It's taken me two years to get my shit together enough in NYC that I could actually have time to play music again. I miss being in a band.....

My problem is like this: I've spent the entirety of that two years working pretty much with my head down, so I haven't really met that many people, and certainly no musicians that I'd be interested in making noise with. When I do meet people that are talented and interesting, they are either already over-extended or looking for a much more serious project (ie: looking to tour half the year) than I am able to commit to.

Craigslist yields hilarious results. So, I'm asking you people: How does one find new people to play music with, especially when the goal is to just write good songs, maybe play an occasional show around the city, and probably make a good record? I'm not looking to 'get in the van' and take over the world....

Somebody point me in the right direction. thanks.

strong island

LIAM wrote:Finding people worth a damn to play music with in New York

You're kidding, right?


It's like asking "How do I find a prostitute in Vegas?"



If you were in say, Billings Montana I could see this as a problem. In NYC you just need to throw a rock out your window to hit a musician.

So, start throwing rocks.

There's a lot of annoying and bad musicians in NYC.

So, I feel your pain, fella.

Move upstate.

bomberz1qr20 wrote:

LIAM wrote:Finding people worth a damn to play music with in New York

You're kidding, right?


It's like asking "How do I find a prostitute in Vegas?"



If you were in say, Billings Montana I could see this as a problem. In NYC you just need to throw a rock out your window to hit a musician.



So, start throwing rocks.

OUCH! Who just threw a fucking rock?!

You're kidding, right?


It's like asking "How do I find a prostitute in Vegas?"

the key point is "worth a damn". i had a shitty time finding quality musicians to play with in NYC/Northern Jersey. the really good ones are indeed busy doing other stuff already.

i did meet a few promising people through a Brooklyn studio i did some work at. the engineer saw what i was into/capable of and recommended some friends of his with similar ideas. he, who has recorded hundreds of New Yorkers, even commented on the lack of quality musicians there.

however, i do think the craigslist route is ok as long as you are specific about what you want without being an asshole about it ("if you don't like all these bands DON'T WASTE MY FUCKING TIME!!"). i made the mistake in the past of being too open minded ("well, he does like that one band who isn't so bad") and they end up being a 35 year old church band bassist with a 5 string Ibanez and a 4ft. long processor pedal.

154 wrote:

You're kidding, right?


It's like asking "How do I find a prostitute in Vegas?"

the key point is "worth a damn". i had a shitty time finding quality musicians to play with in NYC/Northern Jersey. the really good ones are indeed busy doing other stuff already.

i did meet a few promising people through a Brooklyn studio i did some work at. the engineer saw what i was into/capable of and recommended some friends of his with similar ideas. he, who has recorded hundreds of New Yorkers, even commented on the lack of quality musicians there.

however, i do think the craigslist route is ok as long as you are specific about what you want without being an asshole about it ("if you don't like all these bands DON'T WASTE MY FUCKING TIME!!"). i made the mistake in the past of being too open minded ("well, he does like that one band who isn't so bad") and they end up being a 35 year old church band bassist with a 5 string Ibanez and a 4ft. long processor pedal.

....yeah, that's exactly what I mean. I understand that there are a million musicians here, but the 80/20 rule still applies.

Maybe I just wasn't clear enough....here goes:

I'm living in Brooklyn, after moving here a couple of years ago from Chicago, where I played in a band that did pretty well. I'm now working a full time job that I enjoy, and that takes a considerable amount of my time. I miss playing in a band, and I would love to find some like minded people to make music with. I'm hoping to find people that take it seriously, and have a sense of pride in the music they make, but understand that I can not make the sort of commitment time-wise, nor am I interested in, going on tour for 3 months out of the year.

Was that better? Or should I really just go outside and start throwing rocks?

[votes for "rocks"]

kerble wrote:[votes for "rocks"]

Maybe just print out some cool "I'm looking for musicians" flyers.

BUT.....paste them onto rocks and throw them into crowds at shows.


Or place them in the doorways of good studios so people trip over them.


Or glue them to cars.