HOW hard is it to find a decent band to play in these days?

[dmccombe7]

When i got back into bands and gigging again in circa 2010 i took on any band to get experience and simply to be playing bass in a band. I went thru rock tribute, ceilidh band, 70's covers band, Glam covers, prog originals, funk/blues band, function band and finally my current Glam covers band which led onto classic Punk covers band.

As mentioned before both my current bands were thru people i knew or they knew me thru other musicians. I had kept in touch with various musicians i had met or even just spoke with thru PM's on band websites. Our drummer i first came across 6 years before we got together in the Glam band and it was a case of me enquiring about the band and the singer had already heard about me thru his friends that knew my friends within the local music scene. I suggested the said drummer and was told he was already in and he had recommended me for the bass part. I finally met this drummer 6 yrs after we first spoke on a PM. We kept in touch over that 6 yrs on what each other was doing. We've been in the Glam band for 5 yrs now and when his punk band were looking for a bass player i said i'd help out and give it a try. I enjoyed it so much i stayed with it.

So 100% agree the good bands seem to be the ones where you meet thru word of mouth.

My main point is to try doing anything to keep playing and get to know people. Word will get around if you are good and reliable with what you do.

Also helps being a nice person to get along with. I'm lucky i have 2 bands that i get along with like mates albeit the female singer and drummer are also in both bands LOL

Dave 

Edited September 16, 2023 by dmccombe7

[MacDaddy]

On 10/06/2023 at 12:31, BigRedX said:

 

 

We're musicians. As I said the music should be the most important thing. 

 

[Waddo Soqable]

You can't let a few dodgy experiences put you off, you've most certainly got to "kiss a few frogs" on the way, but you could say that about much else in life 

[Dan Dare]

6 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

You can't let a few dodgy experiences put you off, you've most certainly got to "kiss a few frogs" on the way, but you could say that about much else in life 

 

This. You've given 4 examples in total. If they're all you've tried, you've barely scratched the surface. You will not, repeat not, drop into something fully formed and good unless you are extraordinarily fortunate. You're probably more likely to get all six of those lucky balls on Saturday night.

 

Did you give the guy a chance to explain why he called you 3 hours late (11pm is hardly the middle of the night), or did you "tell him what to do with his band" immediately?

 

I'm starting to sense a whiff of entitlement from your posts. The world doesn't owe any of us a gig or a job. It's up to us to go out and get one. Unless you are hot stuff, it's not easy.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Dan Dare

[ahpook]

I've decided to give up on trying to join a band, as over the last maybe 5-10 years I've found it nigh on impossible to get together with people who I want to make music with.

 

My current 'band' has been without a drummer for 6 months, we've not got together for a couple of months, so I feel it's just come to a halt.

 

It all feels a lot of effort for no payoff, over and over again

 

Rather depressingly, I feel this is almost certainly going to lead me to quitting playing altogether as I've no desire to play bass without doing it with a band.

 

I've no idea why it's turned out this way, or why it's so damn hard to find a band. In London FFS ! Shouldn't it be easier with this many people ? Oddly all my musical friends elsewhere in the country are all in bands.

 

Maybe it's me ? I'll not rule out this possibility

 

Anyhow, sorry, kinda jumped on the thread to moan a bit.

 

 

[Lfalex v1.1]

19 minutes ago, ahpook said:

 

 

Anyhow, sorry, kinda jumped on the thread to moan a bit.

 

 

 

 

No need to apologise. It's what I started the thread for!

[AndyTravis]

Yeah, I’ve stopped looking.

 

that’s how hard it is.

[Waddo Soqable]

1 hour ago, ahpook said:

I've decided to give up on trying to join a band, as over the last maybe 5-10 years I've found it nigh on impossible to get together with people who I want to make music with.

 

My current 'band' has been without a drummer for 6 months, we've not got together for a couple of months, so I feel it's just come to a halt.

 

It all feels a lot of effort for no payoff, over and over again

 

Rather depressingly, I feel this is almost certainly going to lead me to quitting playing altogether as I've no desire to play bass without doing it with a band.

 

I've no idea why it's turned out this way, or why it's so damn hard to find a band. In London FFS ! Shouldn't it be easier with this many people ? Oddly all my musical friends elsewhere in the country are all in bands.

 

Maybe it's me ? I'll not rule out this possibility

 

Anyhow, sorry, kinda jumped on the thread to moan a bit.

 

 

One band I was in had a drummer that was a proper pain and often "couldn't make it", our solution was my girlfriend of the time became a drum machine operator, so when old silly bollocks wasn't available we did it the other way, which worked fine, in fact it worked better without him! 

There's often a think outside the box option.

Obviously if you're into a very traditional "rock band" type line up then having a drummer is a big thing, but there's a lot of folk out there in the world doing great stuff without one. 

 

[ahpook]

20 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

One band I was in had a drummer that was a proper pain and often "couldn't make it", our solution was my girlfriend of the time became a drum machine operator, so when old silly bollocks wasn't available we did it the other way, which worked fine, in fact it worked better without him! 

There's often a think outside the box option.

Obviously if you're into a very traditional "rock band" type line up then having a drummer is a big thing, but there's a lot of folk out there in the world doing great stuff without one. 

 

 

We've talked about this as a band and it's not something we like the idea of, aware of the fact that we _could_  but....well, don't want to.

 

But, you indeed have a valid point 👍

 

Edited September 16, 2023 by ahpook

[AndyTravis]

I’ve also noticed that I’m now out of the “band seeks bass player” age demographic on JMB etc.

 

late 20’s/early 30’s.

 

squarely out of that age range.

 

Also, responding to folk and getting started but petering out quickly.

 

Balls to it.

[NHM]

Perhaps I've been lucky to be in four bands in the last fifteen years, having taken a break from playing for family/career. Three of the bands were through JMB auditions, the fourth a group of people at work, every audition I've got. I'm not boasting, as I'm no more than a competent bass player/musician so it wasn't playing that nailed it.

I'd say it is being humble and making an effort to get on with strangers, happy to go along with what others are doing and contribute to the fun, be flexible and play anything even if there are songs you don't really like, being 100% reliable, always set up to start on time, good at comms, learn material in advance, don't gossip/drink/ be extreme, and don't moan if you find yourself ahead of others. Once you're established in the group and if you decide it is for you, you can then start to exert your musicianship and personality if you need/want to.

Be a safe pair of hands, you're the bass player!

Edited September 17, 2023 by NHM
is beach not allowed?

[Al Krow]

10 hours ago, ahpook said:

I've decided to give up on trying to join a band, as over the last maybe 5-10 years I've found it nigh on impossible to get together with people who I want to make music with.

 

My current 'band' has been without a drummer for 6 months, we've not got together for a couple of months, so I feel it's just come to a halt.

 

It all feels a lot of effort for no payoff, over and over again

 

Rather depressingly, I feel this is almost certainly going to lead me to quitting playing altogether as I've no desire to play bass without doing it with a band.

 

I've no idea why it's turned out this way, or why it's so damn hard to find a band. In London FFS ! Shouldn't it be easier with this many people ? Oddly all my musical friends elsewhere in the country are all in bands.

 

Maybe it's me ? I'll not rule out this possibility

 

Anyhow, sorry, kinda jumped on the thread to moan a bit.

 

Is your current band covers or originals and, before your drummer left, were you regularly gigging and, if so, were they decently paid gigs? 

 

Just trying to figure out what might be behind the drummer drought you're facing - as you say in London it shouldn't be too hard to find someone, but an originals outfit still in its start-up phase is usually going to be a harder sell than a regularly gigging covers band doing decently paid gigs.

[Al Krow]

10 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

I’ve also noticed that I’m now out of the “band seeks bass player” age demographic on JMB etc.

 

late 20’s/early 30’s.

 

squarely out of that age range.

 

Also, responding to folk and getting started but petering out quickly.

 

Balls to it.

 

Yeah, I'm sure I would be in the exact same position Andy. I guess my workaround has been to take the lead in putting together the covers bands I've been in. 

 

PS the JMB age demographic can then actually work in reverse - I tend not to bother considering anyone under 30, haha. And 40+ y/os are very welcome!

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by Al Krow

[diskwave]

Back in the late 70's when I was a very young fellow it was all word of mouth...it had to be, no internet, phones etc. You'd pop in the local guitar shop store on a Sat and see what the latest happening was, he might have a board but gigs back then were always full of local musicians on the look out for each other etc....But a couple of years ago I used JMB and it was ok. The only weird bit was sitting in a corridor with two other bassists....like waiting outside the headmasters office for a whack!...haha.   

[Waddo Soqable]

Just now, greavesbass said:

Back in the late 70's when I was a very young fellow it was all word of mouth...it had to be, no internet, phones etc. You'd pop in the local guitar shop store on a Sat and see what the latest happening was, he might have a board but gigs back then were always full of local musicians on the look out for each other etc....But a couple of years ago I used JMB and it was ok. The only weird bit was sitting in a corridor with two other bassists....like waiting outside the headmasters office for a whack!...haha.   

And there were the musicians wanted ads in the back of Melody Maker😁

[dmccombe7]

I was 50 when i got back into playing after approx 20 yrs away. I found band adverts on JMB that suited my age group but recently when i've looked thru it i have noticed that its more focused on a far younger age group but maybe my age group are no longer with us hence the lack of advertising.

I moved towards Bandmix for bands as i thought they were a better fit for what i was looking for.

Surprised you can't find other musicians in a city especially London which has the same population as Scotland. 

You need to be prepared to travel for rehearsals and meet up with other musicians. I live in countryside so i'm usually 40 miles to a rehearsal studio most of which have been Glasgow based bands but i have worked with bands in Borders areas but that's a pain during winter months with snow and ice on roads 

I tried doing originals bands but found it difficult to get people and decided i now prefer just doing covers or tributes and its made life easier.

I mentioned it before but i knew the drummer for 6 yrs before we finally managed to get the Glam covers band of the ground so don't despair when things are instant fix. I can't state enough about staying in touch with people you meet even if its only FB messages. When they get a band started they'll already have you in mind and job done.

Glam band did go thru 2-3 keys players that didn't fit and we decided to drop the keys idea and surprisingly enough we brought in a female singer mainly as backing vocals and we got more input and benefit from her than we ever got from a keys player.  Our original guitarist left after covid because he was bored with the project. We got a new guitarist almost right away altho he lives in Perth and has to drive 1.5 hrs just for a rehearsal but he's fine with it and loves the band and he's a perfect fit for us. He just loves playing but more important he has the same sense of humour as us and a perfect fit. We are now sorted so it wasn't always perfect from the start.

The punk covers band has been going since 1978 with the guitarist being the only original member.

Never give up chasing the dream band. Its a bit like trying to get that bass tone in your head or that perfect bass you've been looking for for 45yrs. 

Dave  

[dmccombe7]

4 minutes ago, greavesbass said:

Back in the late 70's when I was a very young fellow it was all word of mouth...it had to be, no internet, phones etc. You'd pop in the local guitar shop store on a Sat and see what the latest happening was, he might have a board but gigs back then were always full of local musicians on the look out for each other etc....But a couple of years ago I used JMB and it was ok. The only weird bit was sitting in a corridor with two other bassists....like waiting outside the headmasters office for a whack!...haha.   

I had that a few yrs ago when i auditioned for a Glam / 70's hits covers band. They asked me to learn Starman by Bowie, and a few others. I turned up on time and they were auditioning 3 bass players that night but were running quite late. They asked me to sit in the kitchen with a coffee in hand but i listened to the first guy who was a bit basic sounding almost a learner IMO and then the 2nd guy and he was a step up better but lacked flow but he did learn a few little bits on Starman that i had missed as i only had 2 days before the audition. When i went in i combined what i had done with what i heard other guy do and i was offered the job after doing Starman and T.Rex song 20th Century Boy. After those 2 songs they were happy and asked if i wanted to stay on as i was the last one to audition and we could just jam a few other songs they did. The fun moment was they had asked me to learn Caroline which i did but i learned the Status Quo song not thinking they meant Sweet Caroline but we had a good laugh about it and they said lets do the Quo one anyway. 

I'm still good friends with them even tho i didn't stay too long as they wanted to gig 2-3 times every weekend and it was all a bit much for me after i had just retired early from work and wanted some free time. It was never mentioned on the advert they gigged that much. Fantastic bunch of guys too and the sad thing is that after a few yrs of retirement i would now be ok with 2 gigs every weekend LOL

Dave

[AndyTravis]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Yeah, I'm sure I would be in the exact same position Andy. I guess my workaround has been to take the lead in putting together the covers bands I've been in, myself. 

 

PS the JMB age demographic can then actually work in reverse - I tend not to bother considering anyone under 30, haha. And 40+ y/os are very welcome!

 

I’ve done it for years @Al Krow and i’m tired of herding morons.

 

Not all of them, but you get the idea.

[Marvin]

I've dropped out of the loop of contacts I had 5 to 10 years ago. Although quite a few of the bands I got involved in were via JMB to be fair though. I never got anything from going to open mic or jam nights.

 

When I look on JMB these days there's barely anyone looking for a bass player, and if they are it's +40miles away. That and most bands being, and venues wanting, acoustic duos there's limited pickings.

 

I do wonder if I should just keep one bass and my headphone practice set up and sell the rest (not that there's much to sell)

[Al Krow]

6 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I’ve done it for years @Al Krow and i’m tired of herding morons.

 

Not all of them, but you get the idea.

 

Oh I agree that being BL brings a bunch of additional responsibilities, and it would be very nice to be more of a passenger and just turn up well prepared to play at rehearsals and gigs, for sure.

 

But maybe it's the better option than not being in a band at all, if that's the only realistic alternative, which I'm pretty sure would be true in my case and seems to be the experience for a few of us who are no longer in our 20s and 30s?

[ezbass]

30 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I’ve done it for years @Al Krow and i’m tired of herding morons.

 

Not all of them, but you get the idea.

You have had the worst luck with bands in recent times it seems  .

[ahpook]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

 

Is your current band covers or originals and, before your drummer left, were you regularly gigging and, if so, were they decently paid gigs? 

 

Just trying to figure out what might be behind the drummer drought you're facing - as you say in London it shouldn't be too hard to find someone, but an originals outfit still in its start-up phase is usually going to be a harder sell than a regularly gigging covers band doing decently paid gigs.

 

Yes, we're just starting out, and it's originals and we need a good drummer as the material's quite challenging, so I appreciate it's not like an established cover band.

 

I think it's just my enthusiasm has completely dried up after 35 years of being in bands with slowly diminishing returns.

 

I've not picked up a bass in about three weeks - I wonder whether it's worthwhile just quitting playing for (insert period of time here) not thinking about it and seeing if I come back with more interest.

Edited September 17, 2023 by ahpook

[diskwave]

2 hours ago, Waddo Soqable said:

And there were the musicians wanted ads in the back of Melody Maker😁

True. And you'll be surprised how many famous names met each other from the classifieds back then too.

[AndyTravis]

5 hours ago, ezbass said:

You have had the worst luck with bands in recent times it seems  .

A recent recording project has even fallen flat, I was 3/4 of the band…so it’s impossible with just 2 people.

 

I’m actually booking vocal coaching and piano lessons.

 

Really have got that far gone 😂

Edited September 17, 2023 by AndyTravis

[dmccombe7]

5 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

A recent recording project has even fallen flat, I was 3/4 of the band…so it’s impossible with just 3 people.

 

I’m actually booking vocal coaching and piano lessons.

 

Really have got that far gone 😂

Sorry to hear that Andy. Sad news indeed. 

Dave