United States

Hello there folks! I'm a 23 recent college graduate who lives near Richmond VA, and has always had a bit of a problem finding my niche. I sing and play keyboard/piano, and I'd absolutely love to get into industrial/alt rock, symphonic rock, and electronic music, but when it comes to finding other musicians to collaborate with I seem to be at a loss.

Musically, I'm pretty open minded, but definitely have interests that stray from most of the musicians I have collaborated with in the past. Maybe I'm difficult to work with or hard to please, but it never really works out to be anything more than a temporary fit. Richmond Virginia has a pretty strong death-metal scene, but I quickly learned that I have little interest in that (Plus, My screams don't sound so great).

SO, how have you done it? How have you met other musicians? How can you find a niche/ potential band partners? Should I be seeking out specific venues? Use the internet? Should I move somewhere else that offers more opportunities that interest me? Should I stop being so stubborn and try types of music that I'm not that interested in making?

What have your experiences been?

It ain't easy! If you check over in the general chat area of this forum you will see a simialr thread.
At age 23, I can advise ou to just get out there and play with others, even if it is not the type of music you want to do. I'm sure there are other opportuniteis besides death metal in your area. I know the band Carbon Leaf is from there, and they are acoustic-oriented, so there must be other types of music around as well.
Advertise on Craigslist, and read others' ads there. Post something at the local music stores. As a keyboardist, open mic nights are a challeng,e but look for places that have a piano available.
In the meantime, keep practicing, writing/recording, etc.

Build your own solo act, hit the cafes and small pubs... build the interest from your peers...the rest will unfold as it should...when one day, somebody approaches you and say...Like yer sh*t dude...need a bass player?, etc etc...

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep working on my own material and hopefully I'll meet folks who I can work with.

The main thing I guess is meeting folks who have skills I don't, and haven't really developed. For example: Learning to play guitar makes absolutely no sense to me, but it'd be nice to incorporate that into my sound.

I'll keep at it and hopefully will find folks with common interests.

I stole the band away from Black Oak Arkansas in the late 80s. Jim Dandy was snorting all the deposit money before they even got to the gig, so all it took was a (great) song list and some smooth talking to bar owners. I convinced them my band could do all the songs they wanted to hear. Then I had to find a band.

After lining up a few gigs, I then went to the local music store and hung out all day asking the employees to tell me about everyone who came in. The guys from Black Oak were living in Dallas at the time and came in complaining about their situation. It was easy.

If you can pay them, musicians are more "motivated" to rehearse.




Even if you can't line up gigs, go to the music store all day every day that you can, and ask the employees for help finding the right people. Hang out and listen to people jamming on the instruments. I agree with Dog that you shouldn't depend on musicians (EVER) to get started or to keep going. When you don't need them to get gigs, they will find you.

Good luck.

Seek and you shall find.


Or as my grade school English teacher would say ... SEEK is an action word.

That drum player for Black Oak in the 70s,
was the most kickazz drummer I ever saw
perform live.

I had no idea who they were when I first saw Black Oak with Ruby Starr but I was speechless!

I loved it. Jim Dandy no doubt had his flaws but that boy could get it done.

Talbot

That drum player for Black Oak in the 70s,
was the most kickazz drummer I ever saw
perform live.

Yeah, didn't everyone love "Hot & Nasty" when it came out?

The original band was fantastic but they left Jim Dandy long before the 80s...probably the same reason these guys in the late 80s were looking for another gig.

But this band was damn good too...just not the original that you're talking about.

I went to open mics at coffee shops and bars. Watch the acts, sign up yourself. Watch others and they'll watch you. When you see something you can picture yourself enjoying playing with, introduce yourself and ask if they're looking to add to their group. Nerve-wracking, but effective!

Move ahead 10 spaces ...

That can work with enough time, but you have a limited amount (and type) of people to choose from and you end up spending too money on beer and too much time in a bar.

At least I do....




Whereas the music store has a lot more people and you can hear them jamming without them knowing you're checking them out. It also helps to see them in the daylight.

I use to drink with Jim Dandy outside of
Black Oak in Paragould AR, it was a dry
county everybody drank at the same club.
I thought he was cool. I partied one night with
Clint Longley of the Dallas Cowboys, a quaterback,
one of the meanest toughest men I ever met,
we tore the southside of Dallas up drinking and
carousing.

Im in a similar boat im parity much a one man band at the moment you should post some of ur work up for people to check out all the music I have I made it my self do that and people will come

Whereas the music store has a lot more people and you can hear them jamming without them knowing you're checking them out. It also helps to see them in the daylight.

Ahh, if they come out in the daylight, they're not really musicians, though?