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signs of trouble w/ auditioners...

G

gregoire1

Oct 19, 2008
743
84
Nashville
#1
My band has been forced to "emergency" audition a drummer and 2nd guitarist. We have an emminent (contract commited) gig in 45days and no drummer! (he suddently quit... issues).
What are the problem signs when auditioning new musicians. We don't have a lot of time and need to be back on track in a week so we will be auditioning as many drummers (and maybe guitarist if possible) in just a few days. The band leader is good as ruling some out just by looking at their myspace page or email response but we can't afford any wack-jobs or meat heads at this point.

I have never been in a band that auditioned. He or she has to be a fast learner and preferably not a serial killer.

Thoughts?
 
#4
Hopefully your contract gig is a paying one as your much more likely to get good candidates that way.

I had to audition 12 drummers to find one for a band recently, I just made it as painless as possible for the band by doing a cattle call. We scheduled four drummers per day for 30 minutes each. I provided the drum set and gave them a week with our mp3's to learn three songs. If one of them didn't show up, it was only 30 minutes wasted. If you try to schedule one guy per day and someone doesn't show up, you've wasted a whole day.
 
#8
Red flags:

1) No-show at audition (duh).

2) Shows up late with no apology or a lame excuse.

3) Shows up in a clearly altered state (drunk/high), and/or asks "where's the booze" before he even sits down to play.

4) Is taking/making calls/texts etc. on his cell phone, PDA, whatever (if the audition is not more important to him than that, you don't want him).

5) If a "house" drum kit is provided, makes disparaging remarks about it and demands to use his own set, then takes his own sweet time setting it up (the good ones can sit down at any decent 5-piece drum set, spend a couple minutes adjusting and and make it sound good).

6) Doesn't know the material (assuming you have told him what to work on in advance).

7) Rips on past bandmates and/or talks a lot about how badly he was treated in his last band.

8) Is forever talking about how he has played with this or that "big name", or how his former band opened for thus and so.

9) Can't keep time (another duh).

10) Overplays (unless your music calls for that).

11) No dynamics (everything is loud).

12) Doesn't listen to anyone else in the band (especially you, the bassist)... just playing his "thing".

13) Asks where he can keep his gun (knife, numchuks, etc.) while he plays.

If any of these are in evidence, time to get him out of the room as fast as possible and move on to the next one.
 
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#9
gregoire1 said:
we can't afford any wack-jobs or meat heads at this point. ...He or she has to be a fast learner and preferably not a serial killer.
Click to expand...

This is a one-time thing, right? So who cares if he or she is a wack job, meat head, serial killer? All you need to know is that they will show up for the gig on time and play in a professional manner for the duration of the gig.

Ask for references. If they've never played with anybody you can contact, that's a big red flag. If they have played with somebody you can contact, then that somebody can give them a reference.
 
#10
Thats the great thing about Myspace, you can scope-em-out before you even respond to the email! Do they have an obvious psychological disorder, more than 4 nose-rings (nothing against fellow TB'rs who do), bizarre fetishes...but what about the not-so-obvious? I don't want to have to do this again because the guy we chose thinks he is an alien.
 
#14
RustyAxe said:
Of course it is. Your back is against the wall ... you need a drummer for that gig. You DON'T need a commitment. Maybe you're too young to know about a "one night stand" ... ? ;)
Click to expand...

Even for a one night stand, though, the red flags still apply. All it takes is the sub to flake on the OP's band for that one show -- pull a no-show, or come in and totally blow it -- and the whole band is screwed. Especially if competition in the market is high.

BTW, to the OP: Don't waste a lot of time worrying about the 2nd guitarist at this point. The drummer is Priority 1. If the first drummer that auditions is golden and you have time to line up another 2nd guitarist as well that's great, but you can pull off the show with just 1 guitarist if you have to. OTOH, no drummer, no show (but you knew that already).
 
#16
We were already looking for a 2nd guitar when the drummer bolted! Yeah I'm not worried about the guitar anymore (we already had an audition scheduled for it though). This band really isn't for money but for the love of the music comraderie (yeah, I know how goofy that sounds). Thats why is so important to find a non-psycho. For keeps>
 
#20
C'mon, there are drummers all over the place in Nashville. I would ask the drummer of a band you have seen if he wants a pick up gig. Less stress than auditioning a permanent member on short notice.
 

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