(I originally posted this question in IMHO but then realized I’m asking more about tried-and-true facts than opinions. If a moderator wants to delete the old one, they should go right ahead!)
I’m looking into starting up a band. Nothing major or bombastic. Let’s just call it a gateway into the world of live music.
Stylistically, I’d want to lean the group toward jazz/rock fusion. Think Brand X, Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons, Weather Report, what have you.
For musical dopers – what have you guys found to be the best way to get a group of musicians together? Newspaper ads? Posted flyers? (I live on a college campus, so this would be feasible.) Some… other kind of advertisement?
I’m dying to know, but I’m also wondering what’s involved in step one.
I was in a few college bands. A lot of this is IMHO material, but here goes:
If you want to steer the group towards jass/rock fusion, make darn sure at the outset that everyone in the band is very much interested in this style. Some people will join the band and tell you that they don’t really care what music they play, when in fact they do have a preference but don’t want to tell you because they want to be in the band. They then have a hard time because they don’t particularly care for the music, with predictably bad results for the group.
The bands I was in where no one really knew each other beforehand tended to be the shortest lived. If you get in with a bunch of friends, people are less likely to walk away if things aren’t going exactly as they would like. In a band, things never go the way anyone likes. Get used to arguing. The better you are at resolving differences the better chance you have of the band lasting for a while.
At first, when you do play live, learn to set up all of your equipment yourself. You aren’t going to make much money as a no-name band, and it’s a shame to throw what little you make away on a sound technician.When you get to be better and the money you get starts to go up a bit, then you can hire out a professional sound crew to make sure you sound good.
The hardest part is finding a bunch of people you can have fun with together, but people who also want to work and learn the playlist. Make sure everyone involved knows the goals from the beginning. If the goal is just to have a bit of fun on weekends, or if you plan on being the next big thing to take over the world (which I should point out, isn’t a very likely goal) just make sure everyone is on the same page from day one.
I always found bands through personal contacts. Your local music stores will likely have bulletin boards where people can post ads looking for musicians.
Make sure at least one person in the band has a van or some sort of vehicle that can haul lots of stuff.