What are some good resources for finding people to play with?

[Eric]

So I want to find some people to play with and learn from. Right now I take weekly lessons and play at church 75-80% of the weeks. However, I'd really like to find some local musicians to make some noise with.

Aside from the friends I'm supposed to have who are better than me at the guitar -- note I am NOT saying I'm great on the guitar, only that the friends I know who play are either beginners or they have no time -- what are good ways to find people to play with? Any particular resources you frequently use? Any scene I should look into for something like that?

Bear in mind that I'm 31, so there are probably some teenagers in bands who may not want to hang out with me...

Input appreciated.

[Spudman]

Go find an "open mic night" and start showing up every time and playing as much as they'll let you. If you advertise beware that a lot of flakes answer those ads.

[Commodore 64]

I started going down to a local bar on Tuesdays to hear a guy play delta blues. Just him and his Dean Resonator, a Blackface Princeton Reverb, and a few pedals. Talked to him during his set breaks. Now he invites me to his house for jams. I've become friends with some other guys who come to those, I'm 34 and I'm usually the youngest there. I usually take a bottle of whiskey and leave it there, along with some pretzels and stuff.

Really nice dudes. They don't do a lot of teaching, they just want you to jump in and play, and they don't ***** if you suck. Like, I busted out with the Freebird progression, and instead of ridiculing, they played along for 10 mins, one guy jumped on a piano and we had fun. Then they ridiculed me when we were done with that. ;)

[Goose]

On a whim I searched Craigslist using my city and the term "jam" and found a group to play with that matches right up with my taste, age, and more importantly didn't mind a newbie around.

There is a websiste called meetup.com that has a lot of local musicians groups you might be able to find something there too.

Put something on the bulletin board at your local guitar shop, or talk with the guys there, believe me there are people out there looking for just what you are.

[Robert]

Are there any Fret members close to you? It would be great to see more Fretters jam together!

[Eric]

Are there any Fret members close to you? It would be great to see more Fretters jam together!
Only two that I know of. One has no time and the other is in several bands. You never know; maybe more will surface. I agree it would be cool to meet some people from TFN.

[Eric]

On a whim I searched Craigslist using my city and the term "jam" and found a group to play with that matches right up with my taste, age, and more importantly didn't mind a newbie around.

There is a websiste called meetup.com that has a lot of local musicians groups you might be able to find something there too.

Put something on the bulletin board at your local guitar shop, or talk with the guys there, believe me there are people out there looking for just what you are.
A lot of good ideas in there -- thanks.

[mainestratman]

Have you looked into other sites like Reverbnation.com, bandmix.com and *buyer beware* Craigslist?

It's super hard finding people around here who can play, let alone commit to more than endless emails full of empty promises.

[Katastrophe]

Ask your guitar teacher if there is anyone of his students with a similar skill level and situation. Maybe he can organize an open mike night at a local club, which could be all kinds of fun.

Social events at church could work, too, for networking. Talk to your music director to see if he knows of any other musicians.

Is there anyone where you work that play?

[aeolian]

One obvious resource, kind of mentioned in one of the responses, is to ask your teacher if any of his students are looking to play with other people. If the shops teaches drums and bass, ask the other teachers also because you will be looking for players of these other instruments.

Over the last 3 years or so I have played with a couple of groups of people. In both cases I met up with the other players through Craigslist. I'm in a hobby band currently that is turning out to be a lot of fun.