Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Craigslist Best and Worst Thread
- Thread starter Helix
- Start date
Folks often abbreviated it as CL, which I translate as "Clown List"
Most recently, I've gone to three drummer auditions for this guy who's trying to pu something together. We're old guys, so we should be past the ClownList stage of life. First drummer, however, shatters this fantasy. He's nearly 60; sets up an electronic kit, is having a little trouble with some parts. We make small talk during setup; seems he likes heavy metal / thrash music. Mmmkay. This is a jazz/prog/pop gig, but mmkay. He's been playing drums since his teens. Groovy. Then we start playing.
I cannot overstate this enough here: in the 40+ years he'd been playing drums, never once did he learn what they even do. With most experienced but difficult drummers you have problems like poor meter, limited chops, bad rolls and narrow focus; but again I cannot overstate enough that this man had absolutely no idea what drums do in any way and thought he could land a jazz and prog gig. Do you know when your buddy's drunk late teens girlfriend gets behind a drumset for the first time?...or maybe their four year old children? It was worse than that. I lost my temper and yelled "CAN YOU PLEASE PLAY A BEAT!? I NEED YOU TO PLAY A BEAT! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHAT BEAT IT IS, AS LONG AS IT IS A BEAT!" Meanwhile guitarist is trying to be nice by saying everything sounds great. Not productive.
The next one brought a huge kit, set ut up while telling us who he's been.playingnwith locally- all good players; some pro. Two song attempts in he reveals that he's never played with a bass player. Three songs in it's obvious that he hasn't played with any of these people; only been in a room with them at the same time.
Third time: good drummer! We're trying to get a project started ourselves! Yay! Unfortunately audition was trainwrecked by a tone deaf "pro" sax player. Dude was whining about Mick Fleetwood stonewalling him from letting him play in Mick's restaurant; a few measures in it became obvious why.
Most recently, I've gone to three drummer auditions for this guy who's trying to pu something together. We're old guys, so we should be past the ClownList stage of life. First drummer, however, shatters this fantasy. He's nearly 60; sets up an electronic kit, is having a little trouble with some parts. We make small talk during setup; seems he likes heavy metal / thrash music. Mmmkay. This is a jazz/prog/pop gig, but mmkay. He's been playing drums since his teens. Groovy. Then we start playing.
I cannot overstate this enough here: in the 40+ years he'd been playing drums, never once did he learn what they even do. With most experienced but difficult drummers you have problems like poor meter, limited chops, bad rolls and narrow focus; but again I cannot overstate enough that this man had absolutely no idea what drums do in any way and thought he could land a jazz and prog gig. Do you know when your buddy's drunk late teens girlfriend gets behind a drumset for the first time?...or maybe their four year old children? It was worse than that. I lost my temper and yelled "CAN YOU PLEASE PLAY A BEAT!? I NEED YOU TO PLAY A BEAT! I DON'T EVEN CARE WHAT BEAT IT IS, AS LONG AS IT IS A BEAT!" Meanwhile guitarist is trying to be nice by saying everything sounds great. Not productive.
The next one brought a huge kit, set ut up while telling us who he's been.playingnwith locally- all good players; some pro. Two song attempts in he reveals that he's never played with a bass player. Three songs in it's obvious that he hasn't played with any of these people; only been in a room with them at the same time.
Third time: good drummer! We're trying to get a project started ourselves! Yay! Unfortunately audition was trainwrecked by a tone deaf "pro" sax player. Dude was whining about Mick Fleetwood stonewalling him from letting him play in Mick's restaurant; a few measures in it became obvious why.
I've been playing in a band with friends since I started playing about 16 years ago (in my early 40s), so I have only used Craigslist on two occasions -- and both of them turned out great. About 10 years ago I had the opportunity to live on the Left Coast for a year, and when I got out there I placed an ad looking for players to hook up with while I was in town. This led to several different opportunities that were great fun, and I still count some of those people among my best friends. About 3 years later, back here at home, I started itching for a second project so I could get out and play more, and I answered a Craigslist ad looking for a bass player. I met the guy and his girlfriend who had placed the add and we hit if off. I don't know how many girlfriends (of his) I've gone through now in the last 7 years, but I'm still playing with him (and some other good guys) every week. In fact, I'll be headed to his house in a couple of hours for practice tonight!
Given all the horror stories I read here at TB, I guess I've been pretty damn lucky!
Given all the horror stories I read here at TB, I guess I've been pretty damn lucky!
