Large group, posed photos - Suggestions Needed

[matteo]

Hello everyone,
i will soon have the chance to take some pictures of a large 'latin orquestra'. Guys that play in a latin american music band. They are totally nine members in the group and i will have the possibility to photograph them before the concerts and during one concert.
While the photo during the concert are not concerning me, i am not sure of the outcome i will get since it will be one of my first concerts with a camera but im not concerned of the posing... taking the pictures before the show is giving me some headache.

I really dont have many ideas on how to handle so many people in one shot, how to composite and make interesting photos.
I am mostly into rock and im not used to even see so crowded bands nor i can think of music photographers who handled this kind of large groups. One thing i could use is stairs, like having them a bit 'scattered' on some stairs.. another thing is to shoot them in smaller group, but it will not be a real solution!
Do you have any suggestion or know any website where i can take a look to large band pictures taken by good photographers?

Any help is more than welcome, cheers!!

[wulf]

Stand them all in front of a brick wall in a rundown looking alley... no, wait, that's the rock cliché, isn't it?

As a starting point, I would have a think about what the photos will be used for and what you want to convey about the band. Scribble down lots of ideas - some won't be practical but you should get something usable. For example, if they play music for a lounge or party crowd, how about finding a long bar where they can all sit or lean with drinks in their hand (message: we're good-time guys, reading and waiting for you to come and party).

Another idea might to get them to stand in a line, holding their instruments, with one person at the front. Rotate through each member of the band being at the front of the queue with the others leaning out so you can see a mass of arms, legs and instruments behind them. That would work if you need shots of each individual and gives the idea that the music relies on how they interplay with each other.

Or just see if you can attend a rehearsal. That will be a bit like doing shots at the gig; probably worse lighting but more than made up for with the fact that you can move round freely and experiment with all sorts of angles (for example, how about the band in practise formation taken from the drummer's point of view, with cymbals framing the bottom of the image).

Wulf