General Music Chat

Why? I am NOT whining. I'm telling EVERYBODY what I have to work with.

I never accused you of whining.

See? You're mocking me.

I wasn't mocking you, but you are making it hard not to.

Be helpful. Introduce me to someone who can help.

If I knew of some decent places where I can go, and where I'd feel comfortable, don't you think I'd actually be there by now?

There's good and bad ways to go about things, I think you are taking a very overly-defensive approach and snipping at anyone who doesn't agree with everything you say and want.

Again, I'm telling you, the music I play is NOT fit for church, so that's out, and the ONLY Open Mic I know of is North Gate Tavern by LSU. That's out, because I tried it there, I didn't like the bar atmosphere, and the audience wasn't geared to the style I was playing. Most of the audience members were drinkers. I DON'T want heavy drinkers in my band.

Stop trying to crucify me. Start being a bit more helpful.

Well, I'm 1000 miles away from you, so I don't think I'm going to be able to submit to your demands for help.

I wouldn't have put my heart on the line if I wasn't running out of options. Come on, I need to meet more musicians who are starting bands for friendship purposes, and who want to start out by jamming.

This is the part that makes no sense to me. You are either ready musically to join a band (whose goals would obviously be to play out), or you are not. You won't find anyone willing to make all the sacrifices in life necessary to be in a band, for a payoff that is nothing more than "friendship". You are also asking people to pick you up and take you home to and from these practices. I understand you have issues that are not your fault and beyond your control, BUT...

If you need people to make sacrifices to HELP you, then you need to get off your high horse and accept the fact that YOU TOO will have to negotiate SOMETHING to meet people in the middle. Like playing out, or at an open mic at a bar, etc... You can't have everything your way, especially when you are asking for so much.

I'm not playing in public yet, PERIOD! I'm NOT good enough. Plus, I'd need to play my covers in a place where there are other young adult guys who are into pop, adult contemporary, soft rock, and adult alternative pop/rock.

Will someone do the right thing and help? Someone from Baton Rouge, please?

If you are not good enough then that's fine. I respect someone who knows their own limitations.

How about you compromise a little more on what you are willing to accept in a musical relationship and stop being so demanding about everything. You will catch more flies with honey than vinegar...

What? Cliches? You're kidding. I know about ALL that stuff.

Also I AM willing to compromise. But if I FIRST become FRIENDS with someone, wouldn't they simply be glad to drive me to and from their house where they practice?

And here's the thing, I need to improve on some songs, and I need to play in a band situation BEFORE I play in public. As I said in a previous post, I wouldn't mind going to a bar as long as I'm with friends. If I'm with friends, then that's good.

But I am willing to compromise. And I also understand about give and take.

I am a nice guy if someone gave me a chance.

You had your chance with all of us, junior, & you wasted it. Go away & grow up, then come back & try again. You aren't ready to be a musician any more than you're ready to be a brain surgeon or astronaut.

I'm wondering if you're ready to have a job or even go to school, for heaven's sake!

What the hell did your parents do to you? Did they raise you in a box in the basement?

I've met kindergarteners with better social skills.

I thought he was a brain surgeon/ass-tro-naught.. lol

Ha Ha!
Looks like Crip and The Cap has taken ol' One Eye to the optometrist!

OK I've tried to stay out of this but I just can't help myself...let's pick some of your comments apart, shall we?

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!

If you're trying to put together a band, then you're in the music business. Period. Friendship usually develops after the musicians get together and start spending a lot of time together practicing.

Dude, what do you want me to offer? Drugs? Money? Smoking? A Grammy? A bandroom? What?

How about a decent attitude? How about trying to understand and utilize the advice you've already gotten instead of complaining because it's not exactly what you want.

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.

ANY given day? That's asking a lot, usually band rehearsals are planned around the schedules of everyone involved, from one to three days a week, depending on the members' availability. On ANY given day the drummer might already have a date with his favorite girlfriend planned...

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

OK, so where's YOUR picture??? You expect others to post them...where's yours?

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.

The genre you want is ROCK. It's very general, but the songs and artists you listed are considered either rock or classic rock. Soft rock (that stupid, mushy, whiny crap you listen to) is considered part of classic rock. If you want to know how far a zip code goes, try the post office, and the phone book might still have zip code maps. I'm sure if you try a little looking you can find that information online too.

Rock is too general of a term these days.

See above.

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.

Number one, in addiotion to everything else, now you seem to be racist. The best sax player and best drummer I ever knew were both black. White guys aren't the only ones who are capable of playing an instrument.

Why does it matter what kind of music the people are into? If you try talking to a few you might discover that some of the jazz or R&B players are also capable of handling the kind of stuff you're into. You never know unless you TRY.

Hey, if people would hurry up and put an auto-pilot car on the market, I might be able to go wherever I want.

What a scary thought...

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.

How do you expect people in a number of other states to have the slightest idea where to go in Baton Rouge? I haven't lived there since the mid 80's so I have no idea what might be there either.

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

Too hard to talk to? I've met very ferw musicians who are all that hard to talk to, and if they're busy on thursdays, get a phone number or something and get in touch another day. The week does happen to have six other days attached...usually...

They ONLY play classic rock which is NOT my forte.

I guess that just sucks...but what you are into is still part of classic rock...Fleetwood Mac is played every day on the "classic rock" station around here...yeah it's called soft rock, but from the rare occasions I've had to suffer through a ferw hours of it I still hear songs from bands I'm very familiar with...Steely Dan, Toto, McCartney...classic rock artists.

I don't know of ANY professional studio that I can call and therefore visit!

Try a phone book.

I don't know of ANY professional studio that I can call and therefore visit!

Robin answered that one already. Start one.

You said:

What office? I don't have time or the power to do that sot of thing.

They don't have that sort of thing at Baton Rouge Community College. If they did, I'd be on their already.

Also I don't want to start a community board. That won't lead to anything.

The administrative office of course. You don't have the time? Try swapping out some of the time you sit in front of that computer and type up all these responses constantly complaining and dreaming up excuses not to try anything these people have suggested. And they have offered some really good suggestions. Don't have the power? Horse doovers...you don't need power, you need to try TALKING to them. Oh, and the word I think you wanted was SORT...not sot. Sot is a slang term for drunkard. But you stated a big part of the problem, you don't want to. And how do you know if it won't do any good if you don't TRY?

When I was 12 I cut the tendon to the ring finger in my left hand, had to have it surgically reconnected. After playing guitar since I was 5 it really sucked...Listen to Last Train on my profile, that's just a rough track and really not the best I can do. Know how I relearned to play guitar like that with a ring finger that barely works at all and limited dexterity in the others? I TRIED...A lot...

Help me out. Give me some advice that is actually not quite so far-fetched and hard to do. Give me something that doesn't involve going to the authorities to start a bogus community message board.

Who said anything about starting a bogus bulletin board? If you start one, you want it to be genuine. But going to "the authorities" is the only way it'll happen. So get off your butt and try it. They're just school administrators, it's just their job, they put their pants on one leg at a time just like me, all you have to do is walk right in there and start talking.

Will someone just give me a good website where I can meet other musicians in my area?

Google is your friend.

Also when I do meet someone who plays music, he ends up being a guy who isn't all that great at it, or someone who used to play guitar, but gave it up because he wasn't that good or because of college or something. Also sometimes the musicians I get don't even play the instruments I'm looking for. For example, one time at The Annex, I found a musician but he played the trumpet. I'm not looking for a trumpet player. I need a bass guitar player, a guitar player (skiiled in both electric and acoustic) and a drummer.

Welcome to the music world.

And also when I meet a musician, he's usually into hard rock or metal, not soft rock.

See above.

I'm sorry, but I don't have the tools to do anything you said. I don't know how to start my own website, and I don't have the ability to record MP3s. All I have is MIDI and well, this site and Myspace won't let you use MIDI. OK, so I do have a Myspace where people can go to listen to a few roughs, but I didn't record those MP3s myself. Those were originally MIDI files, and somebody I knew in Baton Rouge converted them into MP3s for me. Of course, they came out terrible. As you can see, Right Here Waiting needs a lot of work, and well, I've really improved on Like A Prayer. When I recorded it, I was still working on it at the time.

You think I'd be able to play guitar at all now, much less sax, keyboards, drums, bass, and learning flute if I had ever said "But I don't have fingers that work"...Tell you what...I didn't plan to do this but soon as I find it I'll put up a song I recorded a couple of years ago in my bedroom called "Desperatel;y Electric Tea". I didn't intend to since it's not great quality and has a couple of minor mistakes, but just to show you what can be done on limited resources, it was recorded on a windows 98 computer with an acoustic guitar and a $10 computer mic. Same mic you can buy at Wal Mart any day for $15 or less right now. El cheapo condenser mic, you might already have one. How's that for utlizing the resources at hand? All you've done is give us excuses.

But you know what? I hardly use that MIDI program because well, it's a hassle getting it all hooked up, and everything.

I use a dual amp rig onstage, two amps, both over 75 lbs, a 2x12 Kustom speaker cabinet, 7 or 8 guitars, a pedal board I made myself, vocal and sax mics, a sax, 3 gear bags with mics, cables, tuners, extra strings, stands...think it's not a hassle hooking all that up? If it's too much trouble, you don't have what it takes to be a musician.

Also why are most people on here hardcore dudes? Where are the real passionate music dudes? You know, the ones who didn't just fall into "music." I'm talking about the guys who got their instrument at an early age, took lessons, found the music they LOVE at an early age, and stuck with it?

Read that last sentence. That's exactly what most of us are. I started at age 5, learned every instrument in the band room in high school, most of the people who have been trying to help you are lifelong musicians. Here we are.

All you nay-sayers are NOT worth it.

The only place I've seen the word nay is in your posts and once by Philby in another thread in response to your drivel.

Why don't you just give me a kiss, have me arrested, beat me, mock me, then crucify me?

Don't tempt me...

I'm tired of working so hard.

Yeah me too. And I still practice almost every day, I still carry all that equipment in and out every time I gig. I bet Eric Clapton and BB King are tired too but they still get out there and play. Music is work, deal with it.

I cannot go downtown because that is TOO far to go and my parents are ALWAYS tired.

I'm beginning to see why.

I'm not talking to some cutie at a grocery store, or talking to some volunteer workers at my church. THEY are NOT going to help me with the music side of things!

How do you know if you don't try? The cutie at the grocery store is one of my favorite people to talk to, she's such a sweetie...I go in there sometmes just to say hi...

I CAN'T do Open Mic Nights because I don't know of ANY other places that cater to light rock music. If it doesn't cater to light rock music, then I CAN'T do it!

I played acoustic rock gigs in a country bar outside Gonzales once, 2 hour shows before the regular band started. Yeah Gonzales right outside Baton Rouge. They dropped me after a few weeks because it just wasn't working, but I tried. Quite a few people liked it too, but not enough to justify them keeping me aboard.

All you nay-sayers are NOT worth it.

You're the chief nay-sayer...nay, I can't do this...nay, I don't like that...

You're complaining, arguing and making up excuses, not TRYING. Quit arguing, give up your negative attitude. Get out there and try. Meet some people. Talk to folks at church, school, grocery store..wherever you go. But stop thinking up every excuse you can to avoid admitting you're not trying.

oh, and learn to spell...what are you going to school for anyway? Are you just another dumb kid wasting MY tax dollars? I helped pay to put you through school for 12 years, you must have sat there and stared out the window, you certainly didn't learn to spell.

EDIT:

Desperately Electric Tea is uploaded. It's not great, a couple of mistakes and some buzzing that I think may be a loose strut in my guitar and the condenser mic picks it up really well, dn the playing is not up to par but it does show you what is possible on a low budget with just Windows Sound Recorder, a guitar and a cheap condenser mic. But if it's too much hassle...

Hmmm...I see I got a few typos in there but I'm sick of editing, so I'll just leave them. Sorry guys...I usually proofread my posts pretty thoroughly, this one is just going to have to be a bit untidy.

No need to proof read a dead on hammer stroke like that one.

Pete,

Thank you for saying all that you said and in the way that you said it. That is all the things I was thinking, but am not good a formulating on paper. You did not SLAM him, but did point out a few home truths, in a clear and concise manner.

Unfortunately, his parents have aided in him becoming the way he is. He does not sound like he ever had to work at ANYTHING, and therefore has no idea how to go about it or even what it is like.

I think this person has given up this website. Too bad he couldn't have taken any of the Good advice that you have put here. But on the bright side, if things don't work out (god forbid) with this band that I am in, there is some great ideas that have come out of this fiasco. I am smart and grateful enough to get some ideas out of here.

Thank you for being a voice of reason in an otherwise unreasonable and sometimes messy forum posting.

Okay...who are you really?

This hasta be some sorta joke! Nobody, I mean NOBODY, tries my patience like this & gets away with it!!!! Nobody is this clueless.

Irmy, is that you? Cap? Crip? HJ? Rick Stringfellow?

WHO ARE YOU?!?!?!?!?

--snip-----

I would NEVER lie. I'm NOT pretending to be somebody else. You can take this to the bank, bro. I'm a real guy who wants to start a band.



I wouldn't be makiing this up. If I was that kind of guy, I wouldn't be on here.

So, stop acting so darn mean, and help me out. Please?

Oh yes you would. I could see one of the onery ones on here doing all this as a big joke.
It's gotta be joke or an elaborate Trolling session.

If you aren't good enough to do anything, then what the hell are you doing on bandmix?
You're going to have to look locally for what you want, and I dont care about all of your obstacles. You're going to have to overcome those obstacles on your *own*, or you can just sit and home and deal with it.
Dont 'expect' help and then turn your nose up at it when it is given.
Keep looking locally.

Clifford -

Shouldn''t you be in BRCC School studying yr lessons ?

El'Peno

Note to Paelo -

Thanks for trying to reach Cliff - Would you like to borrow my sledge hammer ? lol !

Don't be sorry Cliff, just be yourself - I'm ROTFL . Told ya guys he was amusing !

El'Peno

Pete,

Thank you for saying all that you said and in the way that you said it. That is all the things I was thinking, but am not good a formulating on paper. You did not SLAM him, but did point out a few home truths, in a clear and concise manner.

Unfortunately, his parents have aided in him becoming the way he is. He does not sound like he ever had to work at ANYTHING, and therefore has no idea how to go about it or even what it is like.

I think this person has given up this website. Too bad he couldn't have taken any of the Good advice that you have put here. But on the bright side, if things don't work out (god forbid) with this band that I am in, there is some great ideas that have come out of this fiasco. I am smart and grateful enough to get some ideas out of here.

Thank you for being a voice of reason in an otherwise unreasonable and sometimes messy forum posting.

Robin, I know of Clifford. He is an only chlid and is legally blind and autistic. He has led a sheltered life with his parents and they had to protect him and still do. Sad but, he will always live at home. I tried to give him some social counseling info. and references (including my x-wife) via email for developing better social skills, but he refused the help.

El"Peno