Finding people to play with?

[voodoorat]

How do you guys find people to play with who have similar interests?

How do you find people to play with if you don't already know them? It seems like finding someone with close-enough musical tastes, close-enough musical talent and close-enough musical goals is nigh impossible just throwing a net randomly. Plus you have to at least kind of like them personally! I'm in the Atlanta metro area, so I'm sure there are people around who fit the profile but no idea how to find them. Some options may be off the board for me because I am not really able to go out much since my ex-wife never takes the kids and I have 4 including two minimally-verbal special needs kids.

[Partscaster]

Music store bulletin boards?
Perhaps local open mic nights?

IDK, I was lucky enough to chum my oldest good friend into taking up bass some years ago. He was an interested beginner level guitar player for many years. We play in a wood shop at work. We work at a place were workers are full time, or seasonal, and slowly folks gravitated toward our orbit. It isnt always good, and I often miss the days of just playing with only a bass. But the drummer is a super guy who is good. Thats nice. Sometimes we have 4 guitars, and luckily most are good players and know how to float in the mix and leave room. But often someone who is less experienced is in the mix and it sounds poorer for it. The more folks, the slower learning becomes. But all in all, I am grateful to belong to a group of fellow folks who like each other and similar music.

[tlarson58]

Hm... Tough one.

I am the guy like the one mentioned above who picked up the bass and took one for the team. If you can find one friend/acquaintance to join forces with it might be easier to go to an open mic and recruit or spread to the word.

Or work up the nerve to ask an existing group if you can sit in. That's tough sledding, but a cameo now and then is better than none at all.

Good luck.

[voodoorat]

It’s crazy how that pattern plays out. The one guy I play with pretty much every week switched to bass from guitar a couple of years ago and he was kind of hard stuck as a beginner guitarist, we’ve been friends since 8th grade. He’s improved dramatically since switching and it’sa lot of fun to play with him now but I do feel like having a drummer to play with would add a lot—we’ve used rhythm stomp boxes and drum machines and it works but you do lose a lot by not having a human in that role. Or having a second guitarist would also be fun. Or just having someone else to play with to mix things up a little. We have other people who play with us sometimes but they’re of wildly varying talent and some have completely different interests (it’s good for cross pollination but can send us down rabbit holes or waste a lot of time learning songs we’re not that interested in for someone who rarely or never shows up again).

Maybe it’s a little golden egg goose thing because I can see how in a lot of ways as far as the music itself goes the smaller the group the easier it is to make something that sounds good—but the ceiling is lower than with more musicians.

I’ve talked to a few guys about gear and stuff when buying and selling stuff on the local market, have often thought about asking if they’d like to jam sometimes but never had the guts to try it.

[nomadh]

If you have a guy on bass you are waaaay ahead. I'd say the 3 big successes to find someone for me was first I lucked out at work when someone saw me playing at lunch and pulled me into a "work band" . Then I had some success, eventually, on Craigslist. Some frustration but over all good. More recently and probably more direct is the mass tryouts otherwise known as open mic night. It's great to put all cards on the table. What you like to play, how good, how drunk you get, how likable you are, your age. Go a few times, network, see whos looking and for what. You will need a sitter typically but some are at resturaunts and I you have a kid that can watch others? Or a friend that may be willing to part time watch kids while they watch you play?
Otherwise I'd say craigslist.

[redman]

I agree with @Partscaster music store bulletin boards and open mics I know there are several brick and mortar music stores like Maple Street Guitars in your area. Get to know the staff don't be shy ask them if they might have customers looking for jamming buddies or bandmates'. I'm lucky to have been able to play in working bands for years and now have a lot of musicians ready and able to play. We're old farts and don't gig anymore but sure love to play.
This is a recent outing we had, we may be outdated, old and ugly but it is fun I'm the fat guy sitting playing the Agile PS900

[Stoli]

How do you guys find people to play with who have similar interests?

How do you find people to play with if you don't already know them? It seems like finding someone with close-enough musical tastes, close-enough musical talent and close-enough musical goals is nigh impossible just throwing a net randomly. Plus you have to at least kind of like them personally! I'm in the Atlanta metro area, so I'm sure there are people around who fit the profile but no idea how to find them. Some options may be off the board for me because I am not really able to go out much since my ex-wife never takes the kids and I have 4 including two minimally-verbal special needs kids.

Here are a few suggestions just based on my personal experiences.

1. There is an organization that has local chapters called Guitar League https://www.guitarleague.com/. I do not see a Chapter in Atlanta but I would almost have to think that in a city that large there is something similar. In my experience you meet mostly members at a relatively low skill levels but they can have speakers that are very good and you might be able to jam with them after the presentation. You also meet people that can point you to point three.

2. Just talk to people. If you meet a neighbor or somebody at work and they ask what you like to do then just tell them you mess with guitar a little. I found a great dude to play with that used to live just down the road. We both liked blues and classic rock type things and would just get together to play when we had the opportunity. Unfortunately, he has moved off to Minnesota so I lost him.

3. The open Mic, Blues Jam, Jazz Jam, or whatever might hook you up with some people. In the Knoxville area at least there is a dedicated Blues and Jazz Jam at two different locations and per my understanding they let you at least try if you want to. I have been invited to them but am not much into staying out half the night and some of the people that play at them are very intimidating from a skill standpoint. Nice people but way out of my league.

4. If you go to a church or know someone that plays in a church band then talk to them. Chances are that they have music interests beyond whatever they are doing on Sunday morning and might get together with you or let you sit in with them.

5. If you take lessons with a local person, ask them. I did not bring it up but a guitar instructor that I worked with invited me to sit in with them for a brunch show that they regularly do. Low volume jazz for background noise while people eat their omelet. Would be a lot of noodling going on and if you got lost it would be OK.

6. Do you have any family into guitar or music? If so, they probably know some other people too. My brother in law is mostly into singing but knew another guy that lives close by that toured for a while with a Southern Gospel Group and an Elvis Cover band among other things. He sort of runs his church band and we worked up a cover song to do at church (People Get Ready-Stewart and Beck version}. Very good learning experience for me.
That guy, my bro in law, and I meet up for Monday night jams once a month and we just rotate picking a song and jump all over the place with no judgement. We do have a pro with us though and you learn so much from it.

7. The weirdest one, there was a band (no drums or bass) that played at our local clubhouse with just guitars and a mandolin. They amp up an electric for some songs. I thought they sounded really good and a had a great singer. I just said hey great show and I mess with guitar a little and you all are great. They were like come on up next month when we are here and we can play a song or two. They are paid so you have to wait until the end but you can play with them and they are cool with it. It is hard to get in rhythm with them because it is on the fly and you may not even know the song. By that point most of the people that are still hanging around are too drunk to notice so you just sort of do what you can do on the fly.

I am very beginner with guitar but any opportunity you get to play with someone else is gold. You learn so much even if it just you and another guy or gal playing basic chord progressions and then jamming over them and then swap out. If you are talking about becoming a full time member of a band then that is a different thing I think. I am just a hobby player and all I really ever want to be. I do love finding another player with similar interests though that just enjoys playing for the sake of playing.