Starting A Band, Stage 1 - Forming The Group

Let's face it, who hasn't ever dreamed of becoming a famous rock star. Yeah, your parents might deny it, dishing out their usual pearls of wisdom: "You ought to get your head out the clouds….when I was your age I had a proper job…….stop making that terrible racket…etc etc etc" but you just know that when they were young they once (or twice) stood in front of the mirror with an old tennis racket, complete with tight stonewashed denim jeans, Born To Be Wild on the stereo, miming with all their heart whilst imagining they're in front of thousands ….. WEM-BER-LEY! … ARE …YOU…READY…TO……ROCK!!!!!!

Ahem. Anyway, it can be pretty daunting at first if you're thinking of starting up a band, so this article gives all you budding Freddy Mercury's some advice on what to look out for on the rocky road to stardom - and I should know because I'm dead famous….honestly.

Forming Your Band.

Right, presuming you're gonna be the frontman of this supergroup, the first thing to do is enlist the help of some fellow musicians who'll share your visions and dreams and creativity…man. The traditional 4-piece band line up consists of: Frontman/singer (that's you!) Guitarist (or axeman) Bass Player and Drummer.

Now I know this sounds obvious, but it's probably best to recruit band members on account of their musical talent rather than whether they're your best friends or not - because if you're really serious about your musical career then you'll be scuppered if your bass player can't come to practice because he's still learning to play…..even if he is your friend.

In an ideal world, you should try to find some colleagues who know how to play a few songs (maybe also written a few?) and who are COMMITED. In fact, I'd say that commitment is the most important value to possess as a musician, your new recruits may be fresh faced and eager now, but how do you think they'll be twenty, maybe thirty practices down the line?

Ok, now I have to say this, but it would also be great if you could find a guitarist with really big hair - 'cos let's face it, ALL great axemen have big hair: just look at Brian May. Oh, and ideally your bass player should be REALLY tall (these are all just unwritten rules you understand!).

From experience, I'd say that you'll have no problem in finding a guitarist for your group - there's loads of them about due to the fact that it's the coolest instrument to play and also the cheapest to buy and plus everyone wants to be the guitarist in a band (remember the tennis racket?).

Now, the bass player and drummer are a different story. The lesson I've learnt is that you'll have more of a problem finding a bassist because it's not the most obvious instrument to start learning if you're a beginner (it's a bit boring to learn at first so it puts most people off), hunt around though and you'll find someone suitable.

The drummer may also be hard to find, mainly because a drum-kit is so expensive to buy and so many people your age won't be able to afford one.
The good thing is though if you do find someone, then if they've got somewhere big enough to keep a drum-kit then they've therefore got somewhere big enough for you to rehearse! Good eh? Two birds, one stone and all that……

"But where do I look for these people?" I hear you cry. Well, if you don't already know people who can play, then you could put adverts up at school, youth club, music shops, local newspapers etc which say: "WANTED! BASS PLAYER FOR AMBITIOUS BAND" or something like that (oh, and remember to put your telephone number, and the type of music you like as well!) Or, if you look at the local newspapers and music shops yourself, then there are often adverts from budding musicians wanting to join bands themselves.

If you're gonna audition people, then it's best to pick one or two songs and ask your prospective Paul/John/George/Ringo (delete as applicable) to LEARN THEM BEFORE THEY TURN UP! Now, I can't stress this enough because there is nothing constructive about sitting around trying to find a song that both of you can play together - it's also really embarrassing and doesn't get you off on the right foot at all. If you all know what you're supposed to be playing, you can assess the important things like how well they're playing and whether the guitarist's hair is big enough - rather than deciding what song to play.

Have a think about the different personalities within your group as well. I know it's easier said than done, but it's no good having two arch enemies in the same band (or two lovers for that matter!) - they'll be at each others throats all the time and it doesn't help at all (this happened in my band and it just got SOOOO annoying). Try and pick people who are into roughly the same type of music as well, but don't worry too much about this because different influences can really help when you start to write your first songs as a band.

Phew. Right, now supposing you've managed to assemble your Motley Crue (see what I've done there?) it's now time to think of a name for your band. There's no hard or fast rule regarding band names as you may have guessed, but I 'spose you should try and think of something that will fit the sound of your band and the music you're playing - common sense I suppose. It's been a very '90's thing to have single word band names - Blur, Oasis, Pulp etc, so this is maybe a good choice if you want a snappy, memorable label (especially if you play catchy pop music) I always think that putting the word "the" in front of something always sounds good and adds a sense of importance to a band - so maybe if you're going for that big, stadium rock thing this may be a good route to take! Well it's up to you I guess! Just remember that whatever you do choose, try not to make it too controversial or alternative, hopefully your band name will be appearing on posters in the not-too-distant future, you don't want them to be censored! - no one will know who's playing if they look like this: "LIVE! TONIGHT! ON STAGE: The *** *******'s!"

Well then, best of luck with all that - the next article will be all about your first rehearsals together as a band (which should be fun but more often than not just end in tears!) as you prepare yourself for that first gig and impending stardom!

- Eddy Vista