General Music Chat

Hey Mr. Triadster Records. Did you LISTEN to the songs on my profile page? Did you HEAR anything good there? Do you know I get radio play here in K.C.? I'm not bragging but I think I'm a better than average singer, a very solid bass player and a damn good songwriter. If you LISTENED to the songs then MAYBE you would come to the conclusion that there's POTENTIAL with the addition of a fine guitarist. Therefore you SHOULD come to the conclusion that it MIGHT be profitable for you to refer me an excellent guitarist. Your coming on Bandmix saying you can do this or that for us doesn't mean SQUAT if you never give any of us an example of what you can DO for us. I don't know how many words you've scribbled on these posts but it doesn't mean SQUAT if you don't take any ACTIONS to PROVE that you can DO what you say you can DO. Does that make any sense?

Actually Bob... your quite right... you have some talent there. I don't think it would be all that difficult to build a fan base for you. I can't promise that the fans would buy your music ... as they tend to prefer to make their own decisions independantly of my own preferences... but... the fan base should be fairly easy.

However... as you pointed out... you need a guitarist. Thats where i'm screwed Bob... I can't find the musicians I need. Promote you as a vocalist... not a problem... that part is easy... find you a guitarist... lmao... forget it... i'm not your man.

Thats why I am hoping to create my own database of musicians... so when someone like you comes along.... I don't have to tell you no because I don't have a guitarist for you. If I already had the guitarist on my site that you needed... i'd have something to talk to you about. But I don't have that guitarist.... and therefore... I can't do anything for you other than search craiglist, bandmix here.. and a dozen other sites looking for one.

I'm sure your already searching those sites already. And if you haven't found your guitarist yet... i'm thinking i'm ... well... i'm screwed.

Simply stated... until I have my own database of musicians... I will NOT sign another solo artist. Once I have that database... the musicians on my site will have the opportunity to be hired on the spot... each time I sign yet another solo artist.

.... Alan.

Hey Mr. Triadster Records. Did you LISTEN to the songs on my profile page? Did you HEAR anything good there? Do you know I get radio play here in K.C.? I'm not bragging but I think I'm a better than average singer, a very solid bass player and a damn good songwriter. If you LISTENED to the songs then MAYBE you would come to the conclusion that there's POTENTIAL with the addition of a fine guitarist. Therefore you SHOULD come to the conclusion that it MIGHT be profitable for you to refer me an excellent guitarist. Your coming on Bandmix saying you can do this or that for us doesn't mean SQUAT if you never give any of us an example of what you can DO for us. I don't know how many words you've scribbled on these posts but it doesn't mean SQUAT if you don't take any ACTIONS to PROVE that you can DO what you say you can DO. Does that make any sense?

In further explanation Bob... yes... I can find the odd musician here or there... just as well as someone else by visiting bandmix here and craiglist.. etc. But I say I can't find the musicians I need mainly because... for the most part... I don't find the majority of them. I only find a couple here and a couple there.

AND... the problem with this is... I have to tell my solo artist that all productions are going to be put on hold until I do find that band member. So here we have a great vocalist ready for production.. and I have to run my ass off over the net looking for a guitarist or a base player... perhaps a drummer before I can commence with productions.

Weeks are easily lost in production time that is spent looking for this person and that person. And... time is money. When you have the fans all hyped up to see the artist... and ... you can't get the artist out there because... well... damnit... we are still missing a guitarist... that is a very costly problem.

I'm sorry if i'm not making sense...

... Alan.

Just my take:

Same boat as the rest of us. Always looking for something and not able to find it.

Yup yup yup.

Lets try an example Bob:

Lets say I signed you to a 1 Year Master Production Contract right now as we speak. The very first thing we will have to achieve for you is... a full band. We have to find that guitarist your missing.

Now... lets assume that it takes 1 full month for us to finally track that guitarist down. This means... your 1 year contract also just expired ... 1 month. You have the guitarist you need... but with only 11/12 of the contract remaining. You just got ripped off 1 month of productions... that were put on hold because we had to look for a missing band member.

It will get worse if it takes us longer to find that guitarist for you.

So basically. The best plan of action to take... rather than have solo artists lose production time on expired contracts... is to find the guitarist first... BEFORE... the contract is signed. That way... everyone is in place the minute the contract is signed... and no production time is lost.

This would mean Bob... that I would have to actually take the time to roam around the internet looking for a guitarist.... for a solo artist... whom I may not even get to sign in the first place being that... maybe the artist doesn't even like Triadster Records.

Also... and don't take this the wrong way Bob... but... i'm not THAT interested in signing you.... to take my time to find you a guitarist.... when simply stated... I can just as easily wait for a band to come to me who is already good-to-go.... and sign them instead.

... Alan.

I'll bet I've "contacted" 20 people so far to get something going, and no one responds. Why bother? If you're not serious, take your profile down!

We're a casual band, having fun, gigging occasionally. We need a new vocalist. All these folks who say they want to sing in a band? I contact them, they don't respond.



So if your in the South Denver area, want to sing, lets go!


Crazy!

Since the OP seems to have gotten lost in the triad sales pitch, I figured I could address this-

First off, Triad was WRONG about other's being able to respond. Member or not you can RESPOND to ANY message sent to you by a paid member.

Secondly, when searching for other potential musicians, try filtering by "activity date"

Many musicians come here, find someone, or a band or whatever, then just never come back, leaving their profile in "seeking" mode. I've asked bandmix to start a policy of removing inactive accounts, but so far they haven't.

Keep your head up, and also use craigslist, it's probably a better resource for finding other musicians and bands than bandmix, but different areas see different results.

Good luck!

One other thing.
Many of the best musicians never bother with the internet at all.
Instead of searchiing from behind a computer screen - they're out there playing, jamming w/ other musicians at their houses, going to open mikes, gigging while looking for a new band, playing at coffee houses, lounges, restaurants . . .
Talking to people face to face . . .
They don't have time to search ads . . . they're too busy talking to people and playing with them . . .
They already have their hands full . . .
Don't count on the internet alone.
If you want to succeed in this business, you have to meet people . . .

The best approach for me is a combination of all of the above. Bandmix has gotten me a good number of contacts in the last 2 years as well as craigslist, local forums and exposure though gigs. Bandmix has never been a flurry of activity for me. Every so often I get a hit from it and sometimes it goes further. It's never a lot at once. Some of those 20 profiles you contacted were probably stale leads as was suggested above. Some may have been a combination of not interested and not polite enough to tell you so. I had my account linked to an email address I didn't check as often when I first used bandmix and there was a delay in responding for me. Try a polite reminder. Some responded to me after a second try.

In the meantime vent all you want and welcome to The Bandmix Community

Yeah, I'm doing all those things, so somewhere out there it'll happen. I'm hitting up the open mikes, jamming with friends (who only want to jam) keeping the rest of the band tight, but no vocalists. We just keep on keepin on....

Well, the real reason that ppl don't respond, as we all know, is cuz this site sux.

LMAO

I love the sour grape ppl.

Keep at it, man. You'll find something eventually, so just keep your chops up & keep smilin'.

While you're waiting, improve your playing.
> try a new style of music
> try a rhythm you've never ever used
> learn an intro to a song you've always liked
> if you're a rhythm player - learn 2 bass - lines.
> learn 10 new chords
> write your own song
> re-learn an old song you forgot
> try writing lyrics
> take your worst song; play it slow, find what you're doing wrong . . .
> try a new technique - something you've never done before . . .
.
Just keep on practicing and getting better and better.
Practice . . . practice . . .

I got an email from a guy last night. Seems he saw me at the local pub w/TFRB a cpl years ago, & thought we rocked the house, as it were. I don't remember the guy, let's face it, we talk to a lot of ppl when we're playing, but I evidently told him I'm always open to try something new. Anyway, he saw my ad in BM & decided to contact me. He gave me his phone #, so I called it & left him a message, since he hadn't answered.

He called me later like he was dumbfounded that I'd call him the same day he contacted me.

I think a lot of ppl have low expectations, & when it starts to come together, they freak or something, cuz they feel like they're suddenly being put on the spot. He seemed like that, at 1st. Started with the downplaying of his ability & equipment & self-deprecation. I finally got him calmed down a bit & we're s'posed to meet up at a local open mic either this week or next. (To be honest, I'm wondering if he'll even show, but I'm still hopeful. I mean, he could be really good. Who knows?) He said he doesn't like open mics, b/c he prefers to have his stuff rehearsed. I guess I can understand that, but geez, ppl, you gotta meet somehow, & see if you can click, musically. No one I know gets totally prepped before a 1st meet, unless it's an audition where they've given you a set list. He didn't mention any particular songs, but he did mention Zep, so I suppose I'll just figure out a cpl of their tunes that are the most popular with guitarists.

Any suggestions? I never listened to that stuff much.

Cant help with the Zep.
But I feel you are spot on with the interpersonal relationship interplay.
I love the way you difused the situation and took it to a lower level to start with.
Very street wise my man.

Thanks sans. I've had my fair share of stage fright, so I suppose I can relate with ppl when they feel overwhelmed at 1st. I don't have this much patience with them if it lasts, though...LOL

i like stuff...

Had to cancel the meet last night cuzza the ongoing car troubles & money troubles & such.

He called again, & evidently has a killer fem singer who sounds just like Plant (oooh, my dream girl!), but since he lives close to my drummer, maybe we'll be able to meet up over there sometime.

Says he'll call with some sorta set list to learn. I hope she's as good as he thinks she is. That would be refreshing.