Need genuine advice about finding band members

[Blooby]

Your feedback is appreciated.

As some of you know, I have been having a dilly of a time resurrecting my band.  I've decided that other than the singer, I'm starting from scratch. Once I have made initial contact, I'm amazed at some of the folks who make it over to jam.  They have ranged from people who want to play unrelated musical genres such as metal to people who have picked up their instruments within the year.  While I applaud them for trying, you would think that joining a band is a tad premature.  So here is my quandary.  I came up with the blurb below to send to folks (a keyboardist in this case) after we make initial contact.  I want to know if I come across as a prick or megalomaniac or both.  What I'm trying to convey is summed up in the first line.


I hope this diatribe doesn't seem like the rantings of a lunatic mind, but I thought I would tell you where I'm coming from in some detail.

For the kind of music I want to do, there are only three keyboard sounds to my mind, and they would be a Hammond, a piano, and occasional Rhodes.  There may be exceptions like a Clavinet if appropriate, but you can see where I'm going with this (We won't be performing side III of Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes...although I like that album).  I'm looking for somebody a bit dichotomous...somebody who is willing to lay out or play a sustained chord on the organ for one tune and then lead a jam in an entirely different direction on the next tune.  I'm looking for somebody to play appropriately.  That might be to tinkle the ivories like Chuck Leavell, lean into a chord and milk it for all its worth like Booker T., or tear it up like John Novello (I enjoy Niacin as well).

My thought was to gather a group of musicians who enjoy playing music for the sake of, well, playing music.  I am not interested in supplementing my income, so I won't be playing "Cheeseburger in Paradise" anytime soon.  Previously, I've felt that I have unwillingly dragged band members toward group improvisation, and it has worked with varying degrees of success.  This doesn't mean I want every song to meander for 20 minutes, but if a musical non sequitor should occur, it's nice to know we could follow it to its serendipitous conclusion.

I am much less interested in chops these days as opposed to note choice, groove, dynamics, steady time, keeping it simple, keeping it interesting, locking in, listening to and reacting to others, actively backing soloists, or simply laying out. When the music is being played, I'm looking for a total democracy, so long as everybody is serving the music.  The last three guys I played with had chops up the Yin-Yang, but we couldn't create much that was musical. They seemed more interested in filling up every space, and that's not where my head is at these days.  I don't wish to make this sound like I am the be-all end-all of musicians.   I assure you I am no graduate of The Berklee School of Music, but as you can see, I do have a vision these days, and I think some good can come of it. I can also say that after 25 musicians passing through my house, I am excited about the potential of our core group right now.  I hate to get ahead of myself as you know how these things can quickly implode, but I've been trying to find a decent rhythm section for a while now, and by Jove, I think I may have found one.

Equally important to me is to have fun. I am an administrator at a middle school and have my share of stress in life...as we all do.  It's nice to get together with like-minded individuals and forget about the problems du jour.  No drugs, but depending on the night, some of us might have a drink or three.  Also, I can honestly say everybody seems like a good guy.  No nasty egos to contend with and plenty of immature humor.  If anybody else were there, I would be embarrassed at times, but Hell, if I end the night laughing, that's a good thing.

Here's a list of tunes that I've been curious to tackle.  Many of them, I haven't begun to pick out yet.

    "Two Trains" and "Dixie Chicken" by Little Feat
    "Wharf Rat," "Scarlet Begonias," "Sugaree, and "Franklin's Tower" by the Grateful Dead
    "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" and "Dreams" by The Allman Brothers
    "Sample in a Jar," "Limb by Limb," "Bugs," and by Phish
    "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers
    "Can't You See" by Marshall Tucker
    "Stormy Monday" by T-Bone Walker
    "Nemo" by Umphrey's McGee
    "Miles Ahead," "Overdrive," and "Body in the Lake" by Bobby Lee Rodgers
    "Can't Get High" by Bloodkin & Widespread Panic
    "Anyday" by Derek and the Dominos
    "Low Spark..." and "Dear Mr. Fantasy" by Traffic
    "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "She Said She Said" by The Beatles
    "Turn on Your Lovelight" by Bobby Bland

Some of these are common while others are more esoteric (and I certainly don't expect to play them all).  I'm open to suggestions, and anybody could have veto power for a song.  Having said that, if you recognize multiple song titles on this list and don't like them, this probably won't be the best situation for you. I would like to tackle some Zappa, a few soul and/or blues tunes ("Out of the Rain" by Etta James springs to mind), and some of the simpler jazz standards as well such as "My Favorite Things," "Footprints," "All Blues," or "Take Five"  or even a "Cissy Strut" or "Chameleon." I always thought it would be interesting to organically segue from another song in and out of one of these tunes.

While I would like to play out down the road, I couldn't see it being more than one weekend a month if this got off the ground (maybe twice in an unusual month).  Having said that, this is a germ of an idea right now, so who knows?  If I can enjoy a few jams, I will be that less stressed about my day job and mortgage.  I would like to practice once a week, usually on Thursdays, but this may pan out to only twice a month.  Just don't know.

I should mention our jamming situation.  We play at my house in Alachua, and we all play direct (including electric drums).  The only live microphones are for vocals.  Sound is routed through a pair of monitor speakers.  The practices aren't ear-splitting, and the mix is usually excellent by the third tune or so.  I also record everything through a multitrack and post it to a website within a week or so.  I know it sounds a bit odd, but I've had probably 25 people over for jams, and only one person couldn't get into it.  He was a bassist who had a 1,200 watt system and liked to "feel" the low end.  I couldn't help him there.  I should also mention that I have a Yamaha keyboard with weighted keys with a killer grand piano sound and a Hammond XB-2 organ.  You might have to fiddle with the Hammond to get used to it, but you would not have to lug equipment.  I think that's what the others like about the jams as well.  Usually, by the time folks arrive, we are ready to play within five minutes or so as I try to have everything set up beforehand.

Obviously, this won't be a moneymaker as that is not the point.  I am merely finding it necessary to play music I really enjoy at this point in my life.  To put it different way, if I hear another future band member suggest we cover "Brown-Eyed Girl," I think I will shoot myself.

Peace.

Bruce

[Gritter]

Whoa that's a lot to read. I suggest being a little more to the point (cut it down to a paragraph or two). This is intimidating and it's too much for me to read.

[Blooby]

That's a good point and the kind of feedback I need, Gritter.   The keyboardist has responded quickly and quite favorably, but Iimagine I'll be using some form of this more tan once.

Blooby

[Oldrottenhead]

a good way of getting it across and using all of the word count you have used above is:

well something i learned a long time ago when i was in management. i read a book  called the minute mager (can't recall the author). but one thing i remember was. that when passing on a lot of written information, was to break it up into bit size chunks that took no longer than one minute to read.

so break up all of the above into paragraphs that take no more than one minute to read.

that way its not so frightening to the reader and the information passed is easily remembered by the reader.

[launched]

First of all, I enjoyed the read. And, considering the fact that you have great luck luring quality musicians to your lair, I agree that you should try to narrow the focus as much as you can in order to achieve your goal more quickly. Frankly, I wish I had that problem - In my realm, if somebody can do back to back Jailbreak - first Thin Lizzy then AC/DC, they're in!

So in my opinion possibly condense it a bit, but anyone that is in tune with the verbiage you presented will definitely fit in with your vision. I would love to see the end result because I'm a fan of the music you have been putting out.

Mark

[Tony W]

I read about half of that, way too man big words for my taste. I think you come off as verbose and moderately egocentric. You meander around the point far too long. When I read the word democracy, my first thought was "an appeasing guise to lure in potential".  It really didn't sound like a democracy at all, more like a structured confine with a raised eyebrow on creative input.

If that were a craigslist post, I'd laugh and move on. If that were a follow up email to me responding, I'd be offended and move on. I've got a high school education, and to be honest, I'd feel like I'm too stupid to hang out with you.

I hesitate to hit the post button on this reply, to my eyes it looks highly offensive. I actually admire you Bruce, and know that you are somebody I could hang out with. I've held the utmost respect for you since the "songcrafters is closing thread".

Tony

[Blooby]

No worries.  I have a thick skin.  

You're absolutely right about the democracy part.  I only want a democracy "while playing," and by that, I mean when we are jamming.  Otherwise, I am choosing songs, setting up practices and most likely, getting gigs down the road. 

As for being verbose, this is the way I write and speak.  People have given me grief on and off for ages about this, but I'm comfortable in my skin.

I wouldn't have posted it and asked for feedback if I didn't want it, so I appreciate the honesty. 

All of your input is invaluable. 

Blooby

[Tony W]

Thanks Blooby, I knew you would not take offense, I was more concerned how others would perceive my response. Realistically, I could not name a dozen people who I would give that level of honesty to, so in my mind, it's complimentary!

I've thought a lot about this in the interim, and have come to the conclusion that you will undoubtedly eliminate all the people who do not fit the mold with the above. If you do find somebody who fits the mold, then they should be exactly what you're looking for. Honestly, I'm starting to become a fan of the approach. I've jammed with people and not enjoyed myself due to the differences in philosophy.

[Saijinn Maas]

I concur with Tony. Though I can see how the tone of the letter can put someone off, it does a very good job of weeding out those you probably do not want anyway. That can be a problem in and of itself though. It's been my experience that the more specific you are, the longer it will take.

I could be WAY off base here, and I certainly mean no offense, but I find a little odd that you are being SO specific for a band that is doing covers (from the looks of it... I didn't see any mention of doing originals). I would completely understand if you were intending to do YOUR music and were not willing to compromise YOUR vision. As someone who has answered ads for musicians, I would accept the tone if it was to do originals. Not so much coming from a cover band looking to have "fun".

You have a right to want what you want however. And this seems like a good way to get EXACTLY that.

Good luck to you Blooby. Sounds like this might be all for naught if others react as favorably as this guy did.

[launched]

I've thought a lot about this in the interim, and have come to the conclusion that you will undoubtedly eliminate all the people who do not fit the mold with the above. If you do find somebody who fits the mold, then they should be exactly what you're looking for. Honestly, I'm starting to become a fan of the approach. I've jammed with people and not enjoyed myself due to the differences in philosophy.

My thoughts exactly - No point in beating around the bush IMO. Time to play is preciously short and it is important to enjoy the moments. But this is coming from a bass dude whose speaker protection light flickers on red with every downstroke...