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11-12-2006, 08:31 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Over Here | | | Im an an excellent bass player but...
Sign in to disble this ad
I answered an ad in a local publication that said this band was looking for a female bass player(Iam female) and nailed the audition. I was told I was the best female bass they auditioned but I didnt get the job. Wanna know why? Because I am over weight. These guys used to have a thin female bass player that wore fishnet stockings, mini sirt and a tanktop on stage and they were hoping that they could find another thin female bas player willing to do the same. I guess they wanted eye candy for themselves and the audience not someone that could really play bass. And I really just would not look good in that kind of out fit according to the othere members of the band. In fact I would look repulsive according to one memeber.
I n case you are wondering the old bass player left because she got married.
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11-12-2006, 08:48 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: New Hampshire | | | That's terrible. You don't need a band that isn't going to accept you for the bass player and person you are anyway.
Just keeping doing what you're doing, being who you are, and don't change for anyone else!
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Clubs: New Hampshire Bassists #6 |
11-12-2006, 09:00 AM
| | | | Don't worry about them girlfriend, who cares about scrawny women anyway? Keep plucking them strangs!!! P.S. all my friends like voluptuous women anyway... |
11-12-2006, 09:07 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York | | | that is ridiculous. but hey, if that is hwo they are, you are and will be much happier and better off with a different gig. keep on rockin!
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You know the motto.
I stay fluid, even in staccato. |
11-12-2006, 09:49 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Methuen, MA USA | | | That is unfortunate, and it is why I would recommend anyone to stay away from ads dictating a certain look or gender for the player. Image is part of being a performing band, but you'd like to think that talent would be more important.. Look at the struggles Heart's management put Ann Wilson through. Who cares what she looks like, listen to her sing.
I'm sure the member who made the classy comment about how you would look in the previous bass player's outfit makes Brad Pitt nervous with his looks. |
11-12-2006, 10:20 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Dundalk, MD | | | screw them, any body who knows anything about music knows its not the "look" or anything that matters its what they can bring to the table musically. Good luck on finding a band thats not comprised of douche bags.
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11-12-2006, 10:45 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Texas, USSA | | | I auditioned many years ago for a funk gig, and nailed the audition. They said I was by far the best, most natural funk player they had come across. I didn't get the gig because of my genes. I'm white. And I was a little on the thick side.
Oh well. It bummed me up for a while, then I got into a working band doing casualty gigs- while they struggled to find someone who "looked right", I was out earning ducats doing songs I sometimes didn't like. But it was good money, for the time! BTW, they never got out and played a single gig, that I know of.
It's not about anything other than the notes you play (or don't, as the gig requires!), so hang in there. Something will pop for you. Be patient, and practice. |
11-12-2006, 11:08 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: South Africa | | | Shortsightedness on their part and also their loss.
If you can do the job I see no reason why there should be any discrimination.
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11-12-2006, 11:29 AM
|  | Registered User
Endorsing artist: Musicman basses, Hipshot products | | Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: New York City | | Sorry, but I'm going to take the other side here - and try to do it as nicely as I can.
I've gotten myself a handful of pretty happening gigs - and I beat out the next guy on the auditions because I'm in good shape. Period. I have a drummer friend that's a way better musician than me that keeps complaining that he never gets any happening gigs - and then he goes home and buries himself in chocolate bars. He's had a lot of great opportunities that worse drummers beat him out of - because they looked the part. Fact simply is that a person is going to have a lot more opportunities if they take care of themselves and are fit.
I consider the gym and my running to be part of my career. When I turned a landmark age I looked in the mirror, saw the egg I was turning into and just refused to let it happen. I slowly started on a path that 6 years later has me looking and feeling better than I did twenty years ago. I'm one of the weakest willed addiction prone people on the planet also - meaning that if I can do, I'm certain that anyone who wants to badly enough also can.
My apologies if this sounds cold, but if somethings standing in your way than I say do something to move it - or just get ok with yourself regarding it and except the consequences. And that's cool also. Your posting it here is leaning in the direction that you're not really happy with it. If you're going to get mad at the world, well it's not going to change. You're going to have to make the adjustment, either in your head or in your body. All my opinion of course... and I would have said it with much more love if my laptop didn't just give me the message that the battery is about to die.  Good luck.
Last edited by Joe Nerve : 11-12-2006 at 11:32 AM.
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11-12-2006, 11:35 AM
| | I <3 Darkstar | | Join Date: May 2003 Location: Riverside, CA | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Joe Nerve Sorry, but I'm going to take the other side here - and try to do it as nicely as I can.
I've gotten myself a handful of pretty happening gigs - and I beat out the next guy on the auditions because I'm in good shape. Period. I have a drummer friend that's a way better musician than me that keeps complaining that he never gets any happening gigs - and then he goes home and buries himself in chocolate bars. He's had a lot of great opportunities that worse drummers beat him out of - because they looked the part. Fact simply is that a person is going to have a lot more opportunities if they take care of themselves and are fit.
I consider the gym and my running to be part of my career. When I turned a landmark age I looked in the mirror, saw the egg I was turning into and just refused to let it happen. I slowly started on a path that 6 years later has me looking and feeling better than I did twenty years ago. I'm one of the weakest willed addiction prone people on the planet also - meaning that if I can do, I'm certain that anyone who wants to badly enough also can.
My apologies if this sounds cold, but if somethings standing in your way than I say do something to move it - or just get ok with yourself regarding it and except the consequences. And that's cool also. Your posting it here is leaning in the direction that you're not really happy with it. If you're going to get mad at the world, well it's not going to change. You're going to have to make the adjustment, either in your head or in your body. All my opinion of course... and I would have said it with much more love if my laptop didn't just give me the message that the battery is about to die. Good luck. | Image is a very important part of a working band, although usually more important in an original group. With that said, I toured with a ska/pop group a year or so ago that had very strict ideas of fitness, mostly because their live show demanded so much movement and dance choreography.
Anyways, sorry about how the audition went. Goodluck on your next audition, I'm sure you'll land the right gig.
__________________ WTB: Geddy Lee Jazz or other jazz-type basses.
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11-12-2006, 11:58 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: north of chicago | | | ouch, but don't worry, you are probably to good for a band like that anyway
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Yamaha club member 1, Long hair club member 10, and all around fairly decent guy.
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11-12-2006, 12:06 PM
| | I don't think, but I still am. | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: So. Cali | | I am sorry for you that you were not chosen for the band.
I hope that you are able to find a satisfying gig that looks more toward your ability to play than to your physical appearance. I must say though that image is a big thing for bands judging from the bands that I've seen. I don't know why it is, but it is. That means you might never get past being judged in part by your image. So again, I hope that you find a band that accepts both. I also do not mean to imply that you are repulsive or ugly. I've never seen you before, so I cannot judge.
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11-12-2006, 12:23 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Davenport, IA | | | That sucks, but I'm still going to have to reiterate what Joe said. Image can make or break a band. This band is after a specific image and you don't fit the bill. You win some, you lose some. That's the nature of life. You also imply the previous bassist (and future bassist) that fit this image is incompetent because she wore revealing and provocative outfits. It sounds like you've got issues to deal with that aren't music-related. Good luck in your future ventures.
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11-12-2006, 12:33 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: New Jersey | | | Like the others have said, persevere. It's like with relationships. If one girl I talk to at the club rejects me, I could either get all emo by going home and crying, or I could shrug it off and go talk to one of the other girls at the club.
It's like with auditioning for bands. Rejections always happen in all aspects of life. Sometimes there are valid reasons for it, and sometimes there are stupid reasons for it. I've learned the hard way to develop the attitude where if one door slams in my face, I'll just knock on the next door.
Part of life is developing a thick skin and instead of concerning yourself with the 99 bands who say :"no," comfort yourself within the 1 band who says "yes."
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Wick club member #20, Passive club member #58
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11-12-2006, 12:43 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Big spring,Texas | | | Image is shallow,.... music is deep.
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*MIA club member #56*
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11-12-2006, 12:44 PM
|  | Simma Down Nah ! | | Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Tucson, AZ, USA | | Forget Them!
IMO...image doesn't mean SQUAT. the music is everything. If they are to close minded and ignoraant to realize this, then you are better off not being with them. They are not deserving of you. Be patient, there is a better group out there for you.....
just my 2 cents........
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11-12-2006, 12:46 PM
|  | Less barking, more wagging! | | Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA | | | Sounds like that band will eventually get exactly the bassist they deserve...
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11-12-2006, 01:17 PM
| | encridublee smatr | | Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Huntington Beach, CA | | | Certainly doesn't mean you will never get a gig, just not that one.
Hey, I'm to the age where guess what? I don't fit into a young band! No surprises here. I don't have a rocker or grunge look because I have a corporate job. So I don't fit into a grunge or longhair band. Am I going to be overly upset about it? No. I will find people closer to my age that don't want or need the image.
Can't be everyone's cup of tea.
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Current G.A.S. - A guitarist who will fit into the mix.
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11-12-2006, 01:28 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Denver, CO | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by dhadleyray ... all my friends like voluptuous women anyway... | +1
In reality, image CAN make or break a band... the industry does cater to a fair number of bands whose only strength is their look. BUT, if a band rejects a serious musician because of the way he/she looks, it is more likely that they are wannabe "rock stars" than true artists. (Which is perfectly fine for some people.) 
Keep your chin up. Us big-boned folks will be able to find PLENTY of good gigs based solely on our ability to play. |
11-12-2006, 01:28 PM
| | I don't think, but I still am. | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: So. Cali | | Quote: |
Originally Posted by Jazzdogg Sounds like that band will eventually get exactly the bassist they deserve... |
That implies that the band is somehow evil for wanting someone that already fits with their current image. It's not evil. It may be a bit shallow, but not evil. Image matters. Perhaps it shouldn't matter to the degree it does. Actually I don't think that it should matter to the degree that it does. Having said that, I don't think there is anyone that can say that they have never judged anyone at least to some extent by the context of their image. I have. It may be somewhat shallow of me, but not evil.
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