revmike
Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 3806
North Atlantic
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Posted on Apr 05 2013 02:26 PM
The thing that has worked for me in the past is to play with people I already know. That seems to avoid a lot of the new band stuff of my early years. As far as getting gigs with no vocals, it has hasn't been a problem for us. We were not sure what to expect when we started, but it just hasn't been an issue. I think in 18 years it only came up once.
Rev
PS: Don't under estimate Jake's advice. That's how Urban Surf Kings started.
— Canadian Surf
http://www.urbansurfkings.com/
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JObeast
Joined: Jul 24, 2012
Posts: 2762
Finknabad, Squinkistan
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Posted on Apr 11 2013 12:55 AM
Steve,
I followed your advice and got an excellent response to my most recent cl ad. So far the session is still pending, but I have high hope because of the specific qualifications he listed. Short set list is most explicit way of describing the goal. I have dispensed with the nebulous 'influences' emphasis that DID get 'goofball' responses, which I put down to learning. But since reading forums here and working steadily with a drummer the short-term goal is becoming much clearer; articulating that goal gets the most useful responses.
THanks guys!
John
Post a CL ad.
Say EXACTLY what it is you're looking to do.
You need to be super duper uber clear about what it is you want to do. If you're not quite sure what you want to do, you either need to decide that first, or be willing to let others control some of the direction of the band.
Let me just say here that there's a big difference between a "real" band, and some guys "jamming". Most - and I mean most - people do not have the work ethic to perform with a real, gigging, working band. It's a job, and it has to be approached like a job. Everyone needs to learn the material, everyone needs to work together towards a common goal (which should be clearly defined at the outset), everyone needs to have their act together.
If you place a nebulous or ill-defined ad, you're going to get all kinds of goofballs responding. Then you're going to have to go through all kinds of trouble trying to make these various players work out. That's a LOT of time and effort on your part and you'll become frustrated and disappointed.
If you place a very specific ad, you will likely keep all those goofballs from responding, but you'll also limit the number of respondents to only those really interested. While that can be good, if you don't get enough respondents to put together a band, it will be disappointing as well, but at least you won't have to had to deal with all the nutjobs and waste all that time. It should also give you a general feel for how marketable such a product would be in your area as well as musician interest in it.
Good Luck,
Steve
— Squink Out!
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ParkRowe
Joined: Apr 01, 2013
Posts: 147
Vancouver BC
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Posted on Apr 11 2013 10:25 AM
Hey John, that's cool to hear that it's working for you.
I'm going to do the same. I'll do this next month... i'm still working on nailing down more material.
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Aaron
Joined: Sep 13, 2011
Posts: 100
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Posted on May 08 2013 05:02 PM
Generally speaking, I only try to start a band when I have a bunch of material written. When I've got 5-10 tunes written, I'll make some quick demos and approach some dudes I know-- "hey, I want to start a band that sounds like X and Y. Do you want to play bass? I've got some stuff written if you want to hear it." People are pretty apt to say yes if you've already done the work and are ready to make some records.
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