best cites to live in for finding band members

[drummingman]

i now live in virginia and im trying to find band members. but i have been thinking about what cities might be good to move to if i cant find the members in my area? i was thinking new york, boston, philly. those are just a few that i was thinking about. any other good ones that are more on the east coast? moving out to LA is a big move and thats why i have not really considsered that.
as is im trying to really look in my state and the states near me. im looking in maryland, washington DC, PA and NC.
my goal is to find christian members that are into metal and other heavy styles. but im just thinking about what to do if i cant. there are only a number of musicians in each area and what do you do if you cant find the members i am looking for? i have thought about moving but then the question of where too becomes an issue. i say that because i could move to new york or anywhere else and still not find the christian members that im looking for.
im willing to drive a good bit, up to 3 hours at least, to join a band or start up a band if need be. that shows that it is very important to me.
what do you all think?

[DrummerDavid]

It seems Atlanta sucks for finding bass players.

[tbmills]

New Orleans is the most musical place i have ever been.
i cant imagine not being able to find talent there.

[Mastershake16]

well i'll tell you philly definitely alot of music, haha hard for me to tell from the suburbs but hey why not NY, everythings there and philly and surronding areas does have some pretty nice smaller places to gig, id go NYC if you could

[OldHippy]

Memphis has a pretty active music scene, not sure about metal though. Ardent Studios has recorded some Christian groups. Plus the best drum store in the country is located there.

[Muckster]

Based on my experience:

LA
Austin
Memphis
San Diego

[Guz2]

I misread the title as "best cites to live in for firing band members" :P I was about to say "ask Dave Mustaine!"

[drummingman]

I misread the title as "best cites to live in for firing band members" :P I was about to say "ask Dave Mustaine!"
haha nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drumhead61]

Based on my experience:

LA
Austin
Memphis
San Diego

I will have to go with Muckster on this since I live here!

[BattleArmor]

I misread the title as "best cites to live in for firing band members" :P I was about to say "ask Dave Mustaine!"


Haha so did I. I was going to say, why do you have to go somewhere else to do it.

[drumnoob]

Dude, you live in Virginia? Let us not forget Lamb of God, one of the biggest metal bands in the world, are from Richmond. There MUST be a burgeoning pool of heavy metal talent there, and at least some of them must be Christian.

Unless you're a VERY serious and very talented professional musician, I can't see packing up and moving your life around to find other musicians who may or may not be as committed/talented as you are. Just my 2 cents.

[eits1986]

If you try and control too many of the variables that occur during band formation, you will lose in the end. Just let it happen.

[drummingman]

im still on the look. i just went and put out a bunch of ad's in richmond over the weekend at music stores looking for a band. no hits yet on that, but its only been like 2 days.

[aydee]

Kingston, Jamaica, San Paulo, Brazil, Jaipur, India, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[Funky Crêpe]

Kingston, Jamaica, San Paulo, Brazil, Jaipur, India, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

there some random paces!....have you played in all of them?

[SGT_Drummer]

honestly from my experience, the best place is the mid-west. specifically southern illinois (thats where i'm from). you don't hear of alot of acts getting signed out of there because they all move to like chicago or cali and end up falling apart shortly after. but 4 out of every 5 people play some type of instrument. and 1 out of every one of those 4 are incredibly talented. the sheer volume of musicians you can find there is mind boggling. the only problem is, so many musicians, not very many singers or good songwriters.

so yeah, so. ill. for the musicians, somewhere else for the singer.

on a counter note, the absolute WORST place to find band members is upstate new york. there are seriously no good musicians up there. you can only find cover bands. and the good musicians you can find there, are in the military stationed at fort drum and don't stick around there very long.

[drummerchick435]

NASHVILLE!!! (of course, I say that because I'm going to college in Nashville in August!)
Birmingham, AL is pretty good. The metal scene (along with punk/alternative) is underground though. It's mostly southern rock, classic rock, and jazz here.

[Funky Crêpe]

best jazz scene?????

[Solaris]

In Australia, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are the main music hubs, though Perth (on the other side of the continent) has had a lot of good bands come out of there recently.

[aydee]

there some random paces!....have you played in all of them?

Yes, sir, I have.



...............

[Drifter in the Dark]

Birmingham, AL is pretty good. The metal scene (along with punk/alternative) is underground though. It's mostly southern rock, classic rock, and jazz here.

One of the best bands I've ever heard is from Birmingham: Oteil and the Peacemakers. Not only is Oteil Burbridge one of the best bass players alive today, the drummer, Chris Fryar, has jazz/rock chops like crazy.

[drummerchick435]

One of the best bands I've ever heard is from Birmingham: Oteil and the Peacemakers. Not only is Oteil Burbridge one of the best bass players alive today, the drummer, Chris Fryar, has jazz/rock chops like crazy.

I know all about Oteil, dude! My drum teacher has played with him AND my pastor at my church is close, personal friends with him. My pastor's been backstage at the Allman Brothers 12 times. He says the next time they come to Birmingham, he'll get me VIP passes, and he never goes back on his word.

[Funky Crêpe]

Yes, sir, I have.



...............

that would be great....travelling round the world, playing......DREAM!

[beatsMcGee]

Raleigh area has a pretty good music scene. but seriously consider exhausting your resources where you are at before up and moving..

[drummingman]

my goal is to find people that are close to me for sure. as is i have had no luck. but its only been about a month.

[Funky Crêpe]

Raleigh area has a pretty good music scene. but seriously consider exhausting your resources where you are at before up and moving..

you see, i want to try and make a living out of music...and i dont know if cork (ireland) is the place to do it....ah well.....you never know!....especially since there are close to no live jazz bands playing because no pub or club really wants them here in irelsnd

[drummingman]

The 2 places I'm thinking about moving is new york or LA. I just resigned a new lease on my apt. for another year here in va. Of course I'm going to keep looking for band members & bands over this year. If I can't find the members or a band here I plan to move. I'm just trying to decide where to move. are there other places in CA that are great for finding musicians? like san diego or sacramento or fresno? also, what about seattle washington? how is the music scene there?
Is LA. greatly oversaturated to the point where it would be very hard to be successful? What about new york? I'm willing to move, but I want to make sure where I move there are alot of quality musicians where I move to.
I'm still open for advice for sure.

[spirit]

London is a great place to live for that- seems easy to find competant like minded players.
Most music stores have adds for wanted and available and if you network you can find some great contacts- for example my signature leads to my music demo site- people contact a lot through that its not a bad place to be as you can here examples of work before you contact- its a global site so take your time- you will fiind the players you need in the end!
Good luck mate.

[Chollyred]

It seems Atlanta sucks for finding bass players.

Man! It seems like everyone I know in Atlanta plays bass. My problem is finding older people that just want to jam.

[drummingman]

someone just told me about austin texas having a great metal scene. any thoughts on that?

[Pete Stoltman]

My experience was an eye opener. I lived most of my life in Chicago and there were absolutely tons of fabulous musicians in all genres that inhabit that city. About 8 years ago I made a move to very remote northern Wisconsin thinking I'd maybe end up playing in a community band if I could find one. I was very surprised to find that there were some incredibly talented people lurking around in the northwoods and that once you were "discovered" by other musicians the gigs kept rolling in. Now there aren't a lot of us here but the good ones find each other and before you know it there is a lot of "crosspolinating" going on. I currently gig with three different bands and get calls from several others along with a wide variety of freelance gigs. I guess what I'm saying is that in a big city it's easy to get lost among the crowd of good musicians but in a smaller community the access to find others is pretty good. Just something to consider.

[drummingman]

i have also been thinking about minneapolis MN. i used to live there like 9 years ago.

[Pete Stoltman]

Minneapolis definitely has a very thriving music scene. Good midwestern work ethic among the players there too.

[drummingman]

Minneapolis definitely has a very thriving music scene. Good midwestern work ethic among the players there too.

i have been thinking about moving back there if i cant find what i need here. what are some other cities in driving distance from minneapolis? also, are there a good number of clubs to play out in the midwest area? my main concern moving back to minneapolis is that i dont want to cut myself off from other scenes and thats why im wondering what all clubs and cities are close to minneapolis.

[drummingman]

Im also looking at Atlanta. Anyone from there? How is the heavy music scene there?