It's never as bad as you think, It's never as good as you think

awakefie · #1 08-04-2011, 11:18 PM

Last week I posted about a live edition I did with a local Denver band. I played six songs and went home shaking my head. I thought I did a terrible job (in my defense I had 2 days to prepare for 6 songs with 6 other people I had never met before).

Anyway, I get home, crash, and the next morning there is an e-mail waiting from the drummer. Says the band was really impressed with me and that I was one of the top 2 contenders.

I just found out today I have a final 3 hour audition next week (not live). I am so stoked. When I got home after the live audition my wife asked how it went and all i said was "train wreck".

Wow. Now I have 4 gigs coming up in the next 30 days if I can crank it out Wednesday night.

zachoff · #2 08-04-2011, 11:25 PM

You're better than you think, dude! Heck yeah!

Stumbo · #3 08-06-2011, 07:24 AM

Lest ye judge yourself, do not judge others.

TheVoiceless · #4 08-08-2011, 08:10 AM

Very cool!! Good luck!!

caeman · #5 08-08-2011, 08:35 AM

Often, we judge ourselves far harsher than others would. What you thought a mistake, maybe they perceived as a creative touch, and to them it sounded good. Or maybe they understand that once you are in, you'll practice and get the songs down.

Russell L · #6 08-08-2011, 10:11 AM

Congrats and best of luck to you, Art.

That is awesome.

onosson · #7 08-08-2011, 10:15 AM

In my old band, one of the guitarists and I would consistently have opposite feelings about a show. If I thought we were smoking, he thought it was awful ... and vice versa. So who was right? We musicians are often poor judges of our own performances, that's for sure!

Pilgrim · #8 08-08-2011, 10:23 AM

We should always be our own most harsh critics - but we should also remember that no one else is as harsh as we are!

shambobala · #9 08-08-2011, 10:49 AM

The other guys must have REALLY sucked! ;-p

southgabass · #10 08-08-2011, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shambobala

The other guys must have REALLY sucked! ;-p

Wonder what they told their wives?... lol

Grabow · #11 08-08-2011, 02:51 PM

good stuff, went home thinking you sucked, just imagine what these guys will think when you are in top form
just go in there and own the groove

**jmattbassplaya** · #12 08-08-2011, 02:58 PM

You have no idea how many times I've come off a set pissed with how bad we sounded only to be met by person after person saying how great we were, asking us our band name, if we have any recordings, where our next gig is, etc... To say the least, it definitely is a confidence booster

southgabass · #13 08-08-2011, 03:55 PM

A few weeks ago at a gig our guitarist showed up PLASTERED... I think in the 3 hours of playing he played 1 song right, the encore.... which I was pissed from 2nd set on with him and felt it was horrible... we still got an encore at a place that doesn't normally have them and was told countless times it was great... makes for a good show but a really bad excuse from our guitarist

P. Aaron · #14 08-08-2011, 07:44 PM

I was stinkin' up the joint at an audition Friday only to realize in the Q & A after that they were impressed that I went through about a dozen songs with no notes and played parts their current player consistently misses.

I was nervous but mostly concise. They played at a very low volume and no matter how much you internalize the music you're supposed to learn, real time playing with others and factoring in their interpretation of the music is one thing you don't get a handle on until it happens.

We'll see.

Oopsdabassist · #15 08-09-2011, 01:37 AM

Nice one dude, best of luck!
I always seem to come off stage thinking 'thats was awful' to have people coming up saying how good it was, I usually put it down to them being drunk, but its happening an awful lot, so maybe being your own worst critic pays off.

jimbikemedic · #16 08-09-2011, 05:12 AM

just relax and enjoy the whole thing. I know sometime we can suck the joy out of music by over analyzing every little note.

ON the ONE · #17 08-09-2011, 05:22 AM

Thanks for this thread. I think we all have had off nights or weak sets but it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one questioning my performance. The hardest part for me is when said audience member gives compliments and I have to say thank you when my heart tells me we haven't earned it.

Dekker · #18 08-09-2011, 05:58 AM

Good luck! Sounds like a busy schedule if you get the part!

awakefie · #19 08-09-2011, 02:23 PM

Thanks for the kind wishes. I have been practicing my tail off. I will keep y'all posted.

awakefie · #20 08-11-2011, 12:14 AM

I am the new bass player for The FaintHearts. The Faint Hearts - Home. I am so jazzed. They might even add one more gig to August because I learned the set list so quickly. Yeah! hyper: