Band auditions and first impressions

[Thunderthumbs73]

Do first impressions, (when auditioning new band members), matter to you? Say someone shows up with a "cheap" instrument, amp. or with a weird hair do, does that tend to influence you and the other members of the band? I suppose if you are audtioning for a band that does serious corporate gigs, then a certain amount of "style" may well be a pre-requisite, but for other genres, inclusive of jazz, is there a certain "image" that you should have, particularly on stage?

Has anyone had experiences with people turing up where ou thought (based on first appeareance) "Uhm...this will be interesting!"

Inspired by this, I recently saw again:

Let people audition their musical skills and show their musical preparation (or the lack of it). Everything else will fall in line after that.

 

[bassbrad]

Auditions are 2 way streets I'm looking to see if the music interests me, the players are up to snuff and if it will be a good hang. I can't count the number of auditions that were fails to me but they still were after me to play.

 

[Nuisance]

Arrives to audition 10 minutes late. Nope.
Says he'll learn 8 songs but only learned 4. Nope.
Gets drunk/high before, during, or after audition. Nope.
Seems argumentive. Nope.
Doesn't have any chops. Nope
Gives off weird vibes. Nope.
Is in more than two other bands. Nope
Smells or has grooming issues. Nope


What I don't care about:
They gear they play if they play well.
The clothes they wear.

 

[Low Down Brown]

It's tough sometimes to make that call accurately. The best musician I've ever known and been in numerous bands with showed up to the first practice for a jazz group wearing a Cannibal Corpse shirt and jeans while rocking a pawn shop Schecter 7-string guitar and matching pawn shop 80's Peavey amp. He then proceeded to completely slay every song the BL called, which included a couple Wes Montgomery songs and just for fun, he decided to take off on an Al DiMeola jam just for giggles while we were chatting. He's a beast musically and cleans up well depending on what the gig calls for. I would have never gotten to know him and make such awesome music with him if I had written him off that first night.
The flip side to that though is that you can't give EVERYONE that benefit of the doubt. Discretion is important, and even then you're likely going to end up with more than a few duds.

 

[micguy]

I had a gig recently where the drummer was...very young, and looked even younger. I consciously avoided looking at him for a couple songs, because I wanted to form an opinion of his musical skills, not the way he looked. Turns out he's well beyond his years in ability.

As to turning up and seeing "cheap" gear - that doesn't phase me in the least - the kid with the entry level Squier may be able to blow your doors off with his ability - don't worry about what his or her gear looks like.

That said, I showed up for an audition once where I set up my gear, and they we waited...for something. The very nervous guitarist's "friend" showed up, they went into a different room, and he came out - very calm and glassy eyed. He had long sleeves on, in the middle of summer. At the end of the audition, I packed up my stuff, and made sure I had everything before I drove off. They offered me the position a couple days later, I politely said no. Some first impressions you need to pay attention to.

 

[KenSmithFan]

My old band auditioned a new guitarist once. Dude showed up with his own car, his own gear, understood how to set up his pedalboard for good tone. He wasn't dressed like a slob, just dressed "normal" in jeans and a T shirt. He showed up on time, wasn't intoxicated, didn't smell bad, was newly married and easy to get along with.

The best part? He had looked up our songs online and learned like four of them without us even asking him to do so. Nobody had to tell him to do his homework, guy understood the assignment. After we played those songs, we just jammed with him for a while to see how good he was improvising, and just like that, he was in. We're all still friends to this day.

That's how you make a good first impression.

Reminds me of an audition I did where I learned 6 or 7 of the band's originals based on the list the guitarist sent me. We played a couple of tunes and they asked what else I knew so I mentioned one of the originals. "We haven't played that one in a long time." Mentioned another. Same response. We hit on a couple more, then I mentioned another original. Same response. The drummer stood up and said, "GD it. The man shows up and knows our own songs and we don't even know them. That's just embarrassing!"

I had a great run with that band. The best band I was ever in by far. The drummer and I were practically glued together. People commented at every gig about how tight the band was. The drummer had a health issue and he was so integral to the band's sound and image, no one wanted to replace him.

 

[Micha84]

Do first impressions, (when auditioning new band members), matter to you?

Absolutely. I am not going to dismiss someone at first sight, but will have an uphill battle ahead of themselves when the first impression isn't at least okay.
Giving a decent first impression really isn't all that hard. The desire to present oneself well is kind of by definition what an audition is all about. So if someones manages to screw that up right at the beginning, that is not a good sign at all.

 

[oldcatfish]

As long as the gear is playable, I learned a long time ago that you can't judge it by brand/appearance.

I have a friend that's an absolute MONSTER guitar player. He can play pretty much any style on just about any gear. But, he is a cheapskate. He kind of has "anti-GAS." He doesn't spend money on equipment unless he has to. Guitar case has duct tape all over it, he uses a cheap Crate solid state combo amp that he's had for years, and he uses a cheap off-brand guitar. BUT…he knows how to repair most issues himself, and his guitar plays and sounds great—when HE plays it.

He's the only guy I know that has made me think, "Maybe I missed something with these Crate amplifiers. They sound really good." Until I play them, then I go back to them being among my least favorite amps of all time.

 

[Marc valero]

If they message you on Facebook after seeing your performance videos and say they play the drums and would like to get with you, but in their avatar they look like a biker with their middle finger at the camera, it's a NO.

 

[Engle]

I don't care about gear as long as it works without issue and the person doesn't spend a bunch of time messing with it. Looks are not important unless it's a tribute band but things like personal hygiene are absolutely important.

Generally, I'm looking for someone who is a good personality fit, a solid musician, and an organized, reliable person. The last requirement can often (at least partially) be derived from the musician's physical presence so, in that sense, yes, first impressions do matter. If someone shows up late. looks like a mess, or has cables/gear falling out of their gig bag, it's a red flag for sure.

Our keyboard player often shows up with a rat's nest ball of cables! It hurts my brain to see that, but he's a great player and super nice person. I'll eventually get him trained

 

[BrianVengeance]

Talent gets you to the station.
Personality keeps you on the train.
Reliability keeps the train moving.

The last one definitely includes gear.

 

[coyote1]

'Cheap' gear? Don't care. As owner of two Squier instruments, one of which is the best Stratocaster out of the many I have owned/played across the decades, I don't care a whit what brand name is on your gear. I only care that it's reliable for you, and that it sounds good in your hands.

Image? I'll confess that I typically want nothing to do with head tattoos and loads of piercings. Except… if you can play and you're a good person, those things won't bother me a bit.

 

[RomanS]

Playing ability is the most important factor, personal sympathy comes next.

Gear doesn't matter very much - it just needs to be reliable (which even very cheap instruments are today), and if the band is playing a very particular genre (rockabilly, bluegrass, whatever), the looks of the instrument shouldn't be too much at odds with that genre.

Super expensive boutique gear, showing up to an audition with 3 guitars, a pedalboard the size of an airplane carrier - that's stuff that makes me suspicious - that's usually the sign of a bedroom player/wannabe. Real working pros will bring the least amount of gear they can get by with, and they will have stuff that can easily be replaced - so, generic middle of the road, NOT expensive, rare boutique stuff.

 

[mr80htz]

Do first impressions, (when auditioning new band members), matter to you? Say someone shows up with a "cheap" instrument, amp. or with a weird hair do, does that tend to influence you and the other members of the band? I suppose if you are audtioning for a band that does serious corporate gigs, then a certain amount of "style" may well be a pre-requisite, but for other genres, inclusive of jazz, is there a certain "image" that you should have, particularly on stage?

Has anyone had experiences with people turing up where ou thought (based on first appeareance) "Uhm...this will be interesting!"

Inspired by this, I recently saw again:

I've never held auditions but I've been in some...if you don't think first impressions matter in a job interview, well, you would be of the same ilk as most musicians I've been around. Which is why you might be a 'professional ' musician.

 

[Heiwa]

Equipment and clothes don't matter (as long as they're clean), looks don't matter (as long as they've showered and don't smell like cheese and onions).

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Salud!

IN GENERAL, I (and my bands) usually care the most about personal "compatibility". If someone seems "difficult" or you view clouds on the horizon, they can be the best player, that they will not be picked. The times we accepted someone with that kind of reservations ("he/she is something, but he/she CAN play..."), it always ended up bad.

Of course, a certain musical level is required. If you barely can play the parts, it's very difficult you'll make the band better.

I've never seen in my bands any problem with appearance, age, gender... but you always get GREAT stories from auditions. (I've suffered ageism, but it's ok. I understand 30 yo people not wanting a 50+ old guy. Their loss).

Age could definitely be an issue. Under 18 would be an issue getting in to many venues. But as long as they can rank the best Jethro Tull albums up to 1979 correctly, age is not an issue

 

[LowActionHero]

Hendrix didn't own a guitar when he auditioned for the Isley Brothers. Brian May made his own guitar. And I've known guys with a room full of expensive stuff that couldn't play at all.

I try not to let appearances or gear influence me til I hear them play. But I can't help wondering where it's gonna go.

 

[pingvuiini]

Didn't they ask you what bass you'll bring or give you an idea what they expect?

If you are asking me, there's been no discussion about equipment or appearance. Only about what songs to play and the expectation of everyone knowing the songs without having to use any sheet music, notes or iPads, etc.

 

[Topkat13]

I love it when people auditioning know a few impressions…we prefer famous people.

 

[shirojiro]

I never really paid much attention to gear at auditions unless it was really crummy/broken or really fancy.

Funny thing is, the definition of fancy changes with time. In the 90s and 00s, Warwick basses were pretty boutique and expensive compared to other available gear. Now they're not so fancy it seems.

I usually brought pretty low end gear to auditions - nothing broken, but nothing that I'd cry over if the 5 new strangers I met in a sound proof room stole them.