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Accidentally passed the audition!!

Would you show up at an audition without bothering to know the material?

  • Nah...

    Votes: 18 25.7%

  • Hellz nah...

    Votes: 35 50.0%

  • And as always....carrots.

    Votes: 17 24.3%
  • Total voters
    70
Ritchie_Darling

Ritchie_Darling

Bass @ AZ
May 22, 2006
960
1,060
66
Arizona
Disclosures
Impulse buyer...
#1
So, I have a friend who was lamenting the fact that she couldn't find a reliable bass player.

I'd wanted to jam with this group for a while. Mainly just to see my friend.

So, I asked what material they were doing, listened a bit, made a few notes...

Packed up my mini rig and drove a couple hours to jam with them in between auditioning two other bass players.

The first guy didn't show. Second didn't bother to learn the material.

I showed up, knew the bass parts, and the harmony vocals..... AND GOT THE GIG!!!

:woot::woot::woot:

I guess it pays to be prepared!
 
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#3
Ritchie_Darling said:
So, I have a friend who was lamenting the fact that she couldn't find a reliable bass player.

I'd wanted to jam with this group for a while. Mainly just to see my friend.

So, I asked what material they were doing, listened a bit, made a few notes...

Packed up my mini rig and drove a couple hours to jam with them in between auditioning two other bass players.

The first guy didn't show. Second didn't bother to learn the material.

I showed up, knew the bass parts, and the harmony vocals..... AND GOT THE GIG!!!

:woot::woot::woot:

I guess it pays to be prepared!
Click to expand...
Hard to turn down a vocalist/bass player these days, even if you fake booked it through the material. :)
Congrats! I think? 2 hour commute? 4 hours total? Is that the "accidentally" part?

Two hours to see your "friend"? Must be some "friend". Good luck!
 
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#8
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#10
DiabolusInMusic said:
I once showed up at an audition and the band's own drummer didn't even know the material. Mind you, there was a while I would make a point to go to any audition that rose red flags so...
Click to expand...

Ditto. Not just the drummer, but the guitarist/singer too. I knew the songs better than they did. I got out of there as soon as I could. I knew that project wasn't going anywhere
 
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#11
I once had an audition for a band from CL. I had seen the band, they weren't bad, not necessarily the best, but not bad. Talked to the keyboard player on the phone. He seemed really nice, we hit it off. Got to the audition and started to set up. Got everything set up and the keyboard player says, "we only have 1 requirement, you have to be a better bass player than me" and proceeds to pull out a Precision and wank on it for about a minute and a half. I thanked them for the opportunity to hear his solo and packed up my gear and left. I had apparently driven 60 minutes to be challenged to a wank-off! Big red flag for me. Shockingly, it took them over a year to find a bass player.
 
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#12
awakefie said:
I once had an audition for a band from CL. I had seen the band, they weren't bad, not necessarily the best, but not bad. Talked to the keyboard player on the phone. He seemed really nice, we hit it off. Got to the audition and started to set up. Got everything set up and the keyboard player says, "we only have 1 requirement, you have to be a better bass player than me" and proceeds to pull out a Precision and wank on it for about a minute and a half. I thanked them for the opportunity to hear his solo and packed up my gear and left. I had apparently driven 60 minutes to be challenged to a wank-off! Big red flag for me. Shockingly, it took them over a year to find a bass player.
Click to expand...

Bizarre could he play?
 
#13
oldrocker said:
Bizarre could he play?
Click to expand...

Not really, but he had that Guitar Center sales riff down pat. I've heard him play live and he mainly hugs roots, plays the guitar part, or plays the keys riff on bass (eg. Superstition - he played the keyboard riff the whole song, Play That Funky Music - he played the guitar part, Break Up Song, Brown-Eyed Girl - hugged the roots).

I wasn't criticizing his playing, I was criticizing his attitude towards recruiting new members.
 
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#14
I play in churches. If you don't show up prepared, you're in deep doo doo - not enough time to learn the songs, only to iron out details of arrangement quirks and the like. I usually practice every evening the week before a gig for 2 to 3 hours, and some extra time on Friday and Saturday. Works out to something like a dozen to 15 hours to prepare 4 or 5 songs, and most of them will be tunes I've done before, although keys and arrangements often vary. Although some churches let you use charts, I always memorize everything - I play much better when I can look around ad observe what's gong on around me.

I once got a call to play a church I'd never played before one Friday afternoon - it was one service on Sunday morning. I almost declined, as I wouldn't have enough time to practice. Anyway, I could sense their desperation, and I told them I might not be well prepared, as I didn't have much time, but I'd do it. I worked my butt off in the time I did have, and felt OK going in - I'd given it as much prep as I could, given the schedule, but still, I wasn't up to where I usually am in terms of preparedness. Rehearsal started, and within a few minutes, I realized...I'm the best prepared person in the band this weekend.

Always show up overprepared, if at all possible. And early.
 
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#17
lol the band I'm in now, I was asked to play bass for them I said sure...They gave me a list of songs...probably 20 or so none of which I had ever played before...So I spent the entire week learning the songs and go play with the band..I liked the band and it sounded pretty great. So they schedule another practice..for the same day the next week, they give me another 15 -20 songs to learn and I go home practice them and now I have around 35 songs or more learned. mind you, I had the songs pretty much down..not perfect but damn close...the practice comes and we go over the songs I had learned the previous week...So they tell me after practice, we are gonna have a meeting so we will see you next week...I get home thinking that was weird...why are they having a meeting without me in it.? But, I was the new guy and maybe they were just thinking of more songs to play..or whatever..So I get home and an hour later I get home and get a text from the singer....it says hey, we all really like your bass playing...youre really really good and we would like you to join the band...at this point I'm like thinking, what the shag? I thought I was already in the band..lol..So I texted him and said well yeah of course I wanna be in the band...So I set the phone down and thinking to myself...they were auditioning me...for two weeks, and they never even said that to me...I was kind of pissed..lol. the context here is important..I am living in a small village / city 9k population..everyone knows everyone..kind of thing, I have never auditioned for a band ever in this town...everyone knows your skill level basically I was in another band for 4 years before that playing gigs all over the same town. So I was kind of pissed that they made me go learn all those songs which took a considerable amount of time because I had never played any of them ever.

So the next week comes, and we are now practicing songs rather than just going through them and after practice they start talking about some guy. The drummer says, hey I saw (person A) at the airport the other day...singer says oh really? was he pissed off?..now I'm thinking who are they talking about. I didn't know the guy they were talking about..and the drummer says, well yeah...he was pissed because you fired him by a text message...and bingo, the light goes on..and I realize what had been going on..They already had a bass player but he wasn't as good as me, so they were having stealth practices with me, for the two weeks, to make sure I was in fact better than him then they after the two weeks and realizing I was good enough or better than him they fired him....

I felt bad for the guy..but its been half a year in this band and I love everyone in the band..and it is a great band...but that to me was an odd way into a band...

does this sound familiar to any of you guys? ..
 
#18
When I joined the band I am in now( and only band I've been in) we agreed to a trial period. They had a community gig in a months time and we'd decide after. I wasn't sure if I'd like it and what kind of time commitment it would take, if they would be ok with my mediocre bass playing. When the time period was up I told the BL that I'd commit to them if they wanted me. The guitar player thought that was already done.
It's been 3 years and they've become some of my closest friends.
 
#19
awakefie said:
I once had an audition for a band from CL. I had seen the band, they weren't bad, not necessarily the best, but not bad. Talked to the keyboard player on the phone. He seemed really nice, we hit it off. Got to the audition and started to set up. Got everything set up and the keyboard player says, "we only have 1 requirement, you have to be a better bass player than me" and proceeds to pull out a Precision and wank on it for about a minute and a half. I thanked them for the opportunity to hear his solo and packed up my gear and left. I had apparently driven 60 minutes to be challenged to a wank-off! Big red flag for me. Shockingly, it took them over a year to find a bass player.
Click to expand...
So Anyway, I would have added "How can I compete with the Best Bass Player In The World"... as I was packing up to leave.
Or maybe the guy just wanted to let you know he could bass-wank… trying to make a connection.
 
#20
I had an audition a few years back and the guitarist gave me a list of tunes to learn. I had them down perfectly. Unfortunately, the guitarist didn't. After we were done, he told me that he didn't bother to work on the tunes that much because he didn't think I would be so well prepared. Still, it struck me as odd since he was the one who picked them. Shouldn't he already know them?? I didn't end up playing with them. He could have been a really good guitarist, but he didn't seem to care enough to put in the time.
 

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