Looking To Form Jam/Prog/Jazz/Rock Band

Los Angeles CA

Description

I would like to start a “jamband” without all the negative stigma in LA. I know LA is not much of a “jam” city, but when bands like Phish, Dead And Company, Umphrey’s McGee, etc. play here they pack venues. So, there is an audience for it. Not to mention bands that jam such as Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Snarky Puppy, or any sort of jazz fusion. Hell, even Los Lobos is of course from here and they could be considered to be part of the genre. There’s a lot of fun to be had and opportunity for paying gigs in this genre if it is done well. Fans of quality live music featuring instrumental prowess flock to this genre and pay money to go see people play instruments live even in 2022. I think the lack of much local presence in this genre in LA is a missed opportunity. I’m a guitarist, bassist, and vocalist with ample production, programming, and mixing skills. In mid-30s. My wife (younger than me) is a great singer and plays some auxiliary percussion. She is a session singer who has worked with legit people, not a person who says she is a singer but can’t sing like a real musician. She has a good presence and charisma to engage audiences. I as much as anyone else am not a fan of “jambands” that lack musical skill and use it as an excuse to mindlessly jam on the same one or two chords. I don’t like bad singing and songwriting that often occurs in the genre. I lean more toward the jazz, fusion, and prog elements of the genre. I also appreciate bands that execute a variety of musical styles with aplomb. I would like to be part of a band that can play and blend most musical styles into one sonic stew. I love complex instrumental arrangements that require compositional skill and musical ability and focus. I love all kinds of music and don’t think the songs themselves or jams have to fit into what one might expect of a jamband. I’d in fact like to blow that general perception of what it has to be out of the water. I totally get what a lot of people don’t like about some of it and think is corny and I largely agree. I’d like to avoid those elements. I’m looking to be a mostly original band. With that said, I would be fine with playing covers of Grateful Dead (the catalog is basically like a real book at this point), jazz, fusion, prog, or any other covers outside of the jam/jazz world (really love music from all over the map) as well, as a means of getting started and developing chemistry and possibly appealing to certain audiences live. I even like the idea of playing music that is really outside the realm of what is generally considered improvisational music then adding improvisational sections to blow people’s minds. Imagine playing a Smiths song into a psychedelic jam back into the Smiths song, or a whole other song in a totally different genre. I’m a rapper and hip-hop producer as well and super into hip-hop and would not mind incorporating hip-hop elements to make the whole thing even more unusual and unexpected. Whether it be rapping or just that aesthetic in some of the songs/jams. I’m open to incorporating live triggered production elements into the music although I’d like to focus primarily on purely live instrumental playing for the most part. For some idea of my musical tastes in general as far as the kinds of songs I’d like to write and what elements I’d be putting into the improvisational sections: Genesis, Smashing Pumpkins, Sade, Elliott Smith, Steely Dan/Donald Fagen, The Smiths, Morrissey, Oasis, Blur, J Dilla, D’Angelo, Madlib, Phish, Grateful Dead, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, Weather Report/Jaco Pastorius, Weezer, The Beatles, of Montreal, Widespread Panic, Squarepusher, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Midland, Alchemist, Brad Paisley, Pharoahe Monch, Pharoah Sanders, Dilated Peoples/Evidence, Gangstarr, Israel Vibration, Thundercat, Black Uhuru, Radiohead, Neptunes, Kelis, Pete Rock, DJ Premier/Gangstarr, Ernest Ranglin, Jay-Z, Joe Pass, QOTSA, NIN, Animals as Leaders, Covet, Chon, Elvis Costello, Ben Folds Five, The String Cheese Incident, Umphrey’s McGee, Tauk, Metallica, Sound Tribe Sector 9, Kamasi Washington, John Mayer, Arctic Monkeys, The Beach Boys, Medeski Martin and Wood, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wu-Tang/RZA/Ghostface/Raekwon/GZA, Men I Trust, Erykah Badu, Paul Cherry, My Morning Jacket, Snarky Puppy, RCHP, Los Lobos, Talib Kweli, Toro y Moi, Common, The Shins, Allman Brothers Band, The Roots, The Strokes, Planet Asia.. could go on, but just for an idea of my taste in music. I have pro electric guitar gear and vocal PA. Plugins and skills to produce and mix. Transportation. Looking to not talk about it and do it. Live improvisation music at its best is about playing together and getting a good chemistry going and being tight. I’d like to get in a room as often as possible, get a setlist down, and play live as often as possible ASAP. I have a good bit of already written original material and ideas for it as I’m sure most anyone interested would. Also down to write new stuff together or individually with this band in mind (preferable actually), and play covers to get a jump-start on a full set to get gigging. We could be gigging very quickly with the right people and drive. Definitely seeking drums, keys, bass, and possibly second guitar. Open to other instruments as well. I know LA Is a town with a separation between paid pros and amateurs for the most part. I’m looking to put together some pro-level musicians willing to do a bit of preliminary work in writing and rehearsal with the goal to grow a profitable endeavor over time. Lots of festivals and such to be played and there is a path to this being very profitable if we stay the course and let it grow organically.