General Music Chat

Found this ad on my local CraigsList:

"We are looking for a singer/guitarist/songwriter that wants to play poppy/rock indie music.

We are two guys in our 30s. One drummer, one bass player. We're not looking to do any tours or spend countless weekends recording (not that there is anything wrong with that). We have families and day jobs. Ideally we hope to practice once a week, play a few parties/shows when ready. We have a full pa and rent a practice space in apex. We are definitely not into mellow/county/classic/bluegrass music.

M/F and ages are open. If you are interested, let us know. "

What ran through my mind:

"A bass player and a drummer, both with time, money, a practice space with PA."

Will I call these guys.....Hell NO

If you're not going to call those guys why bother posting that info here?

If you're not going to call those guys why bother posting that info here?

Discourse Bob, discourse. Thanks for your contribution.

I would not call 95% of the ads on CL. So what is the point? I'm going to guess the point is you'd like to call these guys if they were more into what you want to do. If you aren't playing with anyone currently you might want to be more open minded.

Sounds like a fun thing to do for some weekend warrior.

This is why I think as musicians we are so Damn careful about who we contact in these adds. The heartache one can endure from contacting the wrong person can really be VERY brutal and DISCOURAGING! The choices out there can even be downright disheartening, there are so many variables! I think as muscians we are so cautious and picky that we tend to close our minds to opportunity sometimes. However if you don't try and contact people thru networking open mic. nights or whatever you may never know and could be passing up countless opportunities. My philosophy to playing in bands (and life) is no matter how negetive a situation seems there is ALWAYS a positive if you look hard enough. I have learned things from the worst possible band scenarios. If you are going to be a musician wasting your time just goes along with the job. You have to be relentless if you want to acheive any kind of success in the music buisiness.

wow ... Scatchy ... you waiting for a invite from Springsteen's band.

What's the harm in hooking up with these guys for a jam ... hell you can always leave if it's no fun, they not looking to marry you. Or maybe you need more time in your bedroom wanking away to full fill your ego ... or maybe you don't have the chops to play in a band.

It's only time the you'll be wasting ... man up and give it a go

I'll jam with just about anyone (if it's my kind of line up), informally and more than that I can't tell until further on down the line.

PS: Worse comes to worse, you'll have an interesting, eventful meeting.
Notice I didn't say "good".

They do become memorable, though. (chuckle)

Yeah, they have their own rehearsal space so if they're paying for it, they have some kind of drive, and you never know who they know.

My old man, when we're not in the studio, he goes out and jam. He doesn't get paid, but people know him and there have been friends who have approached him at these clubs asking if he could put a band together for their party equaling PAID WORK.

Last night, we were hanging out in Huntington at the open air market. There was a band playing. Four guitar players (two accoustics and two electrics), a bass player and two drummers. All these guys are seasoned players who tour with other people, and figured since they weren't busy at the moment, WTH. Two of the guys knew Cisco from the jams, plus a group of people who were listening to them. They had a huge crowd around them and they were just playing old covers. Got a bunch of tips.

It beats sitting at home.

Chaeya

Scratchy the only way to find out if people fit what you are looking for is to get off your ass and play with them.

I dont understand your post.

Im like someothers here if they are paying for a practice space then they are more serious than most folks.

Oh yeah i sat on the computor writeing reading and telling people I wants to play for a couple of years. no body sent a limo to pick me up and take me to rehearsal.

With your attitude good luck finding a workable situation. The best you can do is a solo gig.

Man ... I discovered real quick ... call EVERYBODY.

You cannot tell by one add or conversation what someone really wants, or WHOM ELSE THEY MIGHT KNOW.

CALL !! MEET !!

Then when you have some real information ...

Consider fully & act decisively.

This is the way of the warrior.

I got Scratchy's post. I wouldn't call them either. Why would you take all your written material to a couple of guys who only want to practice once a week and think anything productive on the weekends is a waste of time? Do they expect to play parties on the weekdays? What is that?

I've had experience with these kind of people and it's always been a big waste of time. I would be better off writing better songs for someone who was more optimistic than a couple guys stuck in their ways.

My $5 dollars

I posted the CL ad to get an idea of where everyone's head was at, and their approach to looking for musicians. The replies were varied and interesting, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to reply.
Krul's opinion matches mine, when it comes to judging the level of commitment from these two guys.
Also, some of yall should consider that, other than what I wrote on my profile, you really don't know anything about me. Maybe I am waiting for Springsteen to call me (can't see why since I've never played anything he wrote), and maybe I am wanking in my bedroom stroking my ego. But I think you loose credibility when you attack the person who posted, rather than discuss WHAT was posted. Understand?
Thanks everyone.

I don't know Krul, once a week rehearsals are the norm. Yeah some bands (mostly younger) can rehearse more but that seems to be the norm. And all the guys in the ad said was they didn't want to spend all weekend recording; no they're not the most ambitious guys but it would beat jamming in your room. Meanwhile you keep looking for folks for your band.

:o