Auditions, etc.:

After emailing/talking with people who are interested, I plan to put together a couple of auditions/jam sessions to see who and what gels. There will be a song list with 5 to 7 songs that I will expect everyone to be able to play. There will also be 3 or 4 more songs that it would be nice if you knew how to play. The list will come from my own choice but also include ideas from others. Where available, I will provide copies of the songs and chord/lyric sheets; it would be appreciated if you do the same for any songs you want to try.

What I'm looking for as much as the ability to use your instrument and/or voice, is how people interact with each other. I'd like to see how songs get arranged based on the people playing. I hope to find people who are interested in putting together good songs, not trying to outplay the other people in the room.

Scheduling will be based on the responses but I'd like to do things fairly quickly.

And I understand that I am on audition as much as anybody else.

Check egos at the door

I think it would be the very rare musician who has absolutely no ego. Part of why we do this is because we think we're good at it. However, I want to work with people that are willing to change, take constructive criticism, know how to give constructive criticism ("I think that's the wrong chord there." vs. "Gee, you suck on that song." even when I do suck) and understand that being in a band means you don't get to play every lead or do every song in your favorite key.

Practicing

Once there is a core group, I want to practice once a week with a longer weekend practice thrown in every 3 weeks or so. I expect everyone to practice on their own as well. In general, we will decide on songs to play one or two weeks before actually practicing them as a group. You should learn your part so that when the band starts to play it, we can concentrate on getting everyone on the same page, not figuring out the second chord in the bridge. If you already know how to play a song, you should chart it out for everyone else. That will make things go quicker.

Practices should be fun. If, like me, you have a full time "real" job, practicing should be a couple of hours where you can put other things aside and relax. Along the same lines, life happens and practices get missed. No big deal. But everyone else should still get together. It's been my experience that it can sometimes even be helpful to have practices where not everyone is there...it allows people to give more detail and focus to the parts of the people who are there.

Playing Out & Gigging

Playing out in front of people is my main reason for doing this. I get such a kick about playing with a band and seeing people dance, tap their feet, sing along or just generally enjoying themselves. (Once, I was having such a good time on stage that I was accused of being drunk even though I hadn't had anything to drink.)

I also think that sometimes playing on stage can be as good as 3 or 4 practices. You just have to make it through to the end of the song. Even if somebody misses a chord, forgets lyrics, drops a stick or whatever, the band has to keep playing.

Even with just a few songs under our belts, I would want to hit open mics just to get used to playing on stage. With 10 or 12 songs, we should try to get one-set gigs with other bands. Then as we have more and more songs together, we can start doing our own gigs. When doing shows, I like to play as much as possible. I see no reason why a set can't be 1 1/2 hours or more (once you have enough songs). For breaks, I'd also prefer having half the band take a break while the other half does some stripped down songs; then, a little later, the other folks get their break. When the whole band does take a break, make it reasonable.

Recording

Recording would be cool but it's not my main goal. We would probably need a demo of some sort to get gigs, but that could possibly be done live as well as in a studio.

If somebody else wants to work on putting a CD together, I will definitely help and do my part as it would be fun. Just, to be honest, don't expect me to take the lead on that.

Money

Of course I want to make money (there are always several guitars, amps and pedals on the "want list"). On the other hand, I'm not trying to pay my mortgage off of the money earned from gigs. So, in general, any money earned by the band will be split evenly among everyone. As a group, we can decide if certain expenses can be reimbursed off the top when one person pays for something that clearly benefits the whole band (for example: website hosting fees, materials for a promo package, custom designed Nudie suits).

Final Thoughts

No Drunken Idiots

Obviously, what you do on your own time is your own business. Once we're done playing for the night, feel free to get sh** faced. But when playing a gig or practicing, your head should be clear. Don't get me wrong, I'll often have a beer with me at a gig or practice. However, if it causes you to screw up, you've had too much.

NO DRUGS!!!

Taking the "no drunken idiots" rule a step farther, I do not do drugs for both legal and personal reasons. I also played with a singer once who would take a couple of hits while practicing. By the end of it, it almost wasn't worth practicing as he had lost all focus on the songs. Because of these things, I don't expect to have to deal with them in any way, shape or form in a band. (Again, what you do on your own time is your business.)

If this offends you in some way, I apologize. But thems my rules.