Hows everyone doing re: band mates?

guitarzero

Just curious to see replies....

For those who have'nt found any bands or musicians to play with, what do you find are your obsticles? - Lack of a common ground on the description? Distance? Your instrument? loss of interest etc...

For those who have met up through the boards, do you think its been useful with regards to how well the meeting up turned out? Of course, theres only so much the site can do ;-)?

If boards was the closest thing to a reflection of the level of interest in musicians wanting to meet others, especially what you advertise for, would you feel optimistic in you endevours of finding something?

Does anyone feel excited by our so called music scene?

Is rock a dying form of expression? Are we at a point where we have to kid ourselves into believing that there are great bands out there?



These questions pass through me, looking for some feedback

Scythe

I found my band on this site aswell as gumtree and joinmyband, so i think it's effective.... It only a few days between three sites like. And as for the rock thing and no worthwhile bands, i'd tend to agree with you, because almost everything sounds the same, especially in indie and pop-punk. The punk scene is great though, as is the metal one.
http://www.myspace.com/fagenablerz
This band rules for example!

Sergio

Ive found a few musicians through this site and gumtree also but the best way to find other musicans is by going out and playing with others and going to gigs etc.
People dont persevere long enough here to find people.They just expect to put up an advert and think they will get flooded with replies where as that is not the case in my experience anyway.

Malice

I would love to know if the amount of time and effort people put into their threads is reflected in the success rate.

Rigsby

Malice_ wrote: »

I would love to know if the amount of time and effort people put into their threads is reflected in the success rate.

That is an interesting thought alright. However, as is often stated here, posting on boards is a lottery. IMO, time is the most important ingredient for success. If you keep trying, then the laws of nature say you have a better chance of success. As far as effort is concerned, all you need is the basic information for what you need ( this is seldom given I know, :rolleyes: ). If you are going to get a time waster replying, then this will happen regardless of how fancy or elaborate your post is.

Sandvich

Largely lack of common ground I'd say, but also a lack of willingness to do stuff in general.

I mostly want to do stuff that's influenced by 80s goth rock and there's nobody around that wants to play that. I have a bunch of other influences too but still not really many people around.

I'm also a bit shy so sometimes I'll find it difficult to meet up with people.

Sandvich

Yeah now I think about it I'm definitely a bit scared of meeting people... I'm more than a bit odd and in the past people who have been into somewhat "alternative" music have been not very alternative themselves and been very quick to judge... it really lowers my confidence in terms of finding band mates.

Major Lovechild

I have to say that I didn't think that I would find much of a response but I did. Nice one Boards .

Sergio

Sandvich wrote: »

Yeah now I think about it I'm definitely a bit scared of meeting people... I'm more than a bit odd and in the past people who have been into somewhat "alternative" music have been not very alternative themselves and been very quick to judge... it really lowers my confidence in terms of finding band mates.

Not meaning to sound judgemental but i think maybe you should work on your personality more and have better success when meeting other musicians.
I was born with the gift of the gab and have no problem meeting new people and ringing complete strangers to see if theres any possiblitiy of them joining my band.
You should try and hav more confidence and just put yourself out there and i guarantee you will see people treat you different.
It all about selling yourself in my experience anyway.......treat it like a job interview :)

Sandvich

I have aspergers, really I need a therapist. But there don't seem to be any around here.

drumdrum

Malice_ wrote: »

I would love to know if the amount of time and effort people put into their threads is reflected in the success rate.

Well, I put up an advert a while back looking for a bassits. Put up the template that you provided along with any other relevant info I could think of.
The guitarist in my band had an ad up looking for musicians (drums, bass, guitar) which was a bit less.... "structured" than my advert.

Well, the jist of it is that we both got contacted by a couple of bassists (the same guys) and as a result we found the perfect bassist for our band.

So Im not sure if it helps with the amount of effort put into an advert, but with some people I guess they will reply to any "Musician X wanted" ad no matter how detailed it is.

Then again, Ive looked for bands before and Ive gotten lots more replies from detailed adverts than scarce ones. So in my experience, putting more details about yourself when you are offering your services tend to fare better than bands looking for people.
Lots of variables with adverts in general though.....:)

ohigg84

I've just had a hard time trying to find people that are interested in joining a tribute band.
I've must have gone through at least ten people, and never mind, its for an AC/DC tribute band. I thought i'd have people being really enthusiastic about it.. Then again, I tried gumtree, which is ok, but not great.

i got a singer at one time, and we rehearsed about a month ago, but the chap was arrogant and criticised me that my guitaw was out of tune. Even the drummer didn't like the chap.

Then there was the guitarist I got a few months ago. Never met the chap until the day of rehearsal.. He was a complete jerk. Very ignorant and uncooperative. Didn't respect the other members of the group..
Got another guitarist after that, but we never met up as he got a good job..
So, I guess, i'm havin bad luck.

Now, I need a singer..

Anybody out there. thats really interested?

AnonymousPrime

I never had any luck. Spent a long time looking for a drummer (to no avail, but we got one through a different means) and the only singers we ever got were wasters.

I second that it is a lottery.
Finding the right person by any means is a lottery, and it would be just as difficult with an abundance of talent

Sandvich wrote: »

I have aspergers, really I need a therapist. But there don't seem to be any around here.

Dude!!!

Fandango

I joined my current band by first contacting them here. Had a jam with another band before that who shall remain nameless but lets just say honesty and personality was sadly lacking with them hehe. Anyway, after that i arranged to meet another band, got on great with them, loved the music and about 2 years later im still playing with them so have no complaints.

niall1976

I met my band through boards and another musicians website.

It took real patience and you need to be prepared to meet people that you won't see eye to eye with, so luck plays a big part.

We are together about 5 months and people are surprised by that as think we grew up together because we get on so well.

I would say you need as much detail as possible.

The most frustrating part is getting people who say they are interested in meeting up and then dissapear off the radar

so

Just Keep Trying......Just Keep Trying
(shameless use of Finding Nemo)

Fingers Mcginty

This place is bull**** junction when it comes to finding musicians

Malice

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

This place is bull**** junction when it comes to finding musicians

Any suggestions on how that can be improved?

Rigsby

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

This place is bull**** junction when it comes to finding musicians

Maybe so, Fingers !!, but it's no good shooting the messenger

Rigsby

Malice_ wrote: »

Any suggestions on how that can be improved?

Maybe a system like on E Bay, could be adopted, where people leave feedback about their experiences with a given person. A percentage of positive feedback could be shown beside their user name. This way, a person looking for someone to join a band etc, would have an instant idea of who they are dealing with. It would also help to deter time wasters.

Not sure how technically viable this would be, but I'd say it would improve things immensely.

Sandvich

I don't think it's the boards fault. People just don't seem to be up for stuff all that much, or at least not enough people to get a decent match.

Rigsby

Sandvich wrote: »

I don't think it's the boards fault. People just don't seem to be up for stuff all that much, or at least not enough people to get a decent match.

This is why you have to persevere until you find the right bandmate(s).

Malice

Rigsby wrote: »

This is why you have to persevere until you find the right bandmate(s).

This is very true. My last band went through a bunch of different drummers until we found one that was suitable. While we didn't have a drummer, the rest of us used to play along to beats knocked up on the computer. That does the job but it doesn't compare to being able to communicate with and get a response from an actual drummer.

Sandvich

Malice_ wrote: »

This is very true. My last band went through a bunch of different drummers until we found one that was suitable. While we didn't have a drummer, the rest of us used to play along to beats knocked up on the computer. That does the job but it doesn't compare to being able to communicate with and get a response from an actual drummer.

Yeah, I'm kind of **** scared to play along to a drum machine. But the convenience is hard to ignore, you don't have to practice at high volume anymore. I tend to prefer quieter jams generally, because of my sinuses I can get a bit disorientated at high volumes, which is fine if you're playing for a half hour to an hour set but not if you're practicing for hours on end.

Since I want to do something with an electronic edge I want to do a bit of live mixing anyway. If you have a drummer that likes playing around with beats and mixing too, or with an electronic drum kit(which can also be used to trigger samples/loops, very handy) then it's pretty baller.

Fingers Mcginty

Rigsby wrote: »

Maybe a system like on E Bay, could be adopted, where people leave feedback about their experiences with a given person. A percentage of positive feedback could be shown beside their user name. This way, a person looking for someone to join a band etc, would have an instant idea of who they are dealing with. It would also help to deter time wasters.

Not sure how technically viable this would be, but I'd say it would improve things immensely.

Fantastic idea Rigs!

Fingers Mcginty

Sandvich wrote: »

I can get a bit disorientated at high volumes,

Think you should find another hobby...sorry couldn't resist

Rigsby

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

Fantastic idea Rigs!

Thanks Fingers

The mods have not commented on this yet. Perhaps I'll P.M. them.

Fingers Mcginty

you in a band yourself Rigs?

Rigsby

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

you in a band yourself Rigs?

Yeah !! Though I found it elsewhere !!

Fingers Mcginty

Rigsby wrote: »

Yeah !! Though I found it elsewhere !!

:rolleyes::) There ya go...proof in the puddin

Rigsby

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

:rolleyes::) There ya go...proof in the puddin

How about you ?

the_syco

Mates band was without a drummer for a while. Got a drummer there after searching for a while. As it has been said, you have to persevere.

drumdrum

You gotta remember though that shopping for people is a very different game than shopping for material goods.

People get annonymous confidence that fizzles out when it comes to the face-to-face meet, and things do happen in the real world that prevents a jam, as annoying as it might be. Maybe the person is actually sick on the day of the audition and cant sing or something.
(though I'll admit, this may be the optimist in me taking over!)

As for finding people, in my current band we found a bassist from boards and we couldnt be happier with him. He talented, sound and wants to do what we want to do.
As for finding drummers, well best of luck to you! Drum machines have their place....somewhere.....but you cant beat a real drummer!
Although getting them to calm down is another point! Ive been in bands that have gotten in drummers that like to overplay their instrument on the song which ruins the "tight-ed-ness" of the band. For some reason this issue is mostly common with drummers though.....must be the lack of inteligence!

Rigsby

drumdrum wrote: »

You gotta remember though that shopping for people is a very different game than shopping for material goods.

People get annonymous confidence that fizzles out when it comes to the face-to-face meet, and things do happen in the real world that prevents a jam, as annoying as it might be. Maybe the person is actually sick on the day of the audition and cant sing or something.
(though I'll admit, this may be the optimist in me taking over!)

I agree with all this. However, what really annoys people, and rightly so, is when a person does not tell the others that he/she will not be turning up. Sometimes a rehearsal room has been booked, and the potential jam ( not to mention money ) is wasted, all because someone had not got the decency to send a P.M. or a text.

Anonymous confidence fizzling out, or anything else for that matter, is not an excuse in this case. :mad:

Fingers Mcginty

Rigsby wrote: »

How about you ?

nah...was in a band up until late last year. Been looking since but nothin's turning up at all. Have met up with a few time wasters on the way.

Rigsby

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

nah...was in a band up until late last year. Been looking since but nothin's turning up at all. Have met up with a few time wasters on the way.

That's a long time to be searching. Have you tried Gumtree ? That's where I found my band.

drumdrum

Rigsby wrote: »

I agree with all this. However, what really annoys people, and rightly so, is when a person does not tell the others that he/she will not be turning up. Sometimes a rehearsal room has been booked, and the potential jam ( not to mention money ) is wasted, all because someone had not got the decency to send a P.M. or a text.

Anonymous confidence fizzling out, or anything else for that matter, is not an excuse in this case. :mad:

Oh yeah man!! +1 !!! I totally understand where you're coming from and in one of my previous bands we had this problem too. Cost us many a jam, often with texts given on the morning of the jam when its too late to cancel a booking with some excuse given, where you know the person is probably hung over.

My advice to people trying out people.......DONT pick weekend days if you can help it. You can't underestimate the awesome calling power of beer!!

Fingers Mcginty

Rigsby wrote: »

That's a long time to be searching. Have you tried Gumtree ? That's where I found my band.

Yeah never really tried there ...cheers

drumdrum

Fingers Mcginty wrote: »

Yeah never really tried there ...cheers

May I also suggest musolist?
http://www.musolist.com/Ireland/Dublin
They also do non-Dublin areas in case your not from the big smoke!

Malice

drumdrum wrote: »

My advice to people trying out people.......DONT pick weekend days if you can help it. You can't underestimate the awesome calling power of beer!!

My advice would be the opposite. Pick a weekend day and if someone can't get their shit together for an initial jam it's better that you find out then, not when you're playing gigs for money.

I've come across a few musicians as I'm sure many of you have, where their talent is matched only by their unreliability and so it's pointless trying to incorporate them into a band as they will just break your heart.

Fingers Mcginty

Malice_ wrote: »

My advice would be the opposite. Pick a weekend day and if someone can't get their shit together for an initial jam it's better that you find out then, not when you're playing gigs for money.

I've come across a few musicians as I'm sure many of you have, where their talent is matched only by their unreliability and so it's pointless trying to incorporate them into a band as they will just break your heart.

Good advice there

the_syco

drumdrum wrote: »

things do happen in the real world that prevents a jam

Something to think about: there's a Slipknot tribute band up north who call themselves Spitknot. There's nine people in the band. Pretty sure they are all in different bands/side projects. Their gear would be in different studios in different areas of the UK, etc. Imagine trying to get all of them, and all their gear, into one room for a jam?

drumdrum wrote: »

My advice to people trying out people.......DONT pick weekend days if you can help it. You can't underestimate the awesome calling power of beer!!

But in some ways, they are the best for that very reason - if you want someone to come to your jams, it's best you find out before they join if they're lame wasters or not.

=-=

In saying that, I've seen lads come into the studio at 3am to practise their drumming There'd be people jamming all night. It really depends on many factors, and if you want them in your band or not.

drumdrum

Malice_ wrote: »

My advice would be the opposite. Pick a weekend day and if someone can't get their shit together for an initial jam it's better that you find out then, not when you're playing gigs for money.

I've come across a few musicians as I'm sure many of you have, where their talent is matched only by their unreliability and so it's pointless trying to incorporate them into a band as they will just break your heart.

I understand where you're coming from Malice, but from experience I reckon that its better to get someone on board in the band first before getting too serious with them. If weekend days are the only free days for the band then of course you're stuck, but if you have the option then I personally prefer weekdays. In a previous band, for a while the singer would come in on Saturday morning usually hung over or a bit croakey from drinking the night before. We got pissed off, said it to him, but he replied saying that (at the time) he studied engineering which has a mad course load. So we switched days and things went better.

Also, you have to be fair to people in general. Most band members I jam /have jammed with work 35+ hours a week and IMO they are entitled to enjoy their weekend nights if they want to. I mean, being all forceful and asking someone not to drink the night before a jam can be a bit...."band-nazi"-ish (IMHO). This is especially true for singers (YOU try to sing the morning after!!:D) Therefor I reason that be jamming weekday nights you can avoid this potential issue in the future.

Guess there are good points for both sides of the fence here!

guitarzero

Sandvich wrote: »

I have aspergers, really I need a therapist. But there don't seem to be any around here.

dude, im sure there are many ppl who are trained in that area of aspergers, i know a guy who works with folks with the condition

Rigsby

drumdrum wrote: »

I understand where you're coming from Malice, but from experience I reckon that its better to get someone on board in the band first before getting too serious with them. If weekend days are the only free days for the band then of course you're stuck, but if you have the option then I personally prefer weekdays. In a previous band, for a while the singer would come in on Saturday morning usually hung over or a bit croakey from drinking the night before. We got pissed off, said it to him, but he replied saying that (at the time) he studied engineering which has a mad course load. So we switched days and things went better.

Also, you have to be fair to people in general. Most band members I jam /have jammed with work 35+ hours a week and IMO they are entitled to enjoy their weekend nights if they want to. I mean, being all forceful and asking someone not to drink the night before a jam can be a bit...."band-nazi"-ish (IMHO). This is especially true for singers (YOU try to sing the morning after!!:D) Therefor I reason that be jamming weekday nights you can avoid this potential issue in the future.

Guess there are good points for both sides of the fence here!

Again, I agree with most of what you say. Though IMO, if a person is genuinely interested in playing in a band, then he wont arrive along to a jam in an unfit condition, no matter what day of the week it is. After all, he has six other days in the week to get pissed if he wishes.

Malice

drumdrum wrote: »

I understand where you're coming from Malice, but from experience I reckon that its better to get someone on board in the band first before getting too serious with them. If weekend days are the only free days for the band then of course you're stuck, but if you have the option then I personally prefer weekdays. In a previous band, for a while the singer would come in on Saturday morning usually hung over or a bit croakey from drinking the night before. We got pissed off, said it to him, but he replied saying that (at the time) he studied engineering which has a mad course load. So we switched days and things went better.

Also, you have to be fair to people in general. Most band members I jam /have jammed with work 35+ hours a week and IMO they are entitled to enjoy their weekend nights if they want to. I mean, being all forceful and asking someone not to drink the night before a jam can be a bit...."band-nazi"-ish (IMHO). This is especially true for singers (YOU try to sing the morning after!!:D) Therefor I reason that be jamming weekday nights you can avoid this potential issue in the future.

Guess there are good points for both sides of the fence here!

Well first off you don't schedule band practice for Saturday morning, that's just cruel . The earliest my last band used to play was 12. If someone can't be up and functioning at 12 after a night out then maybe they need to take stock of their drinking habits. There's a big difference between heading home between 12:30 - 2:00AM and heading off to a house party, laying into a bottle of wine and crawling in the door at 7:00 or 8:00AM. To use my last band as an example again, we used to regularly meet up for beers on Friday night but we had enough cop-on and maturity to know our limits.

I totally agree that people should be able to enjoy their weekend nights but that doesn't necessarily mean they have to drink themselves into oblivion to the detriment of whatever they have planned for the following day.
I'd never say to someone "You can't drink the night before practice". I would just expect that they would have the necessary maturity to reach that conclusion themselves.

drumdrum

Malice_ wrote: »

Well first off you don't schedule band practice for Saturday morning, that's just cruel . The earliest my last band used to play was 12. If someone can't be up and functioning at 12 after a night out then maybe they need to take stock of their drinking habits. There's a big difference between heading home between 12:30 - 2:00AM and heading off to a house party, laying into a bottle of wine and crawling in the door at 7:00 or 8:00AM. To use my last band as an example again, we used to regularly meet up for beers on Friday night but we had enough cop-on and maturity to know our limits.

I totally agree that people should be able to enjoy their weekend nights but that doesn't necessarily mean they have to drink themselves into oblivion to the detriment of whatever they have planned for the following day.
I'd never say to someone "You can't drink the night before practice". I would just expect that they would have the necessary maturity to reach that conclusion themselves.

I agree completely Malice.
Maybe I had bad luck with it, or maybe because we were all in college at the time, but when we used to jam on Saturdays (usually from 12 - 4) at one of the lads would be hungover, usually the singer. I just figured it was easier not to play "Mom" for the band and to just change the jam day. I mean I didnt want to be the bad guy all the time at the cost of friendships in the band.
Guess my experiences have just taught me a different lesson.

LukeQuietus

I play bass and was thinking of trying to start a band and instead found a thread by a guitarist who's into much the same things I am. We've been practicing for a few months now. Trying to complete the line up however is proving difficult. Drummers on this site are rare and the ones who've shown interest have either broke contact after a few PMs without explanation or had attitude problems when we've called them. Drummers are rare enough but to find a good one, into the same music who a good attitude is nearly impossible to find.

ehealo

LukeQuietus wrote: »

I play bass and was thinking of trying to start a band and instead found a thread by a guitarist who's into much the same things I am. We've been practicing for a few months now. Trying to complete the line up however is proving difficult. Drummers on this site are rare and the ones who've shown interest have either broke contact after a few PMs without explanation or had attitude problems when we've called them. Drummers are rare enough but to find a good one, into the same music who a good attitude is nearly impossible to find.

I'm A drummer from Cavan. Where abouts are you based?

Malice

ehealo wrote: »

I'm A drummer from Cavan. Where abouts are you based?

Do you see under his username where it says Location: Galway, Ireland? That might just be your answer .

Bootsy.

We managed to get a whole band together just using boards.ie!

It's a covers band which makes it easier (Rock'n'Roll, Soul, Blues, RnB etc).
I put up an ad looking for musicians and was lucky enough to get a drummer and a singer on board almost straight away. A couple of weeks later we added a second guitarist/keyboard player.

Finding a bass player was the tricky part. I put up another ad specifically for a bassist, and our drummer was searching too. We had a few interested, at least two or three who said they were up for it and then disappeared. Finally, we've found a great bassman and had our first complete jam tonight and it's all going really well.

All together it took a little over a month. So yeah, keep at it, it is possible!