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Finding new bands


SteveXFR

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I've been on the lookout for a while too since the other half of my rhythm section moved away, joinmyband does seem to be the best....I'm yet to find myself any appropriately easy going part-timer local Ska/Reggae or Stoner/Doom bands though.  

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Getting ‘out there’ and networking has always worked for me.

Open mics, jam nights, gigs. Chatting to people and letting it be known I’m looking for a band. The longest-lasting band I’ve been in started when I approached a solo singer-guitarist at an open mic and asked him if he’d ever thought about playing with a bassist. 
The caveats to this method are I’m not too picky about which genres I’ll try and also I live in an urban area with lots of live music opportunities close by.

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40 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I just looked on joinmyband and the first three bands to come up in my area looking for a bassist are Busted tribute, Nickelback tribute and Coldplay tribute. 

Unacceptable 

And this is why I've been between bands for longer than I've been in bands!

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I've been looking for ages too. 

 

Bandmix is frustrating because not only do not many 'serious' people seem to use it, but also because the majority of profiles are sadly lacking in basic information and even fail to edit out the instruments they're not looking for and so end up with a list that says "Seeking: (list enough instruments to start an orchestra)".  I had a very complete profile on there for ages and didn't have one person contact me, and very few even looked at my profile.  Perhaps others have had better luck but in my experience it's a waste of time.

 

JMB:  Seemingly full of ads that aren't for me and so many wannabes, start-ups that never start, people who just want to jam and timewasters (in my experience).  Last week I answered quite a promising ad - a start-up and not totally my cuppa, but I could happily live with it if the quality turned out to be as anticipated.  We had several very positive exchanges of mails, seemed to agree on things and get on ok.  We left it that he would give me a ring on Monday (this week) for a chat.  Monday came, no call, so I mailed him again.  The mail was read (on JMB) almost instantly, but I haven't heard a thing from him since.  I won't be mailing him again or losing any sleep.

 

I answered an ad on a FB group.  A guy who plays solo nights of crowd pleasers but wanted to play some rock that was right up my street.  A good guitarist, singer, had his own PA, seemed a really nice guy and we had lots in common (we hadn't met in person).  All planning was going well until he suggested Sunday evenings for rehearsals.  I replied saying that Sunday evenings weren't good for me and if that was all that was available to him I'd rather drop out now.  Strange, because only a few mails earlier we'd been discussing a Tuesday evening.  Much to my surprise, instead of looking into mutually available times to get together he basically thanked me for my interest and honesty and said he hope to stay in touch.  Ok, so I said I'd rather drop out now because of Sunday evenings, but things had been seemingly going so well between us that I expected some negotiation for a mutually good day.

 

Finding good musicians who are also decent people has often been a bit of a big ask, but I'm not looking for perfection in either. 

 

Long gone are the days where our local muso shop (now long closed) was the hub of things and the place to find out who was looking for someone.  'Open mics' as they are called these days offer little, if anything, of interest around here.

 

The two examples above both took place over the last two weeks, so at the moment I am feeling very jaded and wondering if there really is anything out there for me. 

Edited by inthedoghouse
typo
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One thing I've learnt is not to bother with any new projects that don't already have a drummer. It seems like there's no good drummers available. That and avoid heavy pot smokers, even if they're nice people it's really frustrating when they're an hour late every rehearsal because they lost their keys, guitar, trousers, car (all genuinely used excuses from one pot head) plus you have to listen to their crazy ideas about the government controlling us.

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1 minute ago, SteveXFR said:

One thing I've learnt is not to bother with any new projects that don't already have a drummer. It seems like there's no good drummers available. That and avoid heavy pot smokers, even if they're nice people it's really frustrating when they're an hour late every rehearsal because they lost their keys, guitar, trousers, car (all genuinely used excuses from one pot head) plus you have to listen to their crazy ideas about the government controlling us.

How very true all that is!

 

I was in a startup cover band a couple of years ago that was rehearsing very well but I had to leave becasue of a big health problem in the family (now thankfully resolved).  We wanted a keys player so I asked someone I knew back in the day as a very good player and quite sought after in bands back then.  I contacted him and he agreed to come along.  He didn't know the way so I offered to drive him the 15 or so miles.  I hadn't seen him for years and was shocked at how he had let himself go, both personally and musically (dope played a part, for sure).  He came along for a few weeks but never bothered learning any of the material (covers) properly and clearly just wanted to use the expensive rehearsal times as an opportunity for a laugh and to tell his long and amusing (to him) stories endlessly.  We gave him every possible nudge that he needed to make more musical effort, but to no avail.  And in the car there and back he never mentioned the band or music once, but made me endure his views on the the world, which were to say the least, to the far side of crackpot.  I like eccentric, but to have lectures on his world views there and back every week was a bridge too far.  He had to go.

 

I totally agree about not joining a startup without a drummer.  In the example of the guy on FB, he didn't have a drummer but I knew of someone who was interested so I thought it was probably worth a shot.  The guy advertising on JMB is a drummer looking to form a band.  Looking down his previous ads it looks like he's attempted startups before.

 

Last year I was rehearsing in what should have been an excellent originals band for a few months until covid came along again and gave (two of) us a good excuse to end the misery.  I say 'should have been' because the, for want of a better word, 'drummer' totally let the side down.  He didn't bother learning the material properly, simply didn't have the ability required of him and was another idiot who just wanted to use rehearsal time as socialisation and to tell his long (un)funny stories.  A total timewaster who was given every opportunity to step up to the challenge.  We auditioned another drummer who was of about the same ability.  It seems the reality is that most people seem to just want to play in cover bands playing the same old same old.  I've become more picky in my old age but I suppose a cover band of some description is where I will probably end up.  Having said that though, I've long said that I'd rather not be in a band at all rather than be in just any band for the sake of being in a band.

 

Perhaps I should just sell up or leave everthing to gather dust. 😞

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I think it's a bit more difficult because the last band I was in was really good. Everyone showed up on time, knew the songs, brought spares strings etc,  had ideas to share and they could really play. I think the material and talent in the band was good enough for us to get some good gigs and make a decent record. Unfortunately, two members had to move away and that killed it.

Trying to find another band of that standard is going to be tough.

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6 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

I think it's a bit more difficult because the last band I was in was really good. Everyone showed up on time, knew the songs, brought spares strings etc,  had ideas to share and they could really play. I think the material and talent in the band was good enough for us to get some good gigs and make a decent record. Unfortunately, two members had to move away and that killed it.

Trying to find another band of that standard is going to be tough.

That's a real shame when it had so much potential and ended through nobody's 'fault'.  As you so rightly say, finding another band of that standard is going to be a toughie ... as both of us know all too well. 

 

Good luck though, Steve, and be sure to post on here if you have luck finding something suitable.

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21 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

.My rule is don’t answer any that don’t give any basic info about what they are or what they want.

 

Me too.  I always avoid the ones that give little or no detail, but include an unhelpful 'contact me for more details'.  Just put the damn details on the ad to save everybody's time and effort.

 

Dave

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Just a bit of positive feedback for Bandmix. I put a simple profile on a couple of months ago, was contacted a week or so later by a band, auditioned and they offered me the role this week. Established local covers band who were reforming post lockdown, good players and nice people so hopefully will turn out well. 

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Just now, SuperSeagull said:

Just a bit of positive feedback for Bandmix. I put a simple profile on a couple of months ago, was contacted a week or so later by a band, auditioned and they offered me the role this week. Established local covers band who were reforming post lockdown, good players and nice people so hopefully will turn out well. 

Good to hear of someone who had a positive experience on BM 🙂  Good luck with your new band 🙂
Dave

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My advice is if you can’t find a band to join  then create a new one and look firstly for a guitarist next drummer and finally a singer 

 

Takes some doing but rewarding when it’s complete and you can control what happens 

Edited by BassAdder27
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Facebook musicians wanted groups are the best resource where I am (Glasgow). It might be worth mentioning in the thread where you are based and local bassists can point you in the right direction to local groups. 

 

The other piece of advice I have is that it always seems easier to find a band when you are in a band, once you are out and about on the local scene you will get to know other bands and when vacancies come up. So I would say don't be too picky on the first band you join and it may lead to something better. 

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