April 3, 2017

Meet Eli Buzaglo of Eli Buzaglo Entertainment in Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eli Buzaglo.

Eli, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My company provides unique entertainment services for weddings and corporate events. Our main venture is our band, ELI’s BAND – a high energy live band with a modern approach to International music. We perform in multiple languages and have a very versatile repertoire, performing both all-time favorite classics and the new top 40 hits. The band is quite customizable – we match the music to our client’s nationalities and needs and the band comes in different sizes – 6 piece being the smallest and 12 piece the biggest.

On top of that, we provide talents for cocktail hour and have a section that specializes in high end Jewish Wedding Ceremonies – I perform my unique renditions of Jewish prayers to famous songs for the bride and groom walking down the aisle.

In 2014, I was very lucky when a video of mine singing ‘Boi Kala’ – a Jewish prayer to Andrea Bocelli’s opera song for a bride walking down the aisle, went viral. It has a total of 7,000,000 views all over Facebook and since then, I have been traveling and performing at ceremonies all over the world.

I’ve started my own entertainment company in Israel when I was 21 years old. I was the lead singer, DJ and MC and had a team of singers and musicians. I relocated to LA 9 years ago and basically started from scratch. I would perform at local restaurants and DJ small parties all the while, slowly collecting the team of talents I needed in order to build the band I’ve always wanted.

All those years of grinding have taught me a lot about the different communities in LA and America. I found myself learning about new cultures and their music and today I’m proud to say that our band is one of a very few that caters to such a diverse clientele. We perform in American, Persian, Russian, Israeli, and South American communities, to name a few. We are very popular amongst couples that come from different cultures and specialize in entertainment for mixed audiences. It’s so heartwarming to see families from different communities come together and share each other cultures and I am very humbled they chose us as the soundtrack for their special nights. Only with us you will see a Russian lady enjoying a Persian song and an all American fellow jumping to an Israeli hit 🙂

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’ve started in LA from scratch and today just like in the beginning, my main focus goes into perfecting my skills and providing a unique product only my band and I can provide. My motto is: look at the market and bring the extra value that only you can bring. I’ve started with 0 dollars, 0 advertisement, 0 connections, no one knew me in LA and heck, I didn’t even own one decent suit up until a few years ago! (I had to borrow my first tuxedo to one of my 1st fancy wedding performances) I built everything around my and my team’s talents and skills and have been fortunate enough to have a few high profile clients that took a chance on me and my band.

As a boutique company it’s not easy to break into a market controlled by big entertainment companies that have some long life relationships with coordinators and production companies. But, the more we grow and move forward I find that our talents, our professionalism and the service we provide speaks volumes and attracts new clients all the time. In this market the word of mouth is the strongest thing and the clients contact us directly after they see us live or find our videos on YouTube and Facebook.

One feedback we get a lot is “Why didn’t we find out about you sooner?!” and to be honest we kinda love the fact that we are this sort of a “well known best kept secret”.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about ELI’s BAND – Eli Buzaglo Entertainment – what should we know?
What sets us apart from other bands and entertainment companies are a few things.
We perform anything from all-time favorite classics, big band songs and even opera to the newest top 40 radio hits all while maintaining the music’s and our integrity. This means we respect the music we perform and play the songs we can perform best. We pay attention to details and incorporate modern sounds and elements where they are needed. We remix and rearrange international hits in a way the crowd will love to dance to and often reintroduce old songs with a new twist. We bring a very young and high energy to our events and we have our unique stage design – our stage is always clean cut white with our custom made white stage decor and our band is dressed to the aces. And of course, our high end wedding ceremony songs!

On top of that, we provide a very personal service. We always meet our clients for a very detailed meeting before their big night and help them put the night together entertainment wise. Our clients often rely on our professional opinion and consult with us on various subjects regarding their events. We are always available for our client’s questions and I am proud to say that most of our clients end up as our close friends.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The ability to listen to my clients and honesty.