By Daniel Sean Kaye

Take one powerhouse Elkins Park entertainer, add two talented up-and-coming musicians with solid business expertise, and then book them for a couple of hundred weddings, parties, bar mitzvahs and more a year. What have you got? Eddie Bruce Entertainment, an enormous entertainment entity that is taking the region by storm.

EBE, the four-year-old company located in Huntingdon Valley , is the brainchild of three men: cabaret singer and musician Eddie Bruce, and corporate whiz kids Mike Gendler and Steve Meranus, creators of the band Dreamtime. Bruce, a well-known singer and bandleader who has performed at more than 3000 events over the last 25 years, was at a crossroads when Gendler and Meranus first suggested merging their talents. "I'd been doing parties for a lot of years [but] I was looking to simplify my life. Bands would approach me to establish a relationship, but I resisted," says Bruce. "[Gendler and Meranus] were very persistent. I saw their band and was blown away. They have a love for the business. They reminded me of myself. And they have great business acumen and music talent," he says.

"The main reason to hook up was Eddie's reputation," explains Meranus, a former sales director for a Fortune 500 company. "We wanted to take [our work] to another level. First and foremost, Eddie is a musician. He raises the bar, when it comes to talent. Unlike some musicians in this business, we're not 'weekend warriors.' We thought, if we're gong to align ourselves with someone, he has to have a reputation, and that was Eddie. He would have been the biggest hurdle."

On this point, Bruce agrees. "They would have been heavy-duty potential competition. [They taught me] you have to market, market, market. I learned I couldn't live off my name. I had worked with all these places and I just assumed hotels and such were giving my name out - recommending me - to new clients. But I learned I had to get out to them," he says. "[Gendler and Meranus] reminded me of things, especially in business."

Eddie Bruce Band

"Eddie opened doors for us that would have taken us years - if ever - to open. Philadelphia is a 'Have we heard of you?'/'Do I know you?'/'Are you established?' sort of town," says Meranus. "The thing was, we knew we had a very good product, but they didn't know us. It's funny - a lot of people think we're from New York . They can't believe something [this well-constructed] is in Philadelphia . But we knew that with Eddie's name behind it, they'd book us."

Now the organization has seven in-house exclusive "premier" bands, a live music division with smaller ensembles and specialty bands, and a DJ/special entertainment division that has games, artists, activities, and extra party add-ons. Gendler is the music producer, spending much of his time auditioning, tweaking and perfecting the on-stage talent. "The bands are put through their paces by Mike, like they're going out on tour," says Meranus. "In fact, ours is the first wedding band school on the planet."

The men strive to create professional musical acts that give top-quality performances, but who also know how to control a party. They train their party-planning skills, including controlling the pace and flow of the party, knowing the venue's layout, acoustics and personal dynamics of the family and guests. Beyond rehearsals, EBE has a soundstage, production studios and has plans for a multimedia mobile facility that will use audiovisual technology to allow potential clients to sample different bands from home.

Mike Gendler and Steve Meranus

Bruce adds, "We're keeping a lot of musicians working [and providing great entertainment]. They're getting good, established, steady gigs and the chance to make good music." This, he confesses, has a lot to do with Meranus and Gendler. "I've seen [them] work. This kind of caring is in you or isn't, it's not something that can be taught."