Posted my FIRST CraigsList ad for bands

[JerEvil]

I can't wait to hear from some of the jokers that will reply.

I currently play guitar and sing in an all original Pop Punk band.

I am a Classic Heavy Metal guy at heart and have been dying to play some Scorpions, Accept, Priest and the like.

Any of you all EVER found any players worth a darn on CL that weren't total flakes? At least I have "Pro Gear" and transportation! LOL!

... pro gear

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

I'm about to post my first add looking for band members as well. I'm nervous i'll end up with jokers that can't play or that are strung out with no day job. We might need a template for successful band personal searches..

 

[maddnotez]

My entire band was found on Craigslist minus the singer who was a friend of the drummer.

Has been going great so far.

 

[maddnotez]

Granted, I did have to sort through the "i think im really good but aren't " guys but no flakes.

 

[JerEvil]

I'm about to post my first add looking for band members as well. I'm nervous i'll end up with jokers that can't play or that are strung out with no day job. We might need a template for successful band personal searches..

Good luck man!

I hear you on the template thing. I was pretty straight forward. Listed all my gear, was VERY specific about the type of music and made sure to call out "No Drugs" as I can't stand the out-of-work stoners/speed freaks the I see lurking around local music stores. I don't mind if people drink, I personally have literally a beer a month if I'm lucky. I don't mind drinkers as long as they can handle their parts and not trip over themselves if we play live.

Hoping to find other "old rockers/metal heads" like me that have given up the dream but still like to play.

 

[jerrydyer]

yur in for some fun

 

[9ball]

What's it matter if someone's working? People out of work can't play music? And you're ok with drunks but not stoners.....makes sense....to someone out there i'm sure lol

 

[billm408]

My entire band was found on Craigslist minus the singer who was a friend of the drummer.

Pretty much the same here too. A fair amount of pre-screening helps, but even then, plan to kiss a lot of frogs when it's audition time. Good luck!

 

[rokker]

I've had some good ones from CL.
One had no car and thought it would be no big deal if I drove 20 miles each way to pick him up..NOT.
Another played over the phone but couldn't play a lick (lots of those on CL).
Then you get the guys who want to do all of 2112 or other obscure tunes that won't get a single gig.


I would be careful packing up a boatload of gear and heading over to someone's place...you might be in for a trap.
I'd meet them in person a few times at a bar or starbucks or something before inviting them over or heading over their place.

 

[Tonelover]

I've see quite a few singers and bassist ads from people who are apparantly God's gift to music and talent but don't have equipment and everything will be great if they can use yours. Um, yeah,sure.

The place is jokersville but I wouldn't hesitate to throw up ads when I need someone. Done it before, just don't invest all your time emailing the history of you, your objectives, your philosophies, your requirements, etc, etc. on the first go-arounds. Instead ask them some brief questions and see how they respond. The lack of a second response will eliminate at least half of them right off the bat.

 

[GCDEF]

I would be careful packing up a boatload of gear and heading over to someone's place...you might be in for a trap.
I'd meet them in person a few times at a bar or starbucks or something before inviting them over or heading over their place.

You're overthinking it. If I were looking for a band and they wanted to meet a Starbuks, I'd end the conversation right there.

To the OP, I've found a lot of people on Craigslist. There are people out there that don't have a clue, and there are real bands and everything in between. You can get names and stalk Facebook and find out more about them and you should be able to get a pretty good idea what they're all about just from talking on the phone too. If you're unknown in the area, open jams are a good place to meet people too.

 

[SomeGuyChi]

Granted, I did have to sort through the "i think im really good but aren't " guys but no flakes.

So fucking many of those out there.

 

[shadowfax29]

Good luck man. I've been on both sides of the fence, I've posted and responded to "Looking for <musician>" ads on CL and overall I'd say I've been pretty lucky. My current drummer responded to an ad I posted. He was actually one of the first guys to get in touch and he's worked out real well, he's a great musician and is a cool guy to hang with to boot. Definitely got lucky that time as I've also auditioned some people that left me scratching my head as to why they even bothered showing up.

But yeah, mostly I only hear horror stories. The two bands that come to mind that I responded to their ads, I went in for an audition and with both we get done playing the first song and somebody in the band says to me "I have to say it is like a breath of fresh air having you in here" Just makes me curious to see what they were dealing with previously

 

[billm408]

If I were looking for a band and they wanted to meet a Starbuks, I'd end the conversation right there.

Agree. We posted on CL looking for a bass player. This one guys wants to trade gear lists, discuss how we set up to rehearse & a gig schedule for the next 6 months before committing to an audition. I pointed him towards our FB & YT pages for research and asked him to contact me when he's ready to audition. Emails me back two weeks later asking to schedule a Starbuck's meeting to compare philosophies, direction of the band etc... He got very upset when I told him that we'd auditioned 4 other bass players already and had chosen one.

I'm not dating, I just wanted a bass player. Jeez!

 

[GCDEF]

If I were looking for a band and they wanted to meet a Starbuks, I'd end the conversation right there.

Agree. We posted on CL looking for a bass player. This one guys wants to trade gear lists, discuss how we set up to rehearse & a gig schedule for the next 6 months before committing to an audition. I pointed him towards our FB & YT pages for research and asked him to contact me when he's ready to audition. Emails me back two weeks later asking to schedule a Starbuck's meeting to compare philosophies, direction of the band etc... He got very upset when I told him that we'd auditioned 4 other bass players already and had chosen one.

I'm not dating, I just wanted a bass player. Jeez!

Exactly. You run into people who seem to want to do just about everything except actually get together and play. You can get an idea if your philosophies and goals are close with a quick phone call. Assuming that call goes okay. the first thing to do is get together and make sure you can all actually play. If you don't, all that other stuff is just a waste of time. I don't have time to meet somebody several times for beers and coffee.

 

[JerEvil]

What's it matter if someone's working? People out of work can't play music? And you're ok with drunks but not stoners.....makes sense....to someone out there i'm sure lol

So are you an out of work drunk/stoner then???

Jeez, bro, lighten up. I am ok if folks drink as long as they are functional and can keep it in check. I have played with local as well as internationally known artists who use drugs and it is a fucking nightmare. Am I not at liberty to decide what personality types I like to collaborate with? I LOVE drinking but gave it up in the interest of my health. Lots of people in my life were substance abusers. I don't want or need that around me. Hell, I loved my last death metal band but hated sitting around in the garage watching all those "grown up's" smoke weed for 2 hours.

Seriously if at 35+ years of age you still feel compelled to smoke weed, you should consider moving out of your parents house and maybe getting your sh*t together. Yup. I over generalized pot smokers.

Seriously man, I think we know the folks I am referring to.

 

[twhitedc]

ever so often I experience these bouts of self depraved misery due to not playing out... generally this leads to me answering CL ad's. I have been to some practices that i couldn't wait to get out of, then again I've had a few good ones (but I usually ended up knowing the people once I contacted them). Thankfully, I haven't found the necessity to post musicians wanted ad's yet...

Good luck with the search..

 

[9ball]

What's it matter if someone's working? People out of work can't play music? And you're ok with drunks but not stoners.....makes sense....to someone out there i'm sure lol

So are you an out of work drunk/stoner then???

Jeez, bro, lighten up. I am ok if folks drink as long as they are functional and can keep it in check. I have played with local as well as internationally known artists who use drugs and it is a fucking nightmare. Am I not at liberty to decide what personality types I like to collaborate with? I LOVE drinking but gave it up in the interest of my health. Lots of people in my life were substance abusers. I don't want or need that around me. Hell, I loved my last death metal band but hated sitting around in the garage watching all those "grown up's" smoke weed for 2 hours.

Seriously if at 35+ years of age you still feel compelled to smoke weed, you should consider moving out of your parents house and maybe getting your sh*t together. Yup. I over generalized pot smokers.

Seriously man, I think we know the folks I am referring to.

I am light lol. I'm just saying. Alcohol is alot more destructive than marijuana is in every way, and it just bugs me how so many people still view it like it's some horrible thing.

But anyways....i dunno i don't really see anything wrong with posting an add on c/l. I've done it in the past. Granted it didn't work lol....but wtf why not?

 

[jet66]

I've found one player that was really awesome, a funk/fusion bass player who doesn't believe a guitar player can possibly overplay. We don't play together as often, as he swings a little more towards the jazzy side of fusion, but we've been fast friends for a couple of years now.

However, I've found plenty of flakes and 'not so goods,' and I set the bar pretty low, just looking for fun bands. The other bad side to that coin is everyone seems to want to 'make it big,' even though this area is pretty stagnant as far as originals go, let alone good steady cover/bar work. (That actually pays.)

 

[thegame]

My last (and only as you will soon realize) jam session with a drummer found online was pretty good musically. But the rehearsal spot in his basement was a wall to wall porn collage. And not mild Playboy centerfolds, it was nothing but hardcore shit from Hustler or Swank And then the night ended a bit early when his ex-dropped off his young daughter because they were sharing custody. She didn't go to the basement when I was there but a huge WTF ?

I think I showered twice that night when I got home....