United States

I would rent a spot at the local swap meet and put a tip jar out, and then face reality..if you are great, you should be able to rake in some coin..

There are also many open jams around. Playing with others in any situation will get you further than playing in your bedroom.
At many open mics others are looking for someone to play with, too.

Hey guys, longtime bandmix user here. This is my first venture into the forums, but I figured I'd ask something I've been curious about for a little while now.

So I've spent two unsuccessful (and rather frustrating) years trying to put a band together,

You are within 500 miles of 75% of America in Pittsburgh

You shouldn't have a problem finding musicians there...unless you never go out looking for them. It is going to take some work to get something worth having, so ask around at every place where musicians hang, including open mic night. Then repeat until you find the band.

Surely there are local magazines where you can run musician want ads in Pittsburgh? Have you tried going where indie bands play and asking around? How about posting a note at all the music stores?

Man, keyboardists are hard to come by. Unless you have obvious "issues", I can't imagine you will be sitting out there too long if you look hard enough. Hell, I'd have you over in a heartbeat if you were in the Hartford, CT. Our keyboardist and sometimes bassist and occasional drummer (we like to switch around sometimes) just told us that he will be leaving to join a band closer to home (he currently is about 45 minutes away). We need a multi-instrumentalist! Which is not easy to find.

That said, we are looking into doing the same thing- we've been an entity for about 12 years and haven't done an open mic in over 10, but that is where we are headed. BandMix and Craigslist can only get you so far. The last time we needed to replace our keys it took months using BM and CL. I hope the open mic idea opens doors.

Good luck in your search.

Yes, go to open mikes.
You don't know what's happening in the music scene, and you need to find out.
Go, and talk to a LOT of people.
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Don't think about it; just go . . .

Most open mikes around here are NOT jam sessions. You can play your own songs by yourself.

Most open mikes around here are NOT jam sessions. You can play your own songs by yourself.

In the greater Boston area there are both. And open mics can be much like 'business networking' sessions - it's what you make of them. Whether I'm attending or hosting an OM, I'll try to network with as many people as I can, if the environment is condusive to that (some are not).

Well, why not? Go there, hang around for one or two nights and it you feel OK with it give them your best shot.

The open mic and jam nights I have attended have been a mixed bag, but usually you at least find people to hang with in the bar. And if you click you might just as well try to do a song or two together. Take it from there.

Concurring with the above replies. If you aren't so much into performing solo, it's still a good idea to go to a few open mics and listen and talk to the performers; some of them may be looking for a band as well.

If you are writing your own material, it would be a good idea to have some samples in an accessible location - soundcloud, reverbnation, bandmix, or any of the myriad sites like that - so you can have any performers you are interested in working with hear your sound and see if the feeling is mutual.

It would really help the forums.
Nice...
Cheers ... : )