how do you get a band together?

[agent007]

the only people i know who were ever able to put a band together were the guys in high school and college who already long time friends. if you don't know any other musicians (luckily i live in a huge city), how do you get a solid band together? how can you tell if you're going to click with someone and how can you tell who's really committed? any suggestions or methods? thanks in advance

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: how do you get a band together?

Put up classifieds on the boards at music shops (print out a peace of paper with your number and saying you want to start a band, your influences and what genre you'd want to play). You can tell if you're going to click at the first practise, and if they starting missing practises at the beginning for BS reasons, they aren't committed.

Unfortunately, all the musicians here suck, want to play emo, are guitarists or are taken. Or they're good but aren't committed. Good luck bro.

 

[tone4days]

Re: how do you get a band together?

• post online (craigslist kinda thing)
• put flyers up at local music shops
• go to open jams and start askin around
• go to shows and support the local scene and network for connections
• we have this site (http://baltimorebands.com/) here in baltimore - your town might have one too
• this (http://bandmix.com/tone4days/) is a high quality (basic = free, better = pay) site that is sorted by zipcode .. this page is mine, you can click on the top left logo to get to the home page
• start tellin everyone you know that you are lookin and see who says 'i know a guy ... "

then, once you meet, you say what you are lookin for and ask what they are lookin for ... hope to find a small handful of folks who want the same as you .. be flexible .. be prepared for periodic fall-aparts ... just keep pushin on
good luck
t4d

 

[DankStar]

Re: how do you get a band together?

after high school and college, it's the hardest thing ever.

The aforementioned ways are it, but man is it like pulling teeth. Half the people you wrangle in for a practice won't be able to play worth a crap but will have sworn they can, and the other half will fall into these categories:

-have drug or alcohol problems
-have personal lives in complete dissaray
-will click but will get tired with trying to start a band from the ground up and leave you to join an established band
-will be so busy with money making work or their personal life that a routine schedule is next to impossible
-will be a very good player, but will want to play one genre and one only: "buttcrust punk with exactly 3 breakdowns per song and one high pitched scream and no solos. must tune to Z"

I say get all this crap out in the open up front: are they serious (for that matter, are you?), how much do they party, what's their goals for their personal life and the band's life and how can those 2 co-exist? how flexible are they going to be with 4-5 dudes all trying to write at once? I've found if they're losers in their personal lives, they're losers in the band's life. I made it clear I was the least serious (to "make it big") in my band, but yet no one wanted to promote or come to practice on time. Yet they wanted to be stars. Yeah right.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: how do you get a band together?

"buttcrust punk..."

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[BGtelecaster]

Re: how do you get a band together?

Ive played in alot of bands and the only ones I ever see work out are those who start out as friends growing up