craigslist band
tonight i had an idea for a craigslist band wherein the band would be forced to comply with the following rules:
1. for any given rehearsal or gig, the band could only use gear and instruments purchased on craigslist from ads on a single day in a single city
2. each month the band would turn over all gear, purchasing a new collection and selling the previous month's collection
3. the list of available new gear would be determined at a specified time, say at midnight on the 1st day of the month
4. the band could choose up to 10 items from the first 20 items listed for sale on the musical instruments site and up to 5 items from the first page of any other category (e.g. furniture, farm and garden, auto parts, collectibles, electronics, etc.)
Under these constraints, if my craigslist band were to have chosen now as the purchase time, our options would have been:
* YORKVILLE SPEAKERS, TASCAM, JBL, AMPEG! - (Annandale)
* Roland GR33 guitar synthesizer - $500 - pic
* AER compact 60 amplifier - $1300 - pic
* Peavey Reactor Tele, Telecaster Made in USA 1994! - $295 - (Tysons Corner)
* Full Size Keyboard with weighted Keys - Rolland EP9 - $550 - (Fairfax) pic
* Beautiful Full Size Violin - $2800 - (Fairfax) pic
* Ukulele with case - $45 - (DC) pic
* Beautiful 16 inch Viola - $1200 - (Fairfax) pic
* Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 4x10 Tube Amp - $449 - (Woodbridge, VA) pic
* Mackie 1604 VLZ - $400 - (Laurel, MD)
* Brand New Mackie Onyx 2480 Mixer - $3300 - (Annapolis Junction) pic
* M Audio Keyboard controller - $200 - (Broadlands, Va) pic
* guitar amplifier - $220 - (arlington) pic
* $225 Peavey NitroBass Amp Head 450 Watts - $225 - (Arlington)
* Line 6 Spider 212 100Watt including foot controller - $250 - (Alexandria)
* *** Behringer Ultratwin Amp F/T for Small Tube Amp *** - (Frederick) pic
* Dr-5 Rhythm box - $130 - (arlington va) pic
* Piano - Handy Man Special - $100 - (Manassas) pic
* Fender Starcaster - $100
* Washburn Maverick Series Guitar BT4 - $100 - (leesburg) pic
the electronics category usually has several ipod options. worse comes to worst, you could probably find a copy of guitar hero and a computer in a pinch.
this idea appeals to me more and more as i think about it. knowing i could not keep any of my gear for more than a month might have a really positive effect on how i rehearse and compose. it would also inspire me to record stuff immediately.
obviously, bands from new york would have an advantage over bands from des moines. and a band from dc might have to figure out the best strategy for when to choose the philly or baltimore or new york lists over dc. i realize this also discriminates against international bands or rural bands. i'm sorry about this. there are advantages to living in cities.
i might actually start doing this. i'll keep you posted if i do. i would have to start with sales rather than purchases to get around the initial start-up costs. but otherwise, it seems like an interesting experiment.
i'm pretty sure i'm not the first person to think of this, and i'm pretty sure if i'm not, one of you will post a link to someone's craig's list band blog.
1. for any given rehearsal or gig, the band could only use gear and instruments purchased on craigslist from ads on a single day in a single city
2. each month the band would turn over all gear, purchasing a new collection and selling the previous month's collection
3. the list of available new gear would be determined at a specified time, say at midnight on the 1st day of the month
4. the band could choose up to 10 items from the first 20 items listed for sale on the musical instruments site and up to 5 items from the first page of any other category (e.g. furniture, farm and garden, auto parts, collectibles, electronics, etc.)
Under these constraints, if my craigslist band were to have chosen now as the purchase time, our options would have been:
* YORKVILLE SPEAKERS, TASCAM, JBL, AMPEG! - (Annandale)
* Roland GR33 guitar synthesizer - $500 - pic
* AER compact 60 amplifier - $1300 - pic
* Peavey Reactor Tele, Telecaster Made in USA 1994! - $295 - (Tysons Corner)
* Full Size Keyboard with weighted Keys - Rolland EP9 - $550 - (Fairfax) pic
* Beautiful Full Size Violin - $2800 - (Fairfax) pic
* Ukulele with case - $45 - (DC) pic
* Beautiful 16 inch Viola - $1200 - (Fairfax) pic
* Fender Hot Rod DeVille 410 4x10 Tube Amp - $449 - (Woodbridge, VA) pic
* Mackie 1604 VLZ - $400 - (Laurel, MD)
* Brand New Mackie Onyx 2480 Mixer - $3300 - (Annapolis Junction) pic
* M Audio Keyboard controller - $200 - (Broadlands, Va) pic
* guitar amplifier - $220 - (arlington) pic
* $225 Peavey NitroBass Amp Head 450 Watts - $225 - (Arlington)
* Line 6 Spider 212 100Watt including foot controller - $250 - (Alexandria)
* *** Behringer Ultratwin Amp F/T for Small Tube Amp *** - (Frederick) pic
* Dr-5 Rhythm box - $130 - (arlington va) pic
* Piano - Handy Man Special - $100 - (Manassas) pic
* Fender Starcaster - $100
* Washburn Maverick Series Guitar BT4 - $100 - (leesburg) pic
the electronics category usually has several ipod options. worse comes to worst, you could probably find a copy of guitar hero and a computer in a pinch.
this idea appeals to me more and more as i think about it. knowing i could not keep any of my gear for more than a month might have a really positive effect on how i rehearse and compose. it would also inspire me to record stuff immediately.
obviously, bands from new york would have an advantage over bands from des moines. and a band from dc might have to figure out the best strategy for when to choose the philly or baltimore or new york lists over dc. i realize this also discriminates against international bands or rural bands. i'm sorry about this. there are advantages to living in cities.
i might actually start doing this. i'll keep you posted if i do. i would have to start with sales rather than purchases to get around the initial start-up costs. but otherwise, it seems like an interesting experiment.
i'm pretty sure i'm not the first person to think of this, and i'm pretty sure if i'm not, one of you will post a link to someone's craig's list band blog.
1 Comments:
I love these exercises (as I've said many times before I know). It's all about the musical journey and with this one that is quite literal since the market-place experience would be a huge part of it.
Could get expensive though. I think I'd go for the Rolland (although I'm also in the market for a uke, thanks to Bliss' recent influence).
I don't know of this exact experiment but Jon Langford once formed a band from Craigslist. That experience was captured for This American Life. Well worth a listen.
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