Halloween gig horror story

[Downunderwonder]

Get a grip. People who drink only two beers in two hours are conscientious non drinkdrivers who want to be sociable with real drinkers.

Quidproquo, if there's beer about there's boozers about.

 

[Marko 1]

The audition:

They went through a case and a half of beer in about an hour and a half, three of them drinking. I couldn't freaking believe it after I made it so clear that I had no interest in playing with people drinking more than a couple beers in an entire practice session, they managed to drink all this during a very short audition which I decided was over, Next.

Case = 24 beers, 1-½ = 36 total, between three guys, that’s 12 beers each in 90-minutes, or each guy drinking a beer every 7-½ minutes… is my math correct?

When would they have time to play?

Maybe 1-½ twelve-packs?

Were they noticeably intoxicated by the end of this?

How did the audition go otherwise?

 

[stepswork4me]

Case = 24 beers, 1-½ = 36 total, between three guys, that’s 12 beers each in 90-minutes, or each guy drinking a beer every 7-½ minutes… is my math correct?

Not that hard to do if you're a drinker.

 

[Marko 1]

Not that hard to do if you're a drinker.

Yikes...

I can drink a lot (not at gigs or rehearsals), but that’s vodka. The sheer volume of that many beers throws me off.

I don’t see how they’d get through a set on stage without having to go to relieve themselves, haha.

 

[Rocks]

Yikes...

I can drink a lot (not at gigs or rehearsals), but that’s vodka. The sheer volume of that many beers throws me off.

I don’t see how they’d get through a set on stage without having to go to relieve themselves, haha.

They were drinking between each song, I watched mostly the two guitarists since I had a better view of their drinking and each "sip" was about 1/3 of a bottle and many times they would take a fresh beer, open it and by the time they set it down for the next song it was 2/3rd's gone. And yes, they did stop to piss often. Other than that they played well, had good vocals, the one guitarist was a bit of a jerk, the other one didn't say much. Plus, I got there only to find out the three sets of material they said they were looking at doing was being thrown out and replaced by all new music, music I don't know or don't want to play. Some music I have no interest in playing and I just can't see a crowd dancing to it.

Case = 24 beers, 1-½ = 36 total, between three guys, that’s 12 beers each in 90-minutes, or each guy drinking a beer every 7-½ minutes… is my math correct?

When would they have time to play?

Maybe 1-½ twelve-packs?

Were they noticeably intoxicated by the end of this?

How did the audition go otherwise?

I saw three 12 packs come in the door and a 6 pack. The counter top was empty when we started and by the time I had enough it was full of empties. I counted 33 on the counter and looked by the drummer and saw another pile of empties that wasn't there when we started, didn't even bother counting them but would guess is was about 8-10 from a glance.

Like I said above, they played fine, they sang great but didn't want to play any of the music they originally told me we were going to play. They changed the whole direction of the band to music I have no interest in playing and a crowd wouldn't dance to. They are now aspiring to being more of a concert style act rather than a dance band. Most of which is totally out of my style of playing. It would be like trying to get a punk rock bassist to play classical. Not that I am a punk bassist, it was just the best comparison that came to mind.

 

[NWB]

Yikes, that a heap of beer!

Reminds me of an audition I went to awhile back. The drummer downed a bottle of tequila in the course of the one hour audition.

The other guys were pretty cool, but the music was uninteresting and I can't really play with a drunk drummer, so I passed.

Auditions definitely go both ways.

Good luck on getting a good band Rocks. It sounds like you have a professional attitude that should land you a good gig with the right people.

 

[Rocks]

Thanks, I heard a couple days ago that the band imploded. The one guitarist posted something on the bands facebook page that had a lot of swearing at the clubs owner. I mean he really went off and of course when you do that type of post it goes out to everyone on the friends list, there were kids. Not only kids, but clubs we were either planning to get booked at or had already played and wanted to get more bookings.

So in one posting he basically ruined the bands name. I'm really glad I'm out, just need to find a new band.

 

[eSmith]

Sorry to hear about that Rocks. Sounds like a complete waste of time.

Very poor first impression but there are people out there that do it that way and I'm sure they will find a staggering bass player who will love the band.

You are better off to just keep looking.

-eSmith.

 

[Rocks]

I decided to change my tactics. Instead of me saying I don't drink, I'm going to ask what kind of beer the band generally likes. This way I'll get an honest answer right from the beginning. I'll also ask how many beers I should bring, it will give me even more insight as they explain how they drink.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I hope you're joking. ref post at top of page. You'd be effectively slashing your chances of finding a drugfree sober outfit. Your ideal band won't even give you an audition because they'll think you're a beer snob

 

[Wyatt]

I may have missed it, but what happened at the meeting on Friday?

 

[Rocks]

I may have missed it, but what happened at the meeting on Friday?

The band imploded. The one guitarist posted a bunch of swearing at the club owner that ripped us off and of course when you post on facebook it goes out to everyone thats your friend, some were kids, some were clubs we played at and wanted to get booked at again. It got ugly fast. No one even mentioned the snake because they were so pissed about his rant.

 

[eSmith]

See, in the long run I guess it was best to wait it out, At least by the time the meeting came around any thoughts about you were off the radar.

However, you saw the writing on the wall and got a jump on finding a new gig.

Good luck,

-eSmith.

 

[Spinal Tapper]

That's a **** ton of beer! I'm impressed

Wow! I mean, my band drinks at rehearsal, but we usually have about 16 beers between 4 of us in over 3 hours (our drummer doesnt drink), so that's like 4 beers a guy...no biggie. We all have 9-5's and when we rehearse two nights out of the week, we like to definitely let loose. It's fun, and you're supposed to have fun at practice...

But...that...is a TON of beer!

And at an AUDITION of all things?

I guess consider yourself lucky. Things could only get worse from there, I suppose.

Definitely don't ask the band what kind of beer they like at practice (for the next potential audition). This will throw them off. And they'll expect you to show up with it, also might think you're a bigger drinker than them. IMO Stick to your criteria: No drinking. You'll find people to jam with - even if it's church people

 

[NWB]

That's a **** ton of beer! I'm impressed

Wow! I mean, my band drinks at rehearsal, but we usually have about 16 beers between 4 of us in over 3 hours (our drummer doesnt drink), so that's like 4 beers a guy...no biggie. We all have 9-5's and when we rehearse two nights out of the week, we like to definitely let loose. It's fun, and you're supposed to have fun at practice...

But...that...is a TON of beer!

And at an AUDITION of all things?

I guess consider yourself lucky. Things could only get worse from there, I suppose.

Definitely don't ask the band what kind of beer they like at practice (for the next potential audition). This will throw them off. And they'll expect you to show up with it, also might think you're a bigger drinker than them. IMO Stick to your criteria: No drinking. You'll find people to jam with - even if it's church people

I don't think Rocks has any problem with people drinking per se. I think he (rightfully) has a problem with those that DRINK in excessive proportions. Completely toasted bandmates gets very old, very quickly and I think he wants to avoid that.

Let's face it; a lot of musician drink and that's what you can typically expect to some degree or another. It's usually a good bet to stay away from the really heavy-hitters for more reasons than I can post here.

 

[NWB]

The band imploded. The one guitarist posted a bunch of swearing at the club owner that ripped us off and of course when you post on facebook it goes out to everyone thats your friend, some were kids, some were clubs we played at and wanted to get booked at again. It got ugly fast. No one even mentioned the snake because they were so pissed about his rant.

OK, especially now that you're out of it, that's pretty funny.

I mean, faced with such stupidity, all you can do is laugh about it.

 

[kcole4001]

Now that the band's hit the fan, the only thing to do is stay far enough away so that none of it gets splattered on you.

 

[Rocks]

You're exactly right, I drink myself so I don't care if others drink - I only care if they get drunk at practice and gigs.

 

[Wyatt]

The band imploded. The one guitarist posted a bunch of swearing at the club owner that ripped us off and of course when you post on facebook it goes out to everyone thats your friend, some were kids, some were clubs we played at and wanted to get booked at again. It got ugly fast. No one even mentioned the snake because they were so pissed about his rant.

LOL. Ok I saw that post but thought it was the audition band. I hate drama. I'm glad to be with a great group of guys who are just as happy playing music together as we are spending the afternoon fishing in the river.
Best of luck to you. You will find another gig soon.