Joining or Forming a Band

Many musicians start playing in bands with friends, often at a young age. However, what happens when you want to join or form a band, and you’re missing some (or all) of the band members? Well, in fact there are several options available for you to expand your “network” and meet new musician friends. Local music stores and rehearsal studios are good places to start. Sometimes they will be able to refer or recommend players, and/or they will have a bulletin board available for you to post your ads: “bass player wanted for 21st century punk band,” or similar! Also, if you can find any local schools or colleges offering music ensemble classes, this can be a good way to meet and network with other musicians. (I have students who have done this as preparation for “playing out” with different bands.)

Of course, the internet offers many ways for people in all walks of life (including musicians!) to get in touch. One of the best known sites in this area is Musicians Contact Service (www.musi cianscontact.com) which runs “musicians wanted” ads from all parts of the U.S., as well as some in Canada. Also here in Los Angeles, we have the Recycler paper, which contains free ads for virtually everything, including “musicians wanted” ads. Their website (www.recycler.com) now has listings for other major cities across the U.S. In addition, Music Connection (a bi-weekly West Coast music magazine) has similar ads, including “Keyboardists Wanted” and “Keyboardists Available.” Check out other newspapers and magazines in your area to see if they run musicrelated ads.

If you’re placing an ad for one or more players, be specific about what you’re looking for. You should state what the music style is, and where the band is located (especially if you’re on a website or in a publication serving multiple areas). For example: “Country/rock band looking for bass player. Los Angeles area. Call Dave at 999–999–9999, [email protected].” Or, if you’re looking to find a band or playing situation, here’s an example: “Piano player seeks working blues or R&B band. Atlanta area. Mike 999–999–9999, [email protected].” When you’re receiving replies to your ad, or replying to someone else’s, do your best to evaluate them over the phone (not just via email) before setting up a meeting or rehearsal. These days it is typical to exchange music examples (as MP3 files) in these situations, so be prepared to provide these should the need arise.

Whether you have a band or are looking for one, you should also think about what style or styles you want to play, and whether you’re going to do cover tunes (i.e., other people’s songs), your own original tunes, or some mixture of both. All the band members need to be “on the same page” regarding what songs you are playing, otherwise the situation is probably not going to work. Some bands play cover tunes by one other band only, and are known as “tribute bands.” For example, here in Los Angeles, we have “Led ZepAgain” (Led Zeppelin tribute), “Cinema Show” (Genesis tribute), and so on. I play in a Steely Dan tribute band called “Doctor Wu,” and we are in friendly competition with another Los Angeles-based Steely Dan tribute band called “Pretzel Logic.” I enjoy playing in the Doctor Wu band, and it’s a fun way to “keep my chops up”! Your band will also work better if you have broadly similar ability levels among the players. Ideally, you should strive to be with players a little better than you, so that you can improve and gain from their experience. Conversely, if you are the best musician in your band, then you may get frustrated with the other players and end up looking for a different situation. Also, you should try to make your band’s rehearsal time as productive as possible (poorly organized and unproductive rehearsals are a common problem with amateur and semi-pro bands). Set a target for each rehearsal—such as learning three new songs, or going through a set list for an upcoming gig— and stick to it!