Drummer starting Portsmouth/S Maine's definitive 90s rock tribute band

Portsmouth NH

Description

Title says it all. I’m seeking two guitarists, a bassist, and a lead singer (bonus points if you also play keys, and I would love to have a lady in the group because what good is this project without Alanis, No Doubt, and Veruca Salt?) After ten-plus years playing in 90’s cover bands I know three things: how to get a project off the ground, what I’m looking/not-looking for, and how to keep things going after the novelty wears off. Forgive the long-winded post, but I want people who are on the same page, so here goes: - There’s a talent threshold of course. But I'd prefer 90’s rock loving people who are fun to hang out with over “musicians.” I’ve had my fill of the guy who wants to run the same eight bars of Hey Jealousy until it’s EXACTLY right, or the brooding singer who stares at the floor in between songs, or the guitarist who took a few drum lessons and talks to me as if he’s Danny Carey. End of the day, it’s just a 90’s rock cover band. If we get the songs mostly right, show some charisma on stage, and worry about our individual parts, we’ll be successful - Be at rehearsals and gigs on-time. Yeah, things happen, and of course there will be an occasional night someone has to bail or runs late. But don’t be the guy/gal who is always 15-20 minutes late - Minimum age threshold is mid-30’s (I’m thirty-eight). I want people who grew up with this music. Respectfully, don’t bother emailing “Hey, I’m twenty-eight but I’m totally a 90’s kid!” - Gig philosophy: quality over quantity. Playing dives every week for six people who don’t care is a band killer. My goal is to play ten to twelve shows a year, Spring through Christmas time, at a select few quality venues. Let’s make the shows can’t miss events, rather than “Eh, these guys play every week” - Rehearsal philosophy: rehearsal isn’t where we learn songs, it’s where we show up with our individual parts learned and bring it all together. We shouldn’t need more than a couple months before we’re ready to gig, and from there one or two rehearsals a month to keep things fresh and add new songs. For some people, a band is an excuse to leave your house once a week, drink a few beers, and noodle around until it’s time to go home. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the goal here is to start gigging Spring 2023. My thinking is we form the band over the next few weeks, get started individually on the song list, then meet for our first rehearsal after the new year - I don’t care about making money and I need the same from you. Let’s focus on getting booked at quality venues, playing in front of engaged crowds, and pretending we’re rock stars for a night. If we make a few bucks, great, but it’s not the goal and I don’t want to squabble over payoffs. Stated plainly, I’d rather play a popular bar with a great sound system for free than make five hundred bucks at an empty dive. If any of us need extra money that badly we should focus our time elsewhere - Don’t lose sight of the fact that a 90’s cover band, in and of itself, is cheesy. If you’re too cool to bust out Break Stuff or Larger than Life, this isn’t the band for you - The goal is a hundred-plus song catalog. This keeps things fresh and presents unique opportunities like live band karaoke (always a hit) or playing the same venue back-to-back nights with the advertising hook of two unique sets. One of the easiest ways to prevent band fatigue is constantly adding to the catalogue - This is a long-term project with the goal of becoming a staple of the Maine/NH area for many years. Please don’t reply solely out of boredom - Let’s be unique and not play the same songs every other cover band does. Sure, some staples will always hit, but others have been beaten to death (nobody needs to hear Closing Time, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, or What I Got ever again). I also want to avoid songs that don’t work in the “bar cover band” atmosphere, and there’s a big difference between how a song sounds on the radio vs live. Example: All-Star is a fun radio song, but play it live in a bar and the crowd dies after the first chorus, whereas Shine by Collective Soul is okay on the radio but sounds amazing when played live. And there are so many great 90s songs that people love, yet you never hear from a cover band. Here are some songs/bands that may seem outside the box, but I want to have on the set list Tool - 46&2/Anema Letters to Cleo – Here and Now Cracker – Low Wheatus – Teenage Dirtbag Sponge – Plowed Our Lady Peace – Superman’s Dead/Clumsy 7Mary3 – Cumbersome Veruca Salt – Seether/Volcano Girls Candlebox – You Goldfinger – Here in your bedroom Finally, many songs need to be put out to pasture. The following are on the do not play list for me (and I’ve added suggestions for other songs by some of the bands) What I Got (Wrong Way, Santeria, 40 oz to Freedom, any other Sublime song) Closing Time Breakfast at Tiffany’s All Star Hard to Handle You Oughta Know (All I Really Want, Hand in my Pocket, Ironic) Small Things (What’s My Age Again, Rock Show, First Date, Dammit, Josie) Only Wanna Be With You (Hold My Hand, Time, I Will Wait) Basket Case/When I Come Around (Welcome to Paradise, She, Longview) Plush (Trippin on a hole, Vasoline, Sex Type Thing, Dead and Bloated) Wonderwall (Don’t Look Back in Anger, Morning Glory, Champagne Supernova) Say It Ain’t So (My Name is Jonas, Pink Triangle) Man in the Box (No Excuses, Them Bones, Would) Slide (Long Way Down, Name, Black Balloon) Drive (Warning, Pardon Me, Nice to Know You) Smells Like Teen Spirit (Drain You, Aneurysm, In Bloom) It may seem counterintuitive, but after ten-plus years and I know what works and what doesn’t. Playing the same cookie-cutter songs that every cover band in the world does is boring for audience and the band. The set needs to be a roller-coaster ride: the true 90’s rock staples (Semi-Charmed Life, Everlong, Alive), some lesser-played-yet-popular songs from well-known bands (Vasoline, Zero, My Name is Jonas), some of those “Oh wow, I remember this song!” (Superman’s Dead, Low, Possum Kingdom), and some personal favorites for the band (for me, that would be a song like Anema). And these songs always do better than you think. I saw an 80’s tribute band that ended their second set with You Could Be Mine. Before playing, the singer said “Hey, everything else tonight is for you guys, but this one’s for us.” The audience loved it. Everyone needs to be 100% on board with what I laid out or the band won’t last. The excitement of something shiny and new will carry us to a great first year. We’ll have a blast playing shows, rehearsals will be fun and productive, and we’ll all be saying “I can’t believe how well this came together!” In year two the cracks will start to show. “Yeah, I didn’t have time to learn this new one” even though we gave ourselves a month to do it. Songs we’ve been playing since day one will start sounding sloppy. Someone will start showing up to gigs later and later. Questions like “Hey, did we advertise for this show?” will be answered with “Oh, I forgot.” I’ve seen this happen a lot and it always boils down to one of two things: - People came into the project with their own vision of how it’s supposed to go (Why aren’t we getting paid more? We have to play Wonderwall! Why don’t we just learn the songs at rehearsal?) Or - They were bored and wanted something to pass the time I don’t want to run through a dozen band mates or start a new project in a year. I want five people who get along and have the right mix of “Take it seriously” and “It’s about having fun.” If you’re not on board with everything I wrote it’s not going to work out. But if you’re thinking “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for” hit me up and let’s make it happen.