leftyhook Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1330455510' post='1557839'] Well quantum physics used to predict that everything would happen an infinite number of times. Now they're saying that time will actually end at some point, so that doesn't happen. Sad but true. [/quote] scientists are still getting to grips with it all. we know so little! anyway, trying to find my big boot to kick Throwoff squarely up the a*** ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Move up to Glasgow, look on gumtree and you will find lots of people looking for bass players. The majority of the advertisers are off their nut but hey you`ll get a laugh. Seriously, stick an ad in gumtree and partysounds as they are free and get your own thing together. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The Schrödinger solution: At any point in time there is a small but finite probability that the right opportunity will present itself. The relaxed corollary: spliff up while you wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1330455819' post='1557846'] I just wish I could figure out how to record at home without spending a fortune. I play Guitar a bit but I can't get my head around drum machines and I really, really can't sing. [/quote] Take a look at Audacity. ([url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url]) I've been using it as a rough musical notepad for a couple of years now - - it's free and you can get a half reasonable result just running it on a PC and going in through the soundcard sockets. It won't stop you sounding like Bjork with a sore throat though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 [quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1330466113' post='1558053'] The Schrödinger solution: At any point in time there is a small but finite probability that the right opportunity will present itself. The relaxed corollary: spliff up while you wait [/quote] And listen to this. And get yer bass out... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sDGTZRdQdw&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sDGTZRdQdw&feature=related[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Go to lots of gigs as an audience member for a while, focus on bands who are playing the style of music you'd like to play and get to know the people involved. Musicians tend to know other musicians. Bands of a particular style tend to be in frequent contact with other bands of similar style. Opportunity will present itself soon enough. I don't think the "I'll play anything" approach is a long lasting key to success. Bands have ups and downs, musically and personally, if you have a passion for the tunes you'll find it easier to stick through the rough times. If you're not arsed about the tunes and the drummer is being a pillock you'll find it easier to find yourself right back where you are now. You're also less of a benefit to any prospective band if you're just there for the sake of being there, rather than being there because you fully believe in the music. Drop the deadline idea too, don't volunteer yourself into a stupid situation just because of where the Earth is around the Sun. Decide what you really want to do and take time in making sure you do what you really want to do, rather than just diving in for the sake of being in any band. Personally, I've never been happier since leaving my last band, just spending time writing and recording music myself. The idea of joining another band seems like a surreal proposition now where once it was everything which drove me forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Pack it in. Sell all your gear and spend the rest of your days in your slippers in front of the TV. Exactly !!! Either you have something creative in your life that makes you that little bit different and you couldn't stop doing for a gold pig - or you don't. Dr Diedrie replies............. If nothing happens soon you might consider downsizing your stuff - esp in the amp rather than bass dept - and playing for fun while something presents itself or you make it happen from scratch. Everybody who's been in bands has 'musical lows' and I suspect your in a big one. You can't not be player though. That's what you do. Get through this down period - enjoy other things around you that playing has meant you missed out on - then get fired into your next project when it comes along. You can have breaks , enforced or not. You can do stuff for x long then stop , then start again. It's allowed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 learn to have fun playing at home an practicing. Push yourself as a musician. If I were looking for a band member and they only played with people and didn't play at home and practice, I wouldn't want them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I don't think that sounds like a bad plan at all, it's good to put a deadline on things to help focus the mind. I remember quitting a few years ago and putting my gear in storage about 2 years later I got a call asking me to an audition and I've never looked back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Take a break. Sell the gear that is easily replaceable. Keep the "special" stuff for your (inevitable) return. Use the money to take up Airsoft. Spend your weekends runningaround shooting people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizznit Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 When my band was dropped by the label I sold most of my kit (had to...used to live in a private rehearsal room and I had no room in the house) and hid away for a couple of years. During that time I had absolutely no intention to join a band and work from the ground up again. I was invited to join a couple of working bands with tour commitments out of the UK, but when I started to spend more time with my family and friends going back on the road lost its appeal. I also thought that there were lots of younger, better looking and more talented lads out there doing it that can put up with a lot of the bulls**t that I couldn't...so I felt passed it (even at 27yrs old!). I even stopped going to gigs because I felt envious watching other bands being successful. I was in a bad state musically. But, I kept playing. I used the time to study and develop myself as well as teaching other guys and it kept me ticking over for a bit. A very close friend of mine who is a respected session musician took me out for a coffee one day and very bluntly told me to get my head out of my ar*e and get over it. He thought that networking by working as a session musician would lift me back up and if the right opportunity would come back around through doing that then cool. He hooked me up with a couple of the agencies he works for and over the past 7 years it has now developed into a very healthy second income for me...to the point whereby I could probably give up my day job. Okay, some of the work has been pretty crappy and nothing to sing about, but I am in the network and active. I am a hired hand at the moment and I haven't found a full time job with an artist yet, but I have found regular work with a couple of artists in the UK and over in the US. My covers band is always quite busy which also earns me a few extra quid. I am now planning to put together a new band to start writing and performing my own material which is something I never thought I would do again. In the meantime I can still teach and session for other artists. I am a very happy musician Anyway, in a nutshell...what I want to convey is that you shouldn't give up on your musical ambitions if there is a bump in the road. That small break after my deal fell through took my eye off the game and took me a long time to get back into the swing of it. Always try your best to keep the momentum going…something that you will enjoy doing and contribute to will come around if you keep trying. Bass players are always in demand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 As we have all said before, it is a network game as much as anything else. Unless you have people banging on your door begging you to play for them, you have to get yourself out there and known. That means taking it gigs as it shows you who else is about... and talking to people. Of course, credibility comes into it and you have to come across as someone worth being taken seriously but if you ask the right way, I am sure some one knows someone who is looking. You have to keep going and sort some wheat from the chaff, but that is ok as well... People have to know you are out looking and if they don't know you exists it gets a tad difficult, IYNWIM. Throw enough mud at the wall and some of it will stick..like a lot of things, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 [quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1330511671' post='1558469'] When my band was dropped by the label I sold most of my kit (had to...used to live in a private rehearsal room and I had no room in the house) and hid away for a couple of years. During that time I had absolutely no intention to join a band and work from the ground up again. I was invited to join a couple of working bands with tour commitments out of the UK, but when I started to spend more time with my family and friends going back on the road lost its appeal. I also thought that there were lots of younger, better looking and more talented lads out there doing it that can put up with a lot of the bulls**t that I couldn't...so I felt passed it (even at 27yrs old!). I even stopped going to gigs because I felt envious watching other bands being successful. I was in a bad state musically. But, I kept playing. I used the time to study and develop myself as well as teaching other guys and it kept me ticking over for a bit. A very close friend of mine who is a respected session musician took me out for a coffee one day and very bluntly told me to get my head out of my ar*e and get over it. He thought that networking by working as a session musician would lift me back up and if the right opportunity would come back around through doing that then cool. He hooked me up with a couple of the agencies he works for and over the past 7 years it has now developed into a very healthy second income for me...to the point whereby I could probably give up my day job. Okay, some of the work has been pretty crappy and nothing to sing about, but I am in the network and active. I am a hired hand at the moment and I haven't found a full time job with an artist yet, but I have found regular work with a couple of artists in the UK and over in the US. My covers band is always quite busy which also earns me a few extra quid. I am now planning to put together a new band to start writing and performing my own material which is something I never thought I would do again. In the meantime I can still teach and session for other artists. I am a very happy musician Anyway, in a nutshell...what I want to convey is that you shouldn't give up on your musical ambitions if there is a bump in the road. That small break after my deal fell through took my eye off the game and took me a long time to get back into the swing of it. Always try your best to keep the momentum going…something that you will enjoy doing and contribute to will come around if you keep trying. Bass players are always in demand. [/quote] I'm 27 and after 13 years of gigging feeling exactly in the same place as you described after a bad year of let-downs trying to pull a new band together - it's cheered me right up reading your post! And to the OP - don't ever give up! The last couple of years I've played more and more guitar (mainly as a songwriting tool) and have gotten that into it that I've sold a few bits of excess bass gear and assembled a pretty tasty guitar setup for a minimal outlay. Love the challenge of being out of my comfort zone on an instrument with which I'm less experienced, and it doubles the opportunities available. Maybe something like that would be good - another instrument, a fresh perspective. Even if you land in a band as a bass player, the 'view from the other side' you'll have gained is invaluable if nothing else! Good luck and don't forget why you started playing in the first place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Don't look for a band, look for a songwriter. Bands are common as sh++e. Good songwriters are rare birds. If you like someone's songs, that's all the the motivation right there. If a songwriter finds you respect his/her songs and want to enhance them with your playing, you're in business. You can build a band from there, if one doesn't exist already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 where are you [b]throwoff[/b]? any thoughts?? lots of folk on here offering you encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Or you could learn songwriting & try finding a good singer. I can't sing a note in tune, but that doesn't stop me writing songs. Funny.... I'm trying to give you encouragement yet considering doing the same as you (but for different reasons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlfer Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 A local music shop was always a way for me. Perhaps that doesn't work nowadays, I'm a coffin dodger after all. If you are in the North West, go to Northwest bands website, there's often a couple of gigging bands looking for bassists. Last time I looked there was a very well known, very busy Metallica tribute band looking for a permanent bassist. Eeeee, if a wer 20 yers younger lad, r'd uv ad a shot mesen. Back to Bush and Gabriel!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louisthebass Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1330446764' post='1557629'] Hey Everyone, My most recent band seems to of fallen apart before it properly got going which seems to of been the regular way of things the last few years. I cant remember the last time I played live in fact! I have come to the somewhat drastic decision to get into a band who are taking it seriously (well as seriously as can be expected for musicians!) by May or sell all my stuff, it actually depresses me to see thousands worth of instruments and accessories sitting in my lounge not being used and I really have no enjoyment sitting playing on my own. So before I get to the 'bass suicide' can anyone reccomend ways to find band members I mgiht not of tried? I have tried - Open mic nights facebook sites like 'find a band' small ads in papers. I dotn want to play indie or anything too complicated but to be honest other than those 2 things I will pretty much play ANYTHING! [/quote] I wouldn't set yourself a time limit - getting into (or forming) a band can take a while. I've had periods of 18 months a couple of times where I hadn't played in a band, but always managed to find something that floated my boat. I've found Bandmix to be pretty useful, but if there's any jam nights going on near where you live, try going to those as there's never usually enough bass players. They're good opportunities for networking and you never know where it might lead. In the meantime, just keep on working on your playing (if you think you need to). Something will turn up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1330455510' post='1557839'] Now they're saying that time will actually end at some point, so that doesn't happen. Sad but true. [/quote] Don't worry. It's all relative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='discreet' timestamp='1330596283' post='1559851'] Don't worry. It's all relative. [/quote] I ended my relatives years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1330586439' post='1559674'] I can't sing a note in tune, but that doesn't stop me writing songs. [/quote] Never stopped Bob Dylan ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='musophilr' timestamp='1330609757' post='1560297'] Never stopped Bob Dylan ... [/quote] Exactly! Though I can empty a full venue in less than 3 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingBollock Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1330466153' post='1558056'] Take a look at Audacity. ([url="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/"]http://audacity.sourceforge.net/[/url]) I've been using it as a rough musical notepad for a couple of years now - - it's free and you can get a half reasonable result just running it on a PC and going in through the soundcard sockets. It won't stop you sounding like Bjork with a sore throat though... [/quote] Thanks. I've been having a stab at it but I rather suspect you need a bit of confidence to get started, else it's too easy to walk away when the first things that come out of it are rubbish. Confidence I don't really have. The worst part though was finding out that I can't get a good recording sound out of my Cort. It sounds lovely through my proper amp and speakers, but through my interface (which, I suppose, I'm going to have to admit is a Behringer V-Amp Pro) and straight through the PC it just doesn't, no matter what I do to it. Oddly, my Westfield, with flatwounds on it and stock pick-ups, sounds lovely recorded, which is nice. Handy too because I have that tuned half a step down, same as my main Guitar. But I'm starting to see how to make Audacity do what I want it to, so I just need to stick at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1330620074' post='1560544'] Thanks. I've been having a stab at it but I rather suspect you need a bit of confidence to get started, else it's too easy to walk away when the first things that come out of it are rubbish. Confidence I don't really have. [/quote] If I look back at some of the absolute sh*te that I've recorded over the years and got away with... It really is just a case of perseverance building experience and from that, confidence. You can't get a plugin for that. [quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1330620074' post='1560544'] The worst part though was finding out that I can't get a good recording sound out of my Cort. It sounds lovely through my proper amp and speakers, but through my interface (which, I suppose, I'm going to have to admit is a Behringer V-Amp Pro) and straight through the PC it just doesn't, no matter what I do to it. Oddly, my Westfield, with flatwounds on it and stock pick-ups, sounds lovely recorded, which is nice. Handy too because I have that tuned half a step down, same as my main Guitar. [/quote] I've found Behringer kit a bit odd when recording directly from it as well - comes out very flat and dull. If you like the sound through the cab then consider micing it up perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonCello Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Found my first band on here and the band I'm in now on www.Join my Band.Com, can highly recommend that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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