Would you evaluate joining a band by e-mail only

[jive1]

Recently, I've been looking for a band and I noticed that there's bands who seem to want to communicate via e-mail only. What ever happened to talking on the phone?

To me talking to a person, face-to-face or over the phone can tell me a lot more about a band than e-mail alone. It's those little things that I listen for that can tell me how serious or how true the band's claims are.

Maybe, I'm just old fashioned.

[mike mcd]

The great thing about the interent is it's so easy for you to trade soundclips first, then you can decide if it's even worth going to meet them. If I was going to then decide to go meet the band I would want a phone conversation first, that seems like a normal expectation to me.

[MarkMyWordsXx]

its not an issue because if you meet online, you say hey lets meet and jam. if it doesnt work it doesnt work but you dont say 'ok il join' in an email, and if you do and it doesnt work when you go, quit. no big deal.

[Matthew Bryson]

email -> phone call -> meeting in person ->jam session or audition -> join band

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by jive1

What ever happened to talking on the phone? Maybe, I'm just old fashioned.

[jive1]

Originally Posted by MarkMyWordsXx

its not an issue because if you meet online, you say hey lets meet and jam. if it doesnt work it doesnt work but you dont say 'ok il join' in an email, and if you do and it doesnt work when you go, quit. no big deal.

After auditioning for dozens of jokers over the years, I really would rather get a feel for the person/band before lugging my gear to someone's place. Maybe it sounds lazy, but I'd rather not waste my time with jokers anymore. It's bad enough people exaggerate over the phone, but with e-mail it makes it even harder for me to tell.

Like the time, I went to audition with a band that had no material at all. Or the "visionary" who could only jam on 3 chords. Or the pro-band with connections that had a drummer that never played with a bassist before. And the list goes on, and I'd rather not have any repeats.

[mattsk42]

Yeah, I'd say that if they refuse to give a phone number (after a few e-mails of course), then they're definitely too paranoid to enjoy playing with anyway. Plus, how badly can they really want someone if they don't let you TALK to them.

[SBassman]

My take is:

E-mail is a really good way to Start, but after some exchange, it Does have to lead to getting on the phone.

Frankly, I prefer to do initial Filtering by e-mail. Then if it still sounds viable, it's phone time.

[seanm]

Originally Posted by SBassman

My take is:

E-mail is a really good way to Start, but after some exchange, it Does have to lead to getting on the phone.

Frankly, I prefer to do initial Filtering by e-mail. Then if it still sounds viable, it's phone time.

+1 I really prefer communicating by email. But at some point, I want to talk to the person before the audition.

[Eilif]

I'm going in for an audition this saturday with a band that I have only communicated with by email. However, they:

-have a website with an extensive gig history, a couple of press writeups, etc.
-emailed me 7 of thier songs with 3 to learn for the audition (I will of course be trying to learn all 7)
-are having the auditions at a known, respectable hourly rehusal space.
-sent me a phone number to contact them at, but I think it was in their second email, after I already had the above information.

I think it all depends on how much info is available online or via-email. If I hadn't been able to get all the above information via email or website, or it was a startup band with little/no history, I would have insisted on a phone call.

[Matt Till]

OHHHHH now I get it. There have been a few people when I was looking for a band, they wanted to talk to me over the phone before auditioning. I turned them down, because I thought they were weirdos. Seriously.

Email -> Practice/jam

Welcome to the future.

[Pruitt]

I run a forum where one of the things I do is offer bands and recording projects, etc... private forums for their discussions. This include attachment uploads, calendar, etc... Asynchronous conversations are sometimes the best way to discuss things with people in this day and age due to teh busy lifestyles we all lead. Using a forum to do this instead of emails allows the history of the conversations to be readily available. To this point in time, its been a useful concept for the few who are using it.

It's not quite the same as what you were asking about, Jive1, but it is another facet of communications available to bands and projects in this day and age and level of technology. The phone is slowly being replaced with something more convenient for all, imho.

[Bass Thunder]

Originally Posted by jive1

After auditioning for dozens of jokers over the years, I really would rather get a feel for the person/band before lugging my gear to someone's place. Maybe it sounds lazy, but I'd rather not waste my time with jokers anymore. It's bad enough people exaggerate over the phone, but with e-mail it makes it even harder for me to tell.

Like the time, I went to audition with a band that had no material at all. Or the "visionary" who could only jam on 3 chords. Or the pro-band with connections that had a drummer that never played with a bassist before. And the list goes on, and I'd rather not have any repeats.

It sounds like from your own experiences, jokers have existed before email and will continue either by phone or email. They can speak and type bull with equal ability.

With all the websites around today, if they have NO material to play for YOU (current project or past, MP3 or CD) then just assume they are just fooling around. Sometimes I'll take a chance just to audition their drummer for future contacts.

If you are good and your time is valuable, turn the tables and go in with the attitude YOU are auditioning THEM. Play a jam and say, "follow along".

It all comes down to put up or shut up and just play. You can tell good players very quickly, no matter what they say. Nobody should be talking when they are grooving anyway.

One jam isn't a life commitment either and can turn out to be a pleasant surprise.

[VanillaO]

Originally Posted by Matthew Bryson

email -> phone call -> meeting in person ->jam session or audition -> join band

I usually incorporate steps 3 and 4 into one step but that's exactly how I'd go about it. Get in touch with them via myspace or whatever, give them my cell number along with some info about me, they usually ask for a clip of hearing me. I then respond with 'I have stuff, but I think it would be best to get a sense for each other in a jam, even if it isn't a serious jam on your material'. It's definitely better to try someone out for a position by having them there, not by hearing a clip over the internet that they could spend hours manipulating to be perfect.

[Spoiled Grape]

I keep in contact with my band via e-mail during work. When we auditioned drummers, the first thing we did was talk via e-mail. Than we phoned to give him all the contact info, and than we jammed.

Also Jive, if a band DOESN'T have anything to give you MP3 wise, than assume they are start-ups/visionaries/waste of time. It's too easy now-a-days to get a live recording and host it, or get a cheap demo (50-100 a song).

In fact, my singer's cousin from Colorado just came in to live with us in California, and even though he doesn't have a band, he still has three or four songs recorded on his Apple with Garageband.

[agreatheight]

The phone call is a wasted step, imo. So is a non-playing face to face. I prefer the cut out all extra steps.

Email -> Audition -> Conditional Job Offer -> Permanent Job Offer

Email details goals and expectations, for the band in general and for the audition itself.

Audition tests skills, compares styles and measures personality compatibilities.

Conditional Job Offer gets the person into the flow to evaluate performance and professionalism under real conditions.

Permanent job Offer then seals the deal if the person is right.

After all of the auditioning I have done this is best method I have found (for me). YMMV!

[SBassman]

One other thing:

We use e-mail to test personality, too. We're real busy, and our most efficient way for mid week dialog is via e-mail. None of us are phone people, and e-mail is just plain faster and more efficient for most of our dialog.

If a candidate is freaked by that, they are not compatible with us.

[Bass Thunder]

Originally Posted by agreatheight

The phone call is a wasted step, imo. So is a non-playing face to face. I prefer the cut out all extra steps.

Email -> Audition -> Conditional Job Offer -> Permanent Job Offer

Email details goals and expectations, for the band in general and for the audition itself.

Audition tests skills, compares styles and measures personality compatibilities.

Conditional Job Offer gets the person into the flow to evaluate performance and professionalism under real conditions.

Permanent job Offer then seals the deal if the person is right.

After all of the auditioning I have done this is best method I have found (for me). YMMV!

Excellent advise.

However, any situation that includes "conditional job offers" and "permanent job offers" will also include some kind of music sample with which to better preview the project/players, I would hope. Probably has management as well, but not necessarily. The original poster's scenario may be a little different.

Either way, the more info you have the better your decision. If that includes a phone call for you, then do it.

If dragging your equipment around is a burden, you may want to consider something lighter and smaller for those "questionable" gigs, or scale down your stadium rig .

Playing with as many people as you can is fun and beneficial.

Good Luck

[markjazzbassist]

Originally Posted by jive1

Recently, I've been looking for a band and I noticed that there's bands who seem to want to communicate via e-mail only. What ever happened to talking on the phone?

To me talking to a person, face-to-face or over the phone can tell me a lot more about a band than e-mail alone. It's those little things that I listen for that can tell me how serious or how true the band's claims are.

Maybe, I'm just old fashioned.

I'm with you 100% jive. At the least, I would like a phone convo, I really just like to meet them in person. Email is so impersonal and informal.

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by agreatheight

The phone call is a wasted step, imo. So is a non-playing face to face. I prefer the cut out all extra steps.

Every situation is different. I don't necessarily require a phone call and a non-playing face to face every single time - but I do require at least one or the other. The reason is, I'm a hobbyist, and unfortunately I've found that amongst the ranks of hobbyist musicians there are plenty of alcoholics, pot heads, and even speed freaks and crack heads. Sad but true. Combine this with the fact that most bands I've been involved with have involved playing at somebody's home studio, or private rehearsal studio (not some public place). I find it pretty important to make sure that the stranger I have just contacted from Craig's List doesn't turn out to be a crack head before he is invited to somebody's home or studio where thousands of dollars worth of musical equipment is kept.