I have to chime in ... first of all, I enjoy playing solo because I am one of the nicest guys I know, and I LOVE being in my company ... BUT, I absolutely LOVED it when I was working with the band in NY ... we started out as 'strangers' who became the BEST of friends over 26 years years together ... talent wise, individually we were not the best, but as a unit we could 'move' and entertain a room with the best of them in the area at the time ... I REALLY miss playing with those guys ... BUT I am not sure we would still be working in today's environment...
Band work HAS changed a LOT over the years ... I think due to the DJ phenomena, today's bands HAVE to sound like the record ... That means you have to have the right mix of female and male voices to do a wide variety of tunes ... so now, especially in the tri-state NY area, the 'wedding' bands that are working are excellent musicians and singers, there are often 8 to 12 of them in a group, and they get BIG money ...
Here is a sample of a group that played for 2 of the weddings in our family during the past 4 years ...
http://www.trtouch.com/samples.php

Take the time to watch the video, especially the 2 female vocalists ...

t.