The joys of starting a band

Kerry Brown

Kerry Brown

Ambassador of the Great Northern Bar Jams
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It looks like the pre-COVID trio I played in is defunct. The singer doesn’t believe in vaccinations and the other guitar player says his arthritis is so bad he’s not playing anymore. Today I posted this on a local musicians group on Facebook. Two female singers are interested. One of them has a husband who is a drummer. They also have a jam space. Hopefully some more people will show up. Myself with two singers and a drummer doesn’t sound like a band :)

Here is the ad:

Looking to start a blues/rock band.

Me: 67 years old, decent rhythm guitar player, basic lead guitar but it is not my thing, simple bass player (1 & 5), one handed keyboard player, terrible lead vocals, ok backup vocals. I have professional quality guitar and bass gear and a basic PA. I have a nice older Yamaha Clavinova piano but it is way to heavy to move around. In summer we can practice in my backyard. I love the blues but am OK with most genres. I can sight read but am slow at it. I try to write original material but I’m better at the music side than lyrics. I understand theory pretty well.

You: guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, percussion, lead vocalist, horn, violin, woodwind, etc. You have your own gear. If you have original material even better. I like playing original songs. The important thing is you want have fun, jam, see how we fit musically, and possibly gig if it works out. Message me if you are interested. Age is not important to me. I’ll play with anyone who is compatible musically.
 
Sounds great! Find a bass player...
A good singer and drummer couple covers most of the ground right there. If everyone fits.

My originals band just let our drummer go. Singer just didnt care for him amd he is a jamming type drummer, never works on things. Doesn't work well for originals and studio work with no prep. Everyone has to be compatible.
 
We already lost one member. We had two singers, a drummer, and a guitar/bass player. One of the singers also plays acoustic guitar. I setup a group chat so we could talk about songs, availability to practice etc. The first thing that came up was vaccinations. The guitar/bass player is an anti vaxxer. The rest of us are all vaccinated so he’s out before we even start. We are setting a date for a first meet and jam to get to know one another. I’m hoping I can talk a bass player I know to show up and jam even if she isn’t Interested in a band. I may have a keyboard player but she is away for a couple of weeks.
 
Jethro Rocker said:
My originals band just let our drummer go. Singer just didnt care for him amd he is a jamming type drummer, never works on things. Doesn't work well for originals and studio work with no prep. Everyone has to be compatible.
Click to expand...

A jamming type drummer can be difficult even if playing covers. So many songs have a rhythmic or percussive hook. The song seems to miss something if the drummer isn’t catching those details and only cares about “holding down the beat.”
 
I’m not in a hurry with this. I fully expect it to take few months to find the right people. It will take four to six months after that to get ready to gig. I want to do this right with a fun group of people. I’m not in this for the money. I’m in it for the joy of playing live and bringing some fun into the audience’s lives. If we make enough money to cover our costs I will be very happy. If we make some good music playing original songs I’ll be ecstatic.
 
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