I'm Ready to GO LIVE...but how?

  • Thread starter Thread starter mshea
  • Start date Start date
mshea

mshea

New member
OK? So I have enough material for 3 albums in 3 different genres and am tired of being holed up in my living room. I sing for 2 different gospel choirs and it has turned into the BEST vocal training for me as I am a female who can sing Tenor and between rehearsals, Friday concerts and Sundays, my chops get a serious workout. With that said and done. I REALLY want to sing for somebody...i believe it's time for me to break out of the house and go live to gain some exposure and addt'l solo experience. I really don't know how to find musicians. We don't have to sing my stuff. I'll sing that later...i'd be more than happy to sing whatever i could, just the opportunity to go live other than a karaoke joint, you know?

How do you find or create a band?

I've got some old stuff up at www.soundclick.com/mayashea if anyone has any ideas where i can go with this stuff...HELP. Thanks in advance for your assistance
 
hey!

one place you're really going to want to look for band members is...

http://chicago.craigslist.org/muc/

This is the same source I've used to find all my band members (only I used the Craigs List in San Francisco)...oh, and it's free. One thing I've noticed about these ads is it pays to be very specific about what your looking for in your intitial thread, and if you've got links to mps or artists that you may sound like, it will help a ton.

good luck!
Robert Tait


Oh, how is Chi-town these days?...I grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago. :)
 
Why look for a band Mshea when you play piano and acoustic guitar. I play piano and acoustic guitar as well, and do fine in live shows as a singer songwriter. It's much more profitable than being with a band. I keep the whole check.
 
Go to a local blues jam. The blues and gospel singers go together like.... well something really good. If you are in Chicago, it souldn't be hard to find a good blues or jazz club. By the way, if you want to find real musicians, stay away from the karaoke. Good luck!
 
Can't sing & play at same time

Recording Chick said:
Why look for a band Mshea when you play piano and acoustic guitar. I play piano and acoustic guitar as well, and do fine in live shows as a singer songwriter. It's much more profitable than being with a band. I keep the whole check.
Click to expand...
:)


I WISH i could sing and play ANYTHING at the sametime. I can strum and sing...but i can't play the piano and sing and to go live, you need to be actively playing SOMETHING which i just can't get done. So...no singer/songwriter shows for me. I'm jealous.
 
mshea said:
THIS IS GREAT!!! THANKS!!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HELPFUL THIS IS...wish me LUCK.
Click to expand...

I know exactly how helpful it will be! That's where I found every member in my band...um...but beware. You'll most likely play with a batch of incompetent idiots until you find the people you gell best with...but then again, that's half the fun. good luck!
 
hey... mshea!

did you find any musicians? the rapper/dancehall/reggae artist i produce just got off parole so he can now leave north carolina without getting violated.

we put together a band for him in 2 weeks. you know how? because we go to other people's live shows. we get to know other musicians... who know other musicians.

by all means do your own music. if you believe that your music is good, don't feel bashful about pushing your will on the band. if you don't you'll end up singing someone else's sucky ass songs, and hating it.
 
well I wish I had opportunities to get up the the ChiTown. I am in Rich.VA and looking for talented people who are serious and want to do live performances. Guess I'm still outta luck. But best wishes for you.

If you know of any folk in VA -- tell em to holla.
 
Craig's List is a good idea. Also, browse the internet for local (Chicago) musician-related websites. I think all major urban areas probably have at least one good local band-related website and they usually have message boards to post musician-wanted ads.

My best results have come from placing flyers in the most popular music gear stores. Every music gear store I've ever been in has had a bulletin board somewhere that you can post musician-wanted flyers.

My band spent about 6 months looking for a bass player. My ad on the local band-related website turned up a few hits. But-- by far!-- I got more phone calls from flyers placed in 3 or 4 different music gear stores.

Make up a flyer on your computer. Be specific about what you are looking for. If you just say: "Guitarist Wanted," you will get calls ranging from heavy metal shredders to blue grass pickers. If you say: "Guitarist Wanted for Original Rock Band. No Shredders!", you will get better results.

Also, Crosstudio is right. Go out on the town. Talk to musicians who are doing music that you like. Offer to buy them a drink or something. Chat them up. Musicians are a notoriously flakey bunch. You might assume the guitarist in the band you are watching is commited to his band. But he actually might be dying to break out and try something fresh-- either as a side project or full-time.

Good Luck! I wouldn't say it's "easy," but it can definately be fun!
 
Update!

Still...no band. BUT! I've enrolled myself in guitar lessons at the Old Town School of Music. HOPEFULLY...i can network there. Thanks for your help!
 
hey mshea,

why not try one of the many open mics in the area? When you get there, look for performers who not only play well, but whose skills would complement your own.

For instance, if you're a great singer/songwriter but a marginal instrumentalist, look for a great player w/ a less than stunning voice doing cover songs. That way, you'll potentially add someone who can fill in where your weaknesses lie and not battle you for the spotlight where you mean to shine.

Here are some city open mics. (btw, I'm a north sider up in Albany Park.)

http://www.geocities.com/treeseventy/openmikes.html

http://www.risingstarmusic.com/openmics.xhtml

http://www.openmikes.org/calendar/?state=IL

Good luck and pm me if you've got an upcoming show!

Miles
 
what type of music you sing??? lemme know..i could use someone to help out on some singing stuff when i start my next cd...

by they way... i do rap music....lol


holla
 
I'm in the same boat! I write music and play guitar, drums, a little bass and sing, but I have no band to play live with. I can't see myself ever making it big or getting any kind of fan following without live performances so I need to get a band together. The worst thing is that I need people around my age (16) and most people I know don't really care much about music. The ones that do are already in a band. (I live in Marietta, GA so if anyone reads this and is interested PM me!)
 
Check this list for their complete list.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/cities.html
They've got a Dublin.

united states
================
albany new
albuquerque
anchorage
atlanta
austin
burlington
boise new
baltimore
boston
buffalo
charlotte
chicago
cincinnati
cleveland
columbus
dallas
denver
des moines
detroit
eugene new
fresno
hartford
houston
honolulu
indianapolis
inland*empire
jacksonville
kansas city
las vegas
LA
louisville
memphis
miami
milwaukee
minneapolis
monterey
modesto
nashville
NYC
new orleans
norfolk
oklahoma city
omaha new
orange*co new
orlando
philadelphia
phoenix
pittsburgh
portland
providence
raleigh
reno new
richmond
sacramento
salt lake city
san antonio
san diego
santa barbara
seattle
SFO
spokane
st louis
stockton
tampa bay
tucson
tulsa
wash DC
wichita


CANADA
================
calgary
montreal
ottawa
toronto
vancouver
winnipeg


UK / IE
================
birmingham
dublin
london
manchester
edinburgh
cardiff
belfast


AU / NZ
================
adelaide
brisbane
melbourne
perth
sydney new
amsterdam new
barcelona
berlin new
brussels
copenhagen
madrid
milan
oslo
paris new
rome
stockholm
zurich


ASIA
================
bangalore new
hong kong
manila
seoul
singapore new
tokyo new


AMERICAS
================
buenos aires
mexico city
são paulo new
 
Finding good people to play with is like finding a good date. I'd ask around and see if people can get you hooked up via their connections. If that doesn't work, try an ad in the paper. If that doesn't work, hit the Internet.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top