When did you join your first band?

[Bass Novice]

One of my main objectives in learning the bass is to join a band, it looks like it would be a ton of fun. I know I am not ready yet, but also I don't know, or how I will know, when I am ready.

 

When did you know when you were ready to join your first band, what's your band story about how did it come about?

 

 

 

 

[AndyTravis]

I got a bass to join a band. 1997.

 

Learned on the job, first gig was April 1998.

[Geek99]

To answer your question, I think it will be when you watch a pub gig and think “.i could have played that gig”

 

[ezbass]

Probably not helpful, but I joined my first band in my early teens, albeit on guitar. We were mostly fairly bad, so it didn’t matter. Because I had already many years of playing in bands on guitar, when I switched to bass it was with the intention of joining a band in pretty short order. I don’t remember how soon it was after jumping ship, but I’m going to guess at 3-12 months.

 

4 minutes ago, AndyTravis said:

I got a bass to join a band. 1997.

 

One of the reasons I moved to bass was to get more gigs, I think it was 2000 (I’d previously moved to bass in the early ‘80s, but I was asked to join a band on guitar and went down that rabbit hole again for a good while).

 

10 minutes ago, Bass Novice said:

When did you know when you were ready to join your first band, what's your band story about how did it come about?

Try going to some open mic events, once you’re comfortable jamming with others, you’re ready for a band.

[Lozz196]

Started playing at 15, I’d been in “sortof” bands with mates since I was 16 , the type where you say you’re a band but have never actually done anything other than make a racket with no-one playing anything remotely like the others who are also doing the same.

 

At just turned 21 I bought my first decent bass, a Yamaha BB1100s, about a month later joined a proper established originals gigging band. So I suppose I must have known in the back of my mind that I’d outgrown the sortofs and was ready to apply myself better. Within 3 months I was gigging all over the country.

[mr4stringz]

As soon as you can. You learn so much more playing with others than just playing on your own (fnar).

 

[asingardenof]

When I was 22 with some mates from school, bit that lasted a summer. Next band wasn't for another 23 years, so may as well be considered my first; certainly my first proper band anyway.

[snorkie635]

1975 and have never really stopped. Gigging within five months. Go for a gig as soon as you can, it'll teach you more about playing than any number or rehearsals. Remember to let the bar-owner or whomever, know that the gig will be a first and not to expect slick professionalism (unless you're already there?). Good luck.

[KiOgon]

Four mates who all lived within spitting distance, each had a guitar, so we got together 'as they say', I was 12 or 13, so 1963/4. Roger had a decent 6 string, Frank was a leftie, his Mum bought him a special, Derek's older brother gave him a set of old drums, my Dad made a bass for me and that was it! Months of practise later we were playing at youth clubs, then bolder and braver gigs at village halls etc. followed by years of swapping players/bands gigging local but never 'making it big' 😐

[bassbiscuits]

Began playing in 1986 and did first gig for a Xmas party in school in 1988. 

[PaulWarning]

joined my first band in 1979, and I'm still in it,  the only original member though, and it did have a 25 year hiatus 

[MichaelDean]

My brother wanted to play guitar and got me to start playing bass when I was 13. It was really useful having someone else to play with from the off. We could both learn a song and play it together. I think we played our first gig when I was 15 with his mate on drums. 

[thodrik]

Joined my first band at 11 in 1998 with the rest of the band being two years older than me. We won a local battle of the bands the year competing against adults. Started doing paid gigs (mostly covers gigs with three hour sets) after that and it was a great source of pocket money for a while.
 

By the age of 17 I was so fed up of playing covers that I decided I would only play in originals bands from then on. Though when playing in a ‘signed’ band at 22 I was making less than I did per night playing covers gigs at 14.

I was pretty rubbish when I started and was weak member of the band. I only got halfway decent by about 15.

 

[Guest]

Wanted a bass when I was 13, but got talked into getting a guitar instead. I had been playing the piano and so on since I was six, so I progressed quickly and at 15 was definitely Good For Only 15. Three guys from the year above me at school asked me to play lead. We did one set of seven covers (Beatles, Pistols, Zeppelin, Van Halen) .... and that was my peak nicely passed lol. Three years later, and I was finally playing bass, but not for any good reasons.

[Bassassin]

Blimey. 1981, aged 19. I'd been playing bass for 3 years & jamming with various mates but nothing came to anything. I knew my way around the bass reasonably well by then, so joined a local originals band looking for a bassist, was out gigging within a couple of months.

[fretmeister]

1989.

 

About 3 months before our first gig. We did 3 AC/DC tunes. I was on guitar then.

I had been playing for about a year.

[Steve Browning]

I joined the Beatles at 17. We were a college band in Portsmouth playing Clash and Feelgood songs. Eventually the local paper refused to print the name. I had been playing since the age of 4, but found my vocation on bass at about 14.

[msb]

We played at the school when I was in Grade 7. We were awful , but didn’t know any better. 
 

 

[casapete]

Around 1973. Same as a lot of people - got together with some guys at school, first gig in

the youth club doing rock covers and then some other stuff in villages around here. My

dad would take me and my gear to rehearsals and gigs until I got my own car at 17.

The band finished when some of us went away to uni, and I joined another band in Hull

and then started doing clubs and pubs with them all over Yorkshire and the north east. 
Looking back it was a steep but invaluable learning curve which I wouldn’t have missed

for the world. 😊

[Leonard Smalls]

I taught myself "bass" by playing along to Bootsy records on the bottom 4 strings of an acoustic guitar.

Then about a month later went to a m8's party, there were some instruments and a few of us had a jam, which is how the band formed.

We had our first gig after about a month at the Tartan Bar, Leeds Uni then a week later at The Warehouse in Leeds. Basically it was me playing a simple groove on a borrowed Gibson short scale - it belonged to Jez, who played a bit of guitar with us and later became the Utah Saints with our drummer, who with us didn't so much drum as jump about with a drum machine strapped to a guitar body tapping out rhythms. We had Jay Rayner (!) on keys, Chris Haskett on guitar (later went to join Henry Rollins!), Andy from Cassandra Complex on guitar with final guitar being John (later in the Snapdragons). Our singer was another Andy, who went on to be singer for the New Fast Automatic Daffodils. And it was chaos!

Somehow we're still playing occasionally - and recording our first album (it's only taken 40 years) though with only the 2 Andys, John and KeithTheDrums. Though We've largely dropped "Dredd", "And" and "Badass" from our name calling ourselves simply, The Weeds.

[Heathy]

Me and my friends started a band at school. I couldn’t play anything, but had a Casio keyboard that had drum patterns on it.  It was nearly 2 years later I bought a bass to secure my place in the band!

 

I would advise anyone to join a band as soon as possible. It’s a great way to learn.

[dclaassen]

Played in school jazz band at 16. Did a lot of jazz and pit work whilst at Uni. Joined a country band at 19…first paid gigs.

[NancyJohnson]

I borrowed a Watkins bass and a WEM Dominator from a bloke a few doors down.  I guess I was 14 or 15.

 

We had a three piece band, sharp learning curve, then through sixth-form this kind of expanded to a group of about eight to ten members and it all got a bit interchangeable. 

 

Some 40 years on, over half of our merry band make a living from the music business; two run a successful mastering business, another writes/produces/sessions, others are touring musicians/session players, one has a career in set design (TV and film).

 

My plans dissolved about 35 years ago after a meeting with a Polydor A&R guy.  So close.  So far.

 

 

 

 

[neepheid]

I'm a late bloomer, I was in my early thirties and I wasn't ready.  I basically got dared on stage by the future Mrs. Neepheid to do a ska/2 tone covers thing for a birthday party with a one-off band back in 2008.  She believed I could do it and it seems she was right.  That first gig was a blur though - I barely remember being on stage, and I was stone cold sober!  I joined my first official band in 2009 - an originals band called Panda Eyes.  That was a good, low pressure introduction because it was very much driven by the guitarist and singer, the drummer and I were sidemen and this was made clear from the off - guitarist says to the drummer and I "if you want to write songs, go form another band".  That band is long gone, but on the upside, I've been playing in bands with the same drummer ever since.  I know when he's going to c0ck something up before he does

 

IMO you're never ready - I've been playing in bands for 15 years now and I still sometimes don't feel ready!  Just do it, and get better by doing it.

Edited November 19, 2023 by neepheid
You've taken that too far, swear filter...

[Franticsmurf]

First band (as in bunch of mates playing instruments vaguely coordinated and in tune) 1985 when we were writing originals and obviously we were going to be the next Yes/Genesis/Pink Floyd. 4 years and several personnel changes, reality checks etc, we played our first gig with a mixed setlist of covers and originals later described (to our horror) as 'Post Punk' by the landlord. 

 

Edit: We knew we were ready because there was no where else to go but gig; we'd recorded, played dress rehearsals, made videos.

 

Playing with a full line up and a goal (gig/recording) is a great way to progress. Playing with people better than you is even better.

 

Good luck.

Edited November 19, 2023 by Franticsmurf