How did you find your Band????

autry andress · Post by **autry andress** » 20 Mar 2013 5:16 am

Or how did the band find you? Every body has a story?
Please share with us your version.
Thanks to all who reply.
Autry

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 20 Mar 2013 6:02 am

Craigslist is working for many people these days.. Problem is, you get LOTS of wannabes, psychos, and folks totally devoid of any musical talent that respond to ads you place.

Best way is to get out and network, get to know the best musicians in the region.. Only problem there is, thats better suited to younger people. bob

James Wolf · Post by **James Wolf** » 20 Mar 2013 6:27 am

I went to a music festival, picked one that I was best suited for, and asked them if I could join them. Most people really do want a steel player if they can afford it

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 20 Mar 2013 6:44 am

I agree with bob physical networking and being in the know or No... Old school honky-tonkin is a fast way to cut through the bushes, if you are new to an area.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 20 Mar 2013 6:54 am

Bob Carlucci wrote:Craigslist is working for many people these days.. Problem is, you get LOTS of wannabes, psychos, and folks totally devoid of any musical talent that respond to ads you place.

That's how I found my band...wait a minute...

Ransom Beers · Post by **Ransom Beers** » 20 Mar 2013 7:02 am

James Wolf wrote:I went to a music festival, picked one that I was best suited for, and asked them if I could join them. Most people really do want a steel player if they can afford it

So,what did it cost you to join in?

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 20 Mar 2013 9:27 am

I worked with this one band for about 15 years and this is how I found them:
I knew Don Kelley from Broadway since the 70‘s and I’d go see him wherever he was playing once in a while when I didn’t have a gig, and one night my girl friend, who knew Don from Gabe’s, wanted to go out so we went to see Don at a club and I was talking to the drummer on break and he said he had a rehearsal gig with a songwriter and they were looking for a steel player, so I got that gig, and the guitar player on that gig, who was also working with another band, said they needed a steel, so I got that gig, too. After a couple years they broke up, but the bass player had a brother who’d just moved to town and they formed a band. When the bass player needed a night off he called me to sub for him. A couple weeks later the piano player needed a sub, so I went and played steel. Then the other guitar took off a night and I subbed for him, on steel. Then the bass player quit and they hired me to play bass. Then the other guitar player quit - in the middle of the gig one night - and we hired another bass player and I went over on steel, and that was almost 15 years ago.

Michael Schuppe · Post by **Michael Schuppe** » 20 Mar 2013 9:45 am

Nothing beats getting out there and networking. In my case I approached a local singer I liked and offered my services as a steel player for whatever upcoming recording projects they might have. I few months later he called and asked me to fill in for a night (on guitar), and not long after that I was in the band full time.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 20 Mar 2013 10:33 am

The band I am in that I have been with for about 6 years now, I went to a jam session that my first ex-wife called me about back in 2006. I ended up just going every Sunday and sitting in with them. Maybe a year later, one of the guitar players quit and I was just kind of absorbed into the band as his replacement (I have since quit that band as of last October). At the same time, I got re-acquainted with a bass player I used to play with in the late 70's (along with my ex-wife) and we started playing music in another band again with the guitar player from the jam session band. I am still with that band (The Dick Green Band). I recently joined a more modern country band called Saddleback Ridge from the Sacramento area. I found them on Facebook through another friend on there.

Networking with other musician friends, going to jams, going to see other bands play and get to know them, and Facebook (I know, many of you hate it, but I am looking at getting a lot of work from the band I met on FB).

Craigslist has been a total waste of time for me. I never see WORKING bands advertising for a steel player here in the Bay Area. Whenever I place an ad, I always get responses from "start-up" bands that have no inkling as to whether they will ever play a gig. I don't have the time or desire to spend a year with a start-up band that may never play anywhere. And, even though I always state that I am NOT interested in recording gigs (because most of the people who contact you through Craigslist want you to do it for free, and I don't really get excited about studio work), those are the inquiries I get the most. I try to avoid Craigslist like the plague.

Paul Norman · Post by **Paul Norman** » 20 Mar 2013 3:28 pm

I did the same as James Wolf a year ago. "Music in the Streets" . I walked up and asked them to play steel guitar with them. and I have been playing with them ever since.

Jim Lindsey (Louisiana) · Post by **Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)** » 20 Mar 2013 10:12 pm

I've actually been inactive in music for awhile now, but my last band was Ty Herndon. I was with his band for ten years and here's my story for you, Autry.

It was late February 1990 and I was up in the Seattle WA area playing with a band called Whatta Band (I'd been with them for about 5 years).

Down in Dallas/Ft Worth TX, there was a guy named Bill Perry who was putting a band together to work with a fellow named Jon Dennis Smith.

Now, Jon Dennis was a microscopic little guy (I'm a very short fellow myself, but if I stood in my bare feet and Jon Dennis stood in front of me wearing big heeled cowboy boots, the top of his head would only reach the bottom of my nose ... we're talking almost Munchkin land here). Jon Dennis may have been really short, but what a BIG rich baritone voice he had! Man, he could belt out a song!

Well, in forming the band they'd already acquired Mike Basden for keyboards, Bob Williams for drums, Rick Garner and Rick Pack for lead guitars and Reggie Brown for bass. All they lacked was a steel. They initially approached Gary Hogue, but Gary was real busy with his studio over in Garland and didn't want the gig, so he recommended they call me up for it. Besides being Gary's first recommendation for the gig, Gary also knew that I'd been wanting to return home to the Dallas area for a long time.

Next thing I knew I was getting a call from Reggie Brown and, after a little talking about the gig, I accepted and before I could turn around, Bill Perry had bought me a one-way airplane ticket to Dallas (what surprised me most was that the ticket was first class ... I thought it was a mistake, but I called Reggie and he chuckled while telling me that's just the way Bill Perry was ... he believed in "taking care of his band guys").

It was early March 1990 when I stepped on the plane at SeaTac in Seattle. It was almost 80 degrees that day (a real heat wave for that area and time of year), so I wore a ball cap, tee shirt, shorts and flops while thinking if it was that warm in Seattle, Dallas would be like a furnace ... WRONG! ... I stepped off the plane at DFW in Dallas and it was a rain/sleet mix and only 37 degrees there!

Gary Hogue picked me up and by the time we grabbed my suite case, pack seat and steel and headed to his house I was nearly blue from the cold. I'll never forget that day as long as I live. It was great to be back home in Dallas again, but my "homecoming" was filled with a few small disasters which kind of had an impact on my first day with the band.

First, I get off the plane freezing, dressed as I was, and then as we took an escalator somehow the heel of one of my flops got caught in one of the steps so I slipped out of it and we tugged on it but we couldn't get it free. Next thing I knew we were at the bottom of the escalator and ... whoosh ... my flop was gone. The escalator ate it, so I had to throw the other one away and just go barefoot through the airport (which wouldn't have been entirely a bad thing if it had not been so blasted cold).

Next, we collected my baggage and I rummaged through my bag only to find that in my haste to get packed I'd forgotten to pack any shoes or socks!

Of course, by this time Gary was laughing and telling me how this was going to be one of those funny stories he could haunt me with later on. Then we splashed our way in that cold sleety rain and water out to Gary's car with my toes feeling like they're going to fall off any moment. Sheesh, it was cold that day!

We headed to Gary's house and he said we'd stop at a store the following day on the way to rehearsal so I could buy some new shoes & socks. What happens? Gary, who was always fashionably late, had us leaving way too late to stop at a shoe store and still get me to rehearsal on time, so he dropped me off at the rehearsal studio with my steel, pack seat and his rack & amps and said he'd run and pick up a pair of shoes & socks for me and drop them off.

So, here I am meeting my new band and what a funny picture I must have made wearing a cap, jacket, long sleeve shirt, jeans and bare feet with the temperature in the low 30s. Gosh, what a first impression that must have made on my new band! The band got a kick and a good laugh out of hearing what happened and then we setup and got ready to rehearse. The rehearsal room wasn't much warmer than being outdoors and the band graciously said we could postpone starting rehearsal until Gary got back with my new shoes, but I told them there was no need to postpone, I'd go ahead and play barefoot until he got back (and it's a good thing I did because he didn't get back until some three hours later when rehearsal was half over). Again, this wouldn't have been entirely so bad if it had just not been so cold! That's how my first day with the band went ... not exactly the most ideal way to spend the first day with a new band, for sure.

We rehearsed at DLP studios in Irving each day while we got our show all worked up. Man, the band was a real great bunch of guys to work with and we had a blast. We called ourselves Jon Dennis Smith and Southern Thunder.

For about five months everything went fine, then I was told we were looking for another vocalist because "J.D. just isn't working out". I never got the real gist on that because he sang and performed great, so it was a puzzle to me what was up.

Well, the rest of the guys in the band had worked with Ty Herndon previously in a band called Ryder West. Ty had left music and was selling Mercedes Benz. They called him up and asked him to come sit in with us and sing for our manager, Bill Perry.

We were at a club in Dallas called The Country Connection when Ty sat in. He came up and sang three songs and ... WOW ... what a singer. The moment he stepped up on stage, he had the look, the stage charisma, the voice and command over the audience. He was immediately hired that night and in the next two weeks our original singer was gone to pursue other directions and Ty was in the band.

We worked with him for a month as Ty Herndon and Southern Thunder and then started having personnel changes. First, Darin Johnson and Drew Kellar came on board for lead guitar and keyboards. Next we got David Pinkston on drums. Reggie remained with us for another year, but left to follow other pursuits and we acquired Randy Jeter on bass. By the time we finished the personnel changes, we'd also changed the name of the band from Ty Herndon & Southern Thunder to Ty Herndon & Ride The West.

I ended up being the only "original member" left in the band. We did the club circuits from 1990 until 1994 when Ty got his record deal with Sony/Epic. We began touring as a national act in early 1995 and, of all places for us to make our debut first performance under Epic Records, it was at the Grand Ole Opry. We had a really nice run of touring for the next five years (1995 to 2000) and then I finally had to make a choice to leave the band (in February of 2000) in order to save my marriage (which was failing due to life on the road and my music pursuits).

I've been rather inactive in music since ... three years after I left the band (2003), I fell off the roof of my house while working on an antenna and, while I pretty much recovered from the back & pelvis injuries, I ended up with severe radial and ulnar nerve damage in my right arm & hand and have only been getting back into steel in the last three and a half years (I started back again in late 2009).

That's how I found (and was discovered by) my last band. There's my story for you, Autry.

Ransom Beers · Post by **Ransom Beers** » 21 Mar 2013 5:54 am

I found the last band I worked with in a detention center,course they were all deported later.

Jim Curtain · Post by **Jim Curtain** » 21 Mar 2013 5:55 am

I also had bad luck with Craigslist, lots of spam and wack-jobs. I'm going to place a ad at my local guitar center, which will be interesting!

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 21 Mar 2013 7:03 am

I just walked into a dive bar and there they were.

I would also recommend avoiding Craigslist for this purpose or any other, unless you want to receive daily spam for the rest of your life… $:\$

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 21 Mar 2013 8:58 am

I was invited to a weekly country jam by a sax player who was in a band we hired for my dad's 90th birthday party 6 years ago. After coming there for a while, they asked me to be a regular part of the houseband. A lot of old classic country and I love it. I'm in another band too that we just started. I found them on Bandmix, a web based musician classified site. We play........eh

... top 40 country. But I can't quit cuz there's a real cute young girl singer in the band that has a nice voice. At least that's my story and I'm stickin' with it.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 21 Mar 2013 9:56 am

I would suppose this would depend on the era a person lived in. In my younger years, most band members were picked by reputation or word of mouth. I started out with a small country town band, (accordion, sax, banjo and whatever else instrument). From there it was usually a phone call via word of mouth from someone who had attended one of the dance gigs.

Now days, it seems to be who ever will work the cheapest and demand the least. There are also too many desperate musicians out there who volunteer to work for nickles and dimes just to get back on the stage.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 21 Mar 2013 10:03 am

Word of mouth is probably the best. I have never had to audition with a band. Always got turned on to bands and gigs by word of mouth and reputation.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 21 Mar 2013 10:03 am

Now days, it seems to be who ever will work the cheapest and demand the least. There are also too many desperate musicians out there who volunteer to work for nickles and dimes just to get back on the stage.

Les, you said a mouthful!

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 25 Mar 2013 10:31 pm

I sat in on bass starting out with the Badlands Band of Logan County, switched to pedal steel, and lead guitar, when they found a bass player. Been giggin' with'em for 3yrs. Make enough money to buy gas, and strings. Get to play everything from Hank Williams to Jimi Hendrix. And I still can't figure out how these Oklahoma cowboys can dance with spurs on, and never get hung up on anything or anybody!

Marc Friedland · Post by **Marc Friedland** » 26 Mar 2013 8:19 am

I have a few comments to share on this topic ---

Yes, like others have said “word of mouth” is an excellent source, and I’ve been fortunate to get many successful leads this way.

I’ve also found that when band members change bands they will contact certain band members they liked & worked with in the past to see if you’d consider joining their new situation.

Starting your own band – in this case the roles are reversed and you’re looking for referrals and leads for players who would potentially be a good match for your band.

Bulletin Boards (at music stores, etc)
This doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore, but about 12 years ago I contacted a band leader who only posted an index card at The Guitar Center and nowhere else, and I ended up being happily affiliated with them for over 6 years.

Craigslist – Yes, of course I understand the potential for it being a total waste of time, but I’ve also had good luck with this method, and have had a pretty fair amount of decent paying gigs with good musicians and very nice people.
Perhaps my recent success on Craigslist is that over time I’ve learned how to recognize real leads from flakes or situations that have very little chance of working out, so I don’t have to waste time with those. I’m not claiming my success rate is 100%, but I have found that people with legitimate musical positions to offer do occasionally post on Craigslist simply because they feel it’s the fastest and most effective method of reaching other musicians.

I haven’t posted this for quite a while here on the Forum and just for fun – here is an almost complete list of bands I’ve played in over the years. (In chronological order and not including some one-nighters) And there was no chance of me playing pedal steel guitar in any of the bands prior to 1993.

-- Marc

Barnyard Trio 1964
The Tornados 1964
The Sensations 1965
The Countrysiders 1966
The Unexpected 1966
The Zyme 1966
Coconut Conspiracy 1967
The Disturbed Users 1967
George’s Boys 1968
Joy 1968
Joy (2) 1971
Joy (3) 1972
Arnold Most Orchestra 1973
Whatever 1973
It’s All Right 1977
The Heart Throbs 1978
Forever 1979
Russian River All Stars 1979
Surge 1981
RSX 1984
You 1984
Eliot Kidd Band 1984
Menage 1985
Goin South 1993
Ramona’s Band 1993
Paul Norup 1993
Bounty Hunter 1994
Kelly & the Cowboys 1994
DK Richards 1994
Julie Taylor Band 1995
Lloyd Stout Band 1995
Untamed 1995
Wild Card (S. CA) 1995
Brother Ernest 1996
Sam Morrison Band 1996
Leather and Lace 1996
Spaghetti Western 1996
The Joey D. Band 1996
Silver Star * 1996
Fit 2-B Tied 1997
Country Store 1997
Appaloosa 1998
Winslow 1998
Western Justice 1999
Dustin James Band 1999
Wild Card (N. CA) 1999
Rosemarie’s Band 1999
90 Proof 1999
Jun Sumundo 1999
Savin Rock 1999
Medicine Man 2000
Sorci &Tomich 2000
Loose Cannon 2000
Cheyenne 2001
Jolly Ranchers 2001
Longhorn 2001
Lisa Kolarich 2002
Shanon Rider 2002
Silverspur 2006
Dave Russell 2002 – 2008
Heather & Blacksmith 2009
Roughshod 2009
Wild Road 2009
Kelly Aspen 2009
Buckskin Run 2010
County Road 7 2011
Sarah Samantha Rose 2011
Ben & Harry 2012
Rounder 2012
Jake Holliday 2012 (Moneyshot)

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 26 Mar 2013 9:38 am

Wow, Marc, I have never seen where a fellow musician has been through so many bands. I have been playing music and in bands for well over 50 years and my resume is no where near yours.

Now, if I was a band leader and looked at a resume like that, I would begin wondering, "why so many bands?"

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 26 Mar 2013 11:15 am

Les Anderson wrote:Wow, Marc, I have never seen where a fellow musician has been through so many bands. I have been playing music and in bands for well over 50 years and my resume is no where near yours.

Now, if I was a band leader and looked at a resume like that, I would begin wondering, "why so many bands?"

Have you taken a good look at Marc?

Just kidding Marc, ole buddy.

Around the bay area, it's hard to find work and most bands fold after a while, or you have to work in several bands at the same time to keep working. That is especially true nowadays. I am an active member in 2 bands (had to cut down from 3) that play regularly, 1 that plays 2 or 3 times a year. And I still get calls from others looking to hire me on.

Let's see how my list stacks up with Marc's. Probably not as many. From 1971 to now
Captain Fishlips
Duo w/ Paul Honeycutt
Fresh Country
Desert Star
Ray Cooper Band
Johhny Gibson Band
Caryn Sinkler Band
Dick Green Band (still a member)
TCB
2 Buck Chuck (same as Skunkweed Junction)
Donna Cox and the Chosen Few
Charlie Thompson & Friends
Sandy Ellwanger Band
Lenny Campbell
Blue Collar Criminals
Saddleback Ridge (my #1 band right now)
Eddie Kendrick
Randy Clark & Ransom
David Laswell & The New Rounders
George Hernandez
Cowboy Larry & The Bit & Spur Band
not counting fill-in gigs and a few bands that never got to the gigging stage

Most of these bands just ran their course and broke up.

Richard Sinkler · Post by **Richard Sinkler** » 26 Mar 2013 11:28 am

Hey Marc. I see you used to play for Jun Simundo. He sits in with the Dick Green Band when we play at the Richmond Moose Lodge some times.

Marc also said:

Perhaps my recent success on Craigslist is that over time I’ve learned how to recognize real leads from flakes or situations that have very little chance of working out, so I don’t have to waste time with those. I’m not claiming my success rate is 100%, but I have found that people with legitimate musical positions to offer do occasionally post on Craigslist simply because they feel it’s the fastest and most effective method of reaching other musicians.

My experience is different. I NEVER see ads here looking for a steel guitar player on Craigslist. Mine is that I put up ads looking for a band with gigs. That's where I get the calls for studio work (which I specify in the ad that I am NOT looking for) or for start up bands (which I also state that I am NOT interested in). Even had one jerk get in my face about not wanting to be in a start-up band. He says "every band has to be a start-up band at one point". True, but I would bet that if there was a study done on how many of these "start-up" bands actually make it to playing gigs (paying gigs, that is), that the number of bands that never play anything better than Uncle Bill's backyard beer bash, is in the high 90 percentile range. At 58 years old, I don't have the time to waste a year in a start-up that will never get a real gig.

Peggy Green · Post by **Peggy Green** » 26 Mar 2013 2:59 pm

Go to a jam session.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 26 Mar 2013 4:02 pm

Find my band? I didn't know it was lost...

I have a music store, started by my father in 1957. I was in
Oklahoma and my dad asked me to come home and go in the retail music business because he was ready to retire. After
I had been home a few years, and my steel had been in the closet while I raised my young children, two guys walked in
my store one day. They said they were starting a new country
band and looking for interested musicians. I told them I
was game if they wanted a steel player. That was sixteen
years ago and over five hundred gigs ago with this band, the
longest running band I have ever been a part of. One of
the founding members, bass player/singer Dave Dixon passed away only two years after we started the band. We have been
through two female vocalists and several bass players and drummers over the years... www.countryexpressmusic.com

The Steel Guitar Forum

How did you find your Band????

How did you find your Band????

How I Ended Up In My Last Band ...

In the band!