, no stage, all that stuff. Just hearing what they like and ask them to be detailed if they can. Quick is fine, easy is fine, vague is not. And every good performer has their ideal scenario. They might not might not always get it, it might not always be able to happen, but every performer has their ideal scenario and knows their vibe of influence, but I don't even know where that line came from. But every performer has that ideal scenario and just hear what theirs is. Next is ask them what their setup is in plain English. If if they can't explain their setup clearly, be weary, surprises might be coming. That doesn't mean an organizer or anything, but you just want to see and hear what their setup needs, what their requirements need. And when in doubt, I always like to quote Michael Scott, which is explain this to me like I'm a five-year-old. So when in doubt, uh, when things might become a little difficult, always ask, explain this to me like I'm a five-year-old. Because as we know, sometimes at clubs, if depending on the entertainment, we might have our own internal sound system and internal stuff. And sometimes the person setting up the sound is also the person who's running bingo on bingo night for the club. So another great question is ask them what questions they have for you about the audience, about your members, about the room, about the flow. The best performers, the best people that you can bring in, interview you back. Just as you ask them great questions, you should also expect great questions back. We're when when we bring somebody into a club, I ideally, and sometimes it's not worth all of this, but you know, we're we're looking for curiosity, we're looking for smart, we're looking for practical questions, right? Not just where do I park? Do I have a special parking spot? Right. There, there's great questions that people can ask, which is, hey, what's the attire? Am I allowed to wear jeans to set up? Right. It's it's some of those things that when somebody asks those questions in your head, you go, you feel a little bit more at ease. And if they don't ask any questions at all, they're either unbelievably experienced or unbelievably overconfident. Both are exciting. Just only one is helpful. Another great question is what is your arrival time and how much setup do you need? Uh, because rushed setups usually equals stress performances and just stress for everybody. So we're listening for real times with buffers built in. Great question to ask is what is their arrival time and how much time do they realistically need to set up? Because we don't want anything rushed. Rushed setups and rushed things equals stressed performances, equals stressed performers, equals a stressed staff. And we just don't need that for our members, for our clubs, for our events. Clubs are adult playgrounds. We're supposed to be there to having fun, especially with our events. So to keep it as less stressful as possible. Um, like I just know, for example, for me, by the way when the members show up. So from the time members show up, I want to be there. I like to be there at least two hours prior. I am paranoid on show days, sometimes even even more. I'd rather be sitting there twiddling my thumbs than waiting in traffic or rushing. I just get super paranoid. I usually fly in the day prior just because of like flight. I just get paranoid. So I usually show up about two hours before the audience does because that gives me time to chat with the chat with the staff. It gives me a little bit of time to maybe chat with some members or just slowly say, I don't like to be rushed either. So I know that's how I like to work. And if their setup starts as guests are walking in, that is not setting up properly and they are performing a live stress documentary. That is just crazy. Um plus, I don't know, it thinks like a weird thing of like setting up in front of members. I I don't know, or just like people and shows in general, random tangent. Another great question, depending on the type of act and entertainment and vendor that you're bringing in, is what equipment do you need? And what equipment do you bring? What do you need us to provide? What do you provide? And that's also because a lot of last-minute disasters are just missing one stupid little cable, or it's because of one little thing that people forgot about. We're looking for a clean list that's cleanly described mic, speaker, music playback, power needs, table, chairs, stage, a dad, whatever. Put it all on there. You can also do a backup question to this is hey, do you travel with any backups? And we ask because backups are professional. And when someone says, Oh, yeah, I have a backup, this, this, and this, puts you just more at ease. I'd say with this question, you're looking for redundancy. And if their backup plan is hope, that is not a plan, that's a hallmark rom-com. I'd say a question I get asked a lot, and if I don't get asked, I usually bring this up in conversation. Uh, that's just because it just relates to my show, and that is how interactive is the show? How interactive are you with the members? Because interaction without priming sometimes can become awkward. So it's about knowing what the members are signing up for. So you as the host, you as the club, you as the pros can properly describe the evening, the event, whatever's coming to the members. So you want to ask, how interactive is it? Clear expectations. Uh, usually, you know, it's always good if the host, the GM, somebody does a nice intro for the show. Uh, for me, I'd say it's about 50-50. Sometimes the club pros uh do, sometimes they don't. I also don't mind just starting my show cold. I shouldn't say cold because I'm usually working the room prior, doing some close-up stuff, um, you know, just mixing, mingling, saying hello, getting the vibe, getting the energy going. So by the time I hit it come up on stage and I make custom videos for the clubs as well, promoting the show. Um they kind of know who I am. They understand the energy, the vibe. So I like kind of going up and doing my own intro anyway. But uh, I know with some people, it's very important for the host to do a proper intro. Next question is, and this is important. I think it's a very important question. If I don't get asked it, I usually bring it up in conversation because I know it's probably gonna come. But that is, you want to ask, how interactive is the show? And that could be for anything from DJs, bands, comedians, especially, magicians, everybody. How interactive are they? And do you want them to be interactive? For me, interactive is my main thing. Interaction, banter, crowd work, back and forth, using people from the seats up on stage. I love that back and forth. That is where I get my juice. That is one of my, that is my happy place. Um, but I also know that there are some situations, some clubs, some events, they don't maybe want that. So at the at the end of the day, these questions are helping us figure out are the people we are bringing in, is the entertainment we are bringing in the best fit and best, best vibe for our members. So a great question is how interactive is it? Another one is do you need the host to say something up front? Do they need to do an intro? And do they need to say how interactive it's going to be? Um, because interaction without priming could become awkward, especially in a comedy-style show. So to kind of back up the last question, it's do you need the host to do an intro, which I always think a host should do an intro. Um weird, shameless, you know, side bit. I don't uh I some I do in I do my intro about half the time. Um, just because sometimes I've already worked the room, I've already met people, they already kind of know who I am. So I don't mind just kind of going up there cold and you know, starting the show, even though it's not really cold because it's already started, because they're warm because they know who I am. But uh a good event is also somebody, the GM, the AGM, could it be the food and beverage manager, it just or could be just somebody who just needs some good stage time, right? I also think using situations like this, um, to having somebody else on your team who might need a little bit of public skills or public speaking skills, right? They might need a little bit of juice. So this is a great opportunity too to help other club staff get better on the mic, get better on stage, get better speaking in front of people. Another great question to ask your entertainment that you're bringing in is what should we never do right before you start? And we're doing this to prevent accidental sabotage. Um I know check drops aren't an an issue for things of of this nature uh for shows at clubs, but you want to, because every entertainer, every entertainment, everything is a little bit different. So we want to make sure we're not doing anything right before the show starts. Fantastic question to ask, entertainment is what should we, as the club, never do right before you start? That can be very important depending on the act, the entertainment. Some people might care, but other, you know, other times I think people sometimes just don't always think and they're trying to rush or get something in. And this happens more on the corporate side when I do things less the club side, even though it has happened on both, um, not often, but still happens, even though you tell people and they understand. But it's happened a few times where before I get up on stage, before you know they they do the show, the owner, the GM, somebody gets up and goes, Oh, thanks all for being here. Bling, bling, bling, you know, and then it'll be something like, now, unfortunately, you know, Bob couldn't be here. Bob was with us for 25 years. His this was his favorite night of the year was comedy night or magic night or the annual meeting. But uh, as you all know, he passed last month. So let's take a moment of silence for Bob. All right, let's get to the entertainment. Let's bring on Denny Corby. And you're like, what in the world? And the audience is like, you know, it's just a weird thing. So it's very important you should ask, what can we do, what shouldn't we do before you start? And there's some things that you should just know you don't do before you start. But different acts, different people might have different things that they just like doing. No speeches, no service clatter, no music, no surprise sponsor moment, right? Everyone has different things. So that's just another great question is what should we never do before and as the show starts? I think at a minimum, just if you're going through this, you know, if you're gonna clear plates and you're gonna do some service work, do it right before or wait until after. So I think for me at this point with a lot of clubs, they'll it gets to where they will clear most of the tables. So if they have dessert, they'll put the dessert on the table. I'll usually start right as dessert's ending. And sometimes the clubs will say, Hey, we'll clear, uh, we'll clear all the stuff off the tables, or others will just wait until the show's done. Um, some clubs can get away with silently taking stuff off the table. Some, it's a, it's a, it's, it's that's a whole episode in its start in itself, the art of clearing a table quietly. Um, but I think that's, you know, it's just more importantly, ask the person, ask the act, and they will give you the proper answer. This one's less of a question and more just a conversation between both parties, which are what are your boundaries content-wise for the performer and the club? Because this is about protecting relationships, protecting the club, protecting the vibe. And we're listening for standards. We're listening for you as the club standards, as well as the standards of the entertainer. Now, this being said, this is a weird kind of little side quest. And I've I've talked about this before when it comes to comedy, and in a private club, there can be R-rated comedy nights. There could be dirty comedy nights, there could be political comedians who come in. There can be. It all boils down to expectations. Expectations of the members, expectations of the club, expectations of the entertainer, but expectations of the members coming to that comedy night. Meaning, if you're gonna have a comedian and you want to have an R-rated dirty show, or like a comedian who pushes, pushes that that way. There is nothing wrong with that as long as that is how the night is booked. I've seen killer comedians who are raunchy and dirty kill it at clubs when it is booked and promoted properly, right? It's when you see the list come up and you see Gertrude is on there and her husband. You go, hey, listen, we know you guys. And we, we, I don't know if you saw the flyer, but the flyer says R might be dirty, whatever you're gonna put on there, just so you know, he he might get raunchy. And I think having those conversations is important and having different types of entertainment. You can play comedy night safe, and that's a great way to do it. I think that's the best way to do it. But also there is a way to do dirty comedians and having, you know, I just in dirty comedians is wrong, but like just more of an edgier, we should say, edgier acts. And to me, I think a really good entertainer, really good comedian or whoever you're bringing in knows that room. They know the club, they know the line, they know how to go right to the line without going over. They know the different, they have their own bits and things that they sprinkle out there that lets them know where the audience is at and they know how to get to the line and they know where to find the line. Um, so really it's you know, you want to know the boundaries of yourself and the boundaries of your performer. It's not about being sensitive, it's about being smart. And kind of picking off piggybacking off the last question, which is boundaries. This is what topics do you avoid, even if someone in the room steers you there? And I think that's another question for both sides. And a question I always ask is because uh you know, I travel a lot. I go to some weird, weird, I go to weird cities, go to weird places all the time. No, but uh, I go to different different states, different cities, different pockets of the world. And I always ask, hey, and this is more of a question like once I'm there, is there is there anything, any weird topics I should be aware of? And and and I'll say, usually besides politics, the usual religion, all that, any weird things to stay away from? And that could be, you know, pineapples, because maybe there was a big pineapple fiasco two weeks ago and everybody got food poisoning. I don't know. But you know, that that just might be something that, you know, heaven forbid I might just say pineapple and everyone's like, oh my goodness, and the room changes. But those are just little things that I like to know before a show. And that's just also part of the conversation um that that that you have. Um, and also, you know, it's it's you're also trying to figure out because sometimes members test the performers, right? So you all you always want to kind of give a little a little bit of a heads up.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

So what topics do you avoid?

Handling Hecklers With Grace

Relevant References And Real Clips

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Asking the entertainment, what topics do you avoid if someone in the room tries to steer you there? Because everyone has their own thing and really, really, we're looking for composure. We're looking for a polite redirection. And now piggybacking off that one is how do you handle a heckler or that main character energy, that main character member, right? Every club has one, two, three, or four. Sometimes it's the whole club. But how you know, how do you handle hecklers? It's a great question to ask. And not just a comedian, but also a magician, a mentalist, a DJ, a band. We, we a heckler is a heckler. It doesn't matter what it is, they can be heckling anybody about anything. Um, so you also want to ask how people handle hecklers. Uh, to me, I handle it very well. Uh, that is my job to handle them well. Um, but you know, you're looks, you're listening for calm control, not ego, uh, something that protects the vibe of the club. It's not about putting someone down and knocking them down. Granted, though, that might be the comedian, that might be some of the act. You, you, you never know. Comedy nights are definitely you unique. Um, but you're looking for how they handle crowd control. And hopefully it's with manners and a smile. I think one of the most important questions is asking them do they have any recent club references that they can share andor that matches this club's environment? Right? Because clubs are specific ecosystems and we're looking for relevant references, not a random. Theater or those are all great menu, those are all great audiences, but they're also different to love audiences.

SPEAKER_00 22:23

And then also go and call those clubs also.

Content Rights And Posting Policies

Contracts, Insurance, And Safety

The Ultimate Success Question

From Gamble To System And Closing

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Um I remember when I very first started doing clubs years and years and years and years and years ago. I uh actually did an episode with one of my best friends in the in in the in the club space and just in general, uh Lee Stahl down in down in New Orleans. I was young, I loved clubs, wanted to travel doing, doing my doing my comedy, magic, and mind reading show. And I called Lee Stahl, and we had a great conversation. And he said, Hey, send me a couple of references, and then I'm gonna call you back. And uh I sent him three references. He called all three, they all said good things. He called me back, said I called your references. They all said good things. I want to bring you in. And, you know, you're you're not calling and you're not doing this. Yes, you want to make sure they're funny. You want to make sure that they're good at what they do, but you're calling and seeing, are they easy to work with? Are they fun to work with? Right. It's it's it's that beer test almost, I feel like, sometimes, you know, where it's like, you know, when you hire someone, would you would you want to drink a beer with them? To me, that's sort of the same thing. It's like you're bringing somebody in to engage with your members and you know, someone who's representing you in the club. Like it's almost like, hey, would I have a beer with this person? If the answer is no, hopefully they check all the other boxes that they're gonna be a good entertainer. But to me, it's about just the fit and the vibe. And once again, piggybacking off the last question is asking if they can send clips that match a real club room, just like ours. And you're not looking for the most recent clip. You're not looking always for their most viral clip. You want something that matches, that you can see them in your environment. Because sometimes a club clip or a ballroom clip is not the same as a club dining room. And we're looking for proof of fit, not proof of talent, even though you will see the proof of talent in that clip, but really you're looking for looking for the fit. This is a great question that a lot of clubs have started asking me more. And I think you should just be asking everybody, because like I said, everyone you bring in is different. Is what is your policy on photos, videos, and sharing clips? Uh, clubs want content, right? Performers have rules. Uh, magic acts, you don't always maybe want the entire, at least for me. I know I don't want, they can do whatever. Uh, just don't post like an entire full trick somewhere or like a full routine, little bits, you know, five, 10 seconds is totally fine. Um, I like to just have like a quick approval just to just so I can give like a little look. But most 99% of the time, you guys know what you're doing. Uh, I'm cool with it. But it's also good just to ask what their policy uh is on photos, pictures, videos, all of that. And it's at a bare minimum, just know, never record the whole thing, uh, never post it anywhere. That's just like kind of like a given. This is this is a common one. I think everybody asks and knows, but just what are the what's the contract? What are the payment, cancellation, rescheduling terms? Uh clarity now prevents a lot of chaos later. And you really just want professionalism, transparency, and no surprise fees. Speaking of surprises, asking if they carry insurance, performers' insurance, liability insurance, and do they have any safety considerations? Like, oh, I don't know, are they in fire act? Probably don't want them inside, close to an awning, right? So there's there's some acts that have physical risk, staging, equipment, things of that nature. So asking and making sure they have and carry insurance. And are there any safety considerations that you as the club should be aware of? Right. Maybe the lead singer of the band likes to spit fire. I don't know, but it would be nice to know before everyone gets there. Not as, you know, he's off the side of the stage chugging lighter fluid, and you're like, oh no. Now it is time for my ultimate favorite question. Favor, favorite question. And you can use this in so many different aspects. I use it all the time because we work with different people, we work with different clients. And the question is, what do you need to see? What do you need to hear? What do you need to feel? That whether it's a day later, a week later, a month later, three months later, whatever, what do you need to see, hear, or feel that lets you know the events or my part of this event was a huge success? And I love to ask that question to my clients because to me, that lets me know at the end of the day what they are expecting. And every client is a little bit different. Some people want cheers and laughters and standing ovations. Other people like when the members come up and say they had a good time. Others like when members are hanging out in the bar talking about it later. Everybody has a little bit different, little bit differ, little bit of a different definition of what success looks like for them and their club. And for me, what I'm looking for is what does my client need to see? So I could maybe adjust my show a little bit for that. Because my success is your success and your success is your club's success. And all the different successes can be different things. And when the different successes line up, that's when entertainment becomes an asset and not an expense. And that's what we're going for here. So that's the play. It's just creating a bond, it's just asking questions. And really, what these questions are doing are just creating a bond, right? It creates banter, it creates this back and forth that you can feel if you're going to be a good fit or not. Right? It doesn't guarantee protection, but it does dramatically increase your odds. It helps you book the fit, not the budget. And it helps you turn entertainment from a gamble into a system. And remember, most entertainment problems are not talent problems. They are fit and communication problems. Fix those before the entertainer or entertainment ever pulls into your parking lot and you'll have nights where members leave saying, We have to do that again. Not, well, that was a thing. So just remember, if nothing else, ask the question. If it's in your head, ask the question because winging it is a strategy. It's just a strategy invented by chaos. That's this episode. Hope you got something from it. Hope you got an amazing question or something that you can use from it. If you're looking for one of the most fun member event nights your club can have, hit me up, dennycorby.com. There's excitement, there's mystery, also there's magic, mind reading, and comedy. A ton of laughs, gasps, and holy craps. That's this episode. I'm your host, Denny Corby. Until next time, catch y'all on the flippity flip.