Originally Posted by Backhousepro  I found lots of talent in LA, but the problem is that the flake-factor is quite overwhelming. A friend of mine worked at an LA radio station that had sponsored a battle of the bands a few years back He received demos from 10,000 bands. He said that only four were usable and of those four, none were anything special. On the other hand, you have Al Bowman, who runs the LA music awards — he's had no problems finding talent for years. Maybe you could get ahold of him and see if there's any unsigned artist that would like you to produce them. (I probably shouldn't mention where Al lives, but suffice to say he's a little bit south of you — contact him through the LA Music Awards site.)
Believe it or not, the Guitar Center is another source. I've heard some excellent bands on GC compilation CDs. Most of the musician's who work at GC are there for gear discounts and making contacts. I've heard a number of GC employee's bands whose music is good, but killed by bad mixes and home recordings.
There are also some incredible musicians in Orange County. If fact, you might be wise to hit some clubs behind the Orange curtain (Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Balboa Island, Laguna Beach . . . well, maybe not Balboa anymore) or head up north to check out the clubs in Sherman Oaks, Westlake Village, and Calabassas. Basically, outside of LA is where you find people who are more interested in music itself, whereas LA seems to attract the fortune hunters. Then again, you could see if they still have the jam sessions at Harvelle's in Santa Monica or McCabes etc. (I'd forget about the Coconut Teaser — far too many posers as I recall.) Actually, the Santa Monica pier might yield some good results. Of course, there's always the colleges.
Anyway, it's all out there with more coming every day. Just keep looking, I'm sure you'll find it, or it will find you.
-B- |