Is there no greener grass?

[Wasnex]

One aspect of my OP that has been over looked, and is a concern for me, is the state of the scene around me. I'm not 100% about everything my current band does, but it isn't like I've seen any other bands in our area that I would immediately jump ship for tomorrow either.
When I ask "Is this as good as it gets" I'm wondering if the musicians and the audience for what I want to do simply don't exist where I am. I'm wondering if I should just except the limitations of both.
On one hand no one was ever wildly successful by not trying to do something different, but on the other sometimes you are just rolling a boulder up hill with no end in sight.

You won't know until you reach out to new players. You may find what you want in your local community, you may have to travel a bit, or you may have to completely relocate. Only you can decide how much effort or risk you are willing to put on the table.

If I was in you shoes, I would accept/maintain the current situation and put some effort into finding new music scenes and making new contacts. It may take awhile to find what you want and you will probably have a mixture of good and bad experiences along the way. That's the way life works; IMHO it's better to take a chance than do nothing and resolve yourself to a state surrender and self-abandonment.

Perhaps you should focus more on the journey instead of the destination. Set smaller goals so you can experience successes and happiness along the way. The happiest times in my life were when I achieved minor goals that helped me progress towards a major goal. There are many "wins" along the way. As soon as a major goal is achieved, happiness tends to fade and one soon begins to wonder, "what else is there." This is a sign to set new a new major goal.

If you view life this way, it's more like rolling boulder up succeeding rises. The path gives you many chances to take breaks and enjoy the view.

 

[Wasnex]

Interesting points. I am clearly a hobbiest, but I am addicted to the applause and the expansion of the craft as well. I never feel like I have done enough to get better to get there as opposed to the band I just left who was full of a bunch of guys who were just happy to "do it". So I have found myself on the outer orbit of a solar system I should be perfectly happy in.

Does a focus on personal growth and looking for more challenging opportunities preclude you from working with the people who are just happy to do it, or does it make you dissatisfied to work with them? Why should you be perfectly happy to work with people who don't seem to share you goals?

What has contributed to this? I think the internet. I was in a band a long while back. I didn't know what I didn't know and I didn't care. I worked on what I could and played as best as I could. I should have played better, I should have worked harder. And then when faced with real musicians, I sort of set it all aside for a while. Anyhow. I now am better and still have a long ways to go. But worse, I was and have been with some lesser hacks and then I let the "good advice" from the internet eat away at me and pollute my mind that I should seek better. Now I'm on the outside looking in.

You seem to have regret. You always have to weigh advice to determine what is best for you. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we want or expect, but the decision and the consequence of the decision rests with you. What are you going to do to get back on track? Many people offer advice, but it's on you to chose a path forward. The path forward could be to focus on exploration and self growth or you could choose to return to your old solar system and adjust your goals to be happy their. You could also chose a totally different path...the point is, only you can decide which path is right for you.

 

[3Liter]

Does a focus on personal growth and looking for more challenging opportunities preclude you from working with the people who are just happy to do it, or does it make you dissatisfied to work with them? Why should you be perfectly happy to work with people who don't seem to share you goals?

In that situation I was dissatisified to work with them. Had I not known any better, I would have likely been having the time of my life. Now, I do have a home blues jam session that is s bit better, and while focused around one genre struggles a little because we're not gearing up for anything. So I work to find us outlets to play at.

You seem to have regret. You always have to weigh advice to determine what is best for you. Unfortunately, things don't always work out the way we want or expect, but the decision and the consequence of the decision rests with you. What are you going to do to get back on track? Many people offer advice, but it's on you to chose a path forward. The path forward could be to focus on exploration and self growth or you could choose to return to your old solar system and adjust your goals to be happy their. You could also chose a totally different path...the point is, only you can decide which path is right for you.

I'm constantly out there. Working on my skills, taking lessons again. Hitting the jams. I have likely "played out" at open mics and jams more since I quit the band than the band had gigs. I put an add on CL and got a hit, I hope to audition with this working band that I think is above my paygrade. Maybe not, but I'd like to give it a try. In all honestly, I'd like to find a high functioning "basement jam" that complements the blues jam, doing something else. We'll see.

 

[Skybone]

My observations about the originals market around me is based on who we've played with. 90% of the acts we've played with are forgettable for me.

Unfortunately, a lot of those "forgettable" bands get the exposure, and the more "worthwhile" bands get pushed into the sidelines.

Been in the same situation a few times, where the band you're in seems to be one of the few doing something "a bit different" from the "norm" of that particular scene, and because of that, you get sidelined. It's a very demoralising place to be, no matter how artistically satisfying it is to play.

Discuss things with the rest of the band in person.

 

[QORC]

For all those that have said you'll never find good opportunities on Craigslist?

I just did

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

Been in the same situation a few times, where the band you're in seems to be one of the few doing something "a bit different" from the "norm" of that particular scene, and because of that, you get sidelined. It's a very demoralising place to be, no matter how artistically satisfying it is to play.

I understand that feeling. There's a very, VERY popular cover band in my neck of the woods. Good set list, good musicians, but the singer's not great and the musicians don't seem to listen to each other so it never really sounds "correct" to my musician's ears. They'll pack any place, anytime.

My current band is building a set list which is very different from what this particular band is doing. As a result, I don't think I will bother going after gigs in the same venues. Likewise, our singer gigs a lot with his other band. A punk rock band. We're not punk rock, so we really don't have to bother with those venues either.

See where I am going with this ? If you want to do thing differently, it'll require some additional work. You can't expect to play the same venues but play stuff they're not used to hearing there. Anyway, I'll soon need to put my money where my mouth is so we'll see how far I actually get

 

[Wasnex]

I understand that feeling. There's a very, VERY popular cover band in my neck of the woods. Good set list, good musicians, but the singer's not great and the musicians don't seem to listen to each other so it never really sounds "correct" to my musician's ears. They'll pack any place, anytime.

You don't have to be good to pack a place, you have to have a following. In one city I lived in there were two brothers that ran bands in the area. They used their last name in plural as the band's name Sometimes both brothers would be in the band, sometimes each brother would run separate bands at different locations, and sometimes trusted sidemen would run bands at yet other locations...all under the same name. IMHO they provided a crappy product but were consistent and new how to pack a bar, so they got a lot of work.

 

[Wasnex]

Unfortunately, a lot of those "forgettable" bands get the exposure, and the more "worthwhile" bands get pushed into the sidelines.

Do they get the exposure or earn it? It takes a lot of time and effort to build a successful "brand." Social media is a great tool for this. You can't just put together a web page, you have to constantly put out fresh content to attract and involve followers

 

[3Liter]

What are you going to do to get back on track? .

Ok got an audition next week. Gonna 'shed like a mofo this weekend.

 

[Skybone]

Do they get the exposure or earn it? It takes a lot of time and effort to build a successful "brand." Social media is a great tool for this. You can't just put together a web page, you have to constantly put out fresh content to attract and involve followers

For Originals bands, it would seem that, a lot of the time, these bands either "know someone" who runs a web zine / blog / whatever, or they're simply very good at "blowing their own trumpet" in forums and social tedia. Either way, someone likes them (either personally or musically), they seem to get offered more gigs, seem to sweet talk themselves into release deals etc. all the while being completely generic musically. Maybe their generic musicality is why they raise themselves up in a scene, where the more "original" bands tend to get sidelined because they're going "against the grain".

Covers bands is a different kettle of fish. The popular covers bands tend to play the "hits" or the more popular songs that people "want to hear" or can dance to. Being good helps, but again, doing something "different" is going to go against a bands popularity (and hence more gigs). On the local scene, there are popular bands that play songs that I would consider to be utterly banal to play (as a bass player), but the songs always go down well because they're well known / popular songs.

 

[Wasnex]

Ok got an audition next week. Gonna 'shed like a mofo this weekend.

You seem like your on the right track to me! Stay positive, work hard, be patient, and keep an ear open for opportunity and amazing things can happen.

 

[Wasnex]

For Originals bands, it would seem that, a lot of the time, these bands either "know someone" who runs a web zine / blog / whatever, or they're simply very good at "blowing their own trumpet" in forums and social tedia. Either way, someone likes them (either personally or musically), they seem to get offered more gigs, seem to sweet talk themselves into release deals etc. all the while being completely generic musically. Maybe their generic musicality is why they raise themselves up in a scene, where the more "original" bands tend to get sidelined because they're going "against the grain".

Being creative and original is awesome, but if this is what you are into, you have to target a scene that is capable of understanding and appreciating what you are doing. Most popular music evolves incrementally over time, from the collision of extent musical styles and various cultural influences. IMHO, The key to having wider appeal is to play original music that is rooted strongly in the audience's common experience, but slightly evolved in a way that flows naturally from the past. If the evolution jumps too far, or in a direction that does not make sense, the masses will not be equipped to understand or appreciate what is being played.

As music becomes more avant garde than main stream, it becomes increasingly important to find a clique that is made up of people who are sophisticated enough to understand and appreciate larger evolutionary leaps and/or people who simply enjoy things that are eclectic, different or surprising. Such cliques are more common in various learning and cultural centers ranging from smaller universities to large metropolitan areas.

 

[socialleper]

For Originals bands, it would seem that, a lot of the time, these bands either "know someone" who runs a web zine / blog / whatever, or they're simply very good at "blowing their own trumpet" in forums and social tedia.

This is definitely the case. There are some bands that I know personally that I think are OK, but have been given more opportunities in a shorter period of time, based on the fact that they know people. Networking is still a big piece of the game. Where my band has problems is that we have a decent fan base around the US based on social media, but no industry connections. We can't get opening slots on touring acts as they come through or get reviews because no one is representing us.

 

[socialleper]

I put out a CL posting to test the waters. I've gotten a few responses, as well as a reminder of the divide between the doers and the talkers.

 

[Boss Bass]

To @socialleper, I do hope that you find the musicians, work and audience that you desire.
Great responses to your thoughts in this thread.
To paraphrase the late Chuck Berry - "The 'grass-is-greener' on the other side of the fence still has to be mowed".

 

[QORC]

keep at it. it's like speed-dating - you have to go through a lot of potentials til you find the one. patience. Perseverance. and by the way, CL might be a crap-shoot, but I found my last band with it. It happens. nothing wrong with using all possible avenues to find a band. you don't lose much doing it.

 

[socialleper]

keep at it. it's like speed-dating - you have to go through a lot of potentials til you find the one. patience. Perseverance. and by the way, CL might be a crap-shoot, but I found my last band with it. It happens. nothing wrong with using all possible avenues to find a band. you don't lose much doing it.

I'm going through CL right now. There honestly are many other ways anymore. I talked to the few other musicians I have a personal relationship with and let them know I'm looking.
Like speed dating, its hard not to just get fed up with the whole thing. You come across so many loons and punters that you want to give up. I've received some responses, which is a good thing. Now its a matter of finding the right one. There are a lot of bad bands out there.

 

[QORC]

yeah I know, it's not easy. Sometimes it takes a while. For me, it seems like as soon as I find a new band, then all of the sudden I get contacts and offers from others. when it rains, it pours, and when it's a drought, it feels like it never ends. Just keep at it.

 

[socialleper]

Here's a etiquette question for y'all:
As I sort through the emails I am getting, I am wondering if I'm obligated to respond to each one. If someone sends me a clip of something I know I don't like, should I just let them eat static, or should I throw out some vague pleasantry and make up an excuse?

 

[EdO.]

If I were on the other end of the communication I'd appreciate at least a simple "Thanks but no thanks " just to acknowledge you'd gotten my inquiry.