I finally want to be part of the circulation of monetary units, so I have decided to embark upon a quest to join or start a band. My teacher says I have the talent. I am really doing it 35% to jam, and 65% for the dough. I needs me a bigger amp and a MAC!

I have a date set aside sometime in the murky future to jam with a science classmate (guitar freak just like me) and hopefully we could get something going. I sincerely hope that I do not have to resort to starting a band (I'm not sure why, I guess I just don't have the courage). Any experience (feedback from teens or those who have fond/specific memories of those years ) is appreciated if you could tell me. I have a beautiful guitar along for the ride so that should make it easier, I guess.

Thanks!

-The Screamin' J

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CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

Honestly it should be 65% for the jam and 36% for the money. Yeah you will need a bigger amp if you want to start/join a band. Your current amp should get you started, but once you put in a bassist and a drummer, your sound will be swallowed up.

I remember starting a band in High School, it was fun at first. Stay away from the drug scene though, that is what destroyed the life of our lead guitarist. Make sure you click well with your bandmates, watch out for each other. You will either have the time of your life, or get sucked into the worst time in your life. I wish you the best in your endeavors. Keep on rockin.

RK

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

It's fun.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, is better or more rewarding than playing music with a good band. As much of a cliche as it is, the music is truly the most important bit. I like the guys in my band, but we don't hang out other than when we gig and, practice (which really means drink beer, eat chinese food and then, maybe, play a bit). Get the biggest, best amp you can afford -- but don't be the loudest guy. Always have extra gear, batteries and duct tape. Always.

I'm 17, and I've been playing in various bands since I was 13. I have hardly any experience next to most of the others on this board, but hopefully I can help you out some.

At first getting up in front of people and leading a band is very, very scary. But after a while you'll get more comfortable and you'll have a hard time even remembering why you were scared. The most I've ever been paid on a gig was a biscuit and gravy at a nursing home. (Aside from the King of the Blues contest where I actually won some cool stuff, but that wasn't with a band.)
So I really don't do it for money, just the experience. One of the bands I'm in is going to try and get some gigs at schools, but that seems like it's probably going to be a little farther down the road for us. I'd say start a band because you want to, and get a job if you want to make money. That's just sort of the practical thing to do, since with a job you don't have to worry about things like marketing, practice time, personality conflicts and all the not so fun parts of running a band.

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Dont you have a marshall MG 50watt. Thats big enough for anywhere that doesnt have its own PA system. Maybe invest in a 4x12 cab for it, if needed???

Dont expect much money at all. It takes a special kind of mind to take their pay home with them after the gig (I could never get past the new city/pocket full of cash syndrome). The pay is never great if its anything when you start out. You need to spend money on travel and the upkeep of your leads, strings, instrument and such. So you need it to be fun and need to be 100% into the music when you start out. If you want money then leave school and get a job. That will only ruin you in later years though when you have no qualifications/grades.

My advice, sit tight where you are. Study hard, play hard. I started playing at 14 and pretty much forgot school, I attended. I only went for the girls and to have a laugh with my mates. I didnt do too bad considering I put in zero effort. Left school the first chance I got and got a job. That and the band I was in (Elvis impersonator) was great at the time. We gigged four times a week at £80 a night, each and £150 to the man himself. The apprenticship paid £30 a week YTS to anyone who remembers them. Luckily the country was still under thatchers rule, people that weren't buying new houses were doing their old houses up. I was earning between £150and £300 each weekend doing side jobs plastering peoples home extensions. I felt like i was on footballers money. My greed nearly killed me, I played music i didnt enjoy. My peers who focused on further education made a lot more money more easily. I enjoyed it (kind of), but if i had my time again would take the other road.

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No no and no

One of the finest songwriters of all time, Sammy Kahn once quipped, "People ask me all the time, which comes first, the music or the words? I say, neither... what comes first is the check!"

There's nothing wrong wtih setting out to make good money. Actually, I think the people who do end up better musicians, because the marketplace demands that you play well.

Who cares what the ratio or percentage is, if its not 100% fun...

To me, music is about having fun, and you get into it because you have fun and enjoy it...If you make money, thats cool, but I wouldn't get into just to try and make money, because more than likely you won't for the first few years. Do it because you want to do it. Don't do it because you think its an easy way to make money, because its not as easy as it looks. Just have fun, keep playing, meet other musicians, and just see how things go as far as bands and what not, from there....

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RAMA LAMA FA FA FA

TGS is a wise young lady. Keep up w/ your education too. Once you've got those as your real priorities - Rock on! Good luck!

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Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer

If you want to make money, play covers, corporate events and weddings. If that's not your bag, don't expect to make much - if any. Unless you're brilliantly talented composers and musicians, it's way hard to get a big, consistent following if you're only to play so-so originals.

If you want to do some far out thing, don't care what other people think, then you won't make $@!&, since people won't care what you're playing either. Just a note...

Yeah, if you want to make money, it's gonna be with covers as a wedding band or other bullshit.

I have been in bands since I was 15, that's 12 years ftr, mostly dirty pop punk rock, and I have never really made any serious cash. Good $@!& here and there, but I had to join the Navy to support the family. The irony of the situation is that the best paying gigs I've ever had have been recent MWR gigs on bases.

Get good on a scene and you can make a good bit of cash on T-shirts and buttons. Nothing thagonna support a family but your heart shouldn't be in it for the money.

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This is never easy....

Ive started lots of bands and been in bands with constantly swapping people.

To get a band GOING you need these things in common:

Same love of music (This is the main killer, if your very different in tastes when writting songs then theres is gonnna be falling out constantly)
Same aspirations
100% enthusisim to practice all day and gig all night
All be great friends
Able to get places, good transport
an alrightish practice place
And gear thats not broken and at an average level.

Obviously once you've got a band going to maintain a great band you dont need all of these, for instance; being great friends with the band is vital to getting up to a good level, however once your at a high up level its alright to smack your lead guitarist in the face since its very rock and roll! (still not a good thing to do though...)

Also bassists are very rare and drummers can be a pain, and i do hope that either you are your friend is a singer....(Providing you want one)

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"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

Very important point.

I was once in a band where the leader was always complaining about how practice time took away from his family time and how he couldn't tuck his new baby into bed because he was with us. One of the singers was a Mom who felt the same about her kid, and the other wouldn't stop text messaging. The other electric guitar player didn't want to be there and the bass player could barely speak english.

That band lasted about two months, and it was the first and only time that I felt like I didn't even want to play guitar. I didn't want to go to practice because no one else was into it, and it wasn't even music I liked.

After that I took a break from playing in any bands for about six months, and when I did find another band I didn't really want to be in a band again at first because I hated the other band so much. But I'm glad I stuck it out, because this new band has lasted a year so far and it's been one of the most fun things I've ever done. And it has a lot to do with the fact that everyone wants to be there.

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Good luck making more money than you spend on gear/gas/and practice time. I was in a top local band in SoCal and I probably could have made more money throwing a paper route.

If you go for 100% love of playing you will be way ahead of the game.

+1 The Music must be first.

This is the biggest band killer that I've seen in 25+ years of playing. Some of the biggest issues is when certain people "won't play" this, or refuse to play that, for various reasons.

Another super frustrating thing that kills it is knowing what to do to get your set lists together. Some people don't "practice" on their own. They take "band practice" (which is more of a rehearsal) to spend their time learning things. The practice and learning should be the homework part. When you all get together, you should just be running through what you already all know, together. There's nothing more frustrating that knowing your stuff cold, and having to show some idiot the same stuff over and over again because they can't remember, don't practice at home, or are just not good musicians. I can not tolerate stupid people, even less so when I'm in a band with them.