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US: West Norcal people get in here

#21
I grew up in “Northern California” Santa Cruz. It was north (Bay Area) and south ( LA) for me. Then I discovered all this area north of Santa Rosa that had the audacity to say THEY were Northern California and I was Central Coast. If you look at a map it’s hard to argue. The OP back in 2018 specifically included the Bay Area in this post, probably because there wouldn’t many hits if he kept it to north of Willits otherwise. Great idea to meet and support local TB’ers though. I’ll be at Little Lou’s in Campbell this Friday the 23rd. Come on out and we can discuss where Central Coast ends and NorCal starts.
 
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#24
practice, get lessons if that's an option, and put yourself out there.
Look around for postings at your local music schools and music stores. There could be school-of-rock types of ensembles with direction from a teacher, or maybe a group of fellow beginners who need a bassist. Or someone knows someone who knows someone who knows someone.... etc.
Search around and see if there's any venues that host jam sessions, or open mic events.
Personally, my 2 bands since college I've found on craigslist, but I feel like actually networking and making connections with people is a better idea in general and can lead to more opportunities.

Hoping others in the thread can give more location-specific advice.
 
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#26
Finding someone to play with has improved my playing quite a bit. When I committed to playing with others it required me to really learn a song from beginning to end (not just the fun parts to play) and to expand the number of songs that I played to build a better set list. And, there's nothing that compares to playing with others when things click. It's amazing to hear what three people striking some strings, skins, and cymbals can do together! It's strong motivation to keep at it.

Robert here, live in Guerneville, but work in Santa Rosa.
 
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#27
Rio Linda here (about 15 minutes north of Sacramento)...

Currently in one active gigging band, Dangerforce 5... We play mostly surf instrumental type stuff, both covers and originals... We've been playing shows a couple times a month on average, everywhere from the SF bay area to the capital area to the central valley... We also played a couple of shows in southern CA last month. We are based out of Woodland (it's safe to say we are Yolo County's only surf band)

Also in one active non-gigging band, the Diversions... we are basically a tribute to 60s garage rock, mostly mid-1960s tunes... it's just a trio right now, but we hope to find a lead singer soon... We practice once a week in Sacramento and already have a standard gig-length set of cover tunes ready to go, and will be learning more... Eventually we plan to start writing original tunes in the same style...

Then there is a band that's been on hiatus for the past few years, Gamine Grey, which is sort of a post-punk/new romantic kind of thing, mostly original tunes but an occasional cover. But I am not the bass player in the band (we'll need to find a new bassist once we start up this project again)

I am open to new projects and collaborations as my musical interests are fairly varied. I also love a lot of music that I have no idea how to play myself (i.e., swing jazz type stuff) and I try and catch live bands whenever possible, if the sort of music they play is to my liking...
 
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#28
woodyng2 said:
Bay Area isn’t North Cali. Just saying. ;)
Until recently I was with Monogroove in Crescent City, Ca. (About 25 miles from the Cali-Oregon border).
Click to expand...

ebo said:
I grew up in “Northern California” Santa Cruz. It was north (Bay Area) and south ( LA) for me. Then I discovered all this area north of Santa Rosa that had the audacity to say THEY were Northern California and I was Central Coast. If you look at a map it’s hard to argue. The OP back in 2018 specifically included the Bay Area in this post, probably because there wouldn’t many hits if he kept it to north of Willits otherwise. Great idea to meet and support local TB’ers though. I’ll be at Little Lou’s in Campbell this Friday the 23rd. Come on out and we can discuss where Central Coast ends and NorCal starts.
Click to expand...

Yeah, from even further south, Big Sur, which was at that time very much Northern [sic] California vs Southern being LA et al. "Central Coast" was a much later term to me but, agree, more accurate and makes sense.
 
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#30
Bighouse said:
Ha! I hear you. But, from what I understand REALLY Northern California is like a totally different state. ;)
Click to expand...
Yep

IMG_5148.png


en.m.wikipedia.org

Jefferson (proposed Pacific state) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org

🤣
 
#32
kineticdg said:
Zombie thread but might as well dive in - I'm in Walnut Creek, just a beginner but hoping to get to a point where I can jam with others in the East Bay. How does everyone get started playing in your community?
Click to expand...
Eff ya WC 925 till I die. Actually I live in Santa Cruz. Still, I think the best way to come off as a normal musician is to have quality gear, a car that isn't some Mad Max poopie, a solid job, and time. Time. Time. Timex3. And just answer your shaging emails or texts or whatever.
 
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