So, I have a friend who's a guitar player, and we have something pretty good going. Every couple of weeks we have a new little "song" going, with a completely unique chord progression from the last. I keep telling him we should start a band. His response is "meeehhhh we need a drummer." I say we should just write the damn songs tapping our feet, and find the drummer later.
Regardless, I'm a graphic arts major, as is my friend... so we don't know many musicians. My question is, how do you find people to be in your band? Is there a more precise process than just... craigslist? There is a music department at my school with very talented people in it, but they intimidate me, because they're career musicians, and my friend and I are more hobbyists.
Thanks guys. Oh and our working band name is "Deflowering Factory." My girlfriend thought of it. I thought it was pretty funny.
lots of options besides going to open mic and recruiting. mind you these are in my area but may not be in yours. craigslist meetups.com bandmix michigan musicians collective openjams.com(?)
find a buddy and set him up with a cajon. the beat doesnt have to be dead-nuts perfect. most folks wont notice a slight variation.
there is also the alternative to a drummer of getting some canned percussion. many keyboards have some sort of rhythm section.
We have a lot of "Pickin' Parties" that go on around here for Bluegrass so it's easy to find people for that style of music, I'm sure there's something similar for Blues, Rock, ect. and there's always Local Sales Network where you can post "wanted" adds for band members. I was in a band for about 6 months and it was the best time of my life. I learned more about playing then all the years of messing around at home with CD's and the Radio. Congrats on starting up a band, it's a lot of fun.
A lot of music stores have bulletin boards you can leave posts on. Troll open mics and small shows. Network. Get the word out there and they will find you. Drummers in particular can be hard to find. They are usually emotionally unstable. You can find them living under underpasses and at bars. They will be the ones tapping their swizzle sticks on everything.
Q. What's black and blue and lying in a gutter? A. A harmonica player who makes one too many drummer jokes! ---------- Nate Facebook Thread Organizer
Drummers are the hardest band member to find. Mainly because of the out lay of equipment costs. It's easy to put $600-$1000 into an entry level drum kit. Guitar players are a dime a dozen and bass players are out there but not like guitar players. One of the main reasons why I like Bluegrass so much is because you don't need no stinkin' drummer. LOL. Buddha has shown what can be done with minimum people with a creative approach to the music. Harp, drums and bass and he's making some awesome music. Try finding a keyboard player with a drum synth on his set up and use that instead of a drummer if you can't find a drummer. Main thing is get the people that you can and adapt the music to work with what you have.
It is hard to hire a drummer from paper. And although there are lots of drummers who will answer your ad, good drummers are a very rare commodity. If there's a decent drummer out there he is already performing with at least one band. Go listen to live music in your area. And if you can't find him (or her) there go to local jams as well.
Worst thing you can do is hire a lousy drummer. It will drag your band down and ruin your groove. If this is your first band and you haven't already really, really learned to listen critically to drummers, you're highly likely to choose the wrong one. (Don't ask me how I know.......) Find a performing musician friend who KNOWS and have them help you. ---------- /Greg
+1 for Greg's post. Spot on. Find a solid drummer...period. In college we picked up two drummers over the course of our band, both studying jazz in the College of Music. Both were incredible musicians, helped the band, and were also in at least one other band/combo/etc. Good (and reliable!) drummers are hard to find, so don't shy away from talking with someone already playing/gigging around. Just be tactful and don't step on too many toes. But like a few said, you can get by without a drummer, just consciously make that decision and do something unique. A cajon, bass player, keys player can all be options- just arrange the band to make that sound work. Don't try and use them like a set player lol. So check out some good live music, look out for a decent drummer and go from there. If you're not gettin any good vibes after awhile then try craigslist, etc. Too much headache with most of those posters to start there.
Just from my own personal experience with blues bands, the hardest two musicians to both find as well as keep are, in this order, drummers and bass players and lead players, be it guitar players, harp, horns, keys, by comparison, are a dime a dozen.
The bad thing about putting out ads is that too often, much like a day job and you're the human resource guy, a lot of people will answer the ad and 99% of them I'd wind up saying NO WAY in bloddy hell I'd ever hire, and just like people trying to get a job, a lot of people will tell you they can do damned near anything under the sun just to get a gig and often times from hearing them as well as observing them, I'd often want to just throw up or crack up laughing in their face.
Before hiring anyone else, the one thing to make sure is that you and the guitar player are both TOTALLY together musically, and that also means knowing what you want and need, plus make damned sure you have ZERO problems with time and know where and how you want your groove to be played, and also try to learn the "language" of the other instrument so that when it comes time to explain what you want when you're arranging the material you intend to do, you can easily communicate on the same level and avoid having problems.
One of the things I look for is not only their time, but also, since I know where I want the groove played (behind the beat for me), that they FULLY understand it and can do it, plus how well do they pay attention to what's happening, how they adapt to different and/or changing dynamics, or when given fills/solos, do they lose the time back into the transition of getting back into the main groove, and also if they drop the beat, and these are VERY IMPORTANT things.
Open jams aren't always the best places because the quality can vary VERY GREATLY.
Great drummers and bass players are both the hardest to find as well as the hardest to hold on to and the very best ones often don't have to be committed to any single band in order to keep their gigging calendar full.
I can tell you from experience an bad drummer, followed by a bad bass player will bring ANY band down FAR quicker than a bad lead player will and the only other thing closest to killing a band as fast as a bad drummer or bass player is a bad vocalist even if his instrumental prowess may be awesome.
A bad drummer or bad bass player will make any band sound like a crappy, grooveless wonder than no one can dance to and sound rank amateurish (and I'm bein ULTRA POLITE about this) and will quickly expose any and all weaknesses the lead players have and NO lead player can hide this at all no matter how good they are, but if you've got a solid drummer and bass player, the groove will always sound tight and together, danceable and can easily hide any and ALL shortcomings the lead guys have. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Harder still is finding a drummer who understands dynamics, can play with brushes when need be, and understands he isn't on a lead instrument. I've known many a 'good' drummer that would kick major ass if I was looking to play Motley Crue, but playing in 'the pocket' isn't something they get. Fewer still are versatile enough to play multiple styles well, but they're out there. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
Last Edited by on Oct 20, 2010 5:34 AM
Yes the short answer is Criagslist. Don't let anyone tell you that it won't work. I've met numerous quality musicians on CL. Yes you will get a wide range of quality from suck to pro, but if your ad is CLEAR and you know what to look for then you won't waste your time.
First, state exactly what you are looking for in the title. "Drummer Wanted for Blues Band" Second, explain in detail what the band will be doing and where you are at. "We are guitar and harp looking for a tight drummer for a start up band. We are influenced by --insert what you want to sound like--. We would like to play once a week. This is a paying (or non-paying) gig making $??? per show." Third, leave a link to hear your stuff. Youtube, myspace, Reverbnation, website. DO NOT post with out it! Fourth, indicate that you will not respond to their reply unless they provide a link to samples of a past performance or recording.
I've also met people trough open mics and posting flyers in the practice rooms in colleges.
The only other suggestion I have is to go see the local bands in your area. More than likely you can approach a drummer that is already gigging and ask if he/she is interested in another project. I currently perform with 4 projects and none of them get in the way of each other. My drummer is in 6+ bands.
Craigslist and local blues jams. You'd be surprised how many guys job and are pro musicians looking for more work.
It was so hard to find a drummer/bass player locally that I had to find them an hour away...and I had to compromise a bit. There are either blues players or not blues players up there. I went with the later. ---------- Mike VHT Special 6 Amp for Harp Blog
Yo Bro some great Advice Above ,to a Person starting out it could make your Head Spin :)
I'm Guessing you show this to your Bro he will run and hide:) Bro with His "meeehhhh" Tude, Not Good:/
Q=question
NOD=Answer
Q-1 So, I have a friend who's a guitar player, and we have something pretty good going. Every couple of weeks we have a new little "song" going
NOD Bro this is great, My Slant Do as i did with my Bro on Acoustic Slide Finger Pickin, Go From the Jam Room to an Open mic Jam every Couple of weeks, Play the songs you are comfortable with Have some Fun Meet People:)
Q-2 I keep telling him we should start a band. His response is "meeehhhh we need a drummer." I say we should just write the damn songs tapping our feet, and find the drummer later.
NOD By going to a Jam every couple of weeks you will see if your Bro is Comitted or Drops out:/ if he Plays Electric Guitar every Jam has a House Band you get the bass Player and Drummer to back you up Have some Fun:)
Q-3 Regardless, I'm a graphic arts major, as is my friend... so we don't know many musicians. My question is, how do you find people to be in your band?
NOD Bro go to open mic Jams you will find the People at Open mic Jams are most Likely to Be from the Uni wich in my Town is the Norm:) There Young Musicians out Doing there Home work, a Lot of Bands or Artists come from The local UNI but they mostly meet at Pubs around town Jamming:)
Q-4 but they intimidate me, because they're career musicians, and my friend and I are more hobbyists.
NOD hobbyists,Grrrr:) Bro Don't be Intimidated ask them questions you will find out there cooler than you think, and are only to pleased to Help out ask them what Jams they go to where is the best place to go:)
NOD Bro do you realy need a Drummer you don't realy mention what kind of Band I'm Guessing Electric, Take what you have got going now try and get it working with your Bro as a Duo:)
Electric Guitar, Amped Harp, Heavy Bassed Foot Stomp Box, or pad whatever but not a Drum work this act up get it Kicking:)_ My Slant you only Have to be Half good at what your doing as Long as it's an act no one has seen done befor unusual Unquie and you are Shit Hot Brother:)
Then you can perfect your style on Stage Haveing Fun:)
Q-5 Oh and our working band name Deflowering Factory ---------- Yes the will be some on your Journey Have Fun:)
barbequebob wrote: "I can tell you from experience an bad drummer, followed by a bad bass player will bring ANY band down FAR quicker than a bad lead player will ..."
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Man, I soooo agree. Having gone down that road once, I'll stay band-less before I form or join another band with a drummer I have doubts about. Playing with a bad drummer is like pushing a heavy rock up hill -- eventually you'll run out of strength and it'll roll down on top of you.
In the eyes and ears of the generally unmusical audience, most people in a band can get away with murder.
I used to think the key personnel were the drummer and the singer - if anyone else cocks up, chances are the audience won't realise. If the drummer drops a beat or the singer forgets a lyric or doesn't hit the note, those are the ones people notice.
Having had the misfortune to see the latest travesty that is X-Factor UK it now appears that singers (and now I'm using the term very loosely) can get away with murder too (as long as they have a good backing track for a rousing chorus).
Drummers are ten-a-penny. Good drummers are as rare as rocking horse shit
when I put together bands, I always find the best bassist that I can. I let the bassist select and have full control over the drummer. Then i look for a 4th player if one is capable.
You might be the best harp player in the world but if your rhythm section is crap then you will sound like shit too.
Don't sound like shit because it sounds like shit. ---------- "I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
Bro's Today you can't afford to put ya self up as a Half assed act in any club or Bar, you will do your self no Favor even just going from the bedroom to the Local jams know your stuff:)
Don't be fooled thinking the Audiance is a bunch of Dummys other Muso's watch other Muso's from Joe Blows,Local Hot shots and Pro's,
In my Town Bar Hopping is the Norm, ok My Bro and I hear this Hot Dobro Slide Player is comeing to town, thats our only focus we tell friends ok we arrive,
find out he sounds like a Freaking Monkey banging on the Guitar strings Bloody Hippy Whiteman with Dreads Pathetic:/
A quick suss on the Mobby see what our friends are up to,there across town Whatching some other Hot act, BOB Freakin who ? What can't here ya! he shit him self no ya stupid mongrel BOB LOG the 3rd get over here:)
We tell our Party of friends with us and instantly 8 people walk out the joint we where only there for 4 songs:)
Now where not the only people in the joint with a Phone and the younger crowd is much more in tune with there Iphones than us silly Old Buggers:)
They will Bar hop all night catch up with friends you have to maintain the Audiances attention or they will go else where in a big Hurry:/
Old BOB was Intresting for 45 mins But we Hopped to another Bar where a Friend was Playing more sedate For us Old Buggers:)
So if you are just starting out don't be Fooled by thinking you can get away with being a Half assed act, you intend to play for money or be a House Band do the right thing for your Future as a Musician, every body is more in tune today than you may think news travels quicker than speed these days:/
OK What do i know as a musician Just traveled the path i layed with my Bro, we Have gone from Jam room to the Open Mic Nights, arvos what ever realy worked hard now opening act for my Freind Who is and my Harp Tuit in Local resturants and one up Town Pub:)
---------- Get your act together work Hard Prosper:)
Last Edited by on Oct 20, 2010 8:25 AM
Just starting out, you might not even know that you are playing with substandard players-they might be new to the whole thing as well. Hell, we all had to start somewhere. So, my advice is to get second opinions from experienced guys that have been around for a while-let them hear your prospects and even your whole act once you get it together. Ask them where you can improve, or if there's a standout 'weakest link' or two. Also remember, if this is your first band, you can't expect top-notch players to flock to you, unless you're some serious wunderkind or prodigy. This falls in the category of 'paying dues'. Hopefully, you'll get lucky and find solid players-experienced or not. Stage experience will come. ----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club Todd L Greene, Co-Founder
"Don't be fooled thinking the Audiance is a bunch of Dummys other Muso's watch other Muso's from Joe Blows,Local Hot shots and Pro's,"
This is very true. In 2004 I noticed a guy who looked like a musician, he started coming out to nearly every show. I would go and talk to him and he'd tell me that he plays a little guitar and has been around. I kept insisting that he sit in and he would always decline.
One day he asked if I wanted to play a gig with him. I said sure and asked who the rhythm section was... "Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto" You literally can not play with a better rhythm section anywhere in the world.
As it turned out this guitar player was a 13 year vet with the Peter Gabriel band and he quit to come home to Phoenix to take care of his mother. He got fed up with the music scene her, then his hired his sister to take care of their mother, bought her a house here and he moved back to Italy.
---------- "I am a great believer in understanding, not copying."
I love ya man....but I haven't got the slightest idea what you're rambling about. Nearest I can tell, your message is: try and sound as good as you can.
My point was that the occasional howler from the majority of people in a band slips past most of the audience, whereas even the slightest slip from a drummer or a singer is spotted by everyone, regardless of their musicality. I know the audience aren't dummies and I've played in front of my fair share of talented musos to know that.
My post was not to say that you can be half-assed about anything. Anyone with that attitude, shouldn't be in front of an audience and certainly not charging for it.
Last Edited by on Oct 20, 2010 8:38 AM
Honkin short term explanation get your Shit together or look like a Heap of it, you won't get work in town the message will get around on the Mobile Grape vine:) ---------- Cheers:)
Last Edited by on Oct 20, 2010 2:04 PM
Of course you should play as well as possible anytime you play out. I think what MrV said was very true and if you're a aspiring musician I think it's a good thing that a general audience isn't going to be as discerning as the group on this board is when it comes to harp playing.
If you lurk around here long enough, you get the impression that unless you can play in every postion, hit every bend possible and be in perfect time at all times, you should never get up in front of an audience and try to play. That level of criticism is apt to kill off a lot of the joy of getting up there and giving it a shot for a lot of beginner/intermediate players. Like Todd said, everybody's got to start somewhere.
My experience is that if you can play a little and stay within yourself, you can be very pleasing to a general audience assuming the band you're playing with is good. I've gotten up a few times and done some basic comping or a little fill here and there and the audience loved it. And the band(s) continued to ask me up for one or two songs in subsequent gigs, so i couldn't have sucked that bad. If I had video of this and posted it, I have no doubt I'd be ripped to shreds by the group here. "you know your blue third isn't quite on pitch" or "i didn't hear any overblows". Meanwhile the audience loves it.
I'm not saying the comments/criticisms on here aren't valuable. They are. This board is the acid test when it comes to harp playing, with the likes of the accomplished players who come here and comment. That's a tremendous resource for anybody trying to get better.
My only point is that MrV's comments regarding what you can get away with in front of many general audiences should give the beginner/intermediate players a little confidence to get up there every now and then and give it a shot.
NOD: "Honkin short term explanation get your Sit together or look like a Heap of it, you won't get work in town the message will get around on the Mobile Grape vine:) ---------- Cheers:)"
Most of the good drummers will refuse to gig with only you. We have encountered that as a band, but as a drummer myself it's something I'd like to work towards being.
If as you say you have something pretty good going, why try to feed another mouth and add a drummer. stick with what you have got. A duo is a lot less hassle than a trio. If two's company and three's a crowd, what are 4 and 5? ---------- "Come on Brackett let's get changed"
@Toddlgreene --- I absolutely agree that it is very difficult to find drummers who understands dynamics and whenever I have a drummer I may not have worked with before and not know that much about them, I warn them to keep their eyes and ears open 24/7 because dynamics is a HUGE part of what I do and I will change it at a drop of a hat and I've met so many drummers who can't handle that at all. I've seen too many rock drummers that their knowledge and ability concerning dynamics was essentially if someone lights s stick of dynamite up their butt ends.
One thing I need to point out it is that jams, much like sitting in, is clearly NOT the same as when you're doing a real gig because the expectations for something like that is CONSIDERABLY lower and in a real gig situation, musical discipline becomes extremely important and that open jam/sitting in sort of approach sounds royally ragged and unprofessional pretty quickly.
When you start adding bass and drums, the both of them absolutely HAVE TO BE LOCKED IN or it's a grooveless piece of crap you can find in almost any open jam or in someone's basement or living room and if you plan on gigging for real, the last thing you want to sound like is a bunch of amateurs.
BTW, from my own experience, most guys who ask to sit in usually tend to suck far more often than not and most pros will never ask to sit in.
@Buddha --- "You might be the best harp player in the world but if your rhythm section is crap then you will sound like shit too.
Don't sound like shit because it sounds like shit."
This is something I agree with 10,000% and it is absolutely the cold, hard, brutal TRUTH!!!!! I know that from personal experience.
---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
