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Country Rock Audition

B

bluewine

Inactive
Sep 4, 2008
10,296
27
WI
#1
Hi,

I'm still auditioning, any tips on how to prepare or act for a country Rock Band?

I am a Jersey Boy and know little about the CMT culture.I guess the lead singer (female) was down in Nashville for a few years now she is back home.I did se that her band has some major main stage festival gigs booked in the Summer.
 
#2
Be yourself. If you pull an "act" they'll find out sooner or later.

If they "need" a dyed-in-the-wool Country or Country Rock bassist you won't get the gig anyway. Bring who you are & what you can offer. Breadth is a good thing, otherwise you'd see a lot of all-guitar bands.

Other than that, the usual audition routine; get some songs they do & practice up.
 
#5
Depending on the material, they may even want a rock oriented player. I play in a Country Rock trio and we all have a rock music sensibility about us. Remember you need to want to work with them too. If they're doing Classic Country old school style it wouldn't be a good fit for either.
So yeah, be yourself and let the chips fall.
 
#6
Just learn the tunes and work on feel as best you can.

IMHO,the days of "I'm a strictly country player" or "I'm a blues player" are over as far as the working pros are concerned.

If you look at the newer breed of country musicians (not front people/artists) most of them are well trained,educated players with degrees.Why? Because country is where the money is/was.(Mostly was)

Example:Keith Horne has played with Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker,but he has fusion chops that can blow alot of well respected bassist out of the water.

So what I'm saying(in my roundabout way) is dont worry about not having played this music before.Just get a feel for it ,learn the tunes,relax,and be yourself.

As usual,I could be wrong....................
 
#7
Get into the zen of country bass playing. Less is more.

Weld yourself to the kick drum. Tone, feel, note placement and duration is everything.

Chops will get you killed. You get one spot to sign the painting and it better not take longer than one measure. If you listen to CMT, you'll hear that in the bass line. Total solid, one quick riff that's pretty dang impressive, (If it's above the double dots, chances are excellent it's Kevin Grantt) then right back to rock solid
 
#8
For better or for worse, remember that image is (or at least can be) a big part of auditioning too. Don't walk in there with your six-string burlwood slap-mastah fusion-axe. If you've got a J or P bass that you're comfortable with (the more beat-up the better), I'd recommend bringing that in. If that's not a possibility, I'd recommend bringing a low-key 4 string.

Hope this helps! Country music can be a lot of fun, even when it IS just 'root-five, root-five, root-five', and depending on the area you're in, popular too!

--Lee
 
#10
sleeplessknight said:
, I'd recommend bringing a low-key 4 string.
--Le
Click to expand...

If it's original centric, take what you want.

If you're auditioning for an act that is playing any covers that have been done in the last 15 years and you need to play the factory line properly, you better have access to notes below E one way or another.

I wouldn't even consider going at a country gig without a 5er. There's just too much of it on Nashville recordings.
 
#12
Steve said:
Get into the zen of country bass playing. Less is more.
Click to expand...

Sometimes less is more. I don't know. I've been playing this kind of music for a couple years now. Some of these "country" bass lines are pretty involved and innovative, way beyond I-V-I-V and a walk up to the IV (although there is always plenty of that too).

Examples:

Gary Allen - See If I Care
Kenny Chesney - Summertime
 
#13
Yep. That's the trouble with sweeping generalizations.
Country music is WAY beyond root fifth these days.

I'd include Chesney's When The Sun Goes Down on that list as well which is an amazing piece of bass work from Michael Rhodes.

Still, very little of it is in your face playing. It's about being very cool without being noticeable more often than not. It's one heck of a lot harder than most people out of the loop know or will admit to.
 
#14
Steve said:
I wouldn't even consider going at a country gig without a 5er. There's just too much of it on Nashville recordings.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, I stand corrected. Although personally, since my hands never have really quite fit on a 5-er, I'd be tempted to have a J or P-bass re-nutted (is that really a word? If not it should be) and set up properly to play nice strung BEAD. I'm just a Boston-based jazzer (and funker apparently, if my last several sub-sessions have been any indication). I do the whole rock/blues/country thing strictly as one-off substitute gigs to earn extra cash, and don't really consider myself 'schooled' in those particular genres. As always, YMMV. :p
 
#15
Alright, I just listened to both of those Kenny Chesney tunes, and while I didn't hear a whole lot of '1-5, 1-5' a la Johnny Cash, etc, and while I give them mad credit for breaking out of the standard 'oohm-pah oohm pah' rhythms (I've added 'When the sun goes down' to my 'to be learned on guitar' list), those basslines are still pretty much '1, 1, 1, 1' fellas :p Also, mad props to the bassist on 'Summertime' for going out in public* with with a Bongo! ;) *ducks*

--Lee

* because I'm lazy and didn't feel like snagging the singles off of Limewire, I just checked out the music videos of those tunes on Youtube
 
#16
It all depends upon the artist. "Todays hit country" is very 80's rock informed. The country-rock acts are really not I-IV-V root-fifth material anymore. I know for a fact that a lot of the top $ acts have been vetting "rock players" and specifiacally looking for tatoos, rock-hair, etc... :rollno: It's sad, but part of the game here in the commercial music world...

a) Make sure you have the audition material memorized. Make sure all of your gear is in proper working order. Borrowing a cable, battery or tuner at the audition is a bad start! Whatever you do, don't "noodle" between songs! That'll kill your audition every time.

b) The first gig is 80% about your musicianship and 20% about your personality. The remainder of your tenure will be 20% musicianship and 80% about your personality! For an audition, you have to nail the material and establish a good rapport. Both of these are accomplished by listening (more than talking or playing).

c) You cannot fake who you are. Be yourself- if your personality isn't a good fit, then the gigs not for you - and that's ok! :) Everyone is miserable when a member of the team doesn't fit in.

d) Don't mention you're a "Jersey boy". Trust me, as a native NY'er, moving to Nashville and re-establishing a career was a lot less challenging when I embraced the culture shift. Of course, the country world is full of transplants, so if the artist sounds like she's from Jersey, you might have an "in"!

e) 5 strings are undeniably more common in the current modern-country studio scene. However, current trends are pushing more for 4-stringers in touring bands. (stupid "rock" stereotype imaging again...) I'm preparing right now for a 3-artist package tour. While there is a lot of 5 string work on the records, I'm still preparing the material on a 4 string as I know the artists & some of them go more for the "old-school" approach. At the same time, if the decide they want a 5er, it's no problem. I always carry both... Ultimately though- you need to play what you're most comfortable with!

f) Smile & be positive! A positive & energetic attitude go a loooong way in establishing a good 1st impression. :)

g) Female artists need a little more care. (I assume you are a male) Be sure to be gentle, respectful, and shake the boyfriend or husbands hand.

just my opinions, but I do make a living doing this sort of thing. YMMMV....
 
#17
go listen to When the sun goes down again.

get under some headphones and pay real close attention to the way MR plays with the timing, off beats and note duration whille adding a ton of subtle little fills that never repeat.

Then be amazed at how much is actually there that isn't really in the way of anything else.

That song is a pure ***** to play and cop his feel.
 
#19
oh it's nothing that's gonna make your fingers hurt to play but trying to play it and not sound like bad white boy regge...that's a different thing.

What you have going is cool, you probably do it better than I do. I've taken tons of country work away from technically better players that had a dismissive attitude toward country music and just didn't get the mindset. There are probably more people with your mindset than mine. It's cool nobody needs to love and appreciate everything.

Jaco just wears my ears out after about 10 minutes. Theres room for everyone in the biz.
 
#20
Jaco? Fool, 2001 called and they want their bass idol back. You want complicated polyrhythms and indulgent, busy basslines man, you best check out Arturo and his band!


:D

I ain't trying to take no gig from nobody man, some stuff just falls more easily under my fingers than others. Country, radio-rock, blues, etc falls more easily because that's what I grew up on. Jazz, funk, afro-cuban, etc, *doesn't* fall under my fingers easily at all, so I get a greater sense of accomplishment when I can fit into a song/album/band of that genre. For me its the challenge of playing in a 'genre-appropriate' way that helps me get my kicks in such a variety of different bands. Jaco et. al works great for the listening-crowd uptown where the hipsters dwell, but not so much at the honky-tonk downtown y'know?
 

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