What is it with people these days...

[Lord of Delusions]

Here's the story: For the past YEAR I have been trying to put a band together. Nothing special, nothing too serious. All I want to do is jam with more than one person at a time, and maybe work on some songs I have written. I have countless ads posted on local sites, and inquired to others I have seen looking for guitar players. For all my posts, I have had a grand total of 3 responses. Non of them panned out. For all the ones I have replied to, I am either too old (32), don't have the look, don't have pro gear, or not able to make it my lifes work. So out of frustration I post a completly bogus ad looking for "other Satan worshipers to assist me in making alchohol/coke induced fury filled music, while burning goats and enslaving first-born children." Believe it or not, that is pretty much how the ad went. How many responces? 23! In a month! What the hell happened to making music for the fun of it?

 

[Iced In Flames]

I'll join. People dont do anything anymore unless they can make money off it bro,. Its shit.

 

[Hewy80]

Musos are pretty much a bunch of lazy fucks man. I've had the exact same experience as you when I was looking for a band. Everyone is more interested in the drugs than actually playing. I'm in a band at the moment and we're having a hard time finding a reliable bass player. All we need is some bastard thats goin to turn up to rehearsals or ring if theyre not. Its not that hard but it seems we still cant find anyone will the common courtesy to ring when they aint showing up.
Thats why I been working on my own shit. Fruity loops for drums and wack the guitar on top. I may get a vocalist to do some shit for me but I make it clear its my shit your not in a band with mye your singing on this and thats it less hassles that way.

 

[wnterbass]

Its too bad the good reliable musicians are so spread out...course thats probably a result of there being WAY too few of us! Seems like 90% of the people claiming to be musicians are nothing but a joke. People suck.

 

[fadingessence]

I know what you mean, even when i've found people that are dedicated to it they never work out. This one guy (lead player) really wanted to start a band and seemed cool....except he was totally obsessed with metallica (his room was a SHRINE), would only do things his way, and could only play metallica type lead parts (really well...but fuck man). Or you get one that just can't handle playing with another guitar player, or ones of the millions of nu-metal guys, it just sucks.

 

[97reb]

Yup, the ones you want are probably afraid to be ridiculed and the ones not afraid are a**holes for various reasons. If they say you are too old or too young, that may be a good thing, unless there are some seriously common interests. Trying to focus your playing style on one band or being influenced by only one genre is severely limiting. I wish there were more people around me theat were less into hiphop. I'm still having a hard time finding people around here to hook up with. There are people, but the age thing, the distance thing, the time thing....

 

[Lord of Delusions]

Well, two things have happened since I posted this, one good, one potentialy hilarious. The good one is that I may have a solid lead on a band. They are pretty much established, though not the music I really wanted to do. No prob, I am willing to take a different path and learn a few things. The funny thing is that due to a request from another forum, I have run another joke ad. I even set up an e-mail account for my new band, which goes by the name Satan's Disneyland. Here is a link to the post...http://phoenix.communitymusician.com/index.php?arg=mc_detail&id=252228
Can't wait for my first reply!

 

[Pita Bread]

This is why I play guitar, bass, piano, and program drums. I AM the one man band.

 

[97reb]

Agreed, Pita Bread! That works for recording. If, however, you want to perform live, ya kinda need a little help. I keep hoping to meet those right people for live jamming.

 

[TekChef]

I have the same problem

People just want to hang and look cool for the chicks, take drugs or they just like the idea they are "in a band". They are flaky and not willing to work at being good really.

My big problem is that I run into the whiny "emo.wheezer" types that can't keep up with me. If I play with any sort of speed at all, they get lost..even playing your basic fast punk riffs!

 

[NocturnalSun]

I too know the problem all too well. Too many times have I heard someone say "I've been told I'm a good guitarist" and then hear them make the Fade To Black solo sound like a dying moose. For me, it's just lack of real musicians around my area and a total and complete lack of true metalists (I'm one out of about 300 or so that actually know In Flames or Dimmu Borgir). It was so fuckin disappointing when In Flames came here because the crowd went KRAZY over Mudvayne but did almost nothing when In Flames came on. Anders was like "Thank you all for coming out, I know you came here to see Mudvayne, and they're up next, but thank you for your support!" I wanted to stab everyone in the crowd for giving In Flames such a letdown. I just kept thinkin in my mind "NOOOO DUDE!!! We're here for you guys not Mudvayne!"

and also, a good 90% of people in my town aren't metal anyways, they're punk and emo. I really need to get out of Texas...

Well anyway good job bestweststranger, hope that new band works out for you. haha nice joke ad too man. I usually post in The Edge newsletter for Texas in the musician's ads in the back, but nobody really gets the magazine regularly so almost nobody gets called. I've seen the same person put ads up for 2 years straight saying "Guitarist for Hire". So be glad you've got a band now, most people don't. my band is just me, also. one man band like the rest haha www.freewebs.com/nocturnalsun

 

[Metal is Religion]

i know the feeling. im in a band, but no one seems to be as dedicated as me. so im starting my own thing. im getting a drum set soon, then ill record it all. hell yeah!

 

[madcheese9377]

All the poeple I wish I could jam with are too far away. I just want to play in a band that is at least trying to be productive. My last band Darkwind cosisted of 9 people at first and after a week I started to drop people untill I ended up with one other guy and myself. But I was the only one trying to do anything. I'd wake up and say "Hey man, lets get something recorded" And hese like "Naw, I don't feel like it" Fucker even stopped writing songs and I was doing all of the song writing myself. I just wish I had someone to jam with right now. And that one dude's right Texas does suck but I'm in Texas, anyone neer Grapevine? I love metal and need help learning solos, but am pretty good with rhythm. Someone send me feed back, later, -RJAIII-

 

[J the TyranT]

Where in TX are you, Nocturnal Sun?

Myself, and this dude in Austin, are writing new material. I've been writing for awhile. I've made many contacts over the years... so basically, he and I are gonna write everything, and record the demo shit, then see if we can fill the gap of a vocalist, 2nd axeman, and bassist... I think it will be easy with the dudes I know.

I stopped trying to gig in Houston and Austin. I used to play in NYC. And Philly's scene is pretty cool.

But the dayjobs brought me back to Houston. HA!

 

[Evil Ernie]

I think vocalists are the worst of all. I currently have a band and I play with very good musicians, got the other guitarist having the kind of Megadeth-obsessed thing which bugs me, but that's it. We've been looking for a vocalist for a year and a half now and all we've seen is a bunch of donky dicks suckers, I heard the worst singin in my whole life in recent months. We only had one solid voicalist, but he was such an ass....had to kick him out!

 

[Day_Before_Dawn]

Ive been lookling for musicians or a band to join playing melodic metal for a year and a half now, and have had the grand total of 2 people be interested. One of whom wasnt even in my area and another who didnt even want to play the same music as I had written in the ad. I have loads of these ads in over the time on countless site and this is the best I could get.

It is very frustrating, but I guess you just have to keep trying until you find the right people.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

It is frustrating. You audition people, and some are good, but you don't get on with musically, others who should never be let near a musical instrument again....ever

then once in a blue moon you meet someone that clicks. It's fucking hard, and always a pain in the arse. And yes, musos are an unreliable bunch sometimes, depends on wether the love is there or not. You've got to believe in it, and want it, and then you can live it. Seems the bit where they say that they're in a band is sometimes more important than writing, rehearsing and making everything gel.

Eventually, like women you can go out with, they appear, but they are fucking hard to find.

 

[TheMonkeysAteMySoul]

oh man, I know what you mean, my area has an increadible abundence of metal, there are never any good metal gigs around here, and there aren't really any musicians I want to work with, when I get back at collage thugh, there will be a new first year of musicians, so maybe I can start a band with some of then, even if its not metal, I just wan't to make some music

 

[Hexer]

I tried to find some fellow musicians, too. there seem to be a lot of them here, but only VERY few want to / can play metal.
now I'm in a band (we're still pretty much at the beginning) and I hope it will work (looks promising) and just started a little side-project with a friend who plays bass (also in the other band) we have 3 songs an a cover ready, just have to record them (we'll do that within the next weeks), I'll see how this will sound and what will become of it, but it looks quite promising, too

 

[G-Master]

Yeah it's too bad it's so difficult to find dedicated, and most importantly, talented musicians that want to join you in your projects. But, why are you surprised? People will always let you down man. You can't depend on half of the idiots that are out there in any situation in life. I know these situations all too well.

Even a matter outside of music for instance ... you and a friend (so-called) made plans to meet at a mall or theater at a certain time. You, being the punctual person you are show up on time (hell ten minutes early). Where's the fellow you were going to meet? Ah hell it's been only five minutes give him some time. Fifteen minutes pass and the sorry sob has yet to call and inform you of anything. Fact is ... he won't call. That's only an example, but it captures exactly how most people are in this world are.

I'm a fanatical perfectionist at anything, especially when it comes to my practice sessions ... and it seems a lot of the guys on these forums are as well. It's sad to see that most musicians dedicated to mastering their instruments and projects are so spread out. And like someone said earlier, most people that claim they are musicians usually are not.

Keep looking man. You'll find them sooner or later.