LET THE MUSIC PLAY
or quite often, people who’ve seen us recommend us to them. These days, we are pushing our own events more often now which is easier said than done. You must have a large loyal following, which we have thankfully developed one over the years so we’re going after it!” COVID-19 IMPACT From Whiteman’s perspective, live entertainment took the biggest hit from COVID-19. He estimates that his band’s bookings are a fourth of the business they were doing before 2020, and it may be another couple of years before they are back to pre-COVID booking activity. For the band, almost all corporate events were shut down from 2020 to 2022. DFD RETIREMENT In 2018, Whiteman retired from the Dallas Fire Department after 28 years. Outside of his band’s engagements and enjoying retirement, Whiteman’s passion is family and cooking. Most of my time is taking care of home, including cooking. I do all of the cooking in my house, and I’ve become pretty good if I do say so myself! Cooking is my Zen; it’s another art form. Whiteman’s wife and Silhouette of 25 years is the former Exa Simmons, a vice president at AT&T® and a vice- chair for Family Gateway Homeless Shelter. They share one child, Bailey, a Booker T Washington High School for Performing Arts student in the dance conservatory. Brother Whiteman affil- iates with the Denton-Lewisville (TX) Alumni Chapter. ♦
I’ll let them go. Also, the members must be entertainers. Patrons hear with their eyes. They come to see a performance. People can quickly turn on their desired streaming service to listen to a band. The visual aspect of the show is crucial.” The band performs at venues in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, such as the Oasis at Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, the Dallas’s Hard Rock Café, the Glass Cactus Night Club, Sambuca 360, among others. The band has also performed in previous years at the famous annual Dallas Margarita Ball. In the past, the band headlined once at the Richardson-Plano (TX) Alumni Chapter’s Peppermint Ball. In 2014, the South Central Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. hired the band to perform and opened for singer Johnny Gill at their regional conference held at the Dallas Anatole Hotel. Sigma Phi
Pi Fraternity, Inc., The Links, the African-American Museum of Dallas, and the American Association of Community Colleges have hired the band to perform at events. The Texas Rangers® Baseball Club, AT&T®, Southwest Airlines®, Airbus Heli- copters®, and Republic Services® are some local businesses that have hired the band to entertain at their corpo- rate events. The band has also performed in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Scottsdale, AZ; San Diego, CA; Las Vegas, NV; and Orlando, FL. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled an event scheduled in Washington DC. BOOKING ENGAGEMENTS Typically, Whiteman obtains inquires for his band to perform at a venue via word of mouth. “If an establishment is looking for entertainment, they’ll ask the other bands they’ve worked with,
WINTER 2023-2024 ♦ THE JOURNAL 59
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker