Frustrations of a lost guitarist

webrthomson

First of all - best of luck however you go about this! A few thoughts:

1. Do you have any large practice spaces near you there are always ad's for guitarist in those / or you can post one!
2. If there are local open stage nights go even if you dont want to play - you can ask people the lie of the land, best places to rehearse, where to gig etc.
3. If you do feel up to playing find a mate that can sing and bang out some covers, its experiance of playing live and you never know what will come of it.
   
4. Go to some local live gigs and talk to the guys playing about how they did it?
5. Post on here in the Personnel section.

Most of all dont keep plugging away - band formation and gigs come from some of the most random places

Dominic

I agree ........it is very hard.I live in Barnet on the outskirts of suburban N London and since the break-up of the last band due to a wanker Vocalist I have found it impossible to get anything else together ........drums, bass etc are hard to find . Loads of guitarists tho but quality/timekeeping etc isn't always great.
I am happy to play most things except serious metal and would rather not play Old man saddo pub-rock 70s Sabbath,Zeppelin,Quo etc but even that is fun with the right people .

Legionreturns

Convert to bass... You'll have work coming out of your ears!!

Phil_aka_Pip

richardhomer said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Legionreturns IIRC it was @richardhomer who devised that, I thought it was so good I had to keep a copy. The Asian Stunners are my Yamahas

Sadly not me - but very amusing

does anyone know who did?

Neill

@EricTheWeary says pretty much what was going to say.  Man, I can sympathise with this. I was in my thirties before I got going and that was only because I plucked up the nerve to sing - you will find lots of guys maybe who want to play, very few who have the balls to do vocals so that could be your way in and before you say you really can't sing believe me, neither can I...  

Another problem is finding a drummer.  Guitarists must outnumber drummers 20 to one, maybe 100 to one, and at one point I learned to play drums because I thought that would be another way to get in a band.  

Advertising in music shops used to be a good way to find similar minded folk.  I was left high and dry once and fed up with carrying the singing so I stuck a note in the local music shop window as if I was just starting out and looking for someone with little or no experience.  A woman rang me saying she had never performed but "thought she could sing"..  As it turns out she could sing rather well but musically we weren't on the same wavelength so I had to compromise just because I was desperate to carry on gigging.  We stayed together for seven years. That's how it goes.  I have a mate who is really a metal guitarist but he took a job playing bass with his dad's C&W band to pay the rent - that was over 20 years ago and he's still playing bass in a country band..

These days I live in a very remote part of the country so like @Phil_aka_Pip I get my kicks home recording, making up different bands and so on.  You don't need all the gear to do this, free software like Audacity, an interface, maybe a drum machine, like lots of others I started with a Tascam four track and probably had more fun with that than all the stuff I have now. 

But don't give up hope - playing with a band in front of an audience is the biggest thrill there is, and as others have said don't for one minute get hung up on your playing ability, it's almost irrelevant so long as you can play in time.  Good luck! 

Phil_aka_Pip

Phil_aka_Pip said:

richardhomer said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Legionreturns IIRC it was @richardhomer who devised that, I thought it was so good I had to keep a copy. The Asian Stunners are my Yamahas

Sadly not me - but very amusing

does anyone know who did?

did a search. can't be sure, the evidence is circumstantial but it might have been @Basher

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/14380/yer-bursts/p4

Basher

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

richardhomer said:

Phil_aka_Pip said:

@Legionreturns IIRC it was @richardhomer who devised that, I thought it was so good I had to keep a copy. The Asian Stunners are my Yamahas

Sadly not me - but very amusing

does anyone know who did?

did a search. can't be sure, the evidence is circumstantial but it might have been @Basher

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/14380/yer-bursts/p4

It's been over three years so I think I'm safe under the statute of limitations.... 

EricTheWeary

Just looking on JMB for Northamptonshire and there’s a pub with a blues jam this Friday and a drummer wanting to play covers ( as well as all the other stuff). It’s not a smorgasbord of opportunities but there’s some stuff happening. 

meltedbuzzbox

EricTheWeary said:

Just looking on JMB for Northamptonshire and there’s a pub with a blues jam this Friday and a drummer wanting to play covers ( as well as all the other stuff). It’s not a smorgasbord of opportunities but there’s some stuff happening. 

Is that the malt shovel?

EricTheWeary

meltedbuzzbox said:

EricTheWeary said:

Just looking on JMB for Northamptonshire and there’s a pub with a blues jam this Friday and a drummer wanting to play covers ( as well as all the other stuff). It’s not a smorgasbord of opportunities but there’s some stuff happening. 

Is that the malt shovel?

The Railway Inn , Oakham . Although I’m not sure that’s technically Northamptonshire. But, the points being neither of those are ads for blues guitarist wanted but both might lead to something and that there is some kind of life there. 

57Deluxe

Take matters into your own hands and start a local Guitar Club.

Find a suitable venue and place Ads locally in Supermarkets/music shops etc and on local social media streams such as NEXTDOOR or FreeCycle.

Being thrown in at the deep end is the only way to progress to another level, but you at least have a pair of inflatable arm bands by being the host.

Plectrum

EricTheWeary said:

meltedbuzzbox said:

EricTheWeary said:

Just looking on JMB for Northamptonshire and there’s a pub with a blues jam this Friday and a drummer wanting to play covers ( as well as all the other stuff). It’s not a smorgasbord of opportunities but there’s some stuff happening. 

Is that the malt shovel?

The Railway Inn , Oakham . Although I’m not sure that’s technically Northamptonshire. But, the points being neither of those are ads for blues guitarist wanted but both might lead to something and that there is some kind of life there. 

Unless there's more than one Oakham over that way it's in Leicestershire/Rutland (I believe it used to be the county town when Rutland was a separate county).

impmann

Oakham is a bit of a trek from Daventry!

An old friend is involved with the Sunday night jams at the Thomas A Beckett in Northampton -  I’ve never been but it’s well established. It may be worth a go...

strat1990

To give an update on this thread;

Firstly, thank you for all the replies. They were all really helpful.

I've decided to pull the plug on it all anyway and sell all the gear I bought to gig off on EBay. I'm currently getting divorced and moving to a much smaller place, so taking a 100w Fender Amp and all my guitars just isn't convievent. 

Though some homework I've found two local bars that do open mic nights, so as soon as I'm back on my feet I'll probably go down there. I don't think joining a band right now would be great as the issues in my personal life would just get in the way. 

Thanks for the help! 

jeztone2

Don't give up is my advice

I think its easier to get in a band if your playing covers. It's the original music that I think is a ball ache.  I've been very lucky, however when I was living in the South East. I found my guitar style was very unpopular. I've always prided myself on having a style. But boy, the amount of people looking for a blank canvas player is depressing.

blueskunk

meltedbuzzbox said:

How old are you?

I am guessing by your profile you are born in 1990?

SherlockBuzzBox