The big thing I took from my time going to a local School of Rock, is that I want to play music with other people. It is more fun and will really push my skills. Playing a support instrument makes more sense with other musicians to support.
I am looking for advice on the best ways to find a group that is going to be a solid fit for my level of commitment.
This is a hobby. I have other things in my life. I don’t want to overextend myself. But I am passionate about my hobbies and like to put energy into them. I figure I can commit to rehearsing 1/week with an occasional gig on top (no more than 1/month).
Looking on my local FB, it seems like everyone wants more commitment than I’m prepared for.
Take some time and buildup your songs catalog and post it. YouTube actuaeelly a pretty good place to hook up too. If you check all their boxes they’d shoot you an email. That’s why all of my covers are unlisted. I don’t want anyone to contact me.
I used to setup a channel with the kind of music that I do on a gig I’d get several emails a week. I stopped doing it so quickly. Can’t be in another band 2 is already too much for me. The reason I joined the 2nd band because they let me play drums on any songs I want which in turned extended to my first band as well,
I know both drummers rolled their eyes and cringed when I played but I don’t care,
I posted on bandmix and CL. I was just looking for folks to jam with and I had lots of random folks and 2 bands tried to recruit me even after telling them how green I am.
I’m now a member of the 2nd band that reached out. They are super cool folks and possible long term friends. Now I stepped into more commitment than I’m ready for but I’m being pushed and my skills are REALLY growing at an amazing rate.
Do I need to be a great bass player? Maybe not I’m 44 and happily married with kids.
BUT
I’m learning quickly how to play well enough to have fun and enjoy bass. And at some point once I’m having fun I can choose wherever that goes.
For me, BandMix, a local Facebook musicians group and work.
Our singer is a colleague, the guitarist and drummer were from the other two ‘sources’. I was the instigator, pulling everyone together.
Basically, I figured it was easier to try to recruit, rather than join an established band. It took the pressure off, in that we would be getting together and creating the set / learning list, rather than joining a group that wanted me to learn 30 or 40 songs in 3 days…
I don’t know if it’s the cost thing but I like that’s not free. It reduces the crazies for at least half. If you are serious enough about this band finding thing, I’d just set aside $50 for 3 months and see if it works out for you.
If you have limited time available, I’d mentioned that up front. I’d imagine there are many people like you (and I) who’d just love to jam and wanting the same thing in others.
I really like the idea of a Bass Karaoke. Someone smarter here should get it going. I don’t have enough knowledge to setup something like that online with decent audio quality.
It’s like post your cover but live. It would have all of the element of live hangout and playing your bass part. It doesn’t have to be live I guess but it would help if it’s live.
If I have enough members nearby I’d love to host that at my restaurant and do a live hangout from there. I could even bring my drums, keys, and guitars if it helps, My restaurant has 2gb of internet, it should be plenty.
As @Al1885 said, the fact it’s not free is a good thing, plus there are free avenues one can pursue, such as FaceBook.
I found our guitarist through BandMix. I contacted maybe 8 to 10 people, spoke to 5 and found one person who seemed to fit in terms of their capability and goals.
This is kind of where I’ve landed too. I have much better odds of getting into the kind of group I want, playing the kind of music I want, if I start something myself. I also have the interpersonal and organizational skills to be a band leader. My main issue is that I don’t have a rehearsal space. So I’m really hoping to someday soon find my “soul mate drummer” who has a rehearsal space and full drum kit ready to go.
This also sounds like me, and may well be the direction I take. I have the same issue you’ve pointed out of not having space for a full drum kit.
I’m more than happy to organize and coordinate though.
I’ve got one friend who is learning full kit (he was a marching band drummer), but they’re about to have their first kid, so I doubt he’ll have the time, nor would he want a band practicing around a newborn.
Unless… there’s a chance I could get space set up at work around the new year. Would need a drum kit for it, but it would actually make for decent practice space.
We hire rehearsal studios. Around the area I live there are a number of studios - primarily old warehouse into which (more or less) sound proofed rooms have been inserted, complete with a drum kit, bass and guitar amps and a PA that the vocalist can plug into. When the cost is shared between 4 people, it generally works out at about £15 for three hours. Two rehearsals a months, £30 each, which feels pretty reasonable. Our main challenge is scheduling dates, coordinating our diaries with studio availability.
I think I’m also the de facto band leader as I do most of the organising. Regarding the set list, this is done by voting, with each having the power of veto…if we are all ok with 70% of the songs, we figure we’re ok. For example, I really don’t like CCR’s Bad Moon Rising - my goodness, it’s boring to play! I do like The Cure’s A Forest, but the drummer finds that as boring as, while the guitarist is in heaven!
My restaurant has 2gb of internet, it should be plenty.