ha ha faa_Q Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Hey everyone - I´ve arrived to the point where I don´t want to wait any longer for a good opportunity to fall in my lap, and I have decided to start my own group. It´ll be the first time that I have done so - bassists usually are the ones getting the calls, not making them, so this will be a new experience. Anyway, what advice would you give to someone who´s starting a group from scratch? (It´s kind of a latin-flamenco-fusion group I want to start) Thanks -- -- Jimmy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohhhhh6 Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Although I don't really have any experience I advise you to find a good singer. A singer is probably the most important thing to a band because most people (especially people who don't play instruments) like the singer the most. My other advise is to maybe try putting ads up for people who want to be in a band. That's my 2 cents. In Skynyrd We Trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted April 13, 2003 Share Posted April 13, 2003 Make a cd of songs you like, things that are similar to what you will be doing. Post ads on bulletin boards, maybe put an ad in a local free newspaper. Send a copy of the cd to all interested people, tell them to call you back if they still want to audition. This will weed out all the people who aren't really interested in the type of material that you will be doing. Specify three songs from the cd that you want to do at the audition. That way you will see how prepared people are, how interested they really are. Good luck and have fun! Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeR Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 I'm gonna offer my two cents worth, because I've not only been there, lost it all (and I mean everything, even been homeless for a little while), and in spite of the temptation of jumping off a bridge or something else stupid, I'm still kicking around, making trouble when it needs to be done, and I'm sure as hell not about to give in!! I'm gonna post this because I've survived a helluva lot of trouble in the past few years and you might benefit from my experience. If you're just starting out and aren't making any money, you'd better all be able to get along, so definitely I'd say make sure the personalities are reasonably compatible. Sure, you can't make diamonds without a little heat and pressure, but too much heat burns everything up and too much pressure crushes everything as well. So even if a person plays like (insert your favorite instrumentalist's name here) yet he or she is a complete jerk, you'd be better off to say no to that one, lose the great chops and all, and give someone else a chance, even if they may be less qualified in terms of chops. If there's a disagreement, and you bet there will be, make sure the people you select are mature and calm enough to remember the world won't end just because someone disagrees about something, or that harmful words, once said, can never be fully taken back. Don't get involved with drug/booze addicts either, otherwise you and everyone else in the group ends up being sucked into all of the drug/booze problems this person may have (this is a really big problem among musicians I know of in my area, that's why I mention it.) I know this will be hard to achieve but at least keep it in mind. Someone with those kinds of substance problems belongs in a 12 step program, not in a band, so don't even contemplate it. This is going to be a long term commitments, through storms, lost jobs, etc....so: 1) don't become a music-Nazi or a band-Nazi. 2) learn to be extremely patient even if it takes years to assemble the band you're looking for. 3) prepare to become an adult babysitter and psychologist because people need leniency when the crassness of real life intrudes.......example? It's like when I tried forming my own band a few years ago. Great guitarist lined up, nice guy he was, and the singer was WOW!!!!!!! Classically trained voice, gorgeous natural beauty, brilliant and a genuinely nice lady, no big ego issues or anything crazy! And then suddenly there were multiple deaths in my guitarist's family in the span of like 2 months. Then he lost his job. But then his wife got a good job, but it was across the border so they packed up and moved to New Jersey. Then the singer decided to return to university to get a degree. Then I lost my job and the story goes on from there......bankruptcy, loss of possessions, gamble on a job out west that didn't work out, lost everything out there, no place to go.....sounds like a country song, eh!! But there's no sense in getting mad.....after all, when everything falls apart, who you gonna get mad AT? That's life! We're born naked and without a name even, and when we leave, we don't carry a thing with us. You work hard, try your best, and a bolt of lightning can come any moment and BOOM, it's all gone. And nobody is immune to this, not even Billy Gates, not the President, not the Pope or anyone! Look at those folks on the East coast of Canada, they got flooded out of their homes, families and all. Look around the world, lot's of bad things happening! So you gotta be prepared to know it can happen and in spite of it, as a band leader, still be able to keep your head held up high and believe in your dream. Persevere because you LOVE what you're doing, because it resonates with what you believe to be good for you. Always keep that in mind! It's not for the money, the glory, the fame, the prestige, the popularity, the sex (ha! Yea, right!)....No way man! None of that crap matters when the sun goes down and you close your eyes for the night. Do it because you love it and because you sincerely believe, deep down inside you, that it's the right and only choice you could possibly live with. Cool? Now go and give it your best shot, and best wishes!!! On a positive note, I'm back to working a full time day job, I'm in a place of my own with my wife and son again, I have two basses, an amp, and I'm in a band even if we're not gigging yet! So if I can do it, bloody well anyone can do it too! Good luck! Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; one lick and you suck forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Great post George, you said it all. Good luck Jimmy. Have MEGA FUN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike F. Posted April 16, 2003 Share Posted April 16, 2003 damn george...damn Double what we got o mr. roboto Double Double Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeR Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Sorry folks......I don't mean to bring anyone down, but there is one thing I neglected and it's a most important thing. No man is an island. So when you discover who you can rely on, when you discover who really cares for your music and your ideas as much as you do, or just plain gives a damn about you, don't take them for granted, ever! Don't ever take advantage of them but don't forget them either, and by all means let them help you! The only way I got out of the hole I was in, was through the help of friends and family who, once they learned of how things were going for me, put forth efforts I can never hope to repay. What's that song......"All we need is love"...man, doesn't it say it all! Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; one lick and you suck forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike F. Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 remember what paul simon say george? i am a rock, i am an island... because a rock feels no pain and an island never cries ferocious monster that people probably think of me, damn song can bring me to tears if i let it Double what we got o mr. roboto Double Double Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmt Posted April 17, 2003 Share Posted April 17, 2003 Well, this thread got real serious (not in a bad way, those were all good contributions). A group is a group of people, and it's all going to begin and end there. I'd add, that if this is an originals band, work out a number of your own songs - and keep some good ones in reserve. If you start a band but can't come up with new material as fast as some of the other guys, you may find the band slipping out of your "control" as the other guys keep coming up with new stuff. Unless you're a control freak, of course expect the band to morph in directions you wouldn't have anticipated. But, if you don't have new material to contribute down the road a bit, the band will really turn more into the contributer's (or contributers') show. Of course, musical performance and even showmanship can help keep you a vital member, as well as other things like simply owning the van! Each situation's different, but just my two cents. You don't want to go to all the trouble of starting a band just to have it turn into something you don't really like all that much and eventually get kicked out or leave in ill feelings. That recently happened to my best friend. He started a band and was eventually frozen out (not actually kicked out, but the feeling was getting real chilly so he never came back - and they never called). I was in the band too, and eventually dropped out since it was a LOT of work, going in a different direction and it just basically felt less fun without my friend and long time musical partner there. The band went on to local success and they're gigging around town. I'm still good friends with both the group members and my bud, but it was another little life lesson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted April 18, 2003 Share Posted April 18, 2003 george is right. it's now time for everyone to get pissed at the ol' e (thus the "bastid" designation): musicians are by nature flakes. i have a very good formula for forming a band or finding a replacement musician. take out ads for musicians. try to be specific at first. first and foremost find a drummer then move on to the other positions you want to fill focusing on what seems to you and your drummer to be the most focal for creating a musical base to stand on and then fill out from here. NOW HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART!!!!! get some kind of voicemail and prescreen the people who call. slash out people who don't seem to have similar interests (this will be most important when trying to narrow down ubiquitous guitar players). then once you find people you think you might click with, hang out with them first. get a few beers. talk. this way you know what the guy is all about: wether or not he's a flake, drug addict, or just plain asshole who you won't get along with. once you've decided you can work with the guy, go and jam with him and make your decision. good luck! Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
earljam Posted April 18, 2003 Share Posted April 18, 2003 jimmy- what george said and bastid too. i just co-started my first band, the fourth band i've played in and no amount of money will mitigate the bummer of playing with assholes no matter how talented. having said that, try to play with the best players that will let you hang around; i'm weakest player in our band but the weakest player is in the best spot to improve musically. if you're good under pressure just book a gig for about six weeks after you finalize personnel- you will practice. ------------------------------------------------- if a frog had wings, he wouldn't whomp his ass a hoppin' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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