Angeleno musicians, how do you find one another?

December 16, 2014 1:19 PM

I'm kicking my band back into existence after 15 years. Where does one find professional and committed fellow players in L.A. nowadays?

I've been very active in my adopted city as an audience member, occasional engineer, and freelance media type, but nobody who knows me in my "new life" really knows me as the serious songwriter/musician I once was. The last time I went looking for bandmates was in the late '90s, so I'm curious to know what the best options are in 2015. Craigslist seems like a strictly amateur option, and a city as creatively dense as L.A. surely must have other, better online avenues, beyond just networking with the folks I know (95% of whom are in multiple bands already). Thoughts?

posted by mykescipark to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

I don't know LA, so ignore as needed, but aren't there groups of people who just jam once a week? That way everyone gets to know each other and if it turns out you're cool, not a stoner, not a flake, not an inflexible control freak etc etc, people will start introducing you to folks.
posted by small_ruminant at 5:19 PM on December 16, 2014

Well, you and I met at a MetaFilter meetup, so there's that.

When I faced this problem I decided to skip over it entirely and create a solo setup so that I could *be* a performing musician without being dependent on finding compatible musicians.

You know a lot of musicians, so I think your 2nd & 3rd degree connections in your friend network probably have the most potential, no?

I'd put out a call on Facebook.

In addition, a more targeted approach might be to scour SoundCloud and BandCamp for solo musicians in LA whose stuff you like & email them about collaborating.
posted by univac at 11:57 PM on December 16, 2014