There’s always room for more in the SC family, so if you dig what we do and you suspect you might be a good fit, why don’t you give it a shot ?
Now, is ShakShuka your jam ? 

— Let’s break it down —

theSC is essentially a potluck hangout. 
People meet around food and music, and bake some together. We’re our first audience, and first and foremost entertain ourselves. 

Whenever something cool or memorable enough pops up, we flag it for further development, and it eventually reaches a point where it’s fit for public consumption. 

In our book, a song is rarely ever truly “finished”, and any release is just a snapshot : a version of a given idea, rendered in a way we’re happy with at the time — what in local parlance is an Edition. 

Additionally, release days happen on Sundays, and come with a noon-to-midnight fuddle for Shakshusters, friends and family to get together and share food and live music. 
…and that’s the gist of it.

— In practice —

• Get in touch and/or send some links and demos to LaBarne@theSC.band, then hit us up on discord to arrange a meet. 
• Drop by La Barne (in Paris XI), sign away your first born by clicking “I agree” on theSC Charter, and jam with us for a couple hours to see if it gels. 

— Get busy —

Assuming the above goes right, you’ll join some ShakShuksters to write/compose, track, plain goof around, or all of it. 

Once a crew gels around a song in writing, we get a tiny bit more organized, and schedule further sessions to move things forward. 

In between sessions, folks are welcome to do some homework and return with new/improved material to add to the stack.*
Then it’s rinse & repeat, until it’s good to publish. 

The release schedule calls for two songs a month, published on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of same, but we have a lot of those in the works at all times, each with their own crew, so any title can bake as little or as long as needed : it’s ready when it’s ready. 

Immediately prior to public release of a song’s Edition, whether as a record or a live performance, we agree upon and write down the contributions of all participants (writers, performers, crew) on a Split Sheet, which will be used for further credits and revenue sharing (if any). 

NB: if you’re hungry, it’s perfectly possible, and quite common, to work on several titles at once.

— Who’s it for ? —

• Performer musicians primarily, although we are willing to entertain ‘pure’ writing / crew joiners.
• Technical proficiency requirements aren’t absurd : we expect you to be able to keep in time, hold a groove, and be willing to improv’ (or learn to). With that said, we can keep you busy whether you’re extremely skilled or still getting your sea legs, provided you’re good enough company.
• Enjoying the form is sort of required : we do songs in the sense that storytelling plays a big part in how we build and arrange stuff. A taste for words isn’t the worst thing to bring to the table, either, although being new at this writing thing is perfectly alright by us.
• You’ll have to be an adult by froggish standards (that’s 18 years old), not because we hate kids, and we do, but because the demands of doing commercial work with minors are more than we can handle at this stage. If you’re 16+ you could still join for a jam on a hallway pass, though.
• You need to be free of any exclusivity clause with a music producer/publisher/label/agency that could impede your ability to own the rights to your creations and representation, or arrange in advance to get a waiver or release from same before you join theSC.
• If not based anywhere near, traveling to Paris at least occasionally must be a realistic option : we don’t do remote-only as a general rule, because it’s tricky to share a meal over the intarwebs.*

— What could seem like issues but aren’t (usually). —

• I’m not a professional musician !  

               We don’t care.  

• My schedule is off-kilter ! 

               That’s fine, too. We can deal with occasionals, once-a-week, one-shots, full-on-but-just-for-the-month, etc : that’s exactly what we’re set-up for. 

• I’m ‘only’ a performer, I have no experience improvising or writing. 

               It’s fine as long as you’re interested in giving it a fair shot. 

• I can’t read or write sheet music. 

               Nor can many of us. It’s good if you know how, but really not a huge deal. 

• My background is only in [insert ‘non-groovy’ style] music ! 

               You’re very welcome : theSC is ideally suited to people who can bring a variety of influences to the mixer, and are willing to try new stuff. 

• I’m already in a band. 

Well, that’s great and we hope you’re having a blast there, too. As long as you aren’t bound by an exclusivity contract, it’s cool on our end, as theSC charter only restricts what you can do with material developed in-house (and to a limited extent), but you’re entirely free to do whatever besides.

— Who’s it definitely not for ? — 

• Been known as a diva, a bit of a bigot, easily offended or a shredder guitarist ? do yourself a favor, and stay clear of that thing !
• Likewise, if you’re worried your million dollar idea might get stolen, or possibly ruined by hacks not worthy of your art, we strongly encourage you to follow your instincts and run as far as you can.
• Speaking of which : don’t bring your babies to La Barne. Whatever material (lyrics, music, etc) you contribute is likely to be reworked, mashed, dismembered beyond recognition and possibly discarded. If you can’t remorselessly kill your darlings, you might not find happiness here. 😉
• People who are looking for a band as backing to their leading act might also set themselves up for disappointment — Jerdon and the ShakShukas is probably not going to happen.
• Once again, you’re encouraged to do you in any way you feel like outside of theSC, but the Collective in the name is not just neocon bait. 😉 

— Whosit we seek ? — 

With about 30 titles in the works at any given time, theSC has opening in all roles, but right now, here’s who’s most sought after 

• Piano/keys : for rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, and then some.  
• Percussionist : as in hand percs, mostly. Being a drummer also is cool, yet entirely optional., 
• Guitars : for rhythm, slide/steel, we’re not the greatest place for shredders and stroking soloists.  
• Cello/Alto : we love bowed strings, and not for layers and pads. 
• Clarinettist : (bass also welcome) 
• Baritone Sax : or soprano (tenor begone) 
• Cornet : or trumpet (from bass to piccolo). 
• Tuba : sousaphone, baritone, or even euphonium. 😉 

— Collabs ? — 

If you’re a crew, a brass band or a whole circus, and you’d like to mingle and get dirty, please reach out through any channel : we’re always up for a meet ! 

      ttfn, 
          theSC.

* We make chord charts, lyrics and rough takes available for all participants through the cloud so they can churn at songs on their own in between sessions.
** If you don’t eat and/or aren’t a carbon-based lifeform, see Collabs at the end of this post.