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Filling In

T

tlwaps

Feb 13, 2006
466
2
Ohio
#1
So the not-so-egomaniac guitarist from my old called me this past Monday afternoon and asked me if I would fill in on bass for his new band for a gig this Saturday. I told him i'd do it and went up and jammed with them that night; I wound up learning 2 songs. Well, now I have to learn at least 3 more by Saturday night and the only other practice we're having is tonight at 5. I have the first 2 songs down well enough to get through the gig but i'm not sure if i'll have enough time to get the other 3 down well enough to get through the gig. The good thing is they'll understand if I suck on Saturday or if I miss parts or whatever since I had 2 practices with them and 4 days to learn their set list; which isn't much but all the guitar parts are real intricate (All That Remains, Lamb Of God type stuff).

Anything like this happen to anybody else? It's frustrating for me because I want to make them sound good and I want to sound good as well.
 
#2
Can they not schedule another rehearsal?. It's their gig and they'll want it to sound right as well. If not, how about getting together with the Guitard/Keyboard player on his own to go over the parts you're not sure of. If you ask them, I'm sure they'd be happy to oblige if they see you're not ready for the gig, if they're not prepared to do this then if it all comes crashing down on Saturday night - you'll know who to blame!!!.

Who's doing who a favour here?
 
#3
Study as much as you can, do your best, stay sober and keep on your toes.

Try to schedule another rehearsal if you think you need it.

That's all you can do. Its tough to remember a whole nights worth of tunes when you're filling in.

I listen to the tunes in the car on the way to work, while at work. I can't remember all the song structures, so I try to absorb subconsciously. Try to know all the various parts so if you miss a transition you get back on track fast.

Randy
 
#4
tlwaps said:
Anything like this happen to anybody else? It's frustrating for me because I want to make them sound good and I want to sound good as well.
Click to expand...

All the time. If I wanted the gig bad enough (and was qualified), I would prepare so that I could do it. And then I would just do it. How much does it pay?
 
#6
I'm doing them a favor. Luckily the guitarist tabbed out the other 2 songs that I need to work on and they have them recorded. The set list is 5 songs and when I left practice last night I had the first 3 down relatively well.

They don't really care how it sounds and they know that I only had a few days to work with all their music. Plus they know that if they give me any s*** I wont hesitate to go back home. All they want to do saturday is "Get drunk, get high and play metal."
 
#7
tlwaps said:
...the guitarist tabbed out the other 2 songs that I need to work on and they have them recorded.
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IMO, the tabs/recordings are the key to your playing well on Sat. Don't stop practicing until the gig. I suggest you get them to tab/record the songs you've already learned so you can review them as well.


Good luck.
 
#9
Sadly i'm not being paid money just food and beer; which can be as good as money depending on who you ask. I've been practicing relentlessly, taking a little break now. My fingers hurt, my shoulder hurts from my Warwick, my back's starting to hurt from standing. Only had a sandwich to eat all day.

Regardless of how they care about sounding, I want to make sure I sound as decent as possible. I still want to put on a good show both musically as well as performing (headbanging, jumping around like an idiot...etc). After the gig saturday night, which is a free gig with free parking, all ages, byob, byof...etc, i'll do another update and let everybody know how it went.
 
#11
Opportunities like this are great for building your chops. They know (or should know) the deal and what they're getting. Do your best and let the chips fall where they may. I've been subbing a lot lately, and ALWAYS get a call back for a subsequent gig. No rehearsals whatsoever, either. I was never perfect, but never bad, either. Your "ear" will become much better and you'll be a better player for it.
 
#12
chart the songs so you have a visual memory, get the stuff in you ipod, listen and sing along, and visualize the changes, practice as time allows, and be loud and confident even if its wrong, a little harmonic tension never hurt.

Rock it, your doing them a favor but your next gig may very well come from this one: be the hard playing hired gun, not the shy sub.

Drink after to celebrate or drown the boo boo's
 
#13
So I just got back from the gig and it went alright. I completely forgot one song, we only rehearsed it once at practice and they didn't have it recorded, then they decided to play 2 more songs that I had never even heard before. They were happy with it and what I was able to do in a short time and want me to come play for them full time. Another band that played tonight asked me to fill in for them, I said I would but I didn't know any of their songs and the only thing I would be able to do is "rock an open C" for them.

All in all it was fun. I wish I would have had more time to prepare but it wasn't bad.
 
#18
two fingers said:
I do last-minute fill in gigs all the time. Only you can jack the number of songs WAY up. 35 or 40 for most shows. Kind of keeps you on your toes, doesn't it?
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Yep, I've done this a few times, no set-list before hand a couple times. They're usually 3-4 chord songs that you can guess the chord progression, but it's still fun. It helps when you know some of the cover "standard" bass lines, like Brown Eyed Girl, Joker, Brick House, etc...
 
#19
All of this material was originals that I had to write bass lines to. The drummers girlfriend took pictures of the band playing live, but they were all pictures of him. I'm still a little sore from the gig, I forgot just how much it took to act like an idiot on stage.
 
#20
This is one of those cases where owning a recorder like a Zoom H2 or H4 would come in really handy. If you had the chance to record the rehearsals, you'd be set to prep on your own for the remaining time. And you wouldn't have to depend on whether the band has any of their material recorded in advance.
 

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