Chris Reitz dot Com

Part 2 of my re-posts: starting and running a rock band.

So you have a great idea for some music and so you want to start a band. But how? What makes the difference between Metallica or the Who and Auntie Bea and the Doilies (or any other no-name band)? Here are some guidelines for putting together a band that will work out. And, since most of us can’t afford a million-dollar studio, here’s how the band can work out for cheap.

First, choose the members of your band carefully. My band consists of me and my brother. We both have similar goals for our band and we both know how to set realistic goals. The last thing a band needs is one guy who thinks that his song (which consists of one note repeated over and over again) and his dress style (uncomfortably reminiscent of the Beatles) will make the band a legend. You want to find people who have a similar vision for the band and similar (realistic) goals. Make sure you don’t get a bunch of yes-men who will do whatever you tell them, unless you are already very experienced with bands. You will benefit from other members’ constructive criticism. Also try to get members who will be able to make practices. My band consists of me and my brother (who lives with me), so we don’t have to worry about the problem at all!

Choose equipment carefully. Each member should buy his or her own instrument and parts, or better, already have an instrument. There are a few items that everyone will need to chip in on, such as recording equipment and performance equipment. It’s a bad idea for one guy to own all the equipment because he will basically own the band. “Don’t like what I’m saying? Fine, well I quit. And I’m taking the mics, PA system, mixer, computer, and your instruments.” Also, don’t feel like you have to buy top-of-the-line right off. It will make a difference if you record vocals with a $100 or $1000 mic, but your audience probably won’t be able to tell the difference. Wait until you can afford the $1000 mic and then buy it.

so what equipment do you need? If you are only recording your music (and not performing it), get a computer (either use a band member’s or build one for cheap – see the Linux HowTo (not up yet) [which I never ended up writing. I highly recommend Ubuntu because of its great support on the Ubuntu forums] for instructions], a mic (My band uses a Shure Beta58, which we got for about $150), a small mixer with a few effects (I highly recommend the Behringer Eurorack UB1002FX, which we got for about $75), and your instruments. Also make sure to get some decent speakers for your computer. I use a Philips minisystem which cost about $150.

If you are performing, you need a mic for each vocalist and acoustic instrument (AudioTechnica XM1s are dirt-cheap, we got ours for $20 each), a mixer which has enough space for all the mics and all the instruments you will plug into it, speakers, monitors (speakers that let you hear what you’re playing), amplifiers for the speaks and mons, and cable. You might also need a CD player. My band’s performance system cost me about $2000. We bought it for $1500 and then added some extras.