eph221
I think it's ridiculously hard to find compatible musicians, at least for me it is.  Just stay in the zone and be professional.  If you ever get to Portland look me up!.

Hard huh?  That tells me that you must be older than 40 or live in a non-Hipster/Redneck/Homeless person area (like Beaverton, for example). 
 
There was one Classic Rock band that I really liked up here, Zuzo Blue, but they stopped gigging (at least for now?) back in 2014.  Turns out I used to live a block away from the guitarist's brother (a drummer who sat in for their normal drummer) and they put on a free show for the whole neighborhood.  This would have been about ten years ago now.  I used to love to go see live bar bands when I lived in So. California, but they were the last I saw up here.  Most of the time you get about six bands trying to play originals all in one night (a soundcheck nightmare to be sure!).  When I had to sell all the gear in my studio I did get to meet some that sounded promising like King Hen (they gave me a copy of their first CD).

Just a quiet reminder...
 
No politics.
No religion.
 
However... 
as far as I'm aware, Trump is not actually a politician...
and according to the Pope (and he should know) Trump's not a Christian either...
 
ok,  as you were...
 
 
Dave,  you should join the band,  and next time you mention Trump just point out that he's not a politician...

Imagine...
 

Karyn
No politics.
No religion.
 

 

(Sorry, had a small John Lennon moment there!)
 

bitflipper
Last night I went and jammed with a local band.
 
I broke the ice by asking if there were any Trump supporters in the band, because if there was it'd be unlikely we'd have any common ground

 
I would clarify that...  Uhhh I meant to say TRUMPet supporters.... I'm not a big fan of TRUMPet music....
 

 
...unless that TRUMPet is played by a pro.....

Yeah...I'd go back and jam again and keep politicks out of it.... be there for the music.  If they start talking politicks, bite your tongue and walk away.

Especially if the band is good and they pay well.   The Music & fun of the live gigs might be worth it.  I don't think any of the bands I was in ever discussed politicks.....

I think it's important to advertise your proclivities, straight musicians are sticks on stage.  Who wants that?  BTW I heard that Hitler had a tiny, deformed penis.  If true he was probably an amazing musician!

Karyn
Just a quiet reminder... 
Dave,  you should join the band,  and next time you mention Trump just point out that he's not a politician...
...

 
Is it time to redo the Bonzo film series?
 
Honestly, though, Bit ... there are times when a counter idea is actually a good thing and yields a lot of productive work and results. However, if this was nothing but a cover band, and tomorrow ... ohhh let's do "Eye of the Tiger' ... kind of thing ... then I might reconsider, and not say anything ... there's nothing worse than being 2nd to "nothing" ... and then think that you are a great musician, simply because you can play 10 or 15 songs a night! Maybe even 20. But, you're not helping your own improvement and desire to become your own musician, I would think, and this part ... only YOU can make sense of.
 
I probably would not last 10 minutes doing stuff that bores the living whit out of me! And folks like this band, are taking advantage of your musical ability and talent.
 

Speaking on behalf of all the fans of your SoundBytes Magazine articles (and there's no bigger fan than myself), we certainly all wish you well, but we'd be very disappointed if the new activities didn't allow you to continue writing.
 
I' pretty certain I'm not alone in this. 

Yeh, that's a concern. I also have a day job that's getting more intense because my business partner is retiring, leaving me as sole Chief Cook and Bottle Washer. Playing in a band would almost certainly cut my recording activities to nothing. Not to mention my time-consuming YouTube habit, which has already suffered. I haven't seen a cat playing a banjo in over a week!
 

Our lives are the sum of our experiences.  What do you have to lose by adding another?  Are they charging an entry fee?
 
Don't guess what it would be like.  Find out what it is really like and walk if it's not your thing.