Audition Videos

[Bass Viking]

As I read the Band Management forum it has become clear to me that many of the issues I see could be avoided if people had videos of their playing. If you're a musician looking for a band or vice versa a video demo can save time and aggravation for both parties. I wonder why more people don't do this. These days anyone can post a cellphone video on YouTube so there's no excuse not to.

There is much hype in the music scene. People who talk a good game may turn out to be mediocre hacks. You really don't know until you hear them.

I have posted this recommendation numerous times and feel it deserves it's own thread. Thanks for reading!

 

[ArtechnikA]

Most of the CL ads I see want video clips.
At least 50% have no samples of their own.

 

[Renaissance]

I always ask if they have video or something online I can check out. Success rate is about 50% or less. SMH!

 

[LBS-bass]

Start ups won't have video because they aren't yet a band. You can request video of whoever's posting the ad but even if that person has ability you never know who else you're going to end up auditioning with.

I agree that many issues can be resolved before schlepping equipment out to an audition. The problem is that if your video audition material is good, every crappy band is going to ask you to come out, and there aren't always good ways to know if you're going to be wasting your own time. But yes, we should all have that material available, even if it's just a decent play-along.

 

[Bass Viking]

Start ups won't have video because they aren't yet a band. You can request video of whoever's posting the ad but even if that person has ability you never know who else you're going to end up auditioning with.

Yeah, I thought about the startup thing. I suppose having a video of one person is better than nothing. If they're any good hopefully they're only interested in working with competent musicians.

I agree that many issues can be resolved before schlepping equipment out to an audition. The problem is that if your video audition material is good, every crappy band is going to ask you to come out, and there aren't always good ways to know if you're going to be wasting your own time. But yes, we should all have that material available, even if it's just a decent play-along.

You're right about the crappy bands. They'll try to latch onto someone out of their league.

I'm not saying videos are the be-all-end-all solution but they can definitely help.

 

[LBS-bass]

Yeah, I thought about the startup thing. I suppose having a video of one person is better than nothing. If they're any good hopefully they're only interested in working with competent musicians.



You're right about the crappy bands. They'll try to latch onto someone out of their league.

I'm not saying videos are the be-all-end-all solution but they can definitely help.

It's better than nothing. There are potential pitfalls all over the place but I think everyone should be able to produce a video for someone if they're asked. There's little excuse for not being able to do so in this day and age.

 

[mrcbass]

It's a tricky slope. Sure, in a perfect storm, we'd all have decent promotional video of our selves or our band. Fact is not everyone does or will pay for this.

Unless it's a startup, the band really should have some video clips that they use for their own promotion. There's really no reason that they couldn't put together a rehearsal video, but if you don't have a drummer for example, you're not gong to present well. Bit of a catch 22.

And for personal video, it's a matter of did I get lucky enough to get any feature time in some random person's band video? Usually not for me. I put together a video clip of some of my previous band's shows so I have something that shows me playing with a band in a live setting. It's really not very good, but when a band insists on a video sample, I have something to send. The videos themselves are fairly crappy and my presence in them is even worse (there's a couple clips where I'm hidden behind a PA speaker.) It's really not even worth the bother, because I've never been invited to an audition when they required a video. I'm not a photogenic type of person; I'm not quick to smile and it looks absolutely fake when I have to pretend to look happy. The idea of intentionally posing in front of a camera to promote myself just pains me and I never come off well.
For me:
- Let me come jam with you typically = you won't be sorry. You may select someone else, I'll at least be considered.
- Sending a video = don't waste my time. (kind of like on line dating )

One of my bands is looking for a KB player. We had interest from someone who had some videos of his band and they were not great. It wasn't awful, but it was basically a 1/2 step above garage band quality. We didn't ask for video, I just went snooping. In this case, the guy already has a strike against him before he even shows up. Maybe it was a couple of bad gigs, but it is certainly bad judgement to have this material out there for people to find.

So promotional videos are a bit like harmonies: bad is worse than none.


When I'm considering auditioning for a band, I do as much research as I can to see what their product is but unless I just get creep vibes from the communication process, I won't not go just because they have no video presence. Part of the fun of the music business is the discovery of new people and personalities. It's also part of the hell.

 

[SoCal80s]

For my cover band, I always ask for videos or audio recordings when I put up a CL ad. Anyone who does not send one is not considered because it says a lot about their commitment and experience (if you have no videos then you haven't been playing out, and if you can't take 10-20 minutes to make one with your phone then how committed are you?). To the ones who call and want to chat first, I say, "great, send me a video, it should just take 10 minutes with your phone." "OK, I will." And I never hear back from them, which is fine by me.

Whenever I've answered an ad I make a video playing one of their songs. Maybe that's actually cost me some auditions, but it also saved me from wasting some time.

 

[ArtechnikA]

At the start of the C0VID shutdown, my Willie tribute had already made plans to record some in-studio demo video tracks, because there were no live performance opportunities anyway. They looked good for being a bunch of guys standing around in a room and sounded great. If you know anything about Willie Nelson, you know that he's front and center and everybody else is there to make Willie sound good.

Recently responded to a "Modern Country" CL ad and sent one of the Willie demo tracks. Guy writes back "This won't work, we jump around a lot onstage." OKfine, but that's a sure way to lose a Willie tribute band slot...

 

[two fingers]

It's better than nothing. There are potential pitfalls all over the place but I think everyone should be able to produce a video for someone if they're asked. There's little excuse for not being able to do so in this day and age.

And if you can't do it, simply ask the nearest 8 year old. They'll make you a video, edit it, and post it before you can say "Kids are lazy these days."

 

[mrcbass]

At the start of the C0VID shutdown, my Willie tribute had already made plans to record some in-studio demo video tracks, because there were no live performance opportunities anyway. They looked good for being a bunch of guys standing around in a room and sounded great. If you know anything about Willie Nelson, you know that he's front and center and everybody else is there to make Willie sound good.

Recently responded to a "Modern Country" CL ad and sent one of the Willie demo tracks. Guy writes back "This won't work, we jump around a lot onstage." OKfine, but that's a sure way to lose a Willie tribute band slot...

And thus, one of the problems of random group videos. You don't get to see how the person interacts in your environment and with your people. Based on one video, people will jump to: "That guy is wearing a yellow shirt. He must ALWAYS wear a yellow shirt and that won't work in my band." Of course these people are idiots and I wouldn't want to be in a band with them anyway, but it's easy for someone (even somewhat reasonable) to dismiss quality people if the video just doesn't hit them right.

 

[LBS-bass]

And if you can't do it, simply ask the nearest 8 year old. They'll make you a video, edit it, and post it before you can say "Kids are lazy these days."

Truth! For my own stuff, I just sat in my studio and made a play-along video with the camera and microphone on my computer. It showed people that I could play, which is all they wanted to see. Later on I had performance ones too, but the play-alongs are still the one that get the most attention, because I chose somewhat challenging material.

 

[Bass Viking]

And for personal video, it's a matter of did I get lucky enough to get any feature time in some random person's band video? Usually not for me. I put together a video clip of some of my previous band's shows so I have something that shows me playing with a band in a live setting. It's really not very good, but when a band insists on a video sample, I have something to send. The videos themselves are fairly crappy and my presence in them is even worse (there's a couple clips where I'm hidden behind a PA speaker.)

It doesn't have to be a group video. A play-along with just you and your instrument is fine.

I'm not a photogenic type of person; I'm not quick to smile and it looks absolutely fake when I have to pretend to look happy. The idea of intentionally posing in front of a camera to promote myself just pains me and I never come off well.

I have a lot of play-along videos and I look like a sourpuss! It's not that I'm miserable, I'm just concentrating. I like to wear some kind of costume that fits the song, even if it's just a hat. I uploaded a video of me playing "Party" by Boston while wearing a lampshade on my head.

 

[Bass Viking]

For my cover band, I always ask for videos or audio recordings when I put up a CL ad. Anyone who does not send one is not considered because it says a lot about their commitment and experience (if you have no videos then you haven't been playing out, and if you can't take 10-20 minutes to make one with your phone then how committed are you?).

This reminds me of a Talkbass thread from a few years ago. It wasn't an audition situation but there are parallels. Somebody ordered a non-returnable bass from Kiesel. This person was unhappy with the sound and claimed it was defective. A video or sound clip could have provided clarification but when asked to provide one they got belligerent and defensive. The fact that they wouldn't back up their statements looked suspicious and cast doubt on their claims.

 

[landrybass]

I just sent a CL ad some videos for a band I may be interested in just last night. They're not too relevant to the band and they're not the best of my abilities but glad I had something!

 

[LBS-bass]

This reminds me of a Talkbass thread from a few years ago. It wasn't an audition situation but there are parallels. Somebody ordered a non-returnable bass from Kiesel. This person was unhappy with the sound and claimed it was defective. A video or sound clip could have provided clarification but when asked to provide one they got belligerent and defensive. The fact that they wouldn't back up their statements looked suspicious and cast doubt on their claims.

I remember that thread. The OP kept saying it was defective but couldn't really say what was wrong with it. It apparently just didn't match up with his ideas of what it should sound like.

He bought it as a non-returnable closeout deal but he wanted to return it anyway and was unhappy that the world doesn't work like that.

 

[LBS-bass]

I just sent a CL ad some videos for a band I may be interested in just last night. They're not too relevant to the band and they're not the best of my abilities but glad I had something!

Most people legit just want to know that you can play well enough to fit with what they're doing. I've never been told that my audition video material isn't suitable to the genre of the band. They're just weeding out people who think they can play but can't.

 

[Bass Viking]

I remember that thread. The OP kept saying it was defective but couldn't really say what was wrong with it. It apparently just didn't match up with his ideas of what it should sound like.

He bought it as a non-returnable closeout deal but he wanted to return it anyway and was unhappy that the world doesn't work like that.

Yup, that's the one. The bass was quite expensive, around 2 grand. The time to decide you don't agree with the return policy is BEFORE you purchase it.

 

[El Güero]

Two or three months ago I answered a cl ad for a bass player for an "established band." The guy I emailed (dude1) replied and said I should contact a different band member (dude2), and gave me his email address. I wondered why cl directed me to dude1 if he was going to re-direct me to dude2. So I emailed dude2 and requested a song list. Meanwhile I searched their band name on the net and the last evidence of activity I found on this "established band" was from 2009, and appeared to be some sort of chicken joint. A couple of days later dude2 wanted me to send him a video of me playing bass before he would send me a set list. Last week I noticed that they're still looking for a bass player.

 

[Bass Viking]

Two or three months ago I answered a cl ad for a bass player for an "established band." The guy I emailed (dude1) replied and said I should contact a different band member (dude2), and gave me his email address. I wondered why cl directed me to dude1 if he was going to re-direct me to dude2. So I emailed dude2 and requested a song list. Meanwhile I searched their band name on the net and the last evidence of activity I found on this "established band" was from 2009, and appeared to be some sort of chicken joint. A couple of days later dude2 wanted me to send him a video of me playing bass before he would send me a set list. Last week I noticed that they're still looking for a bass player.

Sounds sketchy!