Ya know.. for years now.. I have been searching for the right people to work with, and gotten nowhere. Now im may not be the greatest guitar player around, and I can sing just as well as any cat while its being killed.... But I have acceptable gear (guitar rig, pa, synth) and know my chops, I work hard to learn the guitar parts (maybe not perfect, but very passable) and I have a repertoir of about 50 songs that I could pull off right now. Maybe aonther 200 that need work.
Theres quite a demand for bands in this area, its a small town but its a music town, and I know quite a few players. It just seems that the guys that are just not up to snuff want me around, and the guys that are on a higher level than me wont even talk to me. The ones that are at my level are either drug addicts, or have some personal reason why they just cant seem to get thier sh!t together.
Im sure im not the only one is this situation, but Im trying to seem some reason to stick with it and not sell off all my sh!t. I figure eveltually ill come across a drummer and bass player at the same time that are at my level, and work on some tunes while I sing (for now at least).
Who else has been in this situation and what made you stick it out. Or how many of you hve said f@ck it and sold all your gear, just to regret it a few years later.
Rant over, your turn...

I'm in a band right now, but it's not that fun at the moment. Nobody can play that well. The drummer is okay, but he has no sense of dynamics. And when he tries to make a drum part, he just plays the exact same rhythm that I do on guitar. It's boring. And they also are more into metal/hard rock, and I'm more of an alternative/ambient/noise guy. Mainly the only reason I'm in it is because they are my friends (from before I was even in the band.)

I'm gonna be jammin with another guy soon, and he's an AWESOME drummer, and likes the same kinda music I do, so I'm excited about that. If that works out, I'll be quitting my current band.

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i no longer play guitar.

I think alot of people rush into the band situation. So far a very good friend of mine and I have written a good 10 songs or so that we can pull off and are writing more all the time. We are focusing on just writing and recording with my limited drum skills or using drum software and letting a drummer and bassist fall into place as they come.

During the school year we are far apart but I'm sure in a few years when we are out we'll get a real band together and begin a real musical odyssey. Heck, I'm 19 theres plenty of time to get a record deal and number one singles.

my band blows, but were having practice soon and i hope we'll get some material together that im working on. the only issue is our guitar player is totally into christian music and he wont do any hard rock songs. all of us are religous but me and the drummer listen to "bad music" all the time, the guitar player barely listens to any music other then christian. were not a christian band but do worship songs to make him happy cuz we cant find any other guitar players.

he throws a hissy fit about anything i make up and it kinda sucks

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haha.

What says "God rules" better then some dense distortion? It would make satan feel challenged. Hands to the sky and swaying with clean guitar just makes satan laugh. Tell you guitar player he's completely misguided if he thinks that's hard rock promotes anti-christian beliefs. This is 2007...Or just find a new guitar player that suits your taste better. Lot easier then changing a current player's style. Peace be with him...and ur bassist.

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Gibson Les Paul Studio
Schecter Omen 6 (SD JB Bridge/SD '59 Neck)
Squire Affinty Telecaster (Franken-Tele in progress)
Ibanez Exotic Wood Acoustic

Boss NS-2(send)-> Boss CS3 -> Ibanez TS9 -> EHX Big Muff ->Boss MT-2 -> EHX Small Clone -> Dunlop 535Q ->Boss NS-2(return) -> Boss DD-3 -> Peavy Valve King 212 combo
Off board: Dunlop 535q Ibanez GE-9 EHX Holy Grail

The one guy I'd like to form a band with is in Japan now.

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USA G&L ASAT -> Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

Bandcamp page: "Foundation" EP available now!
Ye olde Myspace

"Punk is whatever we make it to be." - D. Boon

The guy I play with every now and then is pretty much whipped atm, so we haven't played in awhile. I think the key thing with a band scenario isn't exactly the whole genre thing, it's having an understanding for eachothers capabilities and working off of that. Also, having a connection with eachother.

We can lock into eachother pretty easily, he plays off my playing, i play off his.. He's probably the most versatile drummer in the area, and my best friend. We share common interest in poetry, writing, and art ontop of the music thing. The genre thing is he leans more towards progressive/power metal and some indie music, i'm more into progressive metal/rock and jazz/ experimental sort of stuff. He's more straight forward rock n roll.. I'm the strange one.

But anyways, I've played with alot of people who are better players and all that, but we can't lock in like I do with him. So I suggest trying to bond a little with potential bandmates instead of going off of skill level... I don't think I'd ever go into a band setting with someone who's interests and attitudes are far off of my own.

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Butterscotch and ****ography.
Multicolored Intercourse Machine. (Rig)

Had fun & games with my lot. Been playing with guitarist, drummer, bass player for 6 - 6.5 years, just getting going with a new singer after 18 months of chaos.

The main problem - non musical - is that we're all pretty much so relaxed that we're horizontal. And we're also afflicted with really bad luck, the catalogue of accidents, deportations & other disasters is amusing. We have also just had a scenario that almost ended in broken legs for one member but I won't even think about this one. 2 people in the band are officially mentally ill too which adds to the fun - the thing is that most people can't tell the difference.

Musically we're kind of slack in places but manage to cover it by being complimenatry in styles. Our drummer's good but a little lazy and somewhat unreliable, the bass player's not allowed back in to the country until he gets married, and the other guitarist & me can't play the riffs that each other write as our respective senses of timing are wildly different! The new singer is really wondering what he's let himself in for...

Hey ho!

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Call me Chris, or Hairy. Or Gertrude. I've always wanted to be called Gertrude...

Blackmachine B7 Camphor Burl w/BKPs
Blackmachine B2 Snakewood w/BKPs
Boss NS-2/Ibanez TS-9 (****ogman 808 Mod)/Ibanez AD-9/Boss TU-2/
Diezel Einstein Prototype
-> Framus Dragon 4x12

+ Lots of other crap is sitting around my flat!

I make noises using this stuff

I'm in band purgatory at the moment. We can't keep a bass player around for some reason. The lead singer/shared lead guitarist has been cancelling practices left and right. All the cancelled practices have lead to the drummers tempo going down hill, which may or may not have lead to the last bass player leaving. If we don't find another bass player and start practicing regularly again in the near future the whole thing is probably going to fall apart. If that happens, I think I'm going to go in a different direction musically. I'm thinking some dub or more ambient indy. At any rate, it's getting quite frustrating. Other people's issues are messing with my weekly break from the wife.

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Current rig: Les Paul Classic (Texas BBQ set and fine tuning tailpiece) or Les Paul Studio > SD Pickup Booster > PT-100 > Original Cry Baby > MXR Dynacomp > TS9DX > MT-2 > CH-1 > Stereo Pulsar > NYC Small Stone > Deluxe Memory Man > PDS-1002 > Verbzilla > Ampeg Reverberocket (R12R)

My wife has always referred to my bands as My Boy's Club. And the rehearsal studio as The Club House. I have never disagreed.

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- IAN C. -
Rig: PRS | Schecter USA | Gibson | Axe-Fx II | empress effects
Beta tester: Fractal Audio | empress effects

I suspect that she likes getting rid of me for 3 hours on Sunday afteroons too.

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Current rig: Les Paul Classic (Texas BBQ set and fine tuning tailpiece) or Les Paul Studio > SD Pickup Booster > PT-100 > Original Cry Baby > MXR Dynacomp > TS9DX > MT-2 > CH-1 > Stereo Pulsar > NYC Small Stone > Deluxe Memory Man > PDS-1002 > Verbzilla > Ampeg Reverberocket (R12R)

I feel your pain.

My so called "band" rehearses 2-3 times a month. Would be more frequent, but I'm the only married one (with kids to boot). We've been jamming for about 2 years, and have no delusions of playing out. We're friends from all the way back to high scool - all music lovers with similar taste who just decided it would be cool to start making noise. We've recorded a couple of practice sessions on a rough 4 track. We have moments of great moments where we actually sound like a band. Drummer is great, and getting better each time we play. Bass player is meh...but we don't care. It's all in good fun...and usually more about drinking, hanging out and talking about music and chicks.

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My Stuff

I feel your pain.

My so called "band" rehearses 2-3 times a month. Would be more frequent, but I'm the only married one (with kids to boot). We've been jamming for about 2 years, and have no delusions of playing out. We're friends from all the way back to high scool - all music lovers with similar taste who just decided it would be cool to start making noise. We've recorded a couple of practice sessions on a rough 4 track. We have moments of great moments where we actually sound like a band. Drummer is great, and getting better each time we play. Bass player is meh...but we don't care. It's all in good fun...and usually more about drinking, hanging out and talking about music and chicks. Maybe, just some day, we'll take on an open-mic night and clear the place out.

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My Stuff

Yeah, I don't think we've played a gig in like 7 or 8 months. The drummer is good when he's on, but the sporadic practices have taken their toll on him. I could play bass, but we've got some songs that I play lead on and some where the other guitar player does, so that would mess some of that stuff up. I also don't really want to get stuck playing bass, since I image that efforts to find a full time bass player would slow down if I started filling in there. I really suspect that the whole thing is just going to implode sometime this fall.

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Current rig: Les Paul Classic (Texas BBQ set and fine tuning tailpiece) or Les Paul Studio > SD Pickup Booster > PT-100 > Original Cry Baby > MXR Dynacomp > TS9DX > MT-2 > CH-1 > Stereo Pulsar > NYC Small Stone > Deluxe Memory Man > PDS-1002 > Verbzilla > Ampeg Reverberocket (R12R)

Couldn't agree more. My band is a worship band that writes our own stuff, but we pride ourselves on doing it creatively. I've been known to pull out brash, alt-country guitar solos, loop ambient things such as ebowing, use slide a LOT, even use sef-oscillation sparingly. I've also busted out other instruments on stage, such as the banjo and melodica. We're just doing exactly what God gifted us to do for God. Who can argue with that?

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