For the last several years, I’ve led a band at my church. It’s a great group of folks, and I love them all dearly. They’re not only dedicated musicians, but they also share my passion for worship music. Outside of church though, I do solo gigs all over the local area. I have a regular gig at a restaurant, and do parties, weddings, funerals, corporate events, etc.. But lately, I’ve been thinking that I’d like to start a band outside of church, and do bigger venues like clubs. I’m feeling the need of an outlet for the non-secular pieces I’ve written, and many of the arrangements require a full band. It’s hard to pull it off with just a keyboard or a solo guitar.
Of course, the challenge is in finding band mates. I think I need to stew on this a bit more, but if anyone has any input, I’m certainly open to it.
Guitar Gear 
I did a post on meetup.com, you should check it out and see if there’s a musicians meetup in your town and visit with them and see if there’s a few folks you’d like to play with. Check it out, and I have links there on how to find them in your town:
http://igblog.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/wanna-go-out-and-play%e2%80%a6some-music/
You also may want to try Craig’s List for your town (under the music or musicians category), posting something there, or see if someone has posted something looking for folks to start a band.
They key thing, in my opinion, is to put down on paper the kind of music you want to play (whether it’s covers and/or originals), what kinda groove you’re after, the venues you have in mind, and the kind of people you want to team up with (just players, or players with songwriting abilities, etc). Also, put down on paper what kind of person you are musically too. You can then use this as your guide when you’re talking to people and posting ads and stuff like that. The more detail you tell folks about what you’re looking to create, the more interested people will be and willing to go on to the next step.
I found my drummer Rick who plays with my band Liquid Highway by posting an ad in Craig’s List here in Houston. Free of charge, and I got one of the best drummers I’ve played with in my life.
So exciting you’re looking to start something!
IG
Thanks for the feedback! I just checked out craigslist. There are lots of serious musicians out there. It’ll be fun putting this together.