Audition process pet peeve

[lfmn16]

My pet peeve is not only being put on the the spot, but hearing "play us something!", all positive...sooo, I and my Flying V, played them Foghat's " I Just Got To Get To Know You" (it was '73...all the way thru...only to find their a '40s-style banjo wielding straw hat, striped-vest, white pants Lawrence Welk stage act..."iuuummm, I'm sorry, but I don't think you fit our style..."
Does ya t'ink?
Thank you God...I'm still cringing...not my style either...I should've played "12/8 Blues"...

Why would you think that a Foghat song would impress 40s-style a banjo wielding straw hat, striped-vest, white pants Lawrence Welk stage act?

 

[Analogeezer]

Depends on the situation, but nothing wrong with checking out someone's ear, and how quickly they pick things up, especially if many of the songs on the audition list should be known already.

Yep totally agree with this after you have gone through the tunes you were supposed to learn.

It's a good say of sussing out how flexible and adaptable someone is.

Plus what do you do? Just play the same short list of songs again?

Reality is most popular songs you get asked to play in bands are bonehead simple on bass.

I mean if they ask you to play "Siberian Khatru" that's one thing but chances are it will be more like "can you wing this Bryan Adams song from the 1980's?"

Analogeezer

 

[pepj]

Knowing the song and making it work can be 2 completely different things.

 

[El Thumpo]

Why would you think that a Foghat song would impress 40s-style a banjo wielding straw hat, striped-vest, white pants Lawrence Welk stage act?

It’s possible they weren’t in full band regalia. Also possible that they were vague in their description of the band. This is well before the internet, so it’s not unlikely that the bassist candidates were responding to a tersely-written classified ad or flyer.

 

[turf3]

Why would you think that a Foghat song would impress 40s-style a banjo wielding straw hat, striped-vest, white pants Lawrence Welk stage act?

well, that reminds me of my best "near miss" gig story:

Got a call to play New Year's eve as a sub. Bandleader clearly said "The Harvey Hotel at [X] and [Y]." So I show up a good 45 minutes before downbeat, sax in hand, tux on, and I ask the nice lady at the desk where the ballrooms are. She directs me, and I walk into the only one that has a band setting up. First thing I notice, NO ONE looks familiar. Second thing I notice, is accordions! Tyrolean hats! Lederhosen, for chrissakes!
So I ask one of the guys... "No, we're the polka band, we're not a classic rock band.."

Oh s!

So I call my wife - is there any message? Where are other Harvey Hotels in town, maybe I got the location wrong? I'll never work in this town again! And she says "wait, there's a message on the recorder." It says "Hey, when you get to the Embassy Suites, don't bother going in the front, go in by the back, we'll have the door propped open." Embassy Suites???!!?? not Harvey Hotel? Wait, there's an Embassy Suites next door! Walked in five minutes before downbeat, slapped the horn together, and hit the stage right at the countoff for the first tune.

Never cut it that fine before or since.

So, you never know, if there are straw boater hats and red vests, you may be in the wrong hotel.

 

[IamGroot]

I've not done alot of auditions (I tend to be choosy about groups I try out for and then stay with them for years). Maybe a dozen or so over the years. However, playing songs not previously requested is the norm in my experience. Most times, after playing the tunes that I was requested to learn the band leader will bring out a tune or two that weren't mentioned. Sometimes even without a chord sheet.

I actually look forward to it. As long as it's not too complex, relatively within the genre and especially if they provide a chord sheet, I'm pretty confident that I can lock in well enough with a good band to make a good impression and maybe even set my self apart from the herd.

In my last band EVERY GIG had songs pop up on the tablet that I'd never played before. That'll keep you on your toes!

I think it's a wise course of action to request this from prospective band members and really no different from attending an orchestral audition and being asked to sight-read something. They want to see how good you are on the fly and how good your ear is. Those are actual indicators of musicianship that have real application in a gigging situation. I might even go so far as to say if you have someone come in for an audition and you don't take the opportunity to drop them into a new tune you're wasting a chance to size up an important chunk of their musical ability.

You had a tablet?????

I guess I am old school. No tablet ever, but Real Book ok for less common jazz tunes.

If I am familiar with a tune and its not too complex, I ask what key and we count it off. I am not magic, but I spent a lot of time playing along with You Tube videos developing my ear. Now that I am playing jazz again, I think I could get by on some jazz tunes without assistance. I can also play jazz in all 12 keys usually, but have had a few brain farts. Working on this.

 

[Eilif]

You had a tablet?????

I guess I am old school. No tablet ever, but Real Book ok for less common jazz tunes.
.

Yeah it was nice. Bandleader had a constantly slowly shifting setlist and a 'book" of a couple hundred songs across a few genres that he wanted to be able to pull from at will with a band that didn't rehearse.

He bought a few old windows tablets that probably cost less than 2 fake books each. He'd pass around a flash drive at the beginning of each gig to load with the setlist/book for the night.

 

[Beej]

I went to an audition where they had provided a list of a few songs, and I prepared for them and we played them. They were super easy as I recall, I know one tune was "She Sells Sanctuary". They went well and the guitarist just started in on some tune that sounded familiar but I didn't know, and singer said "just follow along best you can". It was another simple rock tune with a predictable chorus/verse pattern and an obvious middle 8 solo section. I added some embellishments and did some walking and turnarounds and it sounded pretty good to me. The group was gobsmacked by my performance and gushed all over that no one else had ever done that and they were impressed. I was not impressive at all by my own standards, but it goes to show how a little basic knowledge and experience improvising can go a long way in the right situation. Playing unknown stuff isn't necessarily intimidating, but it depends on the complexity and past familiarity with improv.

 

[mrcbass]

Preparation is my strength, so, like OP, I don't like it when that happens. I'm not afraid of it and will try to roll with it with a "remember, you asked for it" type of disclaimer. I have a good enough ear that I can pick most songs up by the second or third verse. Parts will be pretty basic, but by the end of the song, I'll have the form figured out.

IMO, there are only two valid reasons for doing this at an audition:
- Some bands will simply wing a song they've never worked out because it was requested and want to see how you handle it.
- They just want to see how you manage surprises and unexpected situations.

The good news, is that your prepared audition was good enough that they want to keep you around longer.

The other good news is that this is so easy to practice: jam to music that you don't know (I use Pandora because it is somewhat random within a genre). I do this when I want to just have fun on the bass. Not only does it get your ear working well, you inadvertently become familiar with songs you didn't already know. The more songs you are familiar with, the fewer surprises someone can throw at you.

 

[Twobass]

I need a little insight with the audition process for joining a band. First, my general view and thought process:

I look at an audition the same way I look at an interview for a job: you have some ideas of what you are getting into (job description), you prepare some material (resume), you perform with the band (interviewer ask questions), then you socialize and see if your personality is cohesive enough with everyone else. This might be over more than one meeting, but you get the idea.

I pride myself on being prepared for auditions, and I generally learn everything by ear and notate it out, note for note. Later on after getting the feel for the song I might change things up and interprete it in my own way. I will learn the songs that are given to me for the audition, and that's that.

Now here is my pet peeve. Without fail, most auditions I've had and ones I've participated in when auditioning other musicians, inevitably leads to this scenario: we play the tunes, and it goes smoothly. After covering all the audition songs, the bandleader suggests "hey, let's do these tunes." Or, "hey, do you know these other tunes? No? Okay, well let's jam through them. You'll pick them up." Okay, guy. So, you asked me to learn songs for the audition, and now you just expect me to fumble my way through some tunes I don't know? Oh yeah, this is a great use of everyone's time.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm often inclined to respond with "why don't I just learn these other tunes at home on my own time [because I value people's time], come back and then play them? That way they sound better, and we don't waste anyone's time."

On the other hand, I understand maybe they want to see how someone does when they are put on the spot and are forced to improvise. I don't feel like this is as good of an approach when you are playing cover songs, since fumbling through something doesn't do the song justice. I really try to avoid the "jam" crowd of players that don't prepare for gigs and just show up thinking they can "play by ear" and just embrace mediocrity.

Am I in the minority in this situation? How many of you have experienced this, and what was your response?

I have to note that also, I have learned from this and have taken the initiative to learn 2 - 3 songs from the band's repertoire that they don't suggest for the audition, expecting this scenario above to occur.

It happens all the time, I will try to play the song if it's not too hard. This happened recently, a band wanted me to try Brady by Looking Glass and I told them that's a song you don't wing it.