Help auditioning

[d8g3jdh]

Im putting up a sign in the local music store saying singer wanted, and i was wondering how to go about auditioning singers? We are just forming a band that is going to be doing rock, covers from the 60's to 80's and some original stuff i suppose.

I was wondering what to look for in a singer and how to go about the audition process. I figure ill just do them all in one time period, with breaks in between each audition to confer with my guitarists, take notes on each singer and then talk to them for 5-10 mins afterwards to make sure they're on track and not crazy/mean, but i dont know how to audition them. Should i tell them what to sing or let them sing there own song that shows off their talents? Should they sing on their own or if they are singing something that i/we know should i/we play along with them?

Any other tips for weeding out the suckers would be appreciated

peace

[DaftCat]

First off, go through this thread. Best Ways to Hold Auditions?
There is some dandy advice about auditioning in general.

Keep in mind the better class musicians are auditioning YOU as much as you are auditioning THEM. He/she may request some tunes for you to try out that they already know so they know how well you learn.

I think it would be best to keep it to 4-5 songs and allow the singer to choose one anyway.

Sure it is your time, your audition but not all singers are going to nail what you request.

....my .02 worth,

DCat

[d8g3jdh]

hmm, interesting

im not sure what some good songs are to useto showcase a singers talents and ability to sing for classic rock

I was thinking money (pink floyd), since i can easily play along with that song, black dog (zep), and perhaps my generation (the who). Then i would tell them to do 2 other songs of their choice (within the genre), whatever they feel highlights their talent the most.

Are these good songs to see what a singer can do? I figure that they require some vocal skill, but im not looking for bruce dickinson so these arent to challenging.

Any other advice is much appreciated

[FriscoBassAce]

Cool....a thread I started was actually linked to as an example of solid advice.

But all that aside, let me tell you that today we auditioned guitarists, and 2 weeks ago we auditioned drummers, and the tips and advice that was given in that thread really worked wonders. One of the guys commented that ours was the most professional and organized audition he had ever been to, and he is a long-time veteran of the pro music scene.

As for singers, have them sing some of the songs that you'll be playing. Give them several songs and then let them have a go. It's kind of like the scientific method...if you test the same thing each time, with the only variable being the different singers, you will see dependable results each time.