Thanks Kasperow! We don't plan on playing open mics forever. If you came to NJ one day, hopefully we'd have our own gig playing in a park or similar venue.
Wow, you've really got things rolling!! Good for you! Bass is one of the harder positions to fill, so it's good that you have choices. I agree that personality and musical taste compatability is more important than playing skills at this point. Having a place allocated to rehearse is big too.
Best of luck and keep us posted on where things lead.