Finding a band

[uk_lefty]

I used to look at scribbled ads on the wall in my local music shop that said "Bassist Wanted". Now I've recently moved to a new town, my old band are too far away sadly, I want to find a new band. Any advice on best places to get the search started?

I don't like the website ads, you get some right nutters, but i've tried here and Bandmix and am not getting far. I used to use Partysounds but with mixed results. Any other good websites? I'd love to go to some open mic nights and jam nights, see if I can find a band needing a bass player that way. Do you look for bands needing a bassist or do you look to set up a new band?

Any advice welcome

[icastle]

When I first moved up to the Midlands I knew absolutely nobody.

I went to an open mic night and got some contacts.

Within a month was playing in one band and depping for a number of others.
That grew and I'm now in three bands, depping has increased and I'm in and out of studios pretty much most months.

My advice would be to get yourself out there, do some networking and get into the local scene.

[TimR]

Have you setup a profile on Bandmix looking for other musicians or are you just trying to find bands looking for a bass player.

In my experience bands don't always advertise, but they do look (no idea why) and bandmix used to notify you if someone had look at your profile, even if they went no further. You can use that info to 'reverse engineer' an audition with people who look.

[JTUK]

Personally I might do a few jam nights to introduce myself but you would need to sift through
potential offers.... or be prepared to do most things ( gigs ) just to get yourself known
as available. You need to meet guys that like your playing and are also working in more than
one band as it is pick up bands that offer the most work and variety, IMO.
Basically if you are good enough and people know of you, you'll get work after a while

[James Nada]

When I got back to playing last year (after a 15 year break) I used joinmyband.co.uk. I placed an 'available' ad and replied to two or three wanted ads, one of which sounded promising and thats the great band I'm in.
Perhaps I was lucky but it was minimal effort.

[Bassnut62]

Gumtree is pretty good usually; also Join My Band

Edited May 7, 2015 by Bassnut62

[blue]

Depends on a lot of variables, where your at musically in your life right now. Are you a veteran, fairly new to bands, it depends.

I think before you look, you must clearly define what your looking for in a band, hobby, gigs, money ect...

Blue

[uk_lefty]

thanks guys - got to get out and about to see some good music soon anyway and fancy dusting off the guitar and singing at a few open mics. I'm trying joinmyband too.

I'm only looking for a band to play in for fun, don't expect to earn anything at all from it. My last band was not the best musicians I've ever played with but the best mates I've made through music which made it far better than the 'serious' bands i've been in before. Also I find out of those taking themselves seriously, some really shouldn't be.

[blue]

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1431034353' post='2767252']
thanks guys - got to get out and about to see some good music soon anyway and fancy dusting off the guitar and singing at a few open mics. I'm trying joinmyband too.

I'm only looking for a band to play in for fun, don't expect to earn anything at all from it. My last band was not the best musicians I've ever played with but the best mates I've made through music which made it far better than the 'serious' bands i've been in before. Also I find out of those taking themselves seriously, some really shouldn't be.
[/quote]

You should have no problem, finding a "for fun" opportunity should happen rather quickly. Networking at open misc sounds like a good idea.

Blue

Edited May 10, 2015 by blue

[RickyV]

I used Joinmyband to get our band together. First just answering an ad to hook up with a like-minded guitarist then responding to a singer looking for a band and finally putting our own ad in looking for a drummer, to which we had many replies and tried 2 or 3 different drummers before settling on our current one. This all happened within the space of about 6 weeks, so it can work. There will always be the nutters and the deluded out there but you may get lucky as I think we probably did. Definitely worth a try tho.

[Lw.]

I found most of the sites like joinmyband & bandmix etc.. to be a bit of a waste of time to be honest - most success I've had has been through gumtree. Don't post an available ad though as you get inundated with mentalists but have a little trawl through & see if any of the bands take your interest - both of my current bands were already established so it was quite easy to google them after reading the ad to get an idea of sound & also whether they looked "normal", or at least normal enough.

If you're looking for a specific type of music, going to loads of the local gigs of that type & generally chatting to people is a good idea too - you never know what might show up.

[NoRhino]

Narrow your search down to what you really want. This filters out unsuitable responses.

This kind of wording worked for me on Gumtree.

"Experienced bass player looking for working blues band" Include a link to a short clip of you playing live.

Edited May 8, 2015 by NoRhino

[inthedoghouse]

I used JoinMyBand after a couple of years away from being in a band.

It worked really well for me and I'm with a band I'm happy with. It did take a while of frustration though, trawling through ads that weren't 'me'.

Good luck!

[Skybone]

Local Gumtree, and the good old Ad's in the local Music Shops / rehearsal spaces.

[Nicko]

Joinmyband, but be prepared to sift through the s**t. I found it much easier joping an existing set up than trying to start from scratch.

[Phil Starr]

If you are after playing covers or the pub scene generally have a look in Lemonrock. bands have to pay to have a site in there so it is populated by gigging bands from hobby bands through to semi pro. Cuts out a lot of the bedroom dreamers so you are likely to find a functioning band a bit quicker.

[Bradwell]

I've just been through the process of finding a new band after quitting my last one.

Put up an ad on join my band and got a few replies, couple of auditions later and I've found what I'm after: Originals rock band, 2 gigs booked for late July, their second EP in the works. Plenty to keep me interested so I'm pretty happy about things right now.

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1431034353' post='2767252']
I'm only looking for a band to play in for fun, don't expect to earn anything at all from it. My last band was not the best musicians I've ever played with but the best mates I've made through music which made it far better than the 'serious' bands i've been in before. Also I find out of those taking themselves seriously, some really shouldn't be.
[/quote]

Be clear about what you want from the outset - compatible musical style is a must. Starting a band from scratch will be much more difficult than joining one that's already set up and running. Is it important that you play gigs or compose music? Find some people who are roughly your level in terms of experience and skill.

There's plenty of people up for thrashing the hell out of their amps and drinking beer one evening a week, plenty of others with delusions of stardom. Stick with it, take a relaxed attitude to meeting other musicians and the right opportunities will come along eventually.

[Marc S]

I met a few musicians and bands needing a bassist, via gumtree and joinmyband
However, most of those people were timewasters - maybe it was just a bad period to look for a band at that time?
Or maybe it's just the musicians and bands locally to me?

I met loads of musicians and joined a couple of bands, as a direct result of going to a local folk club
And they're not all necessarily "folk" musicians
Met quite a few at open-mic nights too

On recent visits to music shops, I don't see many ads posted the "old fashioned way" any more...

Good luck with your search

[Bradwell]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1431516501' post='2772065']
I met a few musicians and bands needing a bassist, via gumtree and joinmyband
However, most of those people were timewasters - maybe it was just a bad period to look for a band at that time?
Or maybe it's just the musicians and bands locally to me?
[/quote]

There's plenty of them, best to be very clear on what you want and know what warning signs to look out for. Ask questions from the outset and drop anyone with a badly unprofessional approach. Don't be afraid to call out people if you think they're full of bull**** either (although you will need to phrase it as constructive criticism).

It's great to have a band that are all good friends, but my priorities above that are to be playing bass, pushing my creativity / ability and getting gigs.

I would make sure they have most of the following: somewhere to practice, decent quality gear, A PA speaker and microphone for the singer, transport, some experience of playing in bands etc.

Should think that internet ads are biased towards younger bands who are less likely to have all of the above.

[Marc S]

Yes indeed Bradwell
I answered one ad, where the band cited the Kinks, The Beatles and Rolling Stones as their influneces
the ad also stated "Age not important"

I messaged them, and they asked how old I was
I firstly ignored this, thinking "if they're the bands' influences - why would that matter?"

We then exchanged phone numbers, and I was asked immmediately
"How old are you?" - I replied that the ad said it didn't matter
And the guy said "Well, it doesn't, but we don't want no 16 year old, nor a pensioner, like someone over 40"

So I replied "So if Paul McCartney or Bill Wymann turned up for the audition - you'd tell them to f*** off, would you?"
The phone went silent, apart from the whirring of cogs - so I hung up!

The flip side lately is, I've worked with some great musicians
some of them much younger than me, and who have no problem working with musos of any age
The folk band I'm in now range from early 60's to late 20's
... and it's all the better for it

Perhaps the example I mentioned first, has put me off meeting bands via online methods?

Edited May 14, 2015 by Marc S

[blue]

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1431592273' post='2772823']
Yes indeed Bradwell
I answered one ad, where the band cited the Kinks, The Beatles and Rolling Stones as their influneces
the ad also stated "Age not important"

I messaged them, and they asked how old I was
I firstly ignored this, thinking "if they're the bands' influences - why would that matter?"

We then exchanged phone numbers, and I was asked immmediately
"How old are you?" - I replied that the ad said it didn't matter
And the guy said "Well, it doesn't, but we don't want no 16 year old, nor a pensioner, like someone over 40"

So I replied "So if Paul McCartney or Bill Wymann turned up for the audition - you'd tell them to f*** off, would you?"
The phone went silent, apart from the whirring of cogs - so I hung up!

The flip side lately is, I've worked with some great musicians
some of them much younger than me, and who have no problem working with musos of any age
The folk band I'm in now range from early 60's to late 20's
... and it's all the better for it

Perhaps the example I mentioned first, has put me off meeting bands via online methods?
[/quote]

I have seen many cool young contemporary bands on The David Letterman Show and often they will have older guys on keys or bass.I am talking about guys well over 50.
.
If the guy was so narrow as to exclude a pensioner,sight unseen the band is probably on it's way to [i]"nowheresville"[/i]

Blue

[chrismuzz]

To be honest, as much as the internet can be a good place to find a band, when I think about it I have never actually joined a band from it. It's always been through friends or at least friends of friends. However, I went to my first jam night a couple of months ago and I was offered a spot playing in a band that very evening... Even if you're not, they are great fun and you might find yourself playing stuff you'd never have tried on your own. It's good to get thrown out of your comfort zone once in a while! I say try every option available and be open minded, because you never know what might come along!

[blue]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1431634048' post='2773540']
To be honest, as much as the internet can be a good place to find a band, when I think about it I have never actually joined a band from it. It's always been through friends or at least friends of friends. However, I went to my first jam night a couple of months ago and I was offered a spot playing in a band that very evening... Even if you're not, they are great fun and you might find yourself playing stuff you'd never have tried on your own. It's good to get thrown out of your comfort zone once in a while! I say try every option available and be open minded, because you never know what might come along!
[/quote]

Any bands I have discovered through the internet were start ups by wannabes that never went anywhere.

I had seen my band perform and I knew they gigged a lot, so I persued them. It turned out they we're looking to go a different direction for bass guitar and backing vocals. I auditioned a few times and they finally offered me the job. That was 4 years ago,were still going strong and it was one of the few good things that has come my way in music.

Blue

Edited May 15, 2015 by blue

[Bradwell]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1431649207' post='2773705']
Any bands I have discovered through the internet were start ups by wannabes that never went anywhere.

I had seen my band perform and I knew they gigged a lot, so I persued them. It turned out they we're looking to go a different direction for bass guitar and backing vocals. I auditioned a few times and they finally offered me the job. That was 4 years ago,were still going strong and it was one of the few good things that has come my way in music.

Blue
[/quote]

Generally I'd agree with that. Most of the ads that are put up are for start up projects, you can tell from the way they're written there's not much scope for anything other than thrashing instruments in a basement.

I did get a message from a guitarist who seemed really experienced - already playing in two other bands, looking to start up another project, ex-recording artist having done thousands of gigs. I politely explained that I would probably not be up to his standard.

The originals band I joined have done a couple of gigs with two more booked for July (possibly one in mid June so I will have to be up to speed pretty quick, home recorded an EP and working on their second. I basically skipped the first year of a band's life where they define their sound, write songs, hire / fire a bunch of people and sort out all the initial logistical rubbish (did that with my last band, they're still several months away from gigging).

It only took a month to find this band but I feel like I got lucky. I plan on sticking with this one, but intend to make enough contacts with decent musicians in the local music scene (through gigs) to fit straight into a good band if I have to change.

[Skybone]

I've always used the "dick-head test" when meeting a potential band. If I think one or all of them are dick-heads, then I'll not join the band. Been in too many situations in the past where the band goes nowhere because of the dick-heads involved, and annoyingly, you knew they were dick-heads the instant you met them.