where to find band members?

[DBCrocky]

I can usually find band members out back, behind the dumpster, smoking funny cigarettes...

 

[BlackElan]

That's to bad that you are out in West Virginia I know a drummer and two guitarists doing progressive death metal that have been looking for a bass player for a long time.

If you do ever come out to the SF Bay Area shoot me a PM I can introduce you to the guys and probably set something up.

 

[Ubersheist]

Hang out at places where they play the kind of music you want to make. There's bound to be at least one musician who is looking to put something together there.

Specialist stores drums only and guitar only. Ask teachers

These are really good resources. Personal contacts are always WAY better then Craigslist or any website.

Unless you have something to offer besides your songs it's going to be tough.

Aren't there a lot of 16 year olds that love that stuff?

I've found that if you're really determined to have one and only one sort of thing in mind for a band, then you're destined to fail. Making up something so specific when you don't already have something like that in mind is really, really, really tough to do.

You're better off finding people you work well with that maybe aren't in your vision. From there, you can start to build your vision, provided that your vision is strong enough AND you have good enough management skills to get the other people in the band behind your ideas.

Work with what you can get first, hopefully through personal contacts, friends and other musicians, and THEN try to get your vision done.

Also, be open minded. If the band you end up building won't exactly fit your ideal but is still a great band, then be flexible enough to alter, adapt, or even all-together scrap your vision if what you have before you could be better then what your vision was.

I'm not a fan of the guy, but Donald Rumsfeld had a great quote: "Go to war with the army you have, not the one you want." This is true in many, many situations in life.

 

[NKUSigEp]

Hello everyone, Ive been in the same spot for quite a while now...I have so many ideas, and so much material Ive wrote on my own, but I cant find other band members who share the same taste as me =/ Im trying to start a progressive death metal project with maybe some doom metal influences, heavily influenced (but not being a copy) of bands like Opeth, Porcupine Tree, and Katatonia. Is there a website that I can find musicians close by on and browse their personal style,taste, ect.? Ive tried craigslist but always no luck.

Anything would be appreciated because I really would like to perform live and have other people involved in the writting process than just myself.

Thanks guys!

Jacob

Craigslist sucks. Networking is still the best way to go. Opeth, PT, and Katatonia are some personal favorites too btw! Excellent choice! Also - there aren't many musicians who have the desire AND the talent to play this kind of music. Too bad you're not in Cincinnati...

 

[Matthew_84]

I'm in a similar situation as the OP, maybe. I've never jammed with anybody ever and am not comfortable going to an open jam because quite honestly, I don't think I'm good enough. I have a TERRIBLE ear. It's something I'm working on, and know that it will get better especially once I start playing with people, but I think that that would be a little intense for me at this stage.

Ideally, I'd like to meet someone who are kind of in my position too, who'd like to just meet up once a week or something and work on some stuff, regardless of genre, just to get the experience and have some fun. But I'd also like to avoid Craigslist. I'm very picky about the people I associate myself with, and I think there should be a strong bond between musicians, and it's impossible to judge chemistry based off of e-mails. So, I'm kind of stuck with any ideas on how I could meet people. None of my friends play music seriously... It's all really a couple guys who can pick up an acoustic and play the intro to Smoke on the Water or Sunshine of Your love or something; I could certainly not ask them to jam in C major or do a I-IV-V progression with them having any clue what I was talking about.

I kind of feel like one of my only options is to hang out at a music shop and play bass all day and see if anyone approaches me, or approach musicians jamming there themselves... But that's creepy in itself... And then what, we meet up for coffee or something? That just sounds like an awkward situation... Is there no kind of jamming centres around (without an audience) for people in situations like this?