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Do you Google potential band members?

#21
I googled myself and came up with a number of different people with the same name.
Someone is there on Facebook, a few in Linkedin, all kinds of places. People could have all kinds of information about a person they THINK is me, but it's not me.
 
#24
jive1 said:
Just curious to see if you folks google people who you are auditioning to be potential bandmates.

I usually do to verify any claims, and to see if there are other things I can find that might have an affect on the band, such as an arrest record. I know I've been googled prior to an audition as well.
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Never done it. But... ...I can see rationale for doing it. In the cases of people I'm currently playing with, I either knew them as people before knowing them as bandmates, and in the case of one band, I was personally recommended to a band. Maybe they googled me. But it does seem like a good idea to do some due diligence, somehow. And there's the flipside, which is that there some people I know, and I wouldn't play in a band with them.
 
#26
That was a waste of time. Nothing of interest on me, but some painter has the same name I do. Some interesting work, I might be able to use that to my favor.

Edit: as per the topic, I never have because I don't much care, but I am also not a professional player with financial interest involved when it comes to bandmates. When you have something serious at stake it seems silly not to google and otherwise background check a potential band or hire. Don't think companies don't do it to you when they recieve a resume.
 
#29
Getting back to the original question, I rarely play with people I know nothing about anymore. If I have never seen them before, it's almost a certainty we have a mutual musical acquaintance, otherwise we would not have been in the same social setting. If I were forming a band from scratch, I probably wouldn't have to cast a net among total strangers. It's a networking thing.
 
#31
A radio DJ in my local scene writes reviews for a website and a state-wide monthly newspaper. If I'm checking out potential bandmates or bands, I definitely go through his archives to read reviews, look at pictures, etc. I like to know as much information as I can before getting involved with a new bandmate or a new project. I don't see it as stalking; I see it as making an informed decision. I also ask other musicians, sound engineers, etc. about projects and musicians if I'm considering getting involved with them. A ended up not auditioning for a band a few months ago after I contacted a friend whom I trust regarding the drummer. My friend had played in a band for a short time with the drummer. My friend's a pretty straight-up guy and wouldn't just bash someone because of a difference of philosophy. I found out the drummer was full of drummer, was always drunk, and was a deadbeat. I didn't bother auditioning.

I'd hope that a band looking to audition me would do some research. It's not because of my ego; it's because it shows the band cares about the strategic decisions that it makes.
 
#32
Yes I do, and I know they've done it to me. It's how I found out that I was auditioning for "real" musicians as opposed to some "wank in the garage" types.

It's also how we learned that the quiet, well-spoken guitarist we were going to audition turned out to be a white supremacist...
:eek:
 
#34
Funny you should mention google. Another local cover band just fired their long time (20 years in the business) drummer. Another band picked him up quite quickly because he is an awesome musician. I punched his name into google to see if he had a facebook/myspace page and the first thing that come up was this guy is a registered sex offender for molesting kids. I now know why the first band fired him because word got out and he was costing them gigs however the 2nd band apparently did not do their research.
 
#35
Edward G. said:
It's one way to gauge how big a splash you make, especially if you work a lot.
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I send a list of my most current giging experience, venues and dates, gear list and recent video clips of live performances.

I don't give a lot of information to bands including my full name until I get an offer.

I think my record would show nothing other than I have been divorced a lot. But thats also most musicians I know.
 
#39
mboogiemanusa said:
Funny you should mention google. Another local cover band just fired their long time (20 years in the business) drummer. Another band picked him up quite quickly because he is an awesome musician. I punched his name into google to see if he had a facebook/myspace page and the first thing that come up was this guy is a registered sex offender for molesting kids. I now know why the first band fired him because word got out and he was costing them gigs however the 2nd band apparently did not do their research.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you didn't learn that he was a sex offender from his Facebook or MySpace. That's just dumb if he announced it on there. :D
 
#40
Before you freak out on a person because their name shows up in the sex offender database, ASK them about it..... keep in mind that if you pee by the side of the road because its 30 miles to the next stop and you can't make it, the police can get you for indecent exposure...and if a bus of kids goes by while he's standing there heyyy look, children are involved! Viola, sex offender! No joke either. Oh, and if your ex girlfriend claims you broke in the window and tried to rape her, even though she actually threw you through the window and that's why all the glass is on the outside instead of the inside... and the big city police are just too busy to do any indepth investigating..you're now a sex offender. Both of the above happened to people I know.

Not defending the real sex offenders at all, but that information isn't always complete.

Now, if they show up as DUI's all over the place while you're researching....unless they've gone straight for a long period of time I'd ferget em. Finding a last minute drummer because yours is in jail from the night before is a bit nerve wracking.

I've got no problem with anyone googling me......although one of the results claims I'm an attorney (ha) and another says I live in england (haha). And ya, I would research a stranger bandmate (or a prospective band) online...I'd just take the results with a grain of salt. I've seen misinformation on the net really mess up some lives.
 

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