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Audition question re: holding your ground.

Depth_Charge

Depth_Charge

Sep 13, 2006
4,143
182
Perth, Western Australia
#1
I auditioned for a group last week, playing covers in the original keys. I played note for note off the recordings and sounded fine practicing with them at home. 2 songs were covers I'd gigged week in and out for over a year.

Come the audition, someone wasn't hitting the right notes along the way and I'm confident it wasn't me. After the song, I asked what key I should be in and it was the key I was in, so no dice there.

When I mentioned I wasn't sure what happened there then, the guitarist smiled at me and said good job, lets move on.

Same thing happened on the next. I was in the right key, playing note for note and the guitar was drifting off and notes were clashing. This was a busy song so it really stuck out and I found myself worrying whether I'm right to hold my ground and let the clashes continue or should I chase the guitarist around to keep it sounding nice for an audition?

My gut tells me to hold my ground, but TB's got a much more experienced gut than mine :)
 
#2
If the guitarist did play those bad notes on purpose in your audition, I wouldn't want to be in that band.

If the guitarist played wrong notes by accident in two cover songs he selected for your audition, I wouldn't want to be in that band.

But I think you're right to play the songs like they should be played. If everyone would start drifting because 1 guitarist played sketchy, who knows where it would end.
 
#3
i guess auditions go both ways ... they audition you as much as you audition them.

when i audition someone, i make sure that i'm on my top-game (meaning, i run through the songs 3 days before and one day before the audition).

and yes, i've not accept a band invite before because i wasn't happy with the drummer and guitarist (it was an extreme metal band, and in that audition, i thought the blast beats and guitar frequencies were played in bad taste).
 
#6
I have had this happen before. Some guitarist's will not play the song the right way wont use the proper chord a major where a minor goes etc. If you know you are in the right key and playing the song right and they are not playing the song properly and you are?, that is something I can't deal with. Unless they can show me a good reason for doing so like making the cover "twisted " a bit etc... I cant do it. I have played with some who couldnt play the songs chord progressions right and have moved on, others who would sware they were playing a song right when it was wrong.

Thats a tuff one and If you want to sound good I would pass on this band.
 
#8
Depth_Charge said:
My gut tells me to hold my ground, but TB's got a much more experienced gut than mine :)
Click to expand...

If you were playing these songs faithfully, note-for-note like the original, and someone else is not, experience tells me you will continue to have this struggle on your hands if you join this band. You will either find yourself in agitation, chasing someone around and playing the song incorrectly, or, worse case, open conflict.

Unfortunately, you can't really address the problem at this stage. You're the new guy, and that would be ballsy, arrogant, and offensive.

My gut says take a pass, move on to the next audition.

You were auditioning them as well. In my opinion, they failed.
 
#12
Agreed with others. Sounds like you and the guitarists are either at different levels of ability or at minimum, apply differing standards as to what constitutes adequately "covering" a song.

FWIW, this squares with my past experiences in various cover bands, i.e., the guitarists giving themselves far more latitude in "interpreting" the songs than the rhythm section players, who tend to do a lot more homework relative to the recorded version and are more diligent about reproducing it.

Nothing you did or said at the audition was out of line, IMO, but it's pretty clear this band isn't a good fit for you and you need to tie-in to a situation where the bar is set somewhat higher.
 
#13
Since you said you've played the songs with other bands for a year, I'm going to add the possibility that your other band has been playing them wrong. Not saying that IS the case, but it could very well be. When playing along with music in the house it's easy to play things wrong and not notice it, if you're accustomed to playing and hearing it a certain way in a band. I like to think of myself as having a pretty good ear, yet there are times I learned songs in a hurry, played them countless times at gigs, and then heard the song years later and thought, "dang. what was I playing there, and why didn't I hear that when I first learned the song."

Also, if there are two guitars in a song, and one guitarist in a band, sometimes the guitarists choice of what they're playing can make things sound really off. Especially if you're used to hearing the songs played in another band.

Regardless of any of that, I'd have wanted to know what was up and would have asked the see what the guitarist was playing. I wouldn't have asked if I were in the right key or not. That would imply I'm not sure what I'm doing. If I was sure what I was doing I'd want more to know what HE was doing.

What songs ware sounding strange? It might help for us to know.

And finally, the guy might just have not had a clue what he was doing, in which case if you're certain you do know what you're doing, then I'd just move on and not give it any more concern.
 
#16
Depth_Charge said:
I auditioned for a group last week, playing covers in the original keys. I played note for note off the recordings and sounded fine practicing with them at home. 2 songs were covers I'd gigged week in and out for over a year.

Come the audition, someone wasn't hitting the right notes along the way and I'm confident it wasn't me. After the song, I asked what key I should be in and it was the key I was in, so no dice there.

When I mentioned I wasn't sure what happened there then, the guitarist smiled at me and said good job, lets move on.

Same thing happened on the next. I was in the right key, playing note for note and the guitar was drifting off and notes were clashing. This was a busy song so it really stuck out and I found myself worrying whether I'm right to hold my ground and let the clashes continue or should I chase the guitarist around to keep it sounding nice for an audition?

My gut tells me to hold my ground, but TB's got a much more experienced gut than mine :)
Click to expand...

The part where you said something after the first song and the guitarist smiles and says "good job" makes it sound like it was intentional. Perhaps they were trying to test you and see if you have a good ear, which it sounds like you do. Whether or not that is a good practice for auditioning potential employees I cannot say.
 
#17
MatticusMania said:
The part where you said something after the first song and the guitarist smiles and says "good job" makes it sound like it was intentional. Perhaps they were trying to test you and see if you have a good ear, which it sounds like you do. Whether or not that is a good practice for auditioning potential employees I cannot say.
Click to expand...

I agree with this.

OR maybe he actually messed up or got lazy (twice in two songs) and just shrugged it off like no big deal.
I'd actually prefer to be in a band with someone like this who doesn't dwell on mistakes (his own, or other band members), BUT I think the band should know the songs you're auditioning good enough they could be played backwards or forwards. Doesn't really constitute a "fair" audition.

not really sure I'd be joining that band in either case...
 
#18
Yeah, I interpreted the "smile" as more like a "sheepish grin" indicating guitarist knew he was playing the song wrong.

As for whether it was intentional or the guitarist is just unskilled/lazy: I wouldn't want to risk chasing away a good player by intentionally trying to throw him off and creating doubt in his mind.

My instinct says guitarist has limitations and knows it.
 
#20
The simple answer is to always hold your ground. The band needs to play to the rhythm section, not the other way around.

I am currently in a band in which the drummer sometimes loses his head and follows the guitar player, who has a less than perfect sense of timing. The result? No groove. Don't drop the ball just because another band member does.

And yes, the guitar player may be testing you to see if you can actually hold it down. Maybe he wants to hire a solid rhythm player who will lead the band, rather than following mistakes. If this is the case, he's an idiot and is going about it the wrong way.

If you like the band, give it a shot and see if he screws up next practice too. If so, call him out (politely) or walk. If you are not excited to be part of the band, then walk. Simple as that.
 

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