Advice/tips needed

[Huw Foster]

Evening all,

I've just put myself in that classic situation. I've moved back in with my parents after 4 years away - three of them in uni at Leeds, and another year after I graduated until I decided I didn't want to hang around any longer (no offence intended to Leeds, as I'll explain). For now I'm based in Surrey, which means I'm a train journey (only twice an hour and getting back after 11.30pm is nigh on impossible, but a train journey nonetheless) away from Waterloo. Not ideal, but it could be worse. The following will spur me on to move somewhere with better access to London anyway:

I'm back down south as I intend to further my career as bass player - sessions, touring, whatever. Call me big headed, but I honestly believe I'm good enough to do so, although I will inevitably be a bit green in some respects. Also, call me closed-minded, but it seems to me that London is the only place where I can effectively network with the right people.

Apologies for the spiel, I'll get to the substance of it now - any tips?

I'll expand on that anyway, as it's a bit of a vague question. Through speaking to various friends/acquaintances/contacts I know that arguably the most important factor (assuming all the obvious things like knowing what string to hit at the right time) is 'who you know', and similarly, getting along with people. Obviously, open mics and jam sessions are one of the most effective ways to get your foot in the door, but I'm not clued up on any particular nights. Any help in that respect would be massively appreciated!

I've already been to a couple of open mics, got up and played (better than I thought I would), made some useful contacts. But I'm still unsure on where's best to go, and when.

That's it for now. If anyone has any other advice I might not have thought to ask about (i.e. good websites for this sort of thing - I'm already registered on UK Music Jobs but I might have overlooked some), please don't hesitate to say so. Even if you think it's obvious. I'm a bit of an idiot sometimes.

(Please excuse me if this has already been done, but I had a quick look and couldn't find anything.)

Cheers!

Huw

[teen t-shirt]

if your looking for a band or just looking for other muso's to jam with i suggest you take a look at the london section on www.joinmyband.co.uk its free to register and i've gotten in contact with some bands in my area through that so give it a go can't hurt...

good luck

[OldGit]

Assuming you are Male/Female
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=94884&view=findpost&p=893447"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=893447[/url]

[thepurpleblob]

Caveat... I'm not a professional bass player so what do I know, however, using a variety of experiences.. Being "good enough to do it" (I assume you mean bass playing ability) will be about 5% of the issue at hand. You are up against loads of people who are "good enough" and most likely a whole load who are better.

If you want to become a pro bass player you need to think in terms of being a self-employed professional. That means you need to start to hussle for work - things that pay your rent. There are lots of things you can do - teach, join a good wedding band, join any other band that will pay money, etc. etc..... You also need to get your name about. Being out playing is probably the most important but a bit of self promotion can't hurt. Get a professional looking web site to advertise what you do. Get business cards. Look and act the part. A lot of being successful at anything is bluff. Sit back and it won't come to you.

And... you can read music can't you??

Just my $00.02.

Edited July 14, 2010 by thepurpleblob

[harvey1-8]

Find a session fixer and get on his/her books.

[Bilbo]

If you read, you work more. If you don't, learn now - its not hard. Contact Jakesbass in Aldershot for lessons if you need to learn to read. Find a big band (contacts with 28 other musicians overnight). There are a couple over that way. Play everywhere and anywhere you can in the early days to make contacts but be careful not to work too publicly with terrible musicians that make you sound bad - you can get a bad rep if you are not at least a little discerning. Contact other bass players to see if there is any dep work - pretty much every good gig I have had has been someone elses cast off.

And keep at it.....the only way forward is to be tenacious. Don't give up when it gets tough. You aren't going to get kicked out of your house if you don't make the mortgage so get stuck in and make a living for yourself. Think of it as building a business. And pay your tax.

Good luck, mate.

[Huw Foster]

Cheers for the tips so far - some of them I've been working on already, but it's good to hear some reinforcement of those ideas.

I'll also reiterate the main point of the topic - [b]can anyone recommend any jam sessions/open mics in and around London?[/b]

I neglected to mention I am already making a decent-ish living from playing functions at weekends (it's seasonal though - right now we're in the middle of wedding season, but other times of year are relatively quiet). I'm registered self-employed, and very occasionally I do education-based work.

Good point about business cards. I've been meaning to get some printed for a while now, and I'm on to that as I type this.

I know I should be playing with whoever I can, albeit with a little caution - if I swap details or am given a contact, a sneaky google search doesn't hurt. Failing that, I can try asking around for reputation.

Joining a big band is an approach I hadn't thought of, perhaps as my jazz playing isn't my strongest asset, but I'd be able to blag enough to consider it.

I know a couple of other bassists who are doing some fairly high profile touring work at the moment, so I'll definitely be in touch to ask about deps.

As for my sight reading ability.... well, it's not terrible, but it's not great either. I'm in no way confident enough to read an entire gig, or perhaps a song, for example. It's something I've been half-heartedly working on for a while, but I'll give it more priority as of now. I actually bought a book called Simplified Sight Reading for Bass through a recommendation on this very forum, so getting through that would be a good start.

Thanks again, keep 'em coming!

Huw

[thepurpleblob]

Do you look the part?

I know a few professional musicians and they are all incredibly narcissistic - all of them. It makes me think that when you go up for that gig you really do need to have the "MTV look" or whatever you want to call it. This probably also means that you have to play a battered old Precision/Jazz and have an Ampeg rig.

EDIT:
Oh, you have a Stingray. Proper bass - that'll do

Edited July 14, 2010 by thepurpleblob

[Huw Foster]

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='894827' date='Jul 14 2010, 04:21 PM']Do you look the part?

I know a few professional musicians and they are all incredibly narcissistic - all of them. It makes me think that when you go up for that gig you really do need to have the "MTV look" or whatever you want to call it. This probably also means that you have to play a battered old Precision/Jazz and have an Ampeg rig.

EDIT:
Oh, you have a Stingray. Proper bass - that'll do [/quote]
Image wise, I've been making more of a conscious effort lately. Bear in mind, I works with what I gots (receding hairline ). I don't think I'd look out of place in a touring backing band, for example.

For business card purposes I'll most likely use photos from a recent photo shoot with my function band, which itself is going for the corporate dollar with a co-ordinated image. We're all going for the sharp suits look, skinny tie etc. Perhaps it's a bit too 'function' for my own purposes (would it be worth getting a few 'casual' photos done?), but it's better than the 'catering staff' look (all black) we were rocking up until a few months back.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Huwberry' post='894843' date='Jul 14 2010, 04:38 PM']Image wise, I've been making more of a conscious effort lately. Bear in mind, I works with what I gots (receding hairline ). I don't think I'd look out of place in a touring backing band, for example.

For business card purposes I'll most likely use photos from a recent photo shoot with my function band, which itself is going for the corporate dollar with a co-ordinated image. We're all going for the sharp suits look, skinny tie etc. Perhaps it's a bit too 'function' for my own purposes (would it be worth getting a few 'casual' photos done?), but it's better than the 'catering staff' look (all black) we were rocking up until a few months back.[/quote]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=94329&view=findpost&p=888822"]Get a hat[/url] ..

These people make great looking business cards (and the rest)
Sale on now too.
[url="http://www.goodprint.co.uk/?dm_i=WZ,6Z3G,1RZC1G,H9S6,1"]http://www.goodprint.co.uk/?dm_i=WZ,6Z3G,1RZC1G,H9S6,1[/url]

[Huw Foster]

[quote name='OldGit' post='894881' date='Jul 14 2010, 05:29 PM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=94329&view=findpost&p=888822"]Get a hat[/url] ..[/quote]
Haha yeah I saw that earlier. Good stuff, and kudos to whoever organised the Basschat discount.

Hats are a funny one for me. If I find a hat that I don't think makes me look like a prick, then I'll inevitably wear it so much that everyone thinks I looks like a prick.

Edited July 14, 2010 by Huwberry

[OldGit]

[quote name='Huwberry' post='894930' date='Jul 14 2010, 06:37 PM']Haha yeah I saw that earlier. Good stuff, and kudos to whoever organised the Basschat discount.

Hats are a funny one for me. If I find a hat that I don't think makes me look like a prick, then I'll inevitably wear it so much that everyone thinks I looks like a prick.[/quote]

Ha ha thanks.. That was me (polishes nails)

[Huw Foster]

Progress! Well, in some respects. And if anyone cares. I've got a website [url="http://www.huwfoster.co.uk"]up and running[/url], even if it is just a single page linking to my culminated web presence. Should only be temporary, but it was the best I could muster with my rusty knowledge of HTML.

Business cards have been sent off for printing! I'm excited about those, they look ace.

So, I'm all primed and ready to blag! Haha.

Still haven't found a hat though.

[BenTunnicliffe]

Congrats on getting your website Huwberry and business cards are the most useful things EVER.
Scribing your number on a beermat is never very dignified....not that I've ever done that.

I agree with thepurplebob that it is more about putting yourself in situations where you meet people than how well you play and in situations where there are two things on off clashing on the same night I have more often found it much more beneficial to take the non-paying gig with people I've never met before than to take the gig I've done loads of times that puts a bit in my pocket.

Reading isn't vital and there are loads of musicians who've got by without it but seeing as you are [b]competing[/b] for work having things like good reading skills is just one other way to tip the scales in your favour as was mentioned by Bilbo and if you learn to do it the skill's just sitting there waiting to be used.

I'd also add that taking up double bass is an incredibly wise move as it opens doors quicker than you'd imagine and i'm sure Bilbo will second that in no time.....

Keep us all posted with what's been working for you, can't hurt to learn from each other's experiences.

Good luck mate.
Ben.