Bluewine

I'd say you know what you want too. Sounds like a winning configuration to me. Blue

What Am I Looking For? Is this easy to define for most of you. For those looking for a band do you realistically & specifically know what your looking for? Blue

All this talk about Ringo and his drumming abilty really gets away from me. Anyone can be a good competent drummer. Ringo was first and foremost a Beatle. Being a Beatle was his job and nobody did or does it better than him. I say there's never too many hounors if you were a part of a band that changed the world for the better. Blue

To me over-boozing and drama at gigs is very dated. I like being in control, that's one of the things that drew me to the stage at an early age. Many of you know I don't drink alcohol haven't for many decades. For me if ,if you drink or are in any altered state, your really no longer in control. If you don't have your own reliable transportation in the States you really can't be in a working band. Blue

If you started at 14 your like many of us. It's in your blood. I like where your head's at. A 4 peice sounds ideal. I hope your up and running with a full gig schedule sooner than you think. Blue

One of my bullet points was " Who Am I" For some of you guys playing in a band is something you do. And for some of us playing in a band is who we are. Blue

The demanding day job has to first for most guys. I remember my days of leaving the office at 5:00 ducking into the bathroom to change into gig atire then driving straight to an 8:00- 12:00 gig. That's makes it an 8:00am- 12:00 midnight day. At 25 not at big deal. I was in my late 50s at that time. Blue

I wish we had some 3 and 4 gig weekends booked. My band has been on the scene for 12 years. We're a bar band and we get our share of major fairs and festivals, however were trying to up the profile of our gigs as well as our fee. We want to be consistent as a $200.00 a man act. Blue

I'm a "one band guy" always have been.One band with consistent bookings. It works for some, I don't know how I could be in 2 working bands without a lot of gigs conflicting with each other. I guess my needs are good people and bookings. Creativity and fun come naturally to me regardless of what genre I'm playing. Blue

Sounds like you know who you are and where your at in life to me. 33 with a family does not sound like prime years for committing a lot of time to a band. Blue

Nice! Blue

I've learned the hard way. For me, I must play with good people. Would you play Jason Isbell with a bunch of morons,? Probably not. Blue

That's realistic. If I wasn't retired the band thing would be extremely difficult for me. Again it's knowing where your at in life. I'm not going to chase an opportunity for a 23 year old at 65. Blue

Location Don't beat yourself up if your having trouble finding a band or even just guys to jam with. It's probably because you live in an area where those opportunities are unaccessible. Not your fault. Blue

Bravo! I think you hit every "red flag" for identifying "time wasters". Blue

Having a good time and having fun is a requirement in my band. It's really a given, why would you do this if you were having fun? My point was, and especially for newbies, watch out for the "we don't care about money" thing. It's not always a good attribute. Blue

This is why I pointed out "where are you at in life" Illness, young children, demanding traditional job. Is it realistic to even think about joining a band? If so, what kind? Blue

A few have mentioned "time wasters" Anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid them? Unfortunately your going to keep a Keen eye on start up bands. It's where you find these guys that think anyone can just go out and start up a band. When they realize how hard it is they usually let everything fall apart. That's just one thing to look out for there are others. A lot of you guys won't like this, but I'm going to say it. "We don't care about money" That very noble fine and good. But in some instances if they don't care about money it might mean they don't care about a lot of other things that might be important to you . Blue

With 4 young children I don't know how you can commit any time to a band. Blue.

65, I've been in bands since 1966. I hope that never happens to me. Blue

Age, for those of us in that 65 year old range. Do we really want to play in a band primarily with guys in their 20s. Some of you will say age should not be an issue. I say age does matter depending on the type of band, genre and level of play Blue

Who am I ? Where are you at in life, 18 and single Married with young children 65 plus years old with 50 years experience. My first band Live in the sticks with few band opportunities. Live in a large metro area with plenty of opportunities. There are more these are just few things we might think about. Blue

It's a new year and many of us will be making all sorts of changes. That might include joining a new band. It's an old topic , but one we should revisit occasionally. We hear all sorts of frustrating situations we end up in with bands on BC. I'm not sure we can avoid all band problems but we can certainly mitigate some of them. Let's deal with a few bullet points; Who Am I Why Am I Looking ? What am I looking for ? If you can't answer those questions it might not be the right time to look. This topic is wide open. Let's talk about it. Blue

Good point, There really isn't a too old issue. However there could be a in poor health issue. Blue

Depends on the type of band and gigs. Your not going to see many music stands on stage with rock bar bands in the States. Blue