how to meet musicians for collaboration

[TenDerFlames]

Hello all - I'm living in the SF area now, and trying to find a way to connect with musicians. I am trying to collaborate and hopefully write/record/produce demos for fun - though certainly with the dream of attracting some attention. I really just want to better myself musically and have fun.

I am not a "musician" type at all, so I am unsure how to go about making connections. I am working a corporate gig, and am pretty clean cut. I don't feel I'd mesh well with SF musicians at the outset. I anticipate a lot of indie rock musicians nowadays are hipsters, stoners, etc....

I'd really appreciate advice on how to find people to click with, who are legit (ie making pretty good music, nice people, not druggies, etc.). I get the impression it's like finding a needle in a haystack. I'd rather work with people in mid-20s to mid-30s.

Maybe I'm too pessimistic. If anyone is familiar with Oakland or SF especially please chime in. I'm starting from ground zero, so please tell me what steps I might take. I am thinking of checking out some music venues, maybe posting an ad online.

Thanks
TDF

[daddymack]

Well, there are no guarantees as to what you will find, but head to some open mike nights, blues jams, things like that, and start networking.

and check out BAM

[Consume]

Hit some of the music stores and see if they have bulletin boards up.

[Matximus]

Work on your skills and be gregarious. If you got skills: That's all that matters. If you friendly - that's cool. Being a tad pushy is important too.

But for real. Just be good - if being good is what you have to offer it doesn't matter what you look like.

And don't post an ad. That's creepy. Hit the open mikes. Become a regular at one or two and look out for like-minded people. Go from there. That's the bottom.

[rlm297]

I'm in a similar situation. Have you ever looked at Musician's Wanted forums or ads? It's depressing. You never find exactly what you're looking for, short of going to shows and acting as your own A&R for band members. It's like online dating and viewing profiles. The misfits. The bad news bears. You typically have to just not search for it and meet people.

It's a shame there isn't a virtual way of demoing songs with people. Viewing a profile of them, hearing music they've recorded of themselves, reading about them and then starting a song over the net. I think there is something out there like that, but it's not legit musicians... it's more of the guys with substandard gear doing Fruity Loops style of stuff.

It seems the "musicians" in any non-major music city (NY, LA, London, Austin, Nashville) consist of unemployed guys without cars, who have substandard gear and no understanding of songwriting or art. The established musicians and people in bands, clearly have chosen that as their full-time jobs or they're jobless. Once they find a job, then "see ya."

I feel your pain. What kind of music do you make?

[kurdy]

Do you perform? If so, I'd say try some open-mics. Find one or two that you like, and attend those regularly. Also perform at them regularly. Eventually people will become familiar enough with who you are and what you do. If you happen to meet someone you think you might mesh well with musically, ask them if they'd like to collaborate. Most will be up for it, I'd say. If you're good, people will see that you're good, and that should be enough of a selling point. It's worked for me, and I don't live in a major music town, nor am I a hipster or stoner. And to tell you the truth, most of the people I've met at these events have been really cool people. I don't know what it's like in SF, but I wouldn't get detered by the stereotypes.

[Nobodeesbidness]

I really enjoy collaborating and improvising with other musicians because of the type of music I am into. I like looping, experimenting, improvisation and jamming while recording at home the most. This aspect of being a musician has REALLY changed. Much for the worse I'm afraid. I have been playing for roughly 37 years now and it's NOTHING like it used to be. Roughly 20 years ago when musicians used inexpensive paid for ads in local magazines it was extremely cool. You'd put your ad in with your phone number and a brief but exacting description of what you were looking for, you would get all kinds of excellent responses. I loved meeting new musicians, learning and creating. Now you do the same thing on craigslist and all you get are a bunch of "say one thing, do another" types. Once in a great while, and I mean it's very seldom, you might hook up with someone who's a decent/real musician, but ultimately it's quite RARE. It seems like the majority of responses that I get are from cover bands looking for the type of musician I am (a bassist in my case) with no regard for the actual descriptive content of the ad I placed. I have learned to not let it get the better of my enthusiasm and as a result have dug deep into the realm of more so self sufficient electronic music. It's so weird how things have changed. I keep telling myself it will pass but what really blows my mind is how few eager and enthusiastic signature level improvising musicians there seem to be out there these days. I really don't get it, but that's the way it is. I guess most people that were musicians in their younger days have either fell by the wayside or are content playing covers like they did when the first started out as musicians. Personally, I NEED to create and can't live without it.

[bdemon]

I've been in the SF scene for many years. Open mics are really the best bet. The cool thing about the SF ones is the promise of more diversity. Sure, acoustic singer-songwriters are the norm, but I've done my Ztar/synth madness alongside didgeridoo players, melodicas, etc.

If you figure out the best method for meeting quality players you'd better patent it quick! The only way I know is to constantly go out and meet people. Jams, open mics, ready to book a rehearsal space when the time comes. Craigslist is a good start. You'll still get a bunch of garbage, but at least you have the chance to filter the more obvious garbage before you waste time driving out to it.

Keep an eye on local papers like the Bay Guardian and SF Weekly because they list so many events of all sizes. You might find, say, an indie art gallery looking for a way to supplement their event with music and suddenly you find yourself with some cool players. I came across a performing arts "circus" that held these crazy house parties with sword swallowers, blacklight shows, clowns doing crude Punch & Judy shows. I became part of the house band that played madness in the converted garage. Didn't last long...suddenly it was down from 10 guys to three of us and we ended up quitting (stopped getting paid) and starting our own band, a quality three-year run.

[beatpoet]

Are you on message boards for the bands you like TenDerFlames? It's hard finding musos on band boards, but it's a start if you wish to hook up with people who are into similar music.

[Stephen Quinn]

You don't always need to meet musicians in your local area. If you meet musicians online, you can collaborate over the web if you have reliable recording equipment/software, and each musician can record his/her individual part in their own studio, exchanging audio files via email.

[aj_guitarist]

You can meet lots of muso online (on things like bandcamp and soundcloud) as well as getting out there and meeting people at gigs.