Assembling a Band − 28 March, 2003
On Friday, March 28, 2003, I posted an announcement to a local band website, recruiting members for a jazz band. This was my original announcement:
I am looking for other musicians who are interested in playing jazz.
Any instrument, any level of experience, any age. I would like to find musicians who 1) know something about jazz (be it a little, be it a lot); 2) want to get better at playing in a group context; and 3) want to improve their ability to play jazz standards and improvise.
You do not have to be able to sight read, play every Charlie Parker solo from memory at 380 bpm, or fit into a particular demographic to be in this group, so if you are interested in jazz, now is your opportunity.
Why this date? It was a Friday. I figured people would get home from work or wherever and check out the forum. I received a decent number of responses. Among them were Dean Perry, Andy Anderson, and Dave Forbes, who would later become regular members of the band. I'll have more to say about these folks in later articles on this blog.
But, point of advice to those of you out there trying to start your own bands: I didn't stop there. Starting on this day, I went on a massive recruiting campaign.
- I connected with Gainesville jazz musician (and former Olympian) Marty Liquori and asked his advice in assembling a band. He sent many interested people my way. Moreover, when this new band eventually had enough skill for our first show, he set us up with our first show at Leonardo's 706.
- I posted notices in every music-related place I could think of: all the local music stores, common music venues, locally owned bookstores, and even retirement communities. (Think about it -- who knows more about jazz than someone who lived it?)
- Also, I networked as much as possible. I attended jazz events and sought out musicians, asking them if they weren't interested personally to at least send people my way.
