How to start your own blues band.

Subject: How to start your own blues band.
From: Low Down and Dirty
Date: 11 May 00 - 07:17 PM

For all you musicians out there, how did you, or how do you intend to, start your own blues band. From how you find people, to how you decide what to play, to how you get gigs and when and how often you practice.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: GUEST
Date: 12 May 00 - 12:49 PM

If I were going about it, I would get to know the salespersons down at my local music store real well. They spend their days talking shop with all kinds of musicians, so they might know of one or two who are looking to form a band, or want to join one. More often than not, the salesperson is a musician him/herself, and he/she may also be on the lookout out for up and coming talent to partner up with.

The same music store may also have a bulletin board on which to leave a message. These boards are usually covered with wanted to buy/sell ads, and musicians looking for work or to form/join a band.

If that didn't generate some action, I might take out an ad in the local newspaper, or frequent forums such as this one (maybe one a little more blues oriented) and put out some *feelers.*

Deciding what to play once the band is in place --- it should depend on the makeup of the band. If your instruments are mainly accoustic, then you wouldn't want to be playing electric blues, of course, and vice versa. Deciding what to play is dependent in part on the instruments in your band. My thing happens to be electric blues, performed with the basic complement of bass, drums, and guitar. Therefore I would shoot for covering tunes which essentially featured the same complement of instruments.

How often to practice depends on how often the band can get together. To me the ideal would be, "all the time"...in other words, to get really tight the band should all move in together, quit their day jobs, and play virtually every waking moment. Bands that do this are usually shooting for the *big time.* As this is not a realistic scenario for most of us, I would say at a minimum two nights a week, and these sessions should be fairly long ones - 3-4 hours, because the band isn't meeting that often to practice. The more time that can be devoted to practice, obviously, the better. Regular "weekend gig" bands probably get together about three times a week for 2-3 hours to work up fresh material, etc.

My take on it. Hope this helps.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 May 00 - 05:56 PM

Well, LD&D, we have a more subversive approach, me and Hardiman the Fiddler. We're just teaching the blues stuff we like to our Christian music-playing group of friends, "The Good News-Goodtime Band." Oh yeah! We just told them it was a form of prayer, handed out the sheet music, and went for it. (We had already blown their minds with the Fiddler's Fakebook. "Where are the WORDS?? And how is Whiskey Before Breakfast a HYMN??? But-- it is catchy, how do I read the chord changes, can ya slow down?")

They're catching on nicely to the Police Dog Blues, Born in Chicago, Trouble in Mind.... "It's like the Psalms! Psalms!! You know, the angry and pleading ones! Those were the first blues! It's OK! Even in church???"

But it was a surprise to us when, at the last nursing home church service we led... ha ha haaa!!! We were warming up and setting up, you know, usual Home stuff... and the chairbounds were brought in first, hahaa!! And we were sorta blues-riffin' real quietly on the banjo and autoharp... ha haaa!!! I was lookin' at Hardiman, like, ain't we bein' bad, these Baptists will be scandalized if we don't quit before they catch on! Debbil's Music!!!

And the awake ones SAT RIGHT UP and started yelling for more! Snapping their fingers! The not-awake ones woke up and did the same!

This is conservative, hellfire & whitebread Pennsyltucky, with old dears who've never left the county-- or SO THEY SAY.

Liars, every one. Ole WWI and WWII musta broadened their horizons. USO, only explanation.

So-- hahaa!! Start a band! And market it where you least expect success!

~Susan~

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Hardiman the Fiddler
Date: 13 May 00 - 10:33 AM

It was really a neat thing. My son and I went through a period of time when we didn't agree on much, but we found out that we could agree on the blues. I came home one season with a blues fake book (the one by Woody Mann) and we began wailing on them. We found out that we had more in common than we thought.

I'll bet if the word gets out, you'll have plenty of folks to play the blues with. The question about putting together a band probably needs some refinement: where you intend to play, what kinds of gigs you would like to do, how much time is available; these questions all drive the issue of how often to practice and what instruments you need to have for the sound you want.

Personally, I listen to the blues all the time I can.

HTF

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: GUEST, Jim Swan
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 09:25 AM

There are many musicians Here in Albany Ga. There are no more than one place to play and that is the river side park. It seems that most of the musician can only play in the local churches and they have clicks with only certain musician. As for the rest of the more talentant musicians,they really don't think of playing surrounding towns and cities. How can I open their eyes ? I'm a musician who would rather travel out and around rather than play locally.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:08 AM

In the 60s, we didn't think about it - we just played!!! Of course in 1965 there was only one blues guitarist worth playing like, now there are thousands of soundalikes!!

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:11 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8njZyzflOs

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Will Fly
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:22 AM

Of course in 1965 there was only one blues guitarist worth playing like

Yup - Reverend Gary Davis!

Death Don't Have No Mercy

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Bobert
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 10:27 AM

Easy...

Just look out for "blues jams" in your area... Go... Meet a few folks... Listen to them... Find two or three that you feel comfy with and invite 'um over for an informal session... The rest will take care of itself...

As for music??? Play what you like and then look for events that work for your style, not vice versa...

When I used to get booked as a band I had a number of folks who I would call for each instrument and just mix 'um up depending who was free... The blues ain't all that tough...

B~

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:03 AM

"Yup - Reverend Gary Davis!"

Not my scene at all - mid 60s British Electric Blues for me please, the early Clapton/Green period.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: open mike
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:06 AM

Yes...to what Bobert says...
there might be a blues society...
just google "blues society"

also tune into blues radio shows
and contact d.j.'s who host those
shows to find out more and/or
to make announcements

perhaps you can start your own
blues    society and go from
there!

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: greg stephens
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:07 AM

E A B7. That's it.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Leadfingers
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:20 AM

Bonzo - 1964/5 was the start of the British Blues Revival , with Acoustic players like Mike Cooper , Dave and Joanne Kelly and such .
As well as less well known local 'stars' like Terry 'Beetle' Wiltshire in Bristol Who was a Leadbelly fan and a serious influence on people like Ian A Anderson .

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:42 AM

Key to a good blues band is a good singer who can put the song out there in a believable way without excessive embellishments, a guitar player who can knock out hot solos but slip back to rhythm to let the vocal shine through, and a bass/drums rhythm section that is nothing fancy but holds down the groove like a freight train on a track. And song selection should contain some Chicago-style standards like Key to the Highway, Backdoor man, and Stormy Monday, along with some obscure or Delta-style blues presented in sparse production but danceable. And that may be the real key...blues music, unlike Folk style, needs to be danceable to get the crowd involved.
Harp? Keyboards? Horns? All good, but generally not enough to carry a band weak in the primary areas. I was a rocker who got involved with some blues guys and out of it came my band Terraplane, now in our third decade. We don't meet all the criteria either, but we have one important strength...we all like each other. and that's the last important thing. If one of the people is an asshole, but a great drummer, you may sound good on stage but you'll hate practising, and without practice you won't grow.

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 11:56 AM

1964/5 was the start of the British Blues Revival , with Acoustic players like Mike Cooper , Dave and Joanne Kelly and such .

I would have put it 3-4 years earlier with Alexis Korner and Cyril Davis. But as I said I have no interest whatsoever in accoustic blues, only electric - ever since standing 10 feet away from Clapton's amp at Klook's Kleek and other dives in 1965-66!!

Subject: RE: How to start your own blues band.
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 25 Jan 12 - 12:09 PM

How's your hearing, B3legs?
:>)