RockfordStone Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 or is it getting more and more difficult to find the right people for a band these days? i mean im working on putting a new band together, i have one guitarist and i'm seeking a second but we can cope without. the big problem ive got is finding a drummer... it really seems to be an uphill task. it appears that all the muso's in cambridge want to be in covers or metal bands... its almost like unless you know someone you are doomed to search forever... is anyone else find this or is it just me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumps Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I feel your pain brother It's like that everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I gave up looking for people for a funk band, in Brighton of all places. You'd think there may be people looking to do a funk band in a place where there really is a market for funk (well there was a huge market for it 10 years ago anyway), but you would be wrong, its all rock, metal and punk. Pretty disappointing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 You're getting older and the number of age appropriate musos is decreasing annually. What you need is some blokes in the middle of a mid-life crisis!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='Bilbo' post='1172071' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:30 PM']What you need is some blokes in the middle of a mid-life crisis!![/quote] Isn't that jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Decent drummers have always been like gold dust. But finding [i]any[/i] kind of drummer seems to be an uphill slog these days, particularly if you're out in the boonies like me. Once you factor in transport, timekeeping of both kinds, mental stability, etc., you might as well be looking for a unicorn. It doesn't help that the fragmentation of musical genres has led to lots of silo thinking - i.e. "I'm a metal / punk / blues / jazz musician". Back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, people would just get together, have a bash and see what happened. Only then would you decide what sort of band you were going to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='1172103' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:54 PM']Decent drummers have always been like gold dust.[/quote] +1 We've got ours on lock-down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 i wouldnt mind, but im not even after a mike portnoy, just need a drummer who can drum... in time preferably Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Yep, having the exact same problems. My band is looking for a keyboard player but there is a total lack of anyone around. Last year the band played a stadium tour including Wembley Arena plus other cool things yet nobody is biting. Personally, when looking to put a side project together, again I have found it totally impossible to find people who want to do originals. Its either covers or 13 year old metal bands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='fumps' post='1172061' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:24 PM']I feel your pain brother It's like that everywhere[/quote] +1. All we have here in Newcastle is the same old Bassist needed for metal/punk/indie band. I've been lucky for my funk band, I have a drummer who was keen on the idea alone from the start, and he found a guitarist who also sings, so we had a win win lucky start. Try music colleges, practice/recording studios. Basically anywhere where muso's meet. For years now I've avoided music shops as you end up back at square one with the same problem. Good luck! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='RockfordStone' post='1172111' date='Mar 22 2011, 02:05 PM']just need a drummer who can drum... in time preferably[/quote] Jesus, that's a bit ambitious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'm having trouble with finding a guitarist. Problem is I want to play pretty gear dependent stuff, and I'm pretty picky about tone, and I have an expectation they should have a guitar rig comparable to mine (since I don't even play guitar, that seems fair), but as soon as they start eqing without their head in front of the cab, I know they are going to suck. The Bahrain troubles might be forcing my mate who has been teaching music back over here, he has mad keyboard skills, its gonna be like Doom Sigh, in club singer style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky72 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 We've been having the same problems in our band, been looking for a new singer for what seems like ever now... how hard is it to sing a few words in tune? (actually fairly hard it seems after the people we've had audition for us). There must be someone out there?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 it feels a bit like the people who are worth having in bands are either taken or don't want to be in a band, so all that is left are people who like the idea of being in bands but can't grasp the idea of how a band works... or completely incompetent characters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 ive been lucky after a very long time without a band at all... im just starting with a keys player and a great drummer whos into jazz funk.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 It's always been the way. Having moved around a few times some areas are tripping over drummers & others you can't get one. Thankfully I live in an area where bassists are hard to come by Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='1172103' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:54 PM']It doesn't help that the fragmentation of musical genres has led to lots of silo thinking - i.e. "I'm a metal / punk / blues / jazz musician".[/quote] I totally agree with this. I was looking for a drummer (and other band members) a while back and finding the right words to appeal to different musicians without being inaccurate in describing the kind of thing you want is very difficult. I emailed people/had online adverts saying that I was looking for a rock drummer (as well as trying more specific wording) then had conversations with people who hadn't replied because they consider themselves punk drummers. hmmm. I know their different but surely similar enough to provoke some interest? luckily I've finally found (after about a year and a half of looking) 3 other people willing and able to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 I'm in much the same boat. After The Subway Blues Band (see music thread) folded, as the guitard messed us around then the drummer took a fit of the sturdies & did his drama quieen bit, I'm left with me (I like to think I can blay reasonable bass in time) and a pretty decent blues singer with harp. He & I get on together. We jammed with a couple of blokes 0- the guitarist was an alpha male who immediately took over everything & the drummer was his puppy. He was a good technical player with no feeling wahtsoever. So we're off down to The Old Volunteer Open Mike night in Nottingham on thursday night to jam & see if we can drum up some interest. If anyone in that area is reading this & fancies a go............... G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolverinebass Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Drummer problems? Tell me about it. About 18 months ago the band I was in lost our drummer as he moved up to Sheffield. Fantastic guy and an amazingly talented drummer. We tried for (I kid ye not!!) a year to find someone who was even decent. Not a hope in hell. In London. My brother said "so what you're saying is that in a city like London with the population of Scotland you can't find someone even remotely decent?!!" The final straw was when I saw an ad on Gumtree which was for an available drummer. I clicked it open and read it. The influences were all there and I thought this might be worth a go. However, getting to the bottom of it, it said (this isn't a joke either), "I've been playing for 4 months - PAID WORK ONLY." I felt physically sick. Look anywhere these days and all of them say that. Paid work only. Funny thing was how most were only just okay and didn't really stand out as anything special or great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtcat Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 About two years ago we reluctantly took on a drummer who would only do paid gigs. A great drummer and a nice guy but it put us under a lot of pressure. Two years on we now have heaps of really well paid gigs which we would never have gone for without his demands for cash. In hindsight he has forced us to get our arses in gear and make the band work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='1172103' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:54 PM']Decent drummers have always been like gold dust. But finding [i]any[/i] kind of drummer seems to be an uphill slog these days, particularly if you're out in the boonies like me.[/quote] The last band I did went through a ton of drummers. They were easy to find but either not good enough or borderline psychotic. My current band I was lucky because the singer's twin brother is a drummer. Saved us years of fruitless searching. What's frustrating is I know a lot of the lads in bands who are aged 18-24-ish and there are so many really talented drummers at their disposal, I know a couple who've actually switched to vox and guitar because there were so many good drummers! But there's just nobody in their late 20s or early 30s around here. Probably nobody above that age either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 [quote name='fatback' post='1172091' date='Mar 22 2011, 01:45 PM']Isn't that jazz [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 Be pro-active boys/girls. What you need to do is find a venue and start a jam night. I've started going to a jam night at the voodoo rooms in Edinburgh (where I live). It's a great venue with a good PA and the guy who organises it has even got Guitar Guitar (the music shop) to sponsor it. You provide the backline and get a load of different musicians up to jam. A lot of the musos who turn up are at loose end or bandless and actively looking for a others to play with. It's like an extended audition and you can try before you buy because you hear them play before you buy them a pint and ask them to join your band. After a few weeks you'll have a whole room full of eager musicians to pick and choose from. Problem solved and a good time into the bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted March 23, 2011 Share Posted March 23, 2011 Our band started about 5 years ago. The front man left after 2 years. Finding a singer was impossible, although we kept on going as a 3-piece band for a year or so. In a seriously poor piece of timing the singer returned to the fold, and the drummer left on the same day (excellent drummer too). We did find a new drummer (also on this site as he plays bass too) fairly quickly. The original drummer then asked if we would forgive him as it was the worst call he had ever made. A couple of very awkward phone calls later (drummer 2 is a top banana) we are back in the Mark 1 line up. We are all on "are you feeling lucky, punk" type "contracts" now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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