Starting up a band - how do you guys do it?

[tfarny]

So far, my MO is advertise on craigslist or respond to one there, agree via email on a couple of covers, then get together at a practice space for like two hours.
that worked a couple of times before. This time I got a really weird response from some guy when i suggested a tune or two to jam on - he didn't have TIME to learn any other songs, he wanted to work specifically on his originals. Which he only sent me one of.
Is there a better way to do this - is there a musician's meeting place online that I don't know about?

 

[clearerphish]

I've had the most luck with Craigslist. There's also other sites like bandmix.com, but honestly, you're going to have to weed through the flakes one way or another. Might as well be craigslist.

 

[thebutcher85]

So far, my MO is advertise on craigslist or respond to one there, agree via email on a couple of covers, then get together at a practice space for like two hours.
that worked a couple of times before. This time I got a really weird response from some guy when i suggested a tune or two to jam on - he didn't have TIME to learn any other songs, he wanted to work specifically on his originals. Which he only sent me one of.
Is there a better way to do this - is there a musician's meeting place online that I don't know about?

I wish there was! I've done the craigslist thing a few times, it really is hit or miss. I actually just had a similar experience to yours, a couple guys advertised that they needed a guitarist to jam some covers with (CCR, AC/DC, Sabbath, etc.) so I responded, but when I met up with them all they wanted to do was play their own originals (crappy Nirvana-ish stuff  :icon_scratch so after 1 not so successful "jam" session I told them I was too busy to jam anymore...
It's just so hard to find somewhat "normal" easy-going people that want to jam! (and play/write the same type of stuff I'm interested in) Bands are like relationships, sometimes it's just d@mn hard to find someone you connect with!
:dontknow:

 

[Justinginn]

Sounds like it's time to break into a new circle of friends. That guy you know whose wife used to date that awesome drummer you heard of? Use that connection to meet his friends. It seems to me that its easiest to form a good band with friends as opposed to business stuff. YMMV, obviously.

And I suppose if any of that was unfortunately worded and made it sound like some kind of criticism of your current circle of friends that's just my bad wording.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I play bass, so they find me.  Mostly joking, but availability rather than ability, has kept me from looking for bands and bands looking for me.

 

[erogenousjones17]

I'm off to "audition" for a band in an hour or so. The three guys are perfect strangers to me, and I found them on a classifieds site à la Craigslist (Kijiji to be exact--no one uses Craigslist here). This'll be my first time going that route; last band I was in was two guys I went to university with. I'm actually quite nervous, but I'll let you guys know how it goes. I know you're all dying to find out.  :laughing7:

 

[mayfly]

go to open stage jams and be nice and very good.

You'll be tripping over people who want to start a band.

 

[tfarny]

go to open stage jams and be nice and very good.

You'll be tripping over people who want to start a band.

Good point - I should first learn to be nice and play my instrument huh? Open mics I've been to and played at in NY, I didn't see a lot of band-forming happening. It's a lot of trying-out your new tune on an audience, mostly. You are talking about like, open-stage jams where people call a tune? I haven't done a lot of that and it takes a good ear to step into a strange song, with strangers, and rock a good solo.

 

[mayfly]

go to open stage jams and be nice and very good.

You'll be tripping over people who want to start a band.

Good point - I should first learn to be nice and play my instrument huh? Open mics I've been to and played at in NY, I didn't see a lot of band-forming happening. It's a lot of trying-out your new tune on an audience, mostly. You are talking about like, open-stage jams where people call a tune? I haven't done a lot of that and it takes a good ear to step into a strange song, with strangers, and rock a good solo.

yea - that's what I'm talking about.

 

[Jusatele]

I would try open mike nights
there is always someone looking to get together
I find the biggest problem is to get a person to commit, so do not look for the entire band in a day, I look for a bassist first, I have to make sure I can jam off of a bassist, that he knows his Arpeggios and progressions, can keep a beat, but can also create a vibe with another instrument, After that I look for a drummer, you will go through a lot of those.
Vocalist are a dime a dozen. Hardest thing to find is a keyboard player. For some reasons you go through 10 of them before finding one who is serious

and that is the problem, finding someone serious, who's life does not over run his playing, someone who's wife does not keep his balls in her purse.

good luck

 

[stubhead]

"The most common form of stupidity is forgetting what one is trying to do."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

"You've got to finish the song."

- John Mayer

Ol' Freddy died stark raving bonkers, all alone, in an insane asylum; Young John has said an awful lot of stuff in his relatively short history of saying stuff. However, the point is, if you have written compelling songs with a beginning, middle and end it will be easy to find people who will help play them; if you just sort of twank, you really need to find someone who has written compelling songs with a beginning, middle and end. Not too many people past high school have time they want to spend just listening to you try to teach yourself soloing without a set goal. Do you want to play new material for college age/young 20's crowd, do you want to start a bar band doing covers? Which clubs and venues in your area are paying working musicians a living wage, and what are they paying it for? If you play bass adequately (which mostly means learning a setlist fast) and if you have a reliable car and if you have a good rig, you can find all the "work" you can bear, but thanks to karaoke and Mothers Against Live Music and "home entertainment centers" AKA "the slothing or America" so-called "work" may mean $40 a night. The people who have both the talent AND the burning desire are easy to spot and you're lucky if you get on with one.

 

[swarfrat]

Being nice will work against you if you're a singer though.  At least judging from those who make it.

 

[tfarny]

All good advice - Stub, I have no plans to make money doing it.  I have a jam scheduled now with a good seeming dude (cl find) - he wants to play Hank and Porter Wagoner the first go round.

 

[erogenousjones17]

[...] he wants to play Hank and Porter Wagoner the first go round.

That's a good sign. :icon_thumright:

Incidentally, my jam seemed to go well. We played some NOFX, Arctic Monkeys, Violent Femmes...and the theme from Top Gun (not the Kenny Loggins one). We'll see if I get a callback.

 

[ptirman]

Sometimes creating an opportunity works. By that I mean approach other bands and see if they know people. I went up to a bass player that I thought was great and I told him so and we struck up a conversation and gave me the names of other musicians that he thought were interested.

My new band formed when my wife and I were eating dinner at a local place and I was playing a song on my iphone for her and I was air guitaring and the waitress said, "sounds like you like the same music as my Dad and you look like him doing that". I said well I need to meet your Dad. Turns out he plays bass and his wife sings and presto, we have a band.

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I just kinda wound up in a band, and that's by accident.

A buddy of mine and I started messing around with some collaborations and wrote a few songs.  I don't have an interest in playing out, but he enjoys it.  So, he put together a band to play out with and when I'm in Delaware (I'm 2.5-3 hours away...) I come up and jam with everyone, and we write music. 

Confused?  Yeah, so am I.  :laughing3:  I'm basically part of the band as songwriter. 

I'd say the easiest way to find yourself in a band is through friends.  You know a guy who plays guitar, who knows a guy who plays drums, who knows a guy who plays bass, etc.

 

[erogenousjones17]

I think location can be part of the problem. For instance, where I live, there is a shortage of drummers. And those that you do find all want to play metalcore. *shudder*

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

I think location can be part of the problem. For instance, where I live, there is a shortage of drummers. And those that you do find all want to play metalcore. *shudder*

Sucks to be them!  "Metalcore" is absolute trash.

 

[tfarny]

Just had a nice jam with a decent seeming dude yesterday. A good start. He's got a couple of singers in mind, and then the only hard part will be finding someone to play the low notes all night long.

 

[bagman67]

Where are you, tfarny?  I'm considering finding some folks to jam with for non-gigging sanity-maintenance purposes.  If you happen to be in the San Jose area I'd be happy to jam.