How To Start A Band

Rawkers,
I'm afraid the first step in starting a band is not actually going out and finding like-minded individuals to start exploring the musical universe with. The first step is you alone in your bedroom, practicing your ass off. I wouldn't even suggest trying to form a band until you have at least six months of experience under your fingers. That having been said, playing an instrument and not taking to the next level by playing with other musicians is a cardinal sin. I would equate it to being in a foreign country, and only going to McDonalds to eat. After you have spent a little while making your fingers hurt, and getting things like basic timing and technique down, i would say you are ready to start asking your friends if they want to jam. This advice applies to young and old. Everyone needs to be coming from the same place:Experience. Being in a band is hard work. You have to be willing to compromise, and above all listen to what other people are saying. Please check all egos at the door, as this will only create a lot of unwanted stress and problems. Bands just starting out suffer a lot from directional problems. What i mean is that people often sit there and wonder "We should be a metal band." or "we need to have a lot of keyboards so we can sound like the killers." If you are just starting out in your first band, just get together and play anything and everything. Play a lot of covers. Even if you eventually want to write and perform your own music. Picking the covers will help shape your taste and give you an idea of the style of music you want to sound like. This is especially important if you want to compose your own music. You have to learn and study other songs and see how they're put together in order to properly do it yourself. My last piece of advice is forget about loyalty. and what i mean by this is that you shouldnt limit yourself to one group. The smart musician plays with multiple groups at once and eventually sticks with the one that is most successful. That might not sound right to you, but that's the way it is.
If it was good enough for John Bonham....
Keep Playing and Rawking
-Danielelectric