How to find yourself a bandmate 101 (opinions welcome)

I see a lot of the same complaints here day in, day out. Being enigmatic when you are looking for a fellow musician to jam with won't help anyone. After talking to my fellow mods we thought we could give you a template to follow.

Thread title: Keep it simple. For example: "Wanted: Bass Player in dublin" is quite sufficient. I know then that if I'm a bass player living in Galway, the ad will not be for me. ""Keyboardist seeks band in Offaly" is also on the money." I know that if I'm a band in Cork looking for a keyboard player, this guy will probably not be for me.

"Funk band" is no good. Where are you, what are you looking for?

Tool? Deftones? Porcupine Tree? Radiohead? 65daysofstatic? Explosions in the sky? is also no good. Same questions apply.

So keep it simple.
Use the following formula:

Wanted:Instrument:Location

Then the ad itself. Be as creative as you want. But you must include the following information:

Band Name: The name of the band. This is optional.
Band Genre: The style of music that the band will play. This is mandatory.
Band Location: Where the band is located. This will probably relate directly to where the band will jam. This is mandatory.
Influences: This is related to genre but it will give people an idea of specific influences within the genre. This is optional.
Positions Available: What musicians are being sought. This is mandatory.
Desired Age Range: The desired age range of any prospective applicants. This is optional.
Available Sound Samples: Post a link to any MySpace/YouTube/Bebo etc. examples of what the band has done previously. This is optional.
Additional Info: Any other information that might be useful e.g. is it a covers band looking to write originals. This is optional.

You can never give enough information to potential bandmates. I'll leave this thread open a while for discussion.



Thanks to fellow mods, in particular _malice

emurf

Great Idea,
I also think the add should be removed every 2 weeks with the facility to repost it if the need be. There are too many adds that have been filled still sitting there.

Malice

Cheers for putting that up! Hopefully it'll be some help.

Hunter.S

I agree with emurf, there are way to many clearly dated adds on the form.
Thanks for putin this up btw very usefull

CatacombKittens

I agree with this, it's about time really. It's frustrating not knowing where people are from.

MGilly84

unfortunatly nobody seems to be taking any notice of your advice. especially on the location front

Would you be able to suggest anything so?

Flesh Gorden

Unless you review every thread before its posted not much is going to change - either that or replying with a link to this on threads that don't meet a good standard


but considering the time needed I'd say your stress levels would go through the roof.


at least the ads from outside Dublin give a good idea of where they are
still frustrating though




.

DerKaiser

I don't think there is any right way of going through the process, putting up a good, clear ad is the first step, but in terms of wading through the day trippers and "I beat guitar hero, I'll start a band" merchants, there is nothing mods can do without coming across as a bit Nazi, I've finally found a good band through boards, it just took a lot of persevering, just keep at it, there are some genuine and talented people on here, but way too many wannabees

Malice

I based the original template idea off the Help Wanted forum on GameDev.net. Obviously it's not band/musican-orientated but the principles are the same.

They take the approach that your post must use the template so that common questions will be answered (Age/Location/Genre etc.) and that authoring the post will force the user to think more about what they're writing so that rather than "Guitarist wanted in City Centre", they have to expand on that.

While I don't think we need to be as draconian as them in deleting threads that don't use the template, it is a little disappointing that no one (as far as I know) has used it yet! Also, I can't speak for the other mods but I know that I probably can't devote the time at the moment to go through each non-conforming thread and link to here.

It reminds me a bit of an awkward teenage disco with the girls lined up on one side, the guys on the other and no one in the middle dancing . Maybe it just needs one person to get it started?

I started a new thread and see whether it helps at all. In case anyone's interested, it's here.

That_Guy

Have just been browsing through a few posts in this forum.

There's one I was looking at. Fair enough the title of the post was good and the poster specified everything they were looking for but then he/she went on to say "must not be a twat".

Honestly that kind of stuff would really put me off making contact with the OP. It seems childish. A simple, "must be dedicated to practice X amount of times a week" would suffice instead of "don't be a twat".

I don't think linking sound samples in the original post is a good idea as it may lead to trolls coming in and just saying "that's crap".
If a person is interested in the look of a post then the OP should PM the interested party with the appropriate sound samples.

Just my 2 cents.

Malice

That_Guy wrote: »

Have just been browsing through a few posts in this forum.

There's one I was looking at. Fair enough the title of the post was good and the poster specified everything they were looking for but then he/she went on to say "must not be a twat".

Honestly that kind of stuff would really put me off making contact with the OP. It seems childish. A simple, "must be dedicated to practice X amount of times a week" would suffice instead of "don't be a twat".

Maybe it was only meant as a light-hearted comment?

That_Guy wrote:

I don't think linking sound samples in the original post is a good idea as it may lead to trolls coming in and just saying "that's crap".
If a person is interested in the look of a post then the OP should PM the interested party with the appropriate sound samples.

With respect I disagree with this. I love to hear what others bands and musicians are coming up with. Putting MySpace/YouTube links in a post enables people to click through to the music quickly without having to go through the time-consuming process of private messaging.

People shouldn't be worried about the sound quality of what they produce. It's just giving people an example of what your music is about. All of my bands recordings have been done through a single microphone plugged into a laptop and then pointed away from the drumkit . It's low-quality but it lets us hear the different parts of the song and we can identify where we make mistakes. Now if you posted in the Music Production forum under a "Rate My Mix" thread then maybe you should think about the sound quality .

That_Guy

Malice_ wrote: »

Maybe it was only meant as a light-hearted comment?

Just my opinion. It just seems slightly childish to me but hey that's just my opinion.

With respect I disagree with this. I love to hear what others bands and musicians are coming up with. Putting MySpace/YouTube links in a post enables people to click through to the music quickly without having to go through the time-consuming process of private messaging.

People shouldn't be worried about the sound quality of what they produce. It's just giving people an example of what your music is about. All of my bands recordings have been done through a single microphone plugged into a laptop and then pointed away from the drumkit . It's low-quality but it lets us hear the different parts of the song and we can identify where we make mistakes. Now if you posted in the Music Production forum under a "Rate My Mix" thread then maybe you should think about the sound quality .

You make a good point. Having a link to music wouldn't be too bad I guess. Perhaps the lack of a link may make people uninterested in what is on offer.

Damn you Malice I have completely reversed my opinion.

Malice

That_Guy wrote: »

Damn you Malice I have completely reversed my opinion.

Sorry about that .

rcaz

This thread is a pretty good example, I think. Bit light on the information front, maybe, but no messing about. Possible template?

Malice

El Pr0n wrote: »

This thread is a pretty good example, I think. Bit light on the information front, maybe, but no messing about. Possible template?

What exactly is so good about that thread? The first post had to be edited by a mod to make it more readable.

rcaz

Malice_ wrote: »

What exactly is so good about that thread? The first post had to be edited by a mod to make it more readable.

I linked to the wrong thread

Sorry 'bout that.

Malice

El Pr0n wrote: »

I linked to the wrong thread

Sorry 'bout that.

Ah, no worries . Do you have a link to the thread you meant?

rcaz

Malice_ wrote: »

Ah, no worries . Do you have a link to the thread you meant?

I think it's been pushed down a few pages.... Doesn't matter, really

jigsawmurderer

Thread title: Keep it simple. For example: "Wanted: Bass Player in dublin" is quite sufficient. I know then that if I'm a bass player living in Galway, the ad will not be for me. ""Keyboardist seeks band in Offaly" is also on the money." I know that if I'm a band in Cork looking for a keyboard player, this guy will probably not be for me.



I actually left any location information out of my "female voclist wanted!!!" thread. I figure people will travel for a good band. At least this is what I've found to be the case.

Well, if you are in Carlow and I live in Donegal we're not going to be able to jam that often, will we? It helps if the musicians live near each other so there's less time wasting reading ads.

jigsawmurderer

Donegal eh?

You wanna jam?

Well, I can't drive. Fancy picking us up and dropping me home?

Malice

jigsawmurderer wrote: »

I actually left any location information out of my "female voclist wanted!!!" thread. I figure people will travel for a good band. At least this is what I've found to be the case.

Damn, I must have missed that post otherwise I'd have directed you to this thread! Just how far do you think people will travel for a band? I wouldn't want to be travelling for more than an hour to get to a jam session.

jigsawmurderer

Depends on what youre after i suppose and how serious you take your music. The drummer we had for the last year lives in manchester. He found an ad from us online and we arranged a jam and to use an awful cliche it just clicked. I get what youre saying about practicality but I would sooner be jamming periodically with the right singer that lives in donegal than twice a week with the wrong singer that lives in carlow.

Malice

jigsawmurderer wrote: »

Depends on what youre after i suppose and how serious you take your music. The drummer we had for the last year lives in manchester. He found an ad from us online and we arranged a jam and to use an awful cliche it just clicked. I get what youre saying about practicality but I would sooner be jamming periodically with the right singer that lives in donegal than twice a week with the wrong singer that lives in carlow.

So how often do you jam with your Manchester-based drummer? I'm assuming you're in the Dublin area so does he fly or take a ferry or something?

DerKaiser

Already had a complaint about the template Too much information apparently, confusing, but perhaps he was covering his tracks after he offered his guitar playing skills when the ad clearly said 'positions wanted: Drums'

caoimhe321

[thanks for tis very usefull info

phonarr

This is a very good template

cheers

doctor robert

hello
are you one of the admin people at boards

Malice

doctor robert wrote: »

hello
are you one of the admin people at boards

If you are looking to contact one of the moderators of this forum then you can PM me. If you want to contact the administrators of the overall site then e-mail hello@boards.ie.

Malice

Please note, this thread is How to find yourself a bandmate. As such don't post here if you are looking to join or form a band, post a thread about it using the template from here instead.

Future off-topic posts will be deleted.

MC707

1) Bump your ad regularly and be patient.

2) Suggest meeting up with band / musician immediately. Better to meet face to face. Time wasters will probably back off at the thought of actually meeting up. I could name and shame plenty of people here for all of a sudden disappearing after exchanging phone numbers / emails / PM's over several days.

3) If you are a serious band / musician ensure your ad conveys it. E.g. we rehearse 3 nights a week

4) Use links to show what level you are at, helps to see whether you are too good / not good enough.

5) Give as much info as possible if you are a band in relation to what you cover etc.

6) Give the location of rehearsals and find out if musicians can make speicific times e.g. 7pm.

7) Find out what gear a musician uses. An experienced musician with a genuine interest will usually spend money on their gear.

8) Experience - has the person / band gigged, are they a start up.

9) Age of the band and is it all male / female / half and half etc.


Seems to me there are a lot of dreamers on here. On a Friday night after a couple of beers it seems like lots of people think a band is a brilliant idea, come monday morning they dissapear off the face of the earth and you never hear from them! Try and spot these ASAP!

Dord

Excellent points above from MC707! I've learned from experience to meet up with musicians prior to going to a rehearsal studio. It gives you an idea what they're like but more importantly will be a good sign of whether they'd turn up to an actual rehearsal. It really isn't nice being left waiting for someone at a studio down a ****ty laneway with your beloved instrument.

A further point I'd add is to use the template that Papa Smut provided for the musicians ads. For me this has been a great help. It's clear and to the point.

Additionally I'd say post up one or two examples of songs by bands you're taking influence from. Some artists have led varied careers so it's much better to show exactly what you're referring to.

seanypants

aw cool , i didnt know that , thanks for the help

RossThomas

Hi there. Sorry if this is annoyingly off topic, but I'm new here and want to post about a band member wanted but don't know how to even post things. Can someone explain please?

Malice

RossThomas wrote: »

Hi there. Sorry if this is annoyingly off topic, but I'm new here and want to post about a band member wanted but don't know how to even post things. Can someone explain please?

Welcome to Boards! If you want to start a thread about wanting a band member start by clicking here then click the image on the top left of that page. When writing your post please try to follow the advice that you've hopefully already read on this thread. You should also read the forum charter to familiarise yourself with what you should and shouldn't post. You might also want to have a browse around the Newbies forum. There's a lot of good advice there. Lastly if you've any specific questions feel free to PM me and I'll try to answer them.

RossThomas

Thanks Malice! It's all alien to me. But got the post up now hope it's okay.

mydingaling

This would be a great improvement!

Ulveren

Hello Lads, I have a question relating to putting up third party links onto a thread. Is it in keeping with the site's rules that I can post the URL for my Facebook and YouTube pages?

Malice

Ulveren wrote: »

Hello Lads, I have a question relating to putting up third party links onto a thread. Is it in keeping with the site's rules that I can post the URL for my Facebook and YouTube pages?

If you're posting a thread looking for band members and you add Facebook and YouTube links to show examples of your work then that's fine. If you're not looking for band members but just to promote your band then there is a Band Promotion forum for that. Gigs can be listed in the Gigs & Events forum.

Ulveren

The tips on this thread have been helpful, but they seem to be primarily focused on bands acquiring new members. My particular position, that of a sole musician seeking others to play with, is perhaps not as well addressed. Are there any specific tips for players like me who want to advertise?

viadah

Don't know if it's been raised, but as I just thought of it a minute ago, with the 'community' aspect in mind, try contacting bands who are looking for similar candidates as yourself, they may have come across unsuitable users here who may suit your own needs. In the interest of pro-activity. Obviously this 'caring and sharing' attitude should extend to boards users, that is to say sharing of personal details such as phone numbers or email should NOT be considered.

Citizensmith

Just wanted to say thanks for this thread - I just changed my title to put in my location, which I had further down in the text but not in the title - obvious, but I didn't think of it - some kind of template would probably help
keep up the good work moderators!

Generic Dreadhead

Sorry people... But... I..... Must.... REVIVE this thread

seanypants

i think there should be some sort of category... example if your where looking for a singer you would go into the singer (available) section.. so on so forth

balbriggans

My two cents: subject line needs to definitely include some sort of suggestion of the style of music sought. means one can scan through the subject lines in search of "free jazz cork" or "dub reggae sligo" etc. and avoid all the ones that currently do not mention "covers" or "u2 chilli foo" in their subject line.
without that, a huge amount of time wasted looking at stuff not relevant to each individuals likes or dislikes

r.duke

agreed.

ceatharloch

To stick with the charter:

GENRE: Traditional Irish music
LOCATION: Galway City
POSITIONS AVAILABLE: Singer

More details:
We are looking for a singer with a strong voice to join an open traditional Irish music session in Galway City. Probably (but not necessarily) the singer would sing ballads (other songs - Bob Dylan, Paul Brady, .... all very welcome). Ideally they would accompany themselves on guitar, and _also_ be able to accompany tunes (jigs, reels,...)
Thats asking for a lot (I know), but if you can do some of that - you're very welcome
This is _not_ a band as such. It is an open session. But there is very modest remuneration for each musician.

DJ Feego

It'd be incredible and it'd make life so much easier if this forum could be split into two sections
Covers and Originals
I'm just saying!