building non-serious band

[Janx]

I started a new job last year. It's kept me really busy. A side effect of that job was that by virtue of owning a bass, I have now joined the barely-a-band of the marketting guy from the client we do work for.

 

The problem:

We need drums and vox. That's like half a frickin band. We're not that terribly talented. And it seems we are venturing down the path of originals mostly.

 

At present, we just jam over rough material and chord progressions. Since I don't have oodles of time, that's fine for me.

 

Our goal, should we aquire more members, is to get enough material together to do what I call "the backyard tour", namely play a set or two at somebody's house party (presumably a friend). And then eat BBQ.

 

the other guy has tried Craigslist. Thus far it's been a joke. Are there any other methods to finding candidates who meet our better than flakey or terrible, but not so good they should be in a real band? I think our target candiate is a guy who can play OK, needs to get better, and playing with others would probably help improve his chops.

 

I'm leaning toward teaching my iPad GarageBand how to play drum tracks for us....

[gspointer]

Thats a tough one. Might check local music stores to find drummers your age taking lessons. Talk to drum instructors and find out if they have a student that might be interested.

[tim_7string]

I would put up flyers at the usual places that musicians hang out...musical instrument stores, CD stores, on the local campus. Make sure you specify that it is for fun and that it's open to beginners. This might attract people that are intimidated about being in a 'real' band, but would want to give a band like yours a try.

 

Yeah, Craigslist has not been very useful for me, either. I got a couple of responses the last two times I used it and in both cases, there were flakes that bailed on me.

[Vito Corleone]

We found a drummer once just by hanging out IN the music store. We were touring through a city when our drummer gave his 2 weeks notice so we went into the local store and asked the guy behind the drum counter if he knew of anyone. He says "that guy standing over there is pretty good". Got to talking to him and he was our drummer for the next two years. (Which, in that band, might have been the record for drummer longevity.)

[tshapiro]

I would use a different tactic other than finding beginners as beginners need a lot of practice. Instead, I would search for 'retired' musicians who are looking for a part time opportunity to get back in the game. These guys will be able to learn songs much faster, probably already know most of the standard band songs, and can hang with you just calling out chords on the fly. Generally, band guys know other band guys, so I'd ask around to the working bands in your area. They probably know people in your local area who like to play for the fun of it. Also, other good candidates are experienced players who are learning a new instrument such as a guitar player learning keyboards. Again, local working band guys will know of these people. The other place to ask are the music directors at churches. There are a huge number of gospel players in every city and the music directors will know of up and coming players who need a place to try out and develop their skills.

[js1]

 

We need drums and vox. That's like half a frickin band. We're not that terribly talented. And it seems we are venturing down the path of originals mostly. Our goal, should we aquire more members, is to get enough material together to do what I call "the backyard tour", namely play a set or two at somebody's house party (presumably a friend). And then eat BBQ. Our target candiate is a guy who can play OK, needs to get better, and playing with others would probably help improve his chops.

 

 

Edited your original post. That's your Craigslist ad, right there.

 

If you have an active Craigslist - that'll work. Most ads come off as phony, egotistical, etc. This comes off as honest, and lets the reader know exactly what they're getting into.

 

My daughter sings, and is thinking of trying to get into/form a band. Her ad - "Mediocre singer seeks mediocre musicians to make mediocre music". Mentioned her ad idea to my drummer, who said, "That'll work way better than the usual crap".

 

Good luck in your search.

 

js

[BATCAT]

 

...the other guy has tried Craigslist. Thus far it's been a joke. Are there any other methods to finding candidates who meet our better than flakey or terrible, but not so good they should be in a real band? I think our target candiate is a guy who can play OK, needs to get better, and playing with others would probably help improve his chops. I'm leaning toward teaching my iPad GarageBand how to play drum tracks for us....

 

 

Do you know any musicians who are already in bands, but are laid back and cool to hang out with? They might enjoy a low-pressure, "just for fun" side project more than you'd suspect.

 

Also, I've had a fair bit of sucess over the years with craigslist, but I suppose it depends on your area and what you're looking for.

[TIMKEYS]

I went through quite a few start up type bands when i got back into playing . You can find people who are getting back in that can play well , but be expecting them to move on down the road on you. The key is to keep playing even if you have alot of turn over. Sooner or later you will end up in a situation thats stable.

[Janx]

thanks for the replies thus far. I reckon js1's rework of my post would make a practical ad. I been meaning to head down to my local shop and seeing my guy. He'll prolly know some dudes looking.

 

Thus far, the guitarist has found old guys who think "Wanna be you dog" is too fast to play, or singers who can't. I think that's par for the course from every story I've read on HC.

 

I found one candidate,via friend of a friend, but he hit the nail on the head. The smart drummers don't want to bother lugging their rig out for anything but a prepared band, thus they'd just as soon not play. Kinda wierd to me, as that really says "I don't care about playing that much." as they'd just as soon not bother.

 

I'm not as plugged into the local scene. Though I've hung around for years, I'm still a newb at the band thing. Though I do hang with my old jazz band drumer, and his schedule just got lighter...

[gspointer]

I have a drum kit or 2 at my place. makes it prett easy.

[YeahDoIt]

There may be people in your neighborhood that are interested, they just don't know about the band. Advertising locally - close to home - is important in a case like this. Maybe put up a sign in a local bulletin board, write it as a neighborhood casual jamming band. Maybe put a sign in the window of your car with your phone number or email address. Let your car be your local advertising billboard.

 

I don't think a big drum kit is always necessary. Bongo drums can work for some songs. Tambourine might work for some songs.

 

For vocals you might try plugging a microphone into a guitar amplifier. It works, not the best sound but might be OK.

[Janx]

I been thinking about the vox amplification problem. It's been my biased opinion that if instrumentalists paid for their gear (at least $1k per dude), the vocalist ought to supply their own minimal sound support. Been wondering what the options were for that. I've tried a cheap "PC" mic with a 1/4" adapter into an amp, and got a lot of feedback, even at low volume.

 

When I was in the community jazz band, I was the only electric instrument. Nothing was mic'd and there was no sound support for gigs. It basically meant positioning my amp and hoping for the best (not even time for a sound check).

 

The nice thing is, the other guy's high enough in his company, we can use the back area (with a loading dock) as a practice space. Plenty of room and air conditioned. Bum deal is it's 45 minutes to get to.

[gspointer]

Is the vocalist going to be the only one singing? In my experience you are doing good to find a vocalist with a mic and stand.

[Lrock]

You mentioned that you wanted to do the "Backyard BBQ tour". Maybe that is where you'll find your band.

 

I went to a neighborhood Chili Cook Off. I knew a few of the neighbors had played in bands previously, and I told the host that we are going to have a jam that night. Many times we had talked about "getting together and jam", but it never happened.

 

I brought 3 guitars, bass, and amps. He supplied the mic and a small p.a. (no drums). (Keep in mind I trusted the people at the party. All adults w/ families.) We set it up and said okay, who can play? We had 4 guys up fairly quick. It was amazing. We stuck to classic rock & blues songs that we all knew, and although it wasn't perfect, (we had a fair share of beers in us) we could defiantly tell there was chemistry. More important, we had a lot of FUN!

 

We've been playing private parties, garage parties and fundraisers (we are a just for fun band, like you'd like to be) for the last 3 years.

 

I know it is hard to find musicians that are all on the same page, let alone in the same neighborhood, but it is worth a try.

[pickinatit]

 

I would use a different tactic other than finding beginners as beginners need a lot of practice. Instead, I would search for 'retired' musicians who are looking for a part time opportunity to get back in the game. These guys will be able to learn songs much faster, probably already know most of the standard band songs, and can hang with you just calling out chords on the fly. Generally, band guys know other band guys, so I'd ask around to the working bands in your area. They probably know people in your local area who like to play for the fun of it. Also, other good candidates are experienced players who are learning a new instrument such as a guitar player learning keyboards. Again, local working band guys will know of these people. The other place to ask are the music directors at churches. There are a huge number of gospel players in every city and the music directors will know of up and coming players who need a place to try out and develop their skills.

 

 

THIS!! Guys that used to play in bands and got out for various reasons, but now their kids are grown, ...etc. I put my old band together using Craigslist and had pretty good luck with it. My current band, which is just like what you are putting together (garage / back-yard bbq band ) was put together by our guitarist using "BAND-MIX" mostly.

 

EDIT: I started out running vocals thru my Sunn Solarus guitar amp. which at least had reverb. I eventually purchased a Peavey system that MusiciansFriend I think STILL has as a package deal. For $1,100 bucks you get pretty much everything you need. It's a powered mixer (eight channels I think) three microphones, mic stands, cables....the whole works. Worked great for everything WE needed to do. Now our guitarist also had some PA equipment so since we hooked up we have a little better, more complete set-up.