I'm pretty sure we all know what craigslist is. For those who don't, its the classifieds where people can post ads and things like that. I'm looking for a band to audition for and have been posting ads on craigslist. My question is do you trust craigslist? Do you think people on the other end of the computer are legit musicians? Ever have any bad experiences with meeting musicians over craigslist? Good experiences are welcome too.
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Do You Trust Craigslist Musicians?
- Thread starter Icarus26
- Start date
Found my current cover band through CL... so far no problem. Also found our first gig coming up using it. I'm a happy user. 
I've had lots of experience with craigslist and I can tell you that most of the people on their are just as you are: Curious as to whats out there, but cautious to avoid creepers.
A lot of the people on there, though, are also either wankers or have little to no musical talent, drive, or ambition.
Whatever you do, be careful and ask a LOT of questions.
A lot of the people on there, though, are also either wankers or have little to no musical talent, drive, or ambition.
Whatever you do, be careful and ask a LOT of questions.
as a general rule, no, you can't trust people on craigslist and they'll waste your time. if you're a competent professional and are looking for someone with similar tastes and abilities, it's easier to find working musicians for cover bands, less so people for new, unique original music.
that said, i found my current band on craigslist by sifting through the rubbish for long enough, so there are some diamonds in the rough. but my general approach is to assume anyone you meet on there is wasting your time until they prove otherwise.
that said, i found my current band on craigslist by sifting through the rubbish for long enough, so there are some diamonds in the rough. but my general approach is to assume anyone you meet on there is wasting your time until they prove otherwise.
I live in a very big city (Toronto) and even worse I'm outside the city so meeting people is very hard. The main problem I have has nothing to do with Craigs...I'm a Weekend Warrior musician that would like to play gigs so dealing with other Warriors I have to deal with family guys (with little kids) or younger guys that might not have transportation or $$$ to do gigs...
All musicians should have a list like this below filled out when you place an ad...I use Craigs and I'm currently in a band so it does work.
Skill level
Travel distance
Age
Style of music
Equipment
Committed? insanely over bearing? lazy? poor communication skills?
All musicians should have a list like this below filled out when you place an ad...I use Craigs and I'm currently in a band so it does work.
Skill level
Travel distance
Age
Style of music
Equipment
Committed? insanely over bearing? lazy? poor communication skills?
I don't really see any difference between CraigsList type of things (Kijiji is much more popular here) & any other free ad.
I've had little success with Craiglist posts. One of the people who responded gave me the address to his trailer (yep, I said trailer, although to be fair it was a double-wide). He (the drummer) and the guitar player were much more interested in smoking weed than playing music, so the music fell apart pretty quickly.
The second guy who responded lived in an upscale neighborhood of Atlanta and had probably $40k-$60k of equipment (Marshall stack, Mesa stack, 5 guitars, full PA, mikes, keyboards, midis, and a set of pedals and toys very professionally mounted). His only problem was that he could not play. Unbelievable! Definitely a case of too much money combined with no talent.
The other people who have responded include people who can't wait to tell you how good they are, but they can't write a coherent message without lacing it with expletives. I have had a couple of pretty decent responses, but nothing developed beyond the initial contact.
The second guy who responded lived in an upscale neighborhood of Atlanta and had probably $40k-$60k of equipment (Marshall stack, Mesa stack, 5 guitars, full PA, mikes, keyboards, midis, and a set of pedals and toys very professionally mounted). His only problem was that he could not play. Unbelievable! Definitely a case of too much money combined with no talent.
The other people who have responded include people who can't wait to tell you how good they are, but they can't write a coherent message without lacing it with expletives. I have had a couple of pretty decent responses, but nothing developed beyond the initial contact.
Agree. I have just about given up on "cold" ads without some type of referral.
As some used to say (and maybe still do) in Chicago;
"I don't want nobody that nobody sent"
Meaning someone must refer and vouch for you before another will do business with you.
Lately we are searching for a new addition to a group, and practices are held at my house. Everyone involved understands that by the time someone shows up at the door they have been screened to the point where we can be comfortable they are not dirtbags or pshycos.
Trust? That is impossible to answer. I can tell you that I'm occasionally on or use Craigslist and I am a legit musician, as I suspect many others here are. I do know that if I use Craiglist, I have to take a chance with the knowledge that there are all kinds of people out there (just like here on TB as you should have already observed!!!). I've had good experiences with Craigslist and also bad ones. I'm not saying there's no way to affect your odds (there is much value in a good and well-written ad), but you alone cannot control the quality of responses or competency of the readers. One bad experience, hopefully, does not make Craigslist an unworthwhile use of time. I have never found the completely ideal band or musical partner from Craigslist, but it still has its value.
Unrepresented
Something Borderline Offensive
"Barriers to entry" (to use an economics term) work both ways.
The lower the barrier to entry is, the easier it is for anyone, including diamonds in the rough and absolute time wasters to contact you.
The higher the barrier to entry is, the harder it is for these groups as well.
You sift through more garbage on CL, but there are some worthwhiles, there. I found my current project there, and am overall quite happy with it.
The lower the barrier to entry is, the easier it is for anyone, including diamonds in the rough and absolute time wasters to contact you.
The higher the barrier to entry is, the harder it is for these groups as well.
You sift through more garbage on CL, but there are some worthwhiles, there. I found my current project there, and am overall quite happy with it.
i had some good luck as a poster. i posted a lonf winded ad and pared it down at rthe suggestion of tb members (see my thread in this forum - "see if you think this ad is a-ok")
afterwards i was able to have some e-mail with responders and filtered many this way. by phone i was able to eliminate many more as people usually hang themselves if you let them talk long enough. (ditto for when you call about a cl or any other ad). by the time i met with and "jammed" with players they wwere all pretty good and had personalities that didn't make me want to die
afterwards i was able to have some e-mail with responders and filtered many this way. by phone i was able to eliminate many more as people usually hang themselves if you let them talk long enough. (ditto for when you call about a cl or any other ad). by the time i met with and "jammed" with players they wwere all pretty good and had personalities that didn't make me want to die
I found my current band by putting up a craigslist ad
you just need to look for well written ads that tell a little about the person, the person's influences, what the person is open to playing, and past experiences. If you are interested contact the person and ask them to send you an example of them playing. If they can't figure out how to buy a 1/8 converter and record themselves playing. They aren't worth your time anyways.
you just need to look for well written ads that tell a little about the person, the person's influences, what the person is open to playing, and past experiences. If you are interested contact the person and ask them to send you an example of them playing. If they can't figure out how to buy a 1/8 converter and record themselves playing. They aren't worth your time anyways.
I've had good luck with Craigslist. Seeing as I was new to the music scene in my area, I relied on it to get me my initial contacts. Started by answering ads and going on auditions -- some watsed time, but met people who were in the formative phase of their band, and decided to go another route and called me. When we were searching for a drummer, we used Craigslist and auditioned several, all of them good. It's no worse than posting a 3X5 notice at the local music store.
Craigslist has been great from me. I've connected with some great players, quality used equipment and free advertising. In my area, there has been a few attempts to create online musician referral services, these never sites never seem to take off and get the volume of postings that CL has.
Even in pre-Internet days you had to sift through the sludge to find the keepers. CL sure beats scouring local postings at stores / clubs and cuts down on a lot of leg work.
Even in pre-Internet days you had to sift through the sludge to find the keepers. CL sure beats scouring local postings at stores / clubs and cuts down on a lot of leg work.
Well, I don't think you can make a wild generalization about Craigslist. I've found a number of bands (and members) over the years using it. it's a great resource.
But it's one resource of many, including other websites, word of mouth, agents, etc.
It's just a tool. Some are legit, some are not. I went on auditions that were a joke and not what they were described on craigslist.
That being said, you have to try out people anyway. Craigs is a good way to find them.
+1. CL Can be hit and miss, but the classic ad up at the music store isn't any better. The thing with CL is it just reaches a ton more people... which means more flakes, werdios, and whatever, but it also means reaching more good people.
I've had my share of hit and misses on CL, I found my current band on it... I also found a bunch of stuff that didn't match what they said, or just weren't a good fit for me. I made the mistake of leaving my sunglasses at one and a month later still haven't gotten them back.
