So, you found people to play with, now what? 1. Find a place to play.
Try somebody's garage, basement or bedroom, but you might get interrupted with noise complaints. If you live in a city, there are often rehearsal studios with amps, drums and microphones that charge for the space by the hour. These are great because your parents, roommates and neighbors won't get mad at you for rocking out. You can look up the studios in the yellow pages and call around to find the most affordable. (In New York City, it costs about $25 per hour.)
2. Have a song to work on together. If somebody has written a song with chords, have them bring it. If not, then bring in a cover song to play together. You can download sheet music of published songs off the web (www.musicnotes.com or www.8notes.com). Just make sure to choose one at your level. You don't want to get frustrated at your first practice. You can also just jam with a basic chord progression and see where you all go with it. Have fun!!!
3. Meet regularly and make nice.
If you are all getting along, then make a plan to meet regularly. See if you can get together to play a couple of times per week. Write songs together if you haven't yet, and just keep on doing it. Be nice to each other during the process. I think Triple Creme gets along best when we try out new ideas before saying, "No, it won't work." No feelings get hurt, and it can become clear to everyone what sounds good and what doesn't.
4. Come up with a band name.
(Of course, some future rock stars come up with a name before anything else!) Brainstorm together, then narrow down your list. If one of you hates a name, loose it. When we were naming our band, I vetoed tons of ideas and all of mine were voted out as well. We finally all agreed on the name Triple Creme, which is a cheese made by monks in the Alps. It's a little obscure, but it works for us.
The band I was in before was called Helvetica Bold. The guitar player really wanted that name and nobody objected, so it stuck. Plus it made sense to name our band after a font, since we all worked in an office together! Look for unifying themes. An all-girl teenage band at Harvard calls themselves Plan B for the A Types...
1. Find a place to play.
3. Meet regularly and make nice.
