Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I've had bad experiences with them lately and I always seem to uncover them. Now I'm just paranoid to trust anyone even if they do seem trustworthy.

Is this site bad as far as scammers are concerned?

"Scammers" - in what way? Search the profiles for people in your area, try to contact them.

Talk on the phone. See if they know what they're talking about. Meet at a public place for food or coffee. Then evaluate their behavior. Don't bring thousands of dollars in cash....

my willie wrote:yes there are scammers on here they will any song you wrote and some you have haven't they also steal panties. I once stole something. but then it came to me why did it steal it? if it comes to me I don't need to steal it. So i gave it back. Now i don't have it and won't come to me. Pitty poor scammer I am but that's ok my mind is running waaaay to fast now goodbye.

State offers exhibits A-Z. We got willie. No scammer like him, anywhere else in the universe.

schmedidiah wrote:
State offers exhibits A-Z. We got willie. No scammer like him, anywhere else in the universe.

schmed, i'm not sure how you made that typo when you wrote "scammer". really now , the "u" character ain't all that close to an "a" on the keyboard.

Scummer?

we have a winner!

Don't pay anyone/any place for "promotion" - that's a scam no matter who is offering it. Legitimate promoters will do it for a percentage of income generated by the promotion, they'll never ask for up front money.
As for musician-scammers/scummers .... ask for proof who they say they are - online music, videos, FB presence. etc. Too many momma-boys living in their parents' basements pretending they know how to play.

In response to the tip on how not to get scammed when meeting. I don't ever have that problem because first of all...if you're too damn lazy to post a profile pic...of yourself...NOT your cat, dog, pet bird, crash cymbal, whatever...then we won't ever be communicating about meeting anywhere...for any reason.

I've heard every excuse in the book for why someone does not want to show their face...and I say BULLSHIT to every one of them...my favorite being "I don't want my identity stolen. To that I say WHATEVER...is your DOB and SS # tattooed on your face?

People who won't show their face just seem untrustworthy to me right from the go. I don't care who you are in real life...and you may be the nicest person on the face of the earth...but choosing an unidentifiable avatar to represent you is just down right creepy if you ask me.

And I find it highly unprofessional as well. It kills me when I hear someone say they want to do something with their talent and/or music...but they don't even have the balls to show their face.

Bring on the comments...'cause I know someone just got rubbed the wrong way lol...but I won't even respond if you're one of the "mysterios".

Take off the mask...this ain't the WWF!

I've never had anyone try to scam me on this site, but I suspect they target younger folks, who might be more susceptible to that sort of thing. But as long as you have a dollar, there will be someone tryin' to take it...

As far as the pic thing, we've been down that road before. A pic really tells me nothing about your musical ability, and it might not even be you. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I'd much rather hear a clip. Yep, it's true the clip might not be you, but by talking to you I can gauge it better. If your clip sounds good, I'll ask if you can send me a chart or lead sheet; if you do, it's a fair bet you're genuine. Maybe you don't like to bother w/ charts; fair enough, but in talking to you, I can get a feel for that, and maybe ask you music-related questions.

Bottom line--it's always a crapshoot dealing w/ strangers, but there are things you can do to get a feel for whether it's worth your time and effort. At least for me, looking at a pic serves no useful purpose except to maybe determine if you fit a band's image, but that's the last thing I ever think about. Gimme the grungy old goomba who can play over the hottie who can't find E w/ a map. But that's just me.

DLW....does that mean you are you not gonna converse w me because my current avatar contains no pic of me, but only that of my vibraphone?????

As DP said (and i agree w most of what he said...i usually do), we have been down this rd discussing photos/video before. Me, I couldn't care less about whether your avatar has your photo, but when i go to your profile page....yes, i would prefer to see a photo or three of you there. But more importantly, I REALLY want to see some video of you playing, and prefer that over audio samples. These days ANYONE can sound passable on an audio recording.....but video, that's a little more telling about whether or not someone can play.

Welcome to bandmix, DLW....I hope you stick around to talk music. Don't let the rabid chihuahua who's been spamming this board with his mindless "child molester" and "child rapist" rantings lead you to believe that's all that goes on around these parts. He's been reported to administration, and so hopefully we can all get back to discussing music on what is afterall a Music forum.

Well yeah, videos are the holy grail in this context--there can be little doubt about what someone can do--but they are the least likely to be posted. It requires you actually perform somewhere, and that someone will take the video. My friends won't go to my piano-bar gigs; they say it's dull as dirt, and there's some truth to that; I'm strictly background noise, like a low hum in your ear. They do say they'll show if I'll do something really funny--like, say, trying to sing--but I'm not so sure that's a good idea.

Btw, my avatar is a good likeness. The hair's a bit longer now and I found a good cream for the arms and legs, but otherwise...

Displaced Pianist wrote:Well yeah, videos are the holy grail in this context--there can be little doubt about what someone can do--but they are the least likely to be posted. It requires you actually perform somewhere, and that someone will take the video. My friends won't go to my piano-bar gigs; they say it's dull as dirt, and there's some truth to that; I'm strictly background noise, like a low hum in your ear. They do say they'll show if I'll do something really funny--like, say, trying to sing--but I'm not so sure that's a good idea.

Btw, my avatar is a good likeness. The hair's a bit longer now and I found a good cream for the arms and legs, but otherwise...

All you need is your phone propped up against a drinking glass, or a point-and-shoot video camera.