Tips for forming a band, tribute or otherwise?

[MooMoo!]

I'd love to start a band (or at least, one that actually practices ), but I seem to be having trouble finding anyone with my influences (no-one likes U2. Ever.).

Course, a U2 tribute band would be fun as, but the likelihood of finding 3 other U2 fans in my area playing the relevant instruments seems unlikely (I know a guitarist if I need him though, he knows who he is ).

Yeah, anyone got any pointers on this? Any websites for band forming you'd recommend? I've tried the ad-in-the-guitar-shop thing, it hasn't worked for me so far.

 

[The_acrobat]

Being in a band was one of the funnest experiences of my life! I hope you get one started soon! There's no greater feeling than after weeks of terrible practices, you FINALLY click and play through an entire song flawlessly. A certain feeling overcomes you, and it's a great feeling indeed!

A true band, rather you play covers or originals, should be a democracy always. So while your bandmates might not like U2, they should still appease your desires and in turn, you play on a couple songs by their favorite band. Sometimes that makes for an interesting, diverse setlist, based on other band member's personal tastes. We'd have Oasis, Tool, Dave Matthews, U2 and Nirvana in the same set sometimes, and the audiences always seemed to like the variety.

Don't just get your 3 best friends and say "let's make a band". That's exactly what my band did. We formed in 2000 and broke up in '07, with a brief resurgence in '09. The band was myself on lead guitar, my brother on bass, and my 2 oldest, best friends in the world on lead vocals and rhythm guitar/keyboard, and a revolving door of drummers. Our problem was that the singer just didn't turn out to be that good. He'd be fine at practice, and then get the "deer in headlights" thing going onstage. But he was our good friend and we didn't want to kick him out. So the drummers would say "let's kick him out, I know this guy I used to play with who'd be a perfect replacement". And we'd say no, so we'd lose another drummer. Eventually the routine got old.

I could go on all day about the things you should and shouldn't do in a band, but it doesn't matter. ENJOY IT! I'd have been fine being in an all U2 cover band myself, but I knew I wouldn't get anyone to go along with that!

 

[Galeongirl]

I know the feeling, wish I had any advice for you but every time I talk about U2 with fellow musicians I always get the same response. "Oh, my parents listen to that"

 

[MooMoo!]

I know the feeling, wish I had any advice for you but every time I talk about U2 with fellow musicians I always get the same response. "Oh, my parents listen to that"

Oh, I normally get "who?", "oh did they do that Beautiful Day/Elevate song?" "OMG BONO IS A KNOB LOLOLOLOL"


I mean, they wouldnt have to like U2, but I think if they did they'd have a better idea of what I'd like to do music wise. Be nice to find someone who likes them anyway, whether they play or not.

 

[Edge_Orchestra]

Like Edge once said:

If someone doesn't like U2 they just aren't trying hard enough.

 

[theedgeu2]

Like Edge once said:

If someone doesn't like U2 they just aren't trying hard enough.

Yes!

I'd love to form a U2 tribute band but I know no-one who likes U2 enough in my area to do a tribute act. I have joined a band a little ways away and we do punk rock stuff and sometimes some originals. I joined them at this school when I inquired about getting voice lessons and have had lots of fun with this band, even though we sometimes play stuff that I'm not too crazy about. Being in a band can be a valuable experience for a musician. Getting to work with people who share the same interest as you is great fun. I have learned and become a lot better through my experience with joining this band, and the gigs are really fun! I hope you do find some people to form a band with.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Tips for forming a band?

Be talented.

 

[MooMoo!]

Be talented.

Punk music says hi.

 

[quadcaster]

Finding band members can be really really tough! You can't just grab someone off the street, they have to be exactly what you want for your band and that is always really hard to find. I waited 12 months before I got my current bassist.

 

[MooMoo!]

Trouble is, I guess I could start writing songs and stuff, but then if people come along I (and they) might feel like backing musicians or something, I'd prefer people to be involved and such. :/ Guess it cant hurt to do so, just gonna be a bit awkward when the others (if they ever materialise) join.

 

[celticfc09]

tip #1: dont start a tribute band.

yes we all love U2, but tribute bands are just strange. you dedicate your life to copying someone else. by all means, we cover U2 quite often, but solely playing them gets a little boring, nor is it particularly creative.

I do love chasing down Edge's sound though.

 

[Galeongirl]

Uh why are they strange? It's a tribute to the band you love most, it seems like the ultimate band to me, you share your love for the music with people who think the same and try to recreate it to entertain people. How is that strange?

 

[MooMoo!]

^ I agree, I'd be (predending to be, at least) in my favourite band, I have no complaints at doing that. I dont see what's strange about tribute bands, U2 or otherwise, at all. They give less fortunate people a chance to see or hear great bands.

I'd hardly be dedicating my life to it either.

 

[gvox]

check yer inbox sent you some advice from a few years back

 

[NineminusOne]

Hi all!!!

If I made add... I am involved with a U2 Tribute project that just formed. My opinion is patients and communication. I read about the guy who didn't want to kick out the singer who couldn't perform. That's tough, but the reality is you gotta do what's right for the band. I am the vocalist. The other 3 members came from all different walks of life, but at the end of the day, we want this to sound solid, polished and above all else, we want to entertain. We want the crowd in to it. An order to do that you have to be polished. You can't be afraid of saying; ' that didn't sound good lets try that again.' It's not about pointing the finger at one individual, but it's recognizing that it's a team effort and that everyone is there for the same goal. We all work full time, we all have lives outside of music, so the important part is preparation. If members are not coming rehearsed, then it means they are not on the same page. Bono says it himself; 'communication' that is any bands success... Good luck, hope it works out for you.

 

[The_acrobat]

Hilarious story: one time we were in a bar playing "Message in a bottle" by the Police. This girl comes up and hands the singer a bottle, with a message rolled up in it that said "YOU SUCK!" I had to bite my cheeks to keep myself from cracking up!

Best advice I can give: Have somebody COMPETENT in charge of the sound when you're doing a gig. The band needs to focus on playing the music well. It's totally worth it to pay somebody to monitor your sound. If you sound like shit, that bar/club might not let you book again.

Being prepared is always a good thing (setlist, etc), but also be prepared for things to not go as planned. One time we were supposed to play a 45 minute set, opening for another band. The other band cancelled at the last minute (for a better gig), so we ended up playing for nearly 3 hours that night. Luckily, we had enough material rehearsed that we only repeated one song, and that was by audience request (sadly, it was a Creed song).

 

[TheEdge U2JT]

tip #1: dont start a tribute band.

yes we all love U2, but tribute bands are just strange. you dedicate your life to copying someone else. by all means, we cover U2 quite often, but solely playing them gets a little boring, nor is it particularly creative.

People like this crack me up! There are also the ones that think tribute musicians are not skilled or whatever.... blah blah blah. Sure, there are some just brutally bad tribute bands out there. That is no different than any other area of music. Go to any club that has live music and you are bound to see a few really good bands and a lot more sub-par garbage...be it original, cover or tribute.

Personally, I'm 40 and I have a professional career and family. When I was younger I did the original thing and the Sunset Strip gigs looking to make it. That time has passed. I cant spend months riding around the country in a van with 3 other guys playing gigs trying to make it nor do I want to. I also dont want to play in a basic "cover band" playing a bunch of material I hate. Playing in a band should be something you enjoy doing and I would not enjoy that.

I started a U2 Tribute 8 years ago because I thought it would be fun and U2 was my favorite band. All I wanted to do was challenge myself to recreate what Edge was doing because it was such a huge influence on my playing. I never expected it to become what it has. For me it's a lot more fun playing to crowds of several thousand that know the music, are singing about and enjoying the show, than to a crowd of 5 friends that show up at the club where we'd get to play a 30 minute set of originals. I have had some amazing experiences and been able to travel to places I never would have dreamed of going because of my tribute band. The guys who have the negative things to say about tribute bands really have no clue what they are talking about.

As for your questions about putting a band together...I think a big key is you really have to love the music or it will get boring. If you are not really a U2 fan, I'm sure you'll get sick of playing Sunday Bloody Sunday or Beautiful Day for the 200th time. You also need guys with the same passion. You also need guys with the chops and the equipment....especially for Edge. A guys who loves U2 but plays a PRS through a Mesa Triple Rec with a Boss delay pedal is not going to work.

Chas

 

[The_acrobat]

My band also did the originals thing for about 7 years. Although we live in Ohio, so we just played in Dayton and Columbus mostly, and a couple times in Cleveland. It's no fun to drag all your shit to some crappy club (or worse) and play 30 minutes to 10 people who could give a shit less.

Eventually, we gradually made the transition to a general cover band, with a few of our originals thrown in just to keep us sane. I absolutely HATED that. Your typical midwestern bar crowd isn't happy unless you're playing classic rock. I don't think I'll ever get the "FREEEEE-BIIIIRRD!!!" chants out of my head completley. We made a lot more money, got a lot more gigs, but didn't enjoy it at all.

I like your story about being in a U2 cover band, that would be my dream gig. Of course around here, nobody's got time for that "pussy shit", so I'd better join an AC/DC tribute band or something.... ugh....

 

[TheEdge_92]

Al start a band with you

 

[MooMoo!]

Heh, I'd love to, do you happen to know any drummers?

 

[TheEdge_92]

Haha personally no, do you?

 

[MooMoo!]

Sort of, but they live in or around Edge Hill. :T I play guitar and bass (and ukulele, haha) if that's any use to you anyway.

 

[TheEdge_92]

Ahhhh i live by Edge Hill i live by the hospital in kensington. I play guitar, never realy wanted to do anything else haha.

 

[MooMoo!]

Oh I used to live in Fairfield, near where the Aldi used to be. Im in town now, but next year I should be somewhere in Smithdown. If you ever want to try some songs together let me know, and I'll try and get my bass fixed (electrics seem determined to die on me. :T).

Oh when I said they live near Edge Hill, I meant the uni, so miles away. D:

 

[Songman]

My band also did the originals thing for about 7 years. Although we live in Ohio, so we just played in Dayton and Columbus mostly, and a couple times in Cleveland. It's no fun to drag all your shit to some crappy club (or worse) and play 30 minutes to 10 people who could give a shit less.

Eventually, we gradually made the transition to a general cover band, with a few of our originals thrown in just to keep us sane. I absolutely HATED that. Your typical midwestern bar crowd isn't happy unless you're playing classic rock. I don't think I'll ever get the "FREEEEE-BIIIIRRD!!!" chants out of my head completley. We made a lot more money, got a lot more gigs, but didn't enjoy it at all.

I like your story about being in a U2 cover band, that would be my dream gig. Of course around here, nobody's got time for that "pussy shit", so I'd better join an AC/DC tribute band or something.... ugh....

Being a huge promoter of my own originals myself, it is fucking annoying trying to push your originals out there that you have a lot of faith in, when the crowd just wants to hear the same old covers that you have played a gazillion times before. And thats the usual drunk bar crowd too. I have a self made original album with 15 tracks on it that I sold for just $10 to make an easy sell to the crowd, and there was a couple of nights that no matter how much I promoted them, no one gave a shit about them because it didn't have a cover anybody knew. It makes you wanna rage against them lol. I did have a refreshing gig about a month back though, where for the first hour and a half I played a huge selection of my own songs mixed in with obscure covers from Bruce Springsteen and U2, and still got a great reception. That was when people weren't at the really drunk stage, so if you're gonna try originals, do it early in the set when people still have the chance to appreciate them.

 

[Songman]

Okay, some questions for the OP Moo Moo.

How old are you? Where abouts do you live? What musical experience do you have?

Even though I'm only 20, in my pursuit of a musical career, I've learnt some valuable things about what to do in getting together a band. Luckily, I didn't really have to search around for band members. I was in the right place at the right time. I got my first band in college when I was 16. Now first of all, its all about establishing the identity of a band. When I got into my first band, there were a few things not working. There was a trumpet player playing on freaking rock songs, does not work. There was me as a vocalist. We played rock songs but I had a heavily influenced Elvis voice when I started out. Does not work. But what definitely does not work is when you don't work together. We had our first recording of our first original song. We thought we played well. We listened back, and we were shit. And the big reason more than being out of tune was that we weren't working together as a band. Everyone was doing their own thing as individuals. If you're gonna be in a band, that is the number one thing to avoid.

Eventually we knuckled down, the trumpet player became the bass player, I started finding my own voice, we wrote a few more originals, and rehearsed a lot. That is a big thing of getting together a band. You have to be prepared to practice until you feel that every instrument is locking together perfectly in time. You ahve to play songs over and over. You will get sick of them for playing them all the time, but one thing I found out is not to emotionally invest your self into every single rehearsal performance. Sing the song, but don't live it every time. Because a lot of the emotion a song needs will get lost when it comes time to play the song for all its worth in front of an audience.

Theres probably a lot more I can tell you, but I'll let you ask the questions if need be. But heres what I found out when making a band. If you're already playing solo gigs any where, do your thing on stage and then go talk to people. I found a lot of extra musicians who wanted to jam with me after they heard me play, and so we exchanged contact numbers. Talk to them, find their musical interest, what times they're available, and then pursue them with all you've got. The whole newspaper ad thing does work, but I find things work better face to face going to different bars and performance venues and just meeting people through what you do. I wish you the best of luck in your search.