Beginning Band- needs help with EVERYTHING!!

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:44 am

I'm thinking about starting a new band out of Texas. As it is, there's me on guitar and my friend from Austin on bass. We're not going to start out with a bang, as school is starting and we're both freakishly busy, but it'd be kinda nice if we could get some advice on what to do, who to know, and how to do it. We're going to be focusing on punk rock/ alternative/ Green Day kinda stuff. I've been thinking about maybe once we start playing some gigs and stuff, maybe I'll start writing to them and a couple of other bands to see if they can helps us with songs and stuff. Any help would be appreciated!

Anne
(whatever our band name's gonna be!)

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 6:57 pm

I'd start off just staying low, finding everyone you need. And REALLY start getting your tunes down tight...that's if you want to be noticed and respected. And if you're gonna be that genre, that's pretty broad, so you sould try to be pretty unique within your genre, or just play it really good. Then after that, get the word out by playing lots of local venues, and try to put a demo together. All that will take awhile, so I'd recommend doing all that first.

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:28 pm

I agree with Sheep, walk before you can run. If you put it out there too early and don't get positive feedback, you could get discouraged which is no good. Practice, practice, practice, and when you've got 7-8 songs down, then look at playing live! It's also a good idea to find some other local bands that can mentor you and let you open for them to get your feet wet. Playing live is one of the best feelings you can have, make sure you're ready for it!!!!!

Ron

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 9:34 pm

What we've been doing as we're in different cities, is we've been printing off tabs and chords to multiple Green Day songs and we're practicing those.I've been working on Wake Me Up When September Ends for probably around a week and the bassist has been doing Longview. We're not sure how we're gonna be practicing... I'm trying to get in touch with a kid at my school that I think does drums. The only thing is- I've tried to write a couple songs- crappacino in my opinion. As we're all still pretty young, we've got a LOT of time to get all this together.... I know a couple of geeks and maybe if we were to record what we've got onto a cd and then get them mixed/blended/ whatever by one of my friends who lives in front of his computer. I've heard that having an all girls band doesn't sell really well in the US- I know I didn't want to take a chance with the Donnas when they came out and I'm kinda glad I didn't..... so the kid I'm trying to get with for drums is a guy anyway- what luck.

Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 10:29 pm

Experiment with everything!! And although you think your original is crappicino, save it !!! You never know when it will transform!! One of the best tools we've found for info are local music sites (like UBW

) I agree with the others about taking your time..theres alot that goes into it, and it's not so easy sometimes. On the technical side, start investing in equipment!! Find out what you need to play out. Once again, utilize your local music sites!! There are alot of people that post used equipment at decent prices....word of caution...test the equipment before purchase (theres nothing like getting an $800 dollar bass amp for a hundred dollars and finding out it doesn't work!!ask my husband about that!! although he was able to repair it at a decent price, so it was still a deal! )Support your local music scene! Go see some of your local bands and talk to them!!
If you have any Music programs at your school...take advatage of it!! (dozens of music minded people all in one room....talk about contacts!!!!)
When you do get some material down, and you're all comfortable...test the waters!! Try opening for another band, play for a friends party, or keep your eye out for local music venues..ie:music festivals, jambories,charity events etc...although you may not get paid much, or not at all, the expirience is absolutly worth it, and its a great way to meet other musicians...Contacts!! Best of luck to you!! Rock hard!!

C-yaaa!

Ru (Gracie)

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 12:08 am

im in a new band i started it about 3months ago and well we just learnd about 12 Blink 182 song and competed in the talent quest at school but it turns out we came 1st it was a massive increse in our confidence we were so proud and now were playing sumthing every time we can

Josh
guitarist of
3 sum

Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:49 am

We started around 2 weeks ago. We're going to finish the songs we've been practicing and then see how we do with Green Day's Holiday. Need a new guitar though....

Anne
Guitarist/ Lead Vocals
The Crowed? (Possible band name- tell what you think)

ubw newbie Joined: Nov 10, 2005 Posts: 30

Your lucky I been trying to start a band for a while, and have failed at trying to find people. If your looking for a sax i got a friend out of texas(random) but thought it was interesting to tell you. I dont know what kind of area you live in but one thing that helps me write is walking through not so good areas. Just really wanted to tell you that I wish you the best of luck and that if you ever need help website or anything to contact me because I really would like to help.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:39 am

As this thread started over 6 months ago - I'm keen to know how it all ended up!
Hows the band doing, deltarain???

-Seneki

ubw newbie Joined: Sep 11, 2006 Posts: 3

Once you're ready, hit some open mic nights. But like others have said, make sure your music is tight first. Once you rock the open mic, talk to the host band or whoever organizes it... see if they can get you in to open for someone. Also it helps if you bring a TON of people to your open mic night debut. Around here, bar owners really don't care if you play worth a crap or not... as long as you bring lots of people through the door. If you bring in a bunch of peeps, make sure the powers that be know who brought them.

Posted: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:39 pm

Good luck and don't be cocky.

Beginning Band- needs help with EVERYTHING!!

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