Audition tips?

[THUNDERGODX]

That would be, for me, the audition where, for some reason, we're sitting around not getting anything done, while one guy (who's wearing long sleeves in the middle of July) seems to be getting more and more anxious and agitated, until a friend comes by, they go off into another room, for a few minutes, the friend leaves, and the guy with the long sleeves comes back, very calm and glassy eyed. OK, let's play.....

Pay attention to the other folks at the audition. Some you may not want to hang around with, for one reason or another.

Excellent advice!!

I have mentally cancelled my enthusiasm before based on various cues from behavior and ""Look".
Not personal appearance as much as "look."
You know what I mean.

 

[Michael B]

Despite the advice above, I didn't fire the drummer. But they did. I have a friend auditioning for drums. Fingers crossed it works out for him. Awesome to have someone you know on drums.

 

[meycom]

Another thing to consider: don't get too locked in on your fretboard. Make plenty of eye contact with the other musicians, especially the drummer, and stay in the pocket.

I second this... this is something that a lot of players forget, it's human nature if you get nervous
to lock in to your fretboard. It's a facet that makes a good impression..

 

[MynameisMe]

Use the force!

 

[Michael B]

1st gig went well.

Cheers, Michael B

A Band Unknown - July 4th 2019 Live!

 

[BatBasstard]

I wanted to say thank you for this thread: It helped me nail an audition last night.

 

[mstillman]

One thing that came to mind, and this is better suited for a "do I join or not" list: If there's chat time at the audition, ask what the band members do for work. Specifically, if they travel much.

If more than one person does a lot of travel, it can be a logistical nightmare to schedule rehearsals and gigs.

This can be mitigated to some extent if everyone knows the difference between practice and rehearsal, and prepares as such.

But if you're deciding between 2 bands, OTBE...

 

[TreySonagras]

The good player gets the gig.
The nice person gets asked back for a second gig.

 

[steveksux]

“Stay in touch”? What? No, man. If they don’t pick you, you are long down the road to the next opportunity. What would that look like anyway? “Hey dude, I auditioned for your band a month ago. Just wanted to see if your new guy is working out. He is? Oh cool. Well uh like check you later.” OMG.

Absolutely get contact numbers to stay in touch. I was in one band, auditioned a keyboard player, was able to pull him into another band later. He pulled me into the current band when they were looking for a bass player. All because we liked each other's playing at an audition that didn't work out and kept in touch.

Music business is about networking. Much easier to get good gigs when others who might be in good situations seek you out instead of cold calling bands advertising on Craigslist. Most openings are filled by word of mouth, and they only go the Craigslist ad route as an absolute last resort when they can't find anyone available that someone in the band already knows and can vouch for. Mainly because you end up having to wade through a bunch of posers that answer Craigslist ads, most are a waste of time. Better to go with who you know.

Randy