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Pleasently surprised by CL drummer search.
- Thread starter two fingers
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Good luck brother, great stuff... also lots of players are posting on BandMix (dot com) out here. I haven’t used it, but like you after searching CL, I see more than a few players just linking their profile there. I hadn’t used it or seen it before, not sure if you guys have.
Good luck and looking fwd to hearing how it turns out, ps ad looks just right.
Good luck and looking fwd to hearing how it turns out, ps ad looks just right.
I ran an ad on CL for a violin player.So, my perfect band is losing its drummer. No hard feelings. He has a full-time job and a semi-pro gig. This was a side project for him. He will be missed. He's a great guy and a monster drummer.
I don't do social media (only anti-social media, like TB). So I was put in charge of doing the CL end of the search.
I did get a few interesting emails from guys who obviously weren't a good fit. But they weren't crazy or jerks… just not what we're looking for.
Here's where it gets weird.
I am having auditions with THREE well-educated, very experienced, seemingly NORMAL people. I have spoken to all of them on the phone. They all have social media pages (according to my band nates) that display seemingly normal tendencies. They all have fantastic gear. They all are excited about the format and the "casual" nature of the band. Two of them have toured professionally but have "semi-retired" from touring in their 40s. Two of them sing. All of them own either part of, or an entire, PA. One of them has an alternative spot we could rehearse if we wanted. They all say they are looking for exactly what we're doing.
(Our business model/mission statement is that we strive to be the best part-time bar band in our area. We want to NAIL every song we play. We want to KILL some complex vocal harmonies. And we DON'T want to look like our audience. But we only want to play a couple times a month with very little travel.)
But they all seem like a good hang. They are all super flexible on auditions times. They know a lot of the material already. When I told them to pick 8 or 10 from the list they wanted to play, all three of them sent me a short list of songs they DIDN'T know and said we could play anything else from the list.And we don't stick to the first 45 pages of the bar band hymnal.
Sure, I'm a little freaked out by this. I'll have a shotgun behind my rig during the auditions in case these guys are too good to be true and are actually ax rapists.
I'll update as the auditions take place. Our female singer is a little under the weather this week so it'll be next week.
But after reading all of the CL horror stories here at TB, I'm pleasantly surprised so far.
(By the way, social media has produced ZERO viable candidates.)
Got one response. Only one, and he is about perfect!! No issues, super talented, and seems to agree with everything I suggest! Can't get over how well that went with my past CL experiences looking for guitarist and drummers!
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Best part of bandmix is any musician/band can have a free page where they can post audio and video examples of their playing. Allows everyone to get an idea of what they are getting into without wasting time.
Bandmix is cool and all but all must remember that unless you subscribe to full membership, always include an email or phone no. on your page, in your bio or something, so people can contact you.
Wow, Toof, who knew that yer little burg is virtually teeming with pro level drummers? Should mean there's hope for me...
And as for the folks who say they never get any positives from CL, that's a broad brush IMO. Simple matter of garbage in, garbage out. If you take the time to think about exactly who you are, what you want, and then articulate that CLEARLY in your ad, the folks who you need to talk to will respond.
Of course, if you're "too" specific about what you want, then your ad ends up being ridiculed mercilessly on musician social media forums, including our beloved TB! So ya just can't win...
And as for the folks who say they never get any positives from CL, that's a broad brush IMO. Simple matter of garbage in, garbage out. If you take the time to think about exactly who you are, what you want, and then articulate that CLEARLY in your ad, the folks who you need to talk to will respond.
Of course, if you're "too" specific about what you want, then your ad ends up being ridiculed mercilessly on musician social media forums, including our beloved TB! So ya just can't win...
That was a well written ad with clear expectations
We need a Best of CL thread here. Plus one for the best responses to an ad.
We need a Best of CL thread here. Plus one for the best responses to an ad.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Not quite the way of the Dodo, but in that direction. Ask any musician who was gigging back in the 70s and 80s, and ask him/her how the market has changed.
It will be interesting to see how Steve Perry does with his new CD release, "Traces". Looks like he's with Fantasy Records. He's got distribution everywhere including downloads, but you have to purchase the product. So, we'll see how that goes for him. I don't think he's getting any air play with the new material. Still, in Vegas, anyway, to this day you can't turn on the radio without hearing him. Amazing. No word on live shows, so far as I know. This will be a good test. Can he make it work?
I ordered the CD from Amazon to check it out. First one I've purchased in years. Check out the art work on his website. It's something to behold.
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
On all levels. Go back to the 70s, and the top bands were making a ton of money (not necessarily keeping it, but that's a different story). Very few musicians making a career just playing music.
But my comment was directed more at the OP, and local musicians. I'm 53. Go back to when I got out of school. Lots of local musicians were playing multiple gigs a week, as many booking as needed. They also were, on the average, making as much per gig as most people are now.
But my comment was directed more at the OP, and local musicians. I'm 53. Go back to when I got out of school. Lots of local musicians were playing multiple gigs a week, as many booking as needed. They also were, on the average, making as much per gig as most people are now.
It seems like these days, you are either a "star" (even though fans by and large aren't purchasing your musical material), or your unrecognized. There is no vast "middle class" of working musicians who can support themselves by playing out like there used to be. So nobody's coming up through the ranks, as it were, and it shows in the quality of the new releases IMHO. There may indeed be more good musicians looking for work now. But how long is that going to last?
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Used to be being a musician was a viable career. No more.
Cue up that thread about DJs from 3 weeks ago.
Interestingly enough, I started that one too.
depends on where you live, your talent, and hustle. one of my best friends has been earning his living for the last 10 years as a solo acoustic artist. he owns a home, has a stay at home wife, two kids, two cars, and a dog. he plays locally 3-5 nights a week. $200 to $300 a night, plus tips. no band mates, no sound guy. he’s a self contained music machine. it helps that he’s got an amazing voice and is pretty dang good guitar player.
i’ll add to that, it doesn’t seem fun. he grinds. i’m thankful that i get to play just for fun and spending money. he doesn’t. if he gets sick, it hurts his bottom line, or he plays through it. i think most nights for him aren’t even fun anymore. but he hustles for his family. he’s a real working musician.
