Ugh... This couldn't get any worse...

[Randy13]

Alright so, I recently (within the last two weeks) used craigslist to search for band members in my area. I found me a guitarist. We met in person became good friends and enjoy playing together. I asked him if he knew anyone that played drums. He's like: "Yeah. My best friend plays drums and he's really good. I'll ask him to play with us." I was like: "Awesome!" Now everything was going great. We just needed to find a singer. Well, no luck so far. But we decided to jam together anyway. The three of us sounded great together (me, the guitarist, amd drummer). I thought "This will be amazing, if we just find a singer." Well, here's the bad part. Our freaking drummer quit the band. Said it wasn't his style of music (he's more of a metal person than punk person). Now, it's just me and the guitarist with no luck on finding any people to play with us. Now, I've pretty much given up on this whole "band" thing. Yet, music is my life so if I can't play music I pretty much have nothing to do with myself but it gets pretty boring with just the 2 of us.

Any tips on what I should do? Because craigslist just doesn't seem to be working out for me. Thanks for all the help guys, and sorry I always come to you guys. My parents have kind of given up on me/ don't want to take the time to help me.

[Matthew Bryson]

Join a band that is otherwise complete but just needs a bass player. It might not be the perfect band for you, but you can get your fix of playing with a band and playing out.

Keep jamming with your guitar buddy on the side. That way you get your punk fix. Maybe someday you can find players to fill out the line up, but your not sitting around without a band until then.

YMMV

[grovest]

Learn to sing while playing bass.

[jwl]

Originally Posted by Randy13

Alright so, I recently (within the last two weeks) used craigslist to search for band members in my area. I found me a guitarist. We met in person became good friends and enjoy playing together. I asked him if he knew anyone that played drums. He's like: "Yeah. My best friend plays drums and he's really good. I'll ask him to play with us." I was like: "Awesome!" Now everything was going great. We just needed to find a singer. Well, no luck so far. But we decided to jam together anyway. The three of us sounded great together (me, the guitarist, amd drummer). I thought "This will be amazing, if we just find a singer." Well, here's the bad part. Our freaking drummer quit the band. Said it wasn't his style of music (he's more of a metal person than punk person). Now, it's just me and the guitarist with no luck on finding any people to play with us. Now, I've pretty much given up on this whole "band" thing. Yet, music is my life so if I can't play music I pretty much have nothing to do with myself but it gets pretty boring with just the 2 of us.

Any tips on what I should do? Because craigslist just doesn't seem to be working out for me. Thanks for all the help guys, and sorry I always come to you guys. My parents have kind of given up on me/ don't want to take the time to help me.

pm me and i'll give you the address of a cool site that may work for you/

jeff

[MadMark5]

if you have chemistry with your guitar player, what about grabbing a cheap drum machine to write with, or even a good loops program, and keep the search up for a drummer.
it's hard to find people you click with both professionaly AND personally. I would try to make it work with the guitar player and not give up just yet....
good luck....

[Randy13]

Okay. Thanks for the help guys. I won't give up just yet.

[RiddimKing]

Won't give up just yet? You had one Craigslist experience which only worked out partially (you met a good guitarist, after all) and you're contemplating giving up? Lemme tell you...scads of people (myself included) have spent up to a year or two auditioning with bands, running Craigslist ads, etc to try to find or make a match. It's probably going to take a lot of time and effort (like most things worthwhile) and you'd best not expect anything other than a long haul. Which is pretty much the same with most goals in life. Try to enjoy the process: you'll learn a lot about yourself, your musical desires and...how to assess and communicate with other musicians. One thing I learned was that I'll never play with people who don't have a sense of humor. A band that is purely serious is drudgery, and I already have a job.

[Randy13]

Okay. Thanks alot. That really helps me out. I'll keep searching. I'll do all I can to find members. Thanks.

[morf]

You're a bass player. You'll find a band.

[Bass Thunder]

Originally Posted by RiddimKing

Won't give up just yet? You had one Craigslist experience which only worked out partially (you met a good guitarist, after all) and you're contemplating giving up? Lemme tell you...scads of people (myself included) have spent up to a year or two auditioning with bands, running Craigslist ads, etc to try to find or make a match. It's probably going to take a lot of time and effort (like most things worthwhile) and you'd best not expect anything other than a long haul. Which is pretty much the same with most goals in life. Try to enjoy the process: you'll learn a lot about yourself, your musical desires and...how to assess and communicate with other musicians. One thing I learned was that I'll never play with people who don't have a sense of humor. A band that is purely serious is drudgery, and I already have a job.

That paragraph is a lot of wisdom crammed into a very small piece - Randy13, please re-read it a few times. A couple of years from now you will say, "That dude was so right."

Bands are much like girlfriends - you don't marry the first one you kiss.

[smaynor]

Hey man, don't give up so easy. Our band is on our 8th guitar player in the last 16 months. We've managed to do over 70 gigs in that time, and have never cancelled a show. You don't find the perfect person the first time. You just gotta keep plugging along until one "fits", and will stay around for a while. Some have left on their own, and I've had to fire a few of them. I've had 2 of the 8 do only one gig, and another did two. Then it's back to the ads to find another. It's never easy.

All the best.

Stacey

[infect]

I've been through 4 drummers and 19 guitarists.. And I haven't given up

[Bass Thunder]

Monday night I drove my buddy to his rehearsal in Hollywood. He's in that band now but was the 51st guitarist to audition to get in. Other musicians from that band have gone on to other well-known international bands.

Getting the right people or the right band takes patience. So to answer your original question, yes, it will definitely get "worse" but that's half the fun.

[K2000]

Keep working on writing riffs and songs with your guitar player. That's time-consuming and takes practice just like anything else.

Why not get started right away?

[casualmadness]

FInding the right band is like finding the right woman: It's almost impossible to find the right one and you will go through hundreds before you find the right one. And at times, the search can be frustrating because it seems that you will never find the right one. But oh what fun you will have playing with all the wrong ones while you continue searching for the right one.

[Foxworthy925]

Originally Posted by morf

You're a bass player. You'll find a band.

haha, so true.

[Mr.Chucklebunny]

It COULD get worse.

Your guitar player could give you some disease.

You could lose an arm in a freak E string accident.

Your hands could turn into lobster claws.

One of your punk rock liberty spikes could break off and poke out your eye.

All of your skin could just fall off.

You could wake up in Gary Indiana.

See? Always look on the bright side.

[Randy13]

Phew... Good thing I don't have liberty spikes...