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Bass Player Wanted, No gigs


blue
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[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1507662499' post='3387120']
As long as you enjoy being in a band that doesn`t really want to gig, wheres the problem? The problem comes when people get into it without really saying what it is they want to do.[/quote]

Agreed,

IMO you shouldn't be scouting out band opportunities until you have personally defined what your looking for in a band.

Blue

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1507662979' post='3387130']


I would never ask about money until I have been offered the job.

Once I'm offered the job, that's when I ask the tough questions about band funds, how much it pays, how I get paid and when.

At the bar band level I prefer cash on the spot right after I'm done playing. If it's big money or a decent salary, well that's different and something I can work with.

Blue
[/quote]

Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t criticizing someone for asking about money, if you are going for a paid gig then you should. My comment was more that I had put an ad up and was very clear about the state of the band, yet i had time wasters asking about money etc. If you earn a living from gigging why on earth call up a band that isn’t yet gigging, let alone one that is still looking for members.

My point being, its not just those that put ads up that are time wasters, its also those that reply to them when they they don’t bother reading the ad (not pointing any fingers here, just saying). I appreciate in your situation the bands might not have been clear, but unless they lied to you in the ad then a phone call was all that was needed for you to decide if it was for you. I understand this is what happened so the point of this thread is what.?

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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1507652610' post='3387011']


True, also bands looking for a bass player might not actually have any gigs until they get one. Im putting a band together (from the ashes of my old band) and wouldn't dream of booking a gig until the band was gig ready. I can get them, so have told prospective members this, but until i have a full line up im not going to mess agents etc around.

In fact i had a few guitarists call up just like Blue. asking how many gigs we have booked, how much they will walk away with etc etc, and this was all on the assumption that i would actually want them in the band without an audition. Jokers the lot of em (especially as the ad said new band and explained all the above.). IME sometimes those chasing the money will also be time wasters. it works both ways.
[/quote]

I get where your coming from especially since your confident you can book a decent schedule. Sounds like your networked with a plan and good contacts. Most aren't.

Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1507663468' post='3387141']


Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t criticizing someone for asking about money, if you are going for a paid gig then you should. My comment was more that I had put an ad up and was very clear about the state of the band, yet i had time wasters asking about money etc. If you earn a living from gigging why on earth call up a band that isn’t yet gigging, let alone one that is still looking for members.

My point being, its not just those that put ads up that are time wasters, its also those that reply to them when they they don’t bother reading the ad (not pointing any fingers here, just saying). I appreciate in your situation the bands might not have been clear, but unless they lied to you in the ad then a phone call was all that was needed for you to decide if it was for you. I understand this is what happened so the point of this thread is what.?
[/quote]

All good points, we're on the same page. Just keep in mind some ads don't clearly state what they're offering.

As we all know the really good opportunities in terms of gigs and good money are not advertised to the public.

Blue

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1507649818' post='3386988']
... and the bloke 'tickling the ivories' at his local, bashing out the post-war favourites on the ol' Joanna. He got paid in pints; often they'd take it in turns, to rest their hands and chat with their mates and neighbours. That was the 'live music' of traditional pubs for decades. Very few 'pro's on that circuit (Mrs Mills, maybe..?). There's nothing sacred about having rock groups (or even blues bands...) in pubs. Where I live, it's a very rare event, to have live music in bars, cafés or pubs. I must say I don't miss the 'attraction', either. :mellow:
[/quote]

I take it your not a supporter of local live music?

Blue

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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1507643324' post='3386941']


From your first post i get the feeling you have forgotten this as well.

Not everyone wants to gig, not everyone wants to book gigs before they have a full band to play them. Whats the issue you have with this? Were they offering gigs that didnt exist? Did they string you along and tell you that they were going to be gigging.

Im just trying to understand the mentality behind a thread like this. A band with no gigs looking for a bass player, cant be that much to talk about surely?
[/quote]

If there is an issue it's posting a want ad and not being clear on exactly what your offering.

Blue

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1507641857' post='3386926']


Yes - they got fed up with playing thousands of gigs abroad for drunken sailors, then playing stadia full of young girls who screamed so loudly you couldn't hear the music...
[/quote]

A lot of 12 year old females. But I think they cultivated that audience by design.

Blue

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[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1507639513' post='3386893']


Putting your own advert up online or at rehearsal/recording studios, going to see other bands doing a similar thing and talking to those bands, form your [i]own[/i] band...more constructive than pursuing an avenue you know is unlikely to yield results and being surprised it yields little.
[/quote]

I've said this a million times. Very few have the ability, money ,skill, experience, contacts or other crucial resources to put together a "for profit"Rock band.

Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1507664187' post='3387150']
I take it your not a supporter of local live music?...
[/quote]

What makes you think that..? I would be, if there [i]was [/i]any. When our local annual festival was going, I was fully active in that, and spent a great many week-ends out with a local ska/punk/rock band in their heyday. Too old and frail now for night-clubbing, which is just as well, as there are no local night-clubs. No, I fully support music of any sort, locally live or whatever. I was just remarking that, in past days, there have always been enthusiastic amateurs, hinting that professional musicians had few roles in such circuits. Pub/bar bands are a very recent phenomenon, and have no reason to be perennial. You admit it yourself: you're more of a dinosaur, really. Your time has come and gone; it won't be coming back any time soon. For the record, I've just turned sixty-seven, and am quite reconciled to no longer treading the boards every week-end. Been there, done that etc... :)
Just my tuppence-worth; no malice intended. :drinks:

Edited by Dad3353
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I often found that gigging was the necessary evil of being in a band. I aways enjoyed rehearsing with good mates, loved the no pressure vibe and all the banter/good naturedness. Gigging was sometimes as much fun, but most of the time not so. There's a sense in which rehearsing is equivalent to jogging, and gigging equivalent to entering a 5k race. I'm more than happy to jog :)

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1507666403' post='3387170']
I often found that gigging was the necessary evil of being in a band. I aways enjoyed rehearsing with good mates, loved the no pressure vibe and all the banter/good naturedness. Gigging was sometimes as much fun, but most of the time not so. There's a sense in which rehearsing is equivalent to jogging, and gigging equivalent to entering a 5k race. I'm more than happy to jog :)
[/quote]

Interesting, as I am the complete opposite. I feel that rehearsing is a necessary evil in order to gig. For me, all the joy of playing is performing in front of an audience. My current band haven't rehearsed for months, we just gig, and if we want to try a new song, circulate it amongst ourselves then refine it over a few gigs.

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[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1507668061' post='3387183']


Interesting, as I am the complete opposite. I feel that rehearsing is a necessary evil in order to gig. For me, all the joy of playing is performing in front of an audience. My current band haven't rehearsed for months, we just gig, and if we want to try a new song, circulate it amongst ourselves then refine it over a few gigs.
[/quote]

I'm with you on this one. I've played well over 1300 gigs with my band over the last 21 years. If we're not rehearsed enough by now there's no hope for us.
We tend to rehearse 2 to 3 times a year whether we need it or not purely to run through a bunch of new songs to refresh the set.
I've always believed that live performances in front of an audience tighten a band up in a way that closed rehearsals never will. Practice can be fun but it's playing live that gets my blood pumping.
With family commitments these days we're down to a couple of gigs a month now but once my kids are grown up I'll be looking to get back to doing 150+ gigs a year like we used to. Just hope there's a music scene to support that level of gigging by then.

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[quote name='blue' timestamp='1507664937' post='3387161']
I've said this a million times. Very few have the ability, money ,skill, experience, contacts or other crucial resources to put together a "for profit"Rock band.

Blue
[/quote]

You've answered your own question! The reason why most ads aren't for those bands is because they're incredibly rare, the ads that are there are for other types of bands - ones you're not interested in !

It sure is a shame we can't all find exactly the band we're after pretty much waiting for us, but you have to speculate to accumulate, otherwise aren't we expecting someone else to do the hard work for us ?

The best way, IME to find musicians is to be in bands, and not all of those are making money and have gigs booked. Kiss some frogs - they may not turn into princes, but they may know frogs who will.

Edited by ahpook
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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1507665351' post='3387164']


What makes you think that..? I would be, if there [i]was [/i]any. When our local annual festival was going, I was fully active in that, and spent a great many week-ends out with a local ska/punk/rock band in their heyday. Too old and frail now for night-clubbing, which is just as well, as there are no local night-clubs. No, I fully support music of any sort, locally live or whatever. I was just remarking that, in past days, there have always been enthusiastic amateurs, hinting that professional musicians had few roles in such circuits. Pub/bar bands a re a very recent phenomenon, and have no reason to be perennial. You admit it yourself: you're more of a dinosaur, really. Your time has come and gone; it won't be coming back any time soon. For the record, I've just turned sixty-seven, and am quite reconciled to no longer treading the boards every week-end. Been there, done that etc... :)
Just my tuppence-worth; no malice intended. :drinks:
[/quote]

Support local live music when you can. I'm well into my 60s and I don't get out to see much as I use to.

On weekends when I'm not gigging I really don't want to be in a bar or pub. However, that's not really cool because bands that play the same circuit that we play have come out to see us on their off night.

Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1507669051' post='3387192']


I'm with you on this one. I've played well over 1300 gigs with my band over the last 21 years. If we're not rehearsed enough by now there's no hope for us.
We tend to rehearse 2 to 3 times a year whether we need it or not purely to run through a bunch of new songs to refresh the set.
I've always believed that live performances in front of an audience tighten a band up in a way that closed rehearsals never will. Practice can be fun but it's playing live that gets my blood pumping.
With family commitments these days we're down to a couple of gigs a month now but once my kids are grown up I'll be looking to get back to doing 150+ gigs a year like we used to. Just hope there's a music scene to support that level of gigging by then.
[/quote]

I think it depends on the band and what your doing.

My band does not rehearse , all of the progress we've made in getting are sound to happen was from gigging a lot.

New bands or bands with young musicians with little to no experience, yeah I think rehearsals are a good idea.


Blue

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1507666403' post='3387170']
I often found that gigging was the necessary evil of being in a band. I aways enjoyed rehearsing with good mates, loved the no pressure vibe and all the banter/good naturedness. Gigging was sometimes as much fun, but most of the time not so. There's a sense in which rehearsing is equivalent to jogging, and gigging equivalent to entering a 5k race. I'm more than happy to jog :)
[/quote]

It depends on the band your specific band culture.

In my case, first of all even after 12 years we have a blast at gigs however were not mates. The only time we really see each other is at gigs.

IMO, I think it's the reason the band has stayed together this long.

Blue

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[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1507669387' post='3387196']


You've answered your own question! The reason why most ads aren't for those bands is because they're incredibly rare, the ads that are there are for other types of bands - ones you're not interested in !

It sure is a shame we can't all find exactly the band we're after pretty much waiting for us, but you have to speculate to accumulate, otherwise aren't we expecting someone else to do the hard work for us ?

The best way, IME to find musicians is to be in bands, and not all of those are making money and have gigs booked. Kiss some frogs - they may not turn into princes, but they may know frogs who will.
[/quote]

Yes, I would only be interested in what we call "turn key" opportunities. Where all the work has been done. In other words walking into a full book of business.

But like you said those opportunities are rare and hardly ever advertised publicly. Unfortunately in my advance stage if the gigging cycle of life, I don't have the time or interest in new "start up" opportunities. The exception would be if any members were famous.

Blue

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[quote name='Mark D Phillips' timestamp='1507658223' post='3387063']
A pretty nice sound going there from the Miss Bowie Band, do you ever come as far south as Sussex?
Mark.......................
[/quote]

Thanks, much appreciated. We haven't ventured out of the Nottingham area yet, but as we get more established we have plans to go further afield (we only started in February of this year)

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[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1507618330' post='3386734']


I don't think it's the lack of interest it's the lack of need if they've got a decent job.
[/quote]

Huh?

Most people I know haven't stopped gigging because they have a decent job.

Everyone in my band except me works and have more than decent jobs. They gig because it's something they love to do and like this type of work.

So, let me try and understand this. If I get a decent job I'll won't have the need to gig, so I'll stop gigging?

Blue

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[quote name='ricksterphil' timestamp='1507651749' post='3387004']


We're playing the Ojxam Beeston Takeover on Sat night. which band are you? This is us [url="https://www.facebook.com/missbowieband/"]https://www.facebook.../missbowieband/[/url]
[/quote]

Loved your clip.

Nice job!

Blue

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Is this yet another re-hash of the "you're not a proper musician unless you get paid" thread?
My mother is a pianist and LRAM, and she spent about 20 years duetting with a friend on the flute - mainly Bach.
They never played a concert (even though they were a covers band :D ), and had absolutely no interest in doing so. It was purely for their own entertainment.
Does that mean they weren't proper musicians?

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[quote name='Leonard Smalls' timestamp='1507708028' post='3387307']
Is this yet another re-hash of the "you're not a proper musician unless you get paid" thread?
My mother is a pianist and LRAM, and she spent about 20 years duetting with a friend on the flute - mainly Bach.
They never played a concert (even though they were a covers band :D ), and had absolutely no interest in doing so. It was purely for their own entertainment.
Does that mean they weren't proper musicians?
[/quote]

Not at all in my book....

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