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Tips for finding bands/drummers?

O

owensea777

Inactive
Jun 16, 2007
386
1
#1
I need help finding a band or just a drummer to jam with. All my drummer friends either got kicked out of shcool or their parents kicked them out due to bad grades. This happens to at a perfect time, the first time I'm actually good at bass.
I am planning on putting up an ad in the University of South Carolina School of Music building.
Does anyone have any reccomendations? Other than "go out and meet people," which I plan to do?

Thanks
Owens, E. A. 777
 
#2
A good place to find drummers is at the local homeless shelter.

Also drummers frequently come up to my truck at intersections and try to wipe the windows for spare change.

The real catch is telling the drummers from the other homeless people.

I can't picture finding a drummer being difficult. Every band I've been in or known of had no difficulty getting a drummer or guitar player. It only gets harder if you require them to sing well while playing. Keyboardists are hard to find. But actually WE'RE usually the hardest ones to track daown, from what I hear.

My last band was 50-60% drummers, depending how you looked at it. The singer was a drummer and we had either our regular drummer, my former drummer, or both at every practice. SInce the way we kept the second drummer busy was to have him play MY hand percussion/congas and bongos, you might could count me as half a drummer as well. And John the guitar player is a somewhat competent drummer as well. So, everybody in the band could keep a rhythm going and/or play one back to you enough to express what you wanted the drum part to sound like. So would that make the band all drummers? Or would John and I only count as halves? Or do we not count at all? Who invented liquid soap? And why?

Anyway. To summarize: Drummers are easy to find.
 
#4
Try to know people in the music scene. Do you have friends that play music? Networking is incredibly important in the music industry. People want to hire and play with their friends because they always trust and work well with them.
 
#6
Try going to open jam nights, if possible. That can be a good place to at least network with, and get to know, other musicians. Go to local shows where other bands are playing. Introduce yourself to the band. Let people know about your project and that you're looking to work with a drummer. Be enthusiastic about it...it's not going to happen overnight, but persistence can pay off. (Just don't try to steal someone else's drummer, especially at a gig...that will just get you alienated really quick).

Putting up flyers at music schools, college campuses, and music stores are all great ideas, too. Drummers are out there, you just have to let them know you're looking for them.
 
#7
invader3k said:
Try going to open jam nights, if possible. That can be a good place to at least network with, and get to know, other musicians. Go to local shows where other bands are playing. Introduce yourself to the band. Let people know about your project and that you're looking to work with a drummer. Be enthusiastic about it...it's not going to happen overnight, but persistence can pay off. (Just don't try to steal someone else's drummer, especially at a gig...that will just get you alienated really quick).

Putting up flyers at music schools, college campuses, and music stores are all great ideas, too. Drummers are out there, you just have to let them know you're looking for them.
Click to expand...


Great advice. Jams help you "scratch that itch" to play while meeting people and learning new stuff (I find jamming over material you don't know really well a good way to stretch your skills. You learn from playing with people better than you and (in different ways) those worse than you.

I'd advertise everywhere you could also - I did this a year ago saying I either wanted to join a band or start a band. Guys came out of the woodwork and I am now playing in the perfect (to me) band. A band I started and shares the same musical interests and ambition I have with personalities I can deal with.

Be patient, too - it took me six months or so before we settled into a regular lineup, but glad we kept working at it.
 
#8
owensea777 said:
O.K.
Thanks for your post, but that doesn't help me at all.
Click to expand...

Sorry. I was up late and amused that you couldn't find a drummer. They really are usually the easiest member of the band to recruit. The catch is to find a GOOD one.

Aaron and Invader are both right about networking. Get out into the music stores and jam nights. Basically just try to meet, well, everybody and let them know you're looking.

And don't be picky about near-matches. Trying people who sound like they'd be right, except for that one thing can end up being pretty rewarding.* So jam with whoever you can find and then decide who to keep, in stead of looking for just the right one right out of the gate.

(*For example: there was a guy I played in a band with back in the late '80's who a lot of people would disqualify for having wierd eyes. He was an amazing guitar player. He just couldn't drive so we had to always pick him up. He ran a record store and many customers would look confused when he talked to them because he would seem to be addressing the space next to their left armpit. That is just the angle he had to hold his head at to look them in the face.)
 

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