are you in a band?

salukulady

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So, I'm really excited.....I was asked to be in a band!!! Now, I've only been playing since January and I didn't think I was ready for this, but a woman I play along with in three jam groups asked me to be in her mostly all woman band. We rehearsed today and will again tomorrow because, get this, there is a gig on Sunday at a yacht club. YIKES! The band is called Sandy Feet and they, (I mean we....OMG!) play a lot of 60's surf tunes and Hawaiian music. Just a bunch of Moms, really. In the group we have two guitars, bass, drums, congas, steel drums (so cool), two ukes and a keyboard, with assorted other instruments, they even got me to dust off my flute and ocarina. (You must have an ocarina solo in Wild Thing). Oh and we have a beautiful dancer for the Hawaiian numbers. I'm having a blast!

So, how many of you are in bands? What kind of music do you play and what instruments do you have in your bands.
 
i have been in a few, mostly playing bass and Custom percussion... at the moment some friends and i are putting writing and drafting a new project in which i play bass...

then there is my folk side project (me and a guy who plays mandolin and banjo) that i play acoustic guitar and ukulele in. we are called Folkpocolyplse... we mostly do covers and such, we need to record something.

ps i almost forgot to add, congrats on making a band! its an awesome experience and every one is different!
 
Congrats on making the band. I've never been in a band in the sense of a small group of mixed strings and percussion who go and play gigs. I've only been in bands in the symphonic sense of the word, and even then only a few times outside of school and college.

I'd be as flipped out as you if I was asked to join a band. Ain't gonna happen to me! :D

So congrats, and good luck at your first upcoming gig.
 
Bands are fun. :)
 
Congrats. Sounds like fun.

I've been in a number of rock and roll bands playing guitar and singing. Last one of those ended in December of 2007 when our bass player moved to way Northern Minnesota to be closer to his girlfriend and the fishing.

That was the Infestations and we were a loud pop band. Entertained literally dozens in our three or four year stint....

Before that was the Bee Family. Me and an all girl rhythm section. Really should put something up for that. We had a few really good things going on when they weren't trying to get me to wear matching outfits.

(Also did a stint in Trailer Park Queen parodying classic rock with all the words rewritten in the smuttiest ways imaginable and being sung by a 350lb middle aged woman in a giant beehive wig. It was something to experience...)

Currently trying to work out something ukulele. Thinking I want to just get something together with whoever I can sucker into it where we hit on a little bit of everything from Rodgers & Hart to Bowie to the Beach Boys and whatever else strikes our fancy and any originals that pop up. Play 'em straight and honestly with the instrumentation we've got. The sort of thing that could play anywhere, plugged in or not. Cheryl (the opera trained other singer from the Infestations) is in. Mostly I've been pretty lax about getting it rolling.
 
as a matter of fact... im not in a band, do i surprise anybody with my amazing skills on the ookulele... all the songs i can play & my perfect voice

got asked once, by some hardcore band on a train... and my answer was no- if a mellow reggae band asks me.... be there 4 hours before im meant too :)
 
I've been in bands on and off for many years, but in the latest band, actually a folk rock trio headed by Jack Lavoie (www.jacklavoie.net), I actually play a few songs on ukulele. Jack has moved from full rock band format to folk rock trio (with the occasional backup singer and extra percussionist added). We are planning on recording one of my compositions on the uke (among four or five new Jack songs), including video!!! We've been together roughly two years and have played clubs, dives and yes!! a yacht club! It's lots of fun and very gratifying playing with others in front of crowds.

Jack plays geetar, I play bass, ukulele, 12 string and a little bit of harmonica and John plays percussion of all sorts, mainly djembe. We all sing vocals, alternating leads. Most of our sets are Jack's compositions, but we also play the Band, Jack Johnson etc. Yes, I've even played Iz's Over the Rainbow on uke but now I play Espen Lind's Scared of Heights, two of Jack's compos and one of mine on uke, and accompany one of John's songs.

Believe me, the uke has always been well received by the audience.

I play a soprano Koa Pili Koko (from MGM) and keep a Northern JCD-2 handy just in case. I play through a condenser mic into a tube preamp and into the board. I use a preamp for the 48v, just in case the board doesn't have any.

Hope you have a lot of fun. It's really great playing music with others.

UkéDan
 
Me and my friend play as the "Wagon of Science". I'm on ukulele and he plays guitar. We play charity events at school and in his garden beside the street. We both sing and it's good craic.

I think I'm playing ukulele on a recording with a local punk/ska band called Pocket Billiards. The lead singer is one of the teachers at my school :p
 
How exciting! Have fun. That'd be a dream come true for me. Is 51 too old to be in a band? Let us know how it goes.
 
Congrats. I'm in a family band and an acoustic group that compose of only me and my friend. In the band, we basically use a bass, 2 acoustics, 2 ukuleles, 1 drumset. Those are just instruments we use. The band is basically me and my 2 cousins. Well good luck at your gig and just remember to play like your jamming. Makes it so much easier.
 
You can always start your own band, and there's nothing wrong with going solo!
 
Been in a number of bands (and duos) over the years. Currently in Snake Suspenderz which, despite what the website indicates, is now a trio. Started as a duo, grew to a quartet and then shrunk again. We'll be back to quartet (or maybe larger, who knows?) soon. And we still sometimes play as a duo if one or the other of us isn't available.

Is 51 too old to be in a band?

Geez I hope not. I just turned 50 a little over a month ago and I'm not planning on giving this madness up until I die.

Besides, look at the Stones and other "heritage acts."
 
Oh how I wish...

How I wish I could find a bass player to work on standards with......

Congratulations and you should have a blast!:music:
 
I'm in a band called flounder in which I play bass guitar...
I'm also in an unnamed band in which I also play bass guitar.

Would KILL for a band to play ukulele in. Or Cello.
But Flounder has a show at the Stone Pony in NJ soon so I be super excited!
Plus I'm getting a new bass!
 
I've been in a few rock bands, the staple being myself and my lead guitarist, Rick. I'm currently in a 4-piece rock band temporarily called The Fluffs. We have no current stuff up, but www.Myspace.com/TheFluffsMusic has some photos if you'd like to see. We have a solid image and a great sound. I'd love to be in a full side ukulele band just for fun. Here are some tips I'd like to share with the UU.
**If you'd like to play in a band, without making major record labels or much money, you don't need to check this out, but if you think you might like to, do so.

1. The Music -- No matter what has been said, the music is very important. A solid rythem is more important than a catchy melody. If the lead guitarist made a few mistakes in a riff, the crowd would less notice that over the drummer or bassist being off timing. Whatever genre you play (sadly, ukulele is not the most marketable) it needs to sound good.

2. The Image -- In real life, in 2008, you have to think. Why would a record label sign me? That girl over there has a great voice, why isn't she singing lead for that one band? Image, sadly (or maybe you like to dress up) is a major part of the music business. Why on this earth would a label sign you if you're the average Joe? An A&R (scout) says "Hey! I found this band, and they all wear makeup and have different identities. The bassist has a abnormally long tongue and spits blood and breathes fire! The drummer looks like a cat! Blah blah! Imagine the t-shirts, the pins... even the action figures we could make with these guys!" Many glam 80's bands were signed just for their hair. This did not apply as much in older music, but I mean, even The Beatle's haircuts played a role. You must be marketable, I mean, the point is to make money off of you.

3. Band Personality -- One reason bands can make it easier than solo artists is because there are many personalities to choose from. "I like John Doe!" "Joe Shmoe is my favorite!" And so on. Maybe the frontman is a quiet poet. The lead guitar is a little rowdy. The bassist is a pyromaniac. Even if people fake it, it's good press and can contribute to how far your band makes it. Maybe your drummer is a major jerk in interviews, cusses the reporter out, etc. But you meet him backstage and he's a really easygoing and pleasant guy. That's just another thing for people to talk about.

4. Band Ethics -- You believe this. I believe that. I want to meet at 12. You want to meet at 2. Bands must compromise and share similar goals and views, or it can get really tough to stay together and tension grows extremely high. And when tension grows and your drummer has his metal drumsticks in his hands and you upset him, it isn't so fun anymore.

5. Promotions and shows -- You need to play and get noticed. That's the only way. You might get sponsors from sending in demos, but most bands in the new millennium make most of their money off of live shows and selling merch. The more you promote, (posters, free demo cd's, benefit shows, etc.) the more people know.

6. Persistance -- Whatever you do, you have to stick with it and it will just take you farther. If 2 people see your show and buy a t-shirt, that's moving forward. You can't fall backwards unless you do something very obscene or against the band/society's morals. On the other side of the coin, it can bring you to the top. (Manson)

I am not a professional motivational speaker, manager, musician, or any of that, but I plan to be and I can tell you that what I have listed can only help.

By the way..

How exciting! Have fun. That'd be a dream come true for me. Is 51 too old to be in a band? Let us know how it goes.

The Stones are still at it and how old are they? Never too old!
Take care, I hope I helped a bit. :music:
 
Not a bad list there, Blake. But you left out...

Everybody has to work. If one person is constantly doing all the booking, all the PR, all the work on the website/MySpace/whatever, etc., etc. it soon causes those tensions you're talking about.

Just think. If you're in a 4-piece and are managing to squeeze out the time to book one gig/month the same amount of effort from the other members will have you playing nearly every weekend.
 
Not a bad list there, Blake. But you left out...

Everybody has to work. If one person is constantly doing all the booking, all the PR, all the work on the website/MySpace/whatever, etc., etc. it soon causes those tensions you're talking about.

Just think. If you're in a 4-piece and are managing to squeeze out the time to book one gig/month the same amount of effort from the other members will have you playing nearly every weekend.

Nice addition. Goes with band morals a bit.
 
I am solo man only sometimes jam with my friend
 
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