United Kingdom

just as a side note,

when you contact someone through the bandmix system, an email is sent to the members personal email informing them "there is a contact request waiting for you on bandmix.co.uk - click this link to see it) so the people don't have to login to be notified, they get an email informing them that they have contact waiting.

I suspect the reason you've not got a reply is more to do with people not being bothered to respond to something they are not interested in, or not picking up their email.

I always respond to contact requests, even to say "sorry not interested" and as you I won't pay for the membership any more, but not because the contact system doesn't work, I just don't believe it is value for money.

Hello John,
Yes mine often says 'user name and password do not match' or that this email is not recognised on their system, when it is the only one I possess and have ever used with them.
But I don't take it personally, and later that day it will somehow decide to let me in to play!
I paid for a month, and haven't yet noticed what I lose when the month runs out, but I bet they would make loads more money over all if they charged say £5 a year, because everyone would pay up instead of a dozen or so!
Mark....................

Guys, I think there are a lot of posers on this site who just aren't ready to be in a group.
And -
They exagerate their resumes, eh?
Like, - if they played once at a friend's house, then later they played at another friend's house, they'll say that they have been in two bands.

If they have music up, probably they recorded the only few songs they knew.
I wonder how many of them can play 10 songs from start to finish without major screw-ups?
And, a lot of folks here claim to have been doing music since they were 3 years old.
Oh, please! Is anyone really impressed by that?
I start counting the number of years they've been playing after age - mmm - what - 16 or so?
Unbeknowst to them, very few musicians are child prodigies - but they all seem to want us to believe they are, huh?
If I'm looking for someone with 10 years experience - I'm talking REAL experience . . .
And I think that's maybe what you're running up against.
. . . you're looking for REAL musicians.
Anyway . . .
with all this overblown self PR, what happens when someone responds to someone who lied on their resume?
Not much, eh?

They would be expected to be as good as they say they are.
I think a lot of them get cold feet, and they just don't know what to say.
.
I suspect that there's a lot of dead wood here . . .
What do you think?

Hello Rythmn Man,
No doubt you are right about exageration of resumes... like a CV to get a job, it isn't something you are going to reduce the claims of.
And also you might add a couple of iffy one-night bands in case you have forgotten one you played quite a few gigs with.

I have written countless finished songs in my life, but I am sure I couldn't get through ten of them without a screw up; at any one time I am probably only really up to speed with the song I am still then writing or finishing.

I started doing some music from 3 years old or so, and got a guitar at 15; it's not something I would expect people to say 'wow!' at, it's just how it is.

I guess that lying on your resume is no more of a problem than lying on your CV to be employed... just have you got the required tallent.
If you needed a genuine ten year resume to be considered for a band... where would Jimi Hendrix have been now? Probably still alive! But that's another matter!
What counts is raw tallent.
I heard Jimi's aunt saying she bought him his first guitar from a second hand shop, but it just had one string; within a couple of days Jimi was getting a really good tune out of that one string... and I can believe it too!
Lots of years of experience butter very few parsnips with me I'm afraid!
I am 52 and been at it since I was fifteen, but nothing I am writing or achieving now is vastly different than what I did at 15 to 17... tragic but true!

And the question of 'dead wood on here'?
Yes I am certain that would be true Rythmn Man; like the saying that 'people who can, do, and people who can't, teach!' By the same token I guess those of us who spend time on a music website are not people being pushed to perform and tour week in week out... with fans out there clamouring to hear us.
But neither I think is it a criminal act to be a no body on here!
Cheers,
Mark..........................

RhythmMan, you usually don't whine. What happened? haha

"ha ha" yourself.
I'm not complaining - I stopped looking here for musicians a couple of years ago . . .
Just responding to the thread, is all . . . thought some people might be interested . . .
If my viewpoints aren't welcome, I'll stop giving them; count on it.
.
I think a lot of people with 10 years experience have only 1 year's worth of experience - 10 times . . .
It's not how many years you've been playing. It's what you put into those years . . .
.
I've met several guitarists with 2 years experience, - who could out-play many guitarists with 20 years experience.
I met a 12 year old a couple times at an open mike who knows more than most guitarists with 5-15 years experience. He's got lousey tempo, but - still . . .
.
But -the point was that the people on this particular site don't respond to emails, and several people are wondering why.
I'm suggesting that several of the people who don't respond simply know that they're not good enough to play with the people who contact them.
.
I supplied some reasons - anyone else want to suggest some more reasons?
How about you Andragon? Maybe you can tell us why people don't respond.
Anyone?

Hello Rythmn man and everyone,
I think a big reason why people don't respond to offers to join bands/ jam etc, is geographical.
Even in the UK where no body is more that a thousand miles from anywhere, including going from the wilds of Cornwall up to the wilds of Scotland, still we feel a hell of a long way apart when it comes to loading gear into a car and driving away to play music with someone... even just fifty or a hundred miles away!

It's not like where Witney Houston wants to collaborate on a record with Elton John, and says come and stay as guest on my ranch for a month!

So in many cases we will end up with two musical lives: the internet one where we exchange ideas and chew over problems; and a local life where we get together with a few less than ideal musicians who live no more than an hour's drive away.

So the not responding to emails thing, might be from a fear of having to commit to something that they know won't fit with the strictures of their domestic life and routines?
Just my reflection across the pond!
Mark................

Hello Rythmn Man,
I just posted a new thread having listened to your tunes, but the site won't connect me to your profile member contact to mention it to you.
So just to say there is a new thread mentioning your music on the USA section.
Mark................

Mark, you are right-on about the geographics.
Mmmm - hey why don't you pop on over here for a little jam session, man? Say - after supper; maybe 'bout 6:30?

RhythmMan, chill, I didn't intend to offend you. You're just usually the type of poster that gives out good advice and when it comes to whining and such, you refrain from posting. So, it was somewhat of a surprise to me.
On topic though, I agree with the 10-year experience example. Most musicians reach a certain level and they stop evolving/improving. Whatever.

Whatever.
Peace.

you can see the geography problem as a big factor,

look at the emails I get from band mix "we have found musicians in your area for you to play with"

they are normally minimum of 80 miles away, which is 160 minimum round trip, so say 1.5 hours each way, that would be fine - easy, for a gig, but to do on a regular basis for practice, it's just not practical,

I found the best singer and collaberator I've ever known on a music site, however he was two hours drive away, we tried to collaberate over the internet and practice as often as possible and it was fantastic, but not practical to keep doing, more so when we started putting a band together proper and expecting other people to travel 2 hours each way,

if band mix thinks finding people 2 hours away is a "good service" it is mistaken, and another reason I won't pay the subscription anymore.

The only model I would now pay for band mix would be.

you buy credits, say £5 for 10 "contacts" in which case you can contact as many people as you like, but you only use a contact token up if you chose to reply to their response, eg: you have a confirmed contact waiting, that you want to take forward.

or a say £10 yearly subscription in the current format.

£5 per month = £60 per year for an unacceptable service (80 miles band searches) and a contact model that doesn't provide value for money for your £5 per month.

I agree that there are a lot of people on here who have the musical talent and drive of a limp elmo doll and that is a huge contributing factor of not being able to find people on here. I have also talked with people on here who just treat this as an extension to Myspace. They don't want a group; they just want the attention. Then again, there are a lot of people on here with great talent...it just takes a lot of patience and weeding though. Some people just have a predisposed idea of what kind of group they want to be in and can't change that idea so they won't even bother trying anything else.

As for geographics...should that be a problem if it is within reason? One of the bands I work with is over a 150 miles away. We meet twice a month and send recordings back and forth to practice with so we get the most out of the time that we have. I understand that will not work for everyone, but it works great for us....

And just to add...I did meet this band on BM. Chin up and be happy they didn't write back....you might have saved yourself a lot of time.

I agree that there are a lot of people on here who have the musical talent and drive of a limp elmo doll

haha thanks for the laugh.