Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

I don't understand why Bandmix isn't helping me out. I came here to find and become friends with three young adult guy musicians who are into playing the softer stuff and live in Baton Rouge. Instead The Match Mailer is sending out artists and bands that are already too busy with their own projects.

I will need someone who is comitted, and who is available on ANY given day during the afternoon or evening. This band is NOT for fans of hard rock, or metal.

Oh, I also need musicians who live right in Baton Rouge. I am legally blind and therefore cannot see enough to drive, so I will need someone to provide transportation.

Also most of the genres I play in are NOT even listed on the part of the site where people go to create their profile.

I play a broad mix of everything, but it mostly sticks to what 96.1 The River plays.

Now, come on, SOMEONE needs to do something about these people here at Bandmix, and have someone personally help me find what I'm looking for.

I'm not interested in gigging, so that's another thing. So, how many gigs a musician or band has played doesn't matter.

Also having the ability to denote whether someone is a cover musician, original or both can also help with better matching.

Also another thing that can help with better matching is to consider whether the musician wants to be matched STRICTLY with musicians in his city or wants to be matched OUTSIDE his city. I want to stay within Baton Rouge. Zip codes don't nessecarily tell me anything about miles. Now, an adress does. Because then instead of going by zip code miles, you're going by address miles. There's a difference between 10 miles from 70817 and 10 miles from your current adress.

Anyway, I'm tired of the Match Mailer matching only ONE attribute. I need it to match ALL attributes.

So, SOMEBODY help!

You type pretty good for a blind person.

kicken, legally blind or blind for that matter and 'cant see' are 2 entirely different things.

Cblake, have you tried your local craigslist? nevermind, i see you already did that.

Try this one? http://www.musicians-in-your-city.us/

Cblake, I see your situation, but I'm not sure why you're complaining, really.

You've come to a site that is basically designed for pro musicians who want to meet up & start new projects, & get upset when they treat you that way.

I look at it like it's like a dating service, in a way. You form your ad & profile, & hope the right person(s) come along.

The service contacts you when ppl in your general area are available, as they should. It's up to you to filter out those who don't fit into your specific needs.

You seem to want them to tailor their site to fit those specific needs. If that's what you want, I'd suggest you start up your own site for "regular folks" who don't care about gigging.

In closing, I'd suggest that you add some of your keyboard playing on your profile. It may generate some interest from ppl that are looking for the same things, if they can hear your abilities & feel like they could fit with you.

Good luck.

Franny wrote:kicken, legally blind or blind for that matter and 'cant see' are 2 entirely different things.

Cblake, have you tried your local craigslist? nevermind, i see you already did that.

Try this one? http://www.musicians-in-your-city.us/

Hey I checked out that site... I got one word: Ponderous.

Not the good kind. lol.

philbymon wrote:You've come to a site that is basically designed for pro musicians who want to meet up & start new projects, & get upset when they treat you that way.

For some reason this strikes me as hilarious.


no offense to you philby, that statement just seems, well uhm.....................yeah, thats it.

Yep...it hit me that way, too, & I just had to point it out to him.

I coulda probably worded it better, but what the heck...I ain't getting paid to typerate here.

Hey, that site didn't really help. It helps if I can see someone's picture and can get some general info about someone.

Also in another topic, someone said to search by genre, but the genre I want to search by is not listed. Also they said to search by zip code. I want to search BY CITY, I want to be able to choose from say a street or something. I have know knowledge of how far 70817 goes.

Rock is too general of a term these days.

I'm looking for young adult guys who are into the softer side of rock. I don't need metal or hard rock guys.

Also as I've said NUMEROUS times, this band WILL do gigs, just not right off.

I'm looking for musicians who are just starting out, but at the same time, play well, and can help me improve my playing.

There will be NO leader in this band. Everybody will contribute.

Look, I just want to have a fun activity with three other young adult guys playing music together.

I don't want any heavy drinkers, drug addicts, smokers or gay guys in this band.

This band will play light rock music and Christian music. I don't need metalheads, or hard rock guys.

I WILL need dedicated musicians. In other words, I don't want to become friends with someone who plays music but doesn't want to start a band.

I just need three guy friends who are passionate about the softer side of rock, most notably the 80s, 90s, and 2000s.

I believe you're being too restrictive in the kind of musician you're looking for and certainly too restrictive in the place you want to find them. If there was a musician outside of Baton Rouge who was willing to travel to you, wouldn't that be okay? Bandmix can only do so much for you. It is but one tool to locate musicians. There's a lot of other ways to find people in your city. Visit all the music stores in town and talk to managers, sales people, and especially music teachers and tell them what you're looking for. Tell every person you meet or know that you are a musician and what you're looking for. You'd be amazed how many people know a musician and how many people ARE musicians. If there's any bands in town that play the kind of music you like, go listen to them and between sets or after the show talk to the band members and tell them who you are and what you're looking for. Almost every pro musician knows other pro musicians and even some of the band members may have time to play with you part-time. Does Baton Rouge have an entertainment newspaper with a musical classified section? If so I would suggest running an ad there. Hopefully you've got the ability to get out and meet people. The music business is first and foremost a business of getting to know as many people in the business as possible. Call or visit any professional studio in your area and talk to the owners, managers, and technicians. I'm sure some of them would be more than happy to help you. Since you're looking for a specific genre of musician you need to market yourself locally as much as possible. I hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck.

Look, as I've told you. Since I'm legally blind, which means I can't DRIVE and therefore can't easily go WHEREVER I want to meet people.

Also what I'm looking for is a once or twice a week jam session.

I don't LIKE to go to bars and I don't know enough music teachers or the right music teachers who can help.

Also I've TRIED the ONLY places in Baton Rouge.

Also you still don't understand that I WANT friends who are musicians who are NOT yet PART of a band. DUH!

Read what I'm writing, bro.

Again, bro, it's extremely hard for me to get out. I will ALWAYS need someone to drive me somewhere and well, my parents DON'T like to go to bars, and that's not even possible. Didn't you even read what I'm requesting?

If I am to have a once or twice a week jam session, it would help if he lived in Baton Rouge so that it would be easiest to go over to someone's house. DUH! I don't want to travel outside Baton Rouge.

Again, I'm not interested in making money (putting an ad in the paper costs money, and I don't even know HOW to do that and NOBODY probably wouldn't even notice it) at least not the right people. By that, I mean, young adult guys (late teens, 20s and early 30s) who just want to get together as FRIENDS (understand the meaning of that word) and play some great pop and soft rock music. NOBODY fits that description yet.

They HAVE to live in Baton Rouge for EASY travel. Nope, don't want Denhim Springs, New Orleans (ugh, hate that city) or ANY other city. I want this friendship to last and not be a one time thing.

I CANNOT talk to a band because most play at bars and it's HARD for me to really see at night. I need to talk to some young adults during the DAY!

Tomorrow I will be at Baton Rouge Community College from 8:00am-4:00pm. Now, if I had some form of transportation, preferrably a friend who knew of a place where I could meet other musicians (the ones who don't drink, smoke, or well, do a bunch of crazy stuff) then that might work. Of course, a better thing would be if BRCC had a pop and light rock music club, but they don't. Why? Because they don't have enough White guys there, and most of the people there are into rap, and R&B. They DO have a jazz band and a gospel choir, but that's just not for me. That's just NOT my thing at all.

Again, I don't want to get people who play hard rock, because that's not the angle for this band. I need to get guys who are passionate about the softer side of rock. Get a few clues! Read what I'm writing, here.

Also you don't seem to understand. I am NOT looking for pros! Just three guys who are a little bit more skilled and knowledgeable in music than I am and those who have time.

I just need some other ways (that don't involve long-distance travel and bothering my parents to go somewhere. It's NOT easy for me to get around. Hey, if people would hurry up and put an auto-pilot car on the market, I might be able to go wherever I want.

Oh, and another thing. I am NOT all that interested in being a part of the music industry! Didn't you read what I just wrote about me not wanting to do this for money or popularity? Don't you understand the concept of friends who enjoy doing the same activity?

This is more about friends than about music. I want to be able to do other secondary activities with my bandmates. I CANNOT advertise for THAT in the paper.

In short, please give some BETTER advice. Like maybe, I don't know, give out a good place in Baton Rouge where a lot of young adults go.

I tried going to Healing Place Church (Their Annex location) but that band is WAY too hard to talk to. They are BUSY on Thursdays and well, they leave WAY too quickly. So, that's a bust.

But also note that I don't JUST want to play Christian music or WHAT THEY want to play. I want to be able to play some 80s Madonna, Richard Marx, Michael Jackson, and some Stevie Nicks-Lindsey Buckingham Fleetwood Mac, and a few stars of today: Dashboard Confessional, Howie Day, Lifehouse, and other pop and light rock with guys who also really enjoy that kind of music.

Get a few clues! Try to help me out a little better. Please?

Give me some advice I can actually try that's not too hard. I've tried all the major music stores in Baton Rouge. Zeagler doesn't have anything except Weekend Warriors which is not for young adults but for old guys who want to gig for a little while and the music styles are still NOT suited for what I want to play. They ONLY play classic rock which is NOT my forte.

Look, I just want a few local friends over.

Why won't somoene from Baton Rouge give me some pointers?

Please?

fisherman bob wrote:I believe you're being too restrictive in the kind of musician you're looking for and certainly too restrictive in the place you want to find them. If there was a musician outside of Baton Rouge who was willing to travel to you, wouldn't that be okay? Bandmix can only do so much for you. It is but one tool to locate musicians. There's a lot of other ways to find people in your city. Visit all the music stores in town and talk to managers, sales people, and especially music teachers and tell them what you're looking for. Tell every person you meet or know that you are a musician and what you're looking for. You'd be amazed how many people know a musician and how many people ARE musicians. If there's any bands in town that play the kind of music you like, go listen to them and between sets or after the show talk to the band members and tell them who you are and what you're looking for. Almost every pro musician knows other pro musicians and even some of the band members may have time to play with you part-time. Does Baton Rouge have an entertainment newspaper with a musical classified section? If so I would suggest running an ad there. Hopefully you've got the ability to get out and meet people. The music business is first and foremost a business of getting to know as many people in the business as possible. Call or visit any professional studio in your area and talk to the owners, managers, and technicians. I'm sure some of them would be more than happy to help you. Since you're looking for a specific genre of musician you need to market yourself locally as much as possible. I hope this helps. I wish you the best of luck.

Didn't you read? I am NOT interested in the music business. I'm NOT doing this for business. If I was, then I wouldn't have put so many resctrictions on things. This is a friendship project, NOT just a musician's project. READ!

I don't know of ANY professional studio that I can call and therefore visit! I would have done that already if I had known of some in my area. Duh! But again, I'm not interested in marketing myself, or playing with a band part-time. I'm trying to start my OWN! It's HARD to find the type of musicians who play the kind of music I want to play. First off, they are covers by specific artists in pop and rock.

Also remember, I am not all that keen to going out to bars by myself. And it's HARD to chat with a band, because I'd have to catch them BEFORE a set and well that is HARD to do considering that I don't KNOW of any bands in the Baton Rouge that will play songs at a reasonable that I can get a friend to take me to. My paretns DO NOT like have time to go out to hear music.

Being legally blind is HARDER than you think. It's actually making it that much harder!

Again, I'm NOT interested in performing in public yet. I just want to jam with some friends. THREE young adult guys IN Baton Rouge who would like to be friends first, AND then jam. duh!

Hmmm...it seems to me...just in persusing over your posts...that if you were really looking for friends to play music with...perhaps you could try being a bit more friendly...duh!

I don't think you are helpable, so I won't try to help, other than to say quitcher bitchin' & either take some of the advice you've been given, or find your own way to accomplish something instead of begging other ppl to do it all for you.

I don't care if you are blind or deaf or what have you, or how hard you think your life may be, whining & slamming ppl doesn't do much for me, & I seriously doubt that it will seem all that attractive to the ppl you claim you are seeking.

You say you don't want to gig. Then you say that your band will gig eventually. Then you say that you aren't interested in gigging or the music industry. Stop. Determine what you want in detail. Declare it in a specific, clearly understandable fashion. When you get advice, thank those that gave it with a bit of graciousness, whether or not you can use it. Otherwise, you come off as being the asshole I'm beginning to believe that you are.

Have a nice day.

Wait, what? Look, advice should be helpful. That other guy didn't give me any advice that I can actually use. If you knew me at all, you would have maybe done something.

Loo, I don't want to gig...yet. The point of this band is so I can get together with three other guys around my age to just jam with, and THEN once the band gets good, THEN do shows.

I know what I want, now I just need the right guys. READ what I'm writing, and you might want to stop being jerks as well.

Look, it is EXTREMELY hard for me to go out to other places. I DON'T know of any.

I'm at BRCC from 8:00am-4:00pm and since I don't have a car (it's illegal for blind people of ANY type to drive) so therefore I'm STUCK there. Then I go back to my parents' house, and I am pretty much stuck there! My parents are NOT musiically inclined and once they are home, they are home, unless they want to take me somewhere that's NOT too far from home. Now, please don't ask how far is too far because I really don't really know. The point is that if the place I want to go is downtown, most likely my parents will NOT take me, especially if it's a bar.

I came here so that somebody from Baton Rouge could help.

If I came off as a jerk, I'm sorry, but the advice the other guy gave wasn't all that helpful. That's why I came here! To network with other young adult musicians who like the softer side of rock.

Look, my life isn't THAT bad. It's actually really good, ALL I want are a few dedicated guys to really jam with.

Since I want to continue learning about music theory, I want to get guys who are a little bit above me in that department.

Again, I've looked at all the big music stores in Baton Rouge. There aren't any programs for young adults in college.

I'm trying to explain EVERYTHING as clear as I can.

The point is that I don't want to just find some random band and start gigging, I want to first find a group of friends jam with (among other activites) and then after working on some pop covers, working on some songs, and having fun as friends, then do gigs. (How long this will take doesn't matter) I am in NO hurry to gig.

But the point of this band is NOT to make money, look cool, do drugs, or ANYTHING like that. It's much higher than that. It's about four guys getting together and playing some great pop and light rock music together. The artists covered are TOO numerous to mention.

I don't have ANY way to record me playing my keyboard. That's out.

I've got to head to class now.

A friend of mine is 100% blind. He plays drums in a band, which practices once a week and they gig at least once a week as well. He can set up his own kit without assistance, other than where to set it up. He has to mooch rides, too.

He's the nicest guy in the world, is non-abrasive, and one helluva good drummer.

I think people here are trying to help you dude, but you are being way too abrasive.

As far as zipcode searches, here's my small contribution. You can do a search by zipcode, and then sort the results by distance, so you get the closest matches first.

Of all the shortcomings of this site, the zip/sort feature is probably one of the last things they need to address.

Again, lighten up and ask nicer. Try asking your questions in a different way if you don't get the desired answers. Remember that you are expecting a lot from people who don't know you from a hole in the ground.

"I don't want any heavy drinkers, drug addicts, smokers or gay guys in this band. "

Oh well.... just eliminated my chances... Guess which 3 I am?

(is crack considered a drug?)