Chicago-area musicians discouraged by the exhaustive process of searching newspaper classifieds for bandmates may now have hope. That is, if Daniel Lee and JamChicago.com have anything to say about it.
“(Previously) it was just a long tedious process,” said Lee, a local guitarist. “There had to be a better way, and the idea just popped up.”
The Web site, inspired by Lee’s frustration with printed classifieds, lets members see other musicians’ vital information and then contact those with matching musical needs. Members advertise their experience level, instruments played and influences in addition to uploading MP3 samples for other members to hear.
Weinberg sophomore Jeff Redinger, a guitarist and classic rock enthusiast, was impressed with the option of posting demos on the site.
“The fact that there are MP3s is a plus,” Redinger said. “Otherwise I would be skeptical of people over-praising their abilities.”
Currently JamChicago only allows searches for individual musicians. So bands looking for a final piece may be out of luck — for now. Lee is currently working on changing the site to include group listings as well as individual ones.
According to Lee, since the Web site’s arrival on Oct. 25, 2004, JamChicago has acquired 640 members and is growing rapidly. Although JamChicago is not a big company and only employs a small staff, Lee said he hopes to eventually turn his work into a full-time job.
As of now, JamChicago’s membership is free and the site has very little advertising. Because of these factors, Lee has to personally fund the site. Although operating the it is not “too expensive,” Lee said if the site becomes more popular a paid membership may be a necessary option.
“It may come down to (paid) membership,” Lee said. “But I don’t want to make money off musicians.”
Upon hearing about JamChicago, Weinberg sophomore Jacob Chacko, who has played piano for more than 12 years, was impressed by its practicality.
“It’s a useful tool that’s comprehensive,” Chacko said. “It’s all in one place, rather than the newspaper, which takes longer.”
Although Weinberg junior Danny Leavitt, a guitarist for NU’s the Foster-Walker Complex, was impressed with the concept of JamChicago, he was unsure if he would pay for such a service.
“(The Web site) would have to be pretty big before I’d do that instead of putting an ad in the paper,” Leavitt said regarding his monetary reservations. “But people who are trying to make a living, like studio musicians, might find it more useful.”
Although he has usually found band members by networking with people he already knows, Leavitt also has looked through the classifieds of printed newspapers. Printed publications with large classified sections like the Chicago Reader make up the main competition for JamChicago.
According to Brett Murphy, the Chicago Reader’s classifieds manager, the music portion plays a “pretty large part” in the section as a whole. While the Reader maintains a classifieds Web site, Murphy said he had not heard of JamChicago, and expressed little concern of losing business to the Web site.
“We like to think of our print and online (editions) as the same,” Murphy said. “One of our big advantages compared to Web sites is we have print as well as Web.”
Whether or not he has the same resources as the Reader, Lee said he hopes that his Web site will help rejuvenate the Chicago music.
“One thing that bugs me is that everyone looks at Chicago as the second city,” Lee said. “There is no reason it shouldn’t be a great scene.”
Weinberg freshman Chris Danzig is a PLAY writer. He can be reached at [email protected].
