Finding a covers band in London

[Guest subaudio]

Hey all, I was wondering if there are any specific sites for covers bands wanting musicians in London, I have looked on the general musofinder type sites but mainly find bands doing originals, and is own transport a necessity for these type of gigs, I have done a good number of original gigs in central London and have managed on the tube.

Any info much appreciated.

[Russ]

[quote name='subaudio' post='9791' date='May 31 2007, 11:45 AM']Hey all, I was wondering if there are any specific sites for covers bands wanting musicians in London, I have looked on the general musofinder type sites but mainly find bands doing originals, and is own transport a necessity for these type of gigs, I have done a good number of original gigs in central London and have managed on the tube.

Any info much appreciated.[/quote]

To my knowledge, there's nothing out there specifically for covers bands... you could keep an eye on Gumtree though, there always seems to be openings for covers bands on there.

As for transport, being able to haul your rig around is always a good thing, and shows professionalism, especially since most venues don't supply backline gear. This might not be so important if the gigs you get don't require large amplification, and where you might be able to get away with a light 2x10" and small head that you can drag around on a dolly or something. Personally though, I still wouldn't entrust stuff like that to the Tube, escalators, etc. If the band you join has a member with an estate car or van, and who doesn't mind carting your stuff around along with their own, then that's a good compromise, but it then precludes you from doing stuff without them!

[Guest subaudio]

[quote name='Russ' post='9798' date='May 31 2007, 11:56 AM']To my knowledge, there's nothing out there specifically for covers bands... you could keep an eye on Gumtree though, there always seems to be openings for covers bands on there.

As for transport, being able to haul your rig around is always a good thing, and shows professionalism, especially since most venues don't supply backline gear. This might not be so important if the gigs you get don't require large amplification, and where you might be able to get away with a light 2x10" and small head that you can drag around on a dolly or something. Personally though, I still wouldn't entrust stuff like that to the Tube, escalators, etc. If the band you join has a member with an estate car or van, and who doesn't mind carting your stuff around along with their own, then that's a good compromise, but it then precludes you from doing stuff without them![/quote]

Hi Russ

Thanks for the info, I have a little GK MB150 combo which I have gigged with a lot doing originals, I have it on a trolley and quite happily use the tube and busses etc, I couldnt use it without PA support though, was just wondering if there was a way out of spending a grand on a rig and a grand on a reliable car.

I wil check out Gumtree, thanks for that as well.

Marti

[Pbassred]

I have a rig and a car but still have the pain. Actually I think a car in London is less convinient than the tube.

We need a list of jam nights

[Guest subaudio]

[quote name='Pbassred' post='9877' date='May 31 2007, 02:10 PM']I have a rig and a car but still have the pain. Actually I think a car in London is less convinient than the tube.

We need a list of jam nights[/quote]

Hi Pbassred, I think your right about cars in central London, I walk to work and with congestion charge, trafic and parking issues, I really would like to avoid having to buy a car for the sake of a couple of gigs a week.

+1 for the jam night list

[Musky]

For Jam nights check out [url="http://www.electricbluesclub.co.uk/blues_jams.html"]http://www.electricbluesclub.co.uk/blues_jams.html[/url]

Not sure how up to date it is, so a call to the venue might be in order, but there are links to other listings as well.

[Kiwi]

I smell a business opportunity for someone to make a separate website...

[Russ]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='10154' date='May 31 2007, 08:33 PM']I smell a business opportunity for someone to make a separate website... [/quote]

Hmmm... not a bad idea, that... been trying to think of a website project to get my teeth into!

[Russ]

Right, been thinking about this... what features would a site like this have to have? It would obviously have to have listing of jam/open mic nights, but what could we put in to make it more user-oriented and (buzzword alert) "web 2.0"-friendly?

I've got a little musicians wanted site that I coded up a while ago and haven't really used or promoted... just been trying to think of something better to do with it... it's at www.muzos.info - could this be something we could incorporate? All it is is a quick and easy musician search with a fancy AJAX user interface.

[Pikefloyd]

Take a look at

[url="http://www.northwestbands.co.uk"]http://www.northwestbands.co.uk[/url]

It's a bit like myspace for bands/fans/venues in the northwest. It's really good, and really useful!

I think every region needs one!

[Pbassred]

Its needs;
Location,
size,
Start/finish time
Styles,
to be current.

There are loads of open mic nights but its tough to get on, because they don't change the band often.