Just wow! (audition content)

[electracoyote]

Last guy who sat in with us had this same kind of tiny rig - little Fender Pro junior and a Tele - and proceeded to teach us all a lesson in how necessary big amps and effects units are. In short, not at all.

A Fender Pro Jr. is 15 tube watts through a 1X10. I play these types of amps. I can pin my drummer's and bass player's ears back with them. Incredibly loud for their size.

If the amp in the OP is a 20 solid state watt 1X8 Fender Mustang (or similar) as mentioned, it's a practice/bedroom/small studio amp that would have a hard time keeping up with a toddler banging two pie pans together, let alone a full-on drummer and bass player.

Among other things, auditions are about showing you can bring the right gear for the situation. This candidate failed in that respect as well. I guess everyone could have just played really, really quiet for him while he dazzled them with everything except the material he was asked to prepare. But I'm still flying another red flag on gear preparedness.

There sure is a lot of sympathy for this poor, poor guitar player on this thread, so I'll give you a last thought and I'm on to other things: I'll speculate that there is a possibility he's an amazing musician, could dazzle your socks off, could easily learn the band's material so he knows it in his sleep, and has great gear appropriate for this project. But, for whatever reason, he just wasn't in a mood to show it to the band during the audition specifically scheduled so he could show it to the band.

And the end result is the same - no one really knows anything about this guitar player in a scenario that was designed to learn more about him, and few bands and BL's would roll the dice on this guy. He made himself a wildcard. Some (including me) might have handled the audition differently out of some misplaced sense of guilt or sympathy or something, but I don't fault the BL for dismissing him one bit.

 

[LBS-bass]

Just so we're clear, I have zero sympathy for the guitar player. If he actually was an amazing guitarist, he probably has plenty of better opportunities. If he was an addled has-been with a touch of dementia, which is what it sounds like it also could be, well, maybe he deserves sympathy for a different reason.

I have more sympathy for the OP because he will never really know which was true, since the guy never got to play.

 

[buldog5151bass]

The lack of effects and the small amp doesn't necessarily bother me - are we talking a practice $100 amp, or a small tube amp? A Princeton Reverb is 12-15 watts. But not preparing the songs is a deal breaker for me. Even if the guy were an ace player, the fact that he couldn't be bothered to prep for an audition tells you what his attitude would be if he were in the band. As soon as I heard that, I would have politely asked him to leave.

 

[ZAR14]

I guess just to indicate that he wasn't a very young person who you might expect to have appeared so unprofessional. We're an older band (47-60), so no ageism or anything like that - I just expect a little more professionalism from a seasoned person. And I wanted to avoid feedback based on assumption of youth (that I would have made) from the folks here.

But instead you gave your post the feel that the guy was "Old", lazy and Incompetent...At least that's the vibe I got

 

[mrcbass]

But instead you gave your post the feel that the guy was "Old", lazy and Incompetent...At least that's the vibe I got

Not really the picture I was intending to paint. Yes he's old (so am I). I don't know where lazy or incompetent came from - he was just not prepared and gave us no iota of confidence that he was a good fit for us. I guess I could sum it up by stating he just presented an awful first impression.

 

[turf3]

Well, about "preparing the songs":

In the world outside heavily-rehearsed cover bands that duplicate the record, people get thrown tunes and solos all the time without having purposely rehearsed them.

If you're talking about the Bad Company tune, I think any competent guitar player over 50 has heard this thing so many times they could play it convincingly without having specially prepared it. It's a really basic tune.

I re-read the original post and while it's true the guy might well have been a has-been-never-was, it's also possible that he was a highly competent experienced player who didn't feel he needed to spend hours in the woodshed to prepare tunes of basic structure that he's heard thousands of times, even if he hasn't played them.

 

[mrcbass]

Well, about "preparing the songs":

In the world outside heavily-rehearsed cover bands that duplicate the record, people get thrown tunes and solos all the time without having purposely rehearsed them.

If you're talking about the Bad Company tune, I think any competent guitar player over 50 has heard this thing so many times they could play it convincingly without having specially prepared it. It's a really basic tune.

I re-read the original post and while it's true the guy might well have been a has-been-never-was, it's also possible that he was a highly competent experienced player who didn't feel he needed to spend hours in the woodshed to prepare tunes of basic structure that he's heard thousands of times, even if he hasn't played them.

Agreed. But he didn't present himself in that way. Regardless of how good he might have been, he presented as a bit of a dawdling old fool that didn't seem to understand why he was there.

 

[gln1955]

Well, about "preparing the songs":

In the world outside heavily-rehearsed cover bands that duplicate the record, people get thrown tunes and solos all the time without having purposely rehearsed them.

If you're talking about the Bad Company tune, I think any competent guitar player over 50 has heard this thing so many times they could play it convincingly without having specially prepared it. It's a really basic tune.

I re-read the original post and while it's true the guy might well have been a has-been-never-was, it's also possible that he was a highly competent experienced player who didn't feel he needed to spend hours in the woodshed to prepare tunes of basic structure that he's heard thousands of times, even if he hasn't played them.

But he didn't know the first song on the list THAT HE WAS SENT. This would be my biggest problem with him. He didn't bother to spend a few seconds to even check the list of songd he was gonna be expected to play, so he's unprepared. I don't blame the BL for having no tolerance for that crap.

 

[Bass Viking]

This thread highlights something I’ve been saying for a while now: both parties (band and person auditioning) should have videos/recordings showcasing their playing and provide them BEFORE the audition takes place.

 

[Eilif]

I find this sort of unpreparedness unsurprising.

Never experienced anyone quite so unprepared that it wasn't worth playing a note, but I'm well acquainted with folks showing up for an audition and thinking that for some reason they didn't need to arrive prepared.

Showing him the door was the right choice. There's no way someone who shows up that unprepared for an audition can be expected to miraculously be entirely prepared for rehearsal, gigs, etc..

 

[LBS-bass]

Agreed. But he didn't present himself in that way. Regardless of how good he might have been, he presented as a bit of a dawdling old fool that didn't seem to understand why he was there.

I know of at least two guys in this town who might be doing auditions and both of them could have presented that way. One of them is really brilliant, could play anything you throw at him, and kind of shy, and the other one is more of the early dementia type. Two sides of that same coin. I'm sort of curious, though it would be a long shot and a huge coincidence if it were actually either one of those guys

 

[Space Pickle]

alternate tuning was to the when you told him

what

indeed, my good man

 

[40Hz]

what

indeed, my good man

yikes!

fixed.

did an edit earlier and forgot to save it.

 

[QORC]

You did the right thing. You give a set list to someone to audition with. You give them 3 weeks notice. They show up and they are completely unprepared? that's a sign.

I too have had my audition adventures. Haven't we all?

1. 10 years ago, I was encouraged to put together a u2 tribute. Sound and look were important. Especially for whoever is going to do Bono and The Edge. I found a guy with a goatee and with stocking cap looked like the Edge and played well. Had someone contact me to try-out as the singer. Assured me he could do the 4 songs we asked him to learn. 4! all hits. He shows up, he's a young Indian guy (well there goes the look part), doesn't know the songs but is holding lyrics sheets in front of his face, and of course, doesn't sound like Bono. Couldn't even come close to hitting the notes. it didn't last long. Of course "Pride in the Name of Love" is one of the songs. if you can't hit the chorus, why bother? When he did the chorus it sounded like geese being slaughtered

2. My audition with a band. 6 cover songs. I learned them. I show up and it doesn't seem like this "established" band knows the songs. I did the 6, said I had elsewhere to go and excused myself.

 

[mrcbass]

I know of at least two guys in this town who might be doing auditions and both of them could have presented that way. One of them is really brilliant, could play anything you throw at him, and kind of shy, and the other one is more of the early dementia type. Two sides of that same coin. I'm sort of curious, though it would be a long shot and a huge coincidence if it were actually either one of those guys

The first guy you describe sounds like the guy that is subbing for us (Michael AKA Rusty). The second guy sounds like our poor auditioner fellow (Don). Could be coincidence, could be the guys, don't know.

 

[El Thumpo]

A number of us seem to have seized upon the possibility that the person was secretly possessed of enormous chops, and that OP's band was wrong to turn him away before playing a note.

I say: wrong. The bottom line? He was given a specific list of songs. He was given three weeks to become familiar with them. He never bothered to do so.

All the business about amp size and alternate tunings? Beside the point. Speculation that he could have played the songs anyway? Also beside the point.

What matters is being on the same page (which, in this case, is literally a page, in the form of the playlist). Let's say the Secret Chop Monster scenario is correct, and the guy's "I'll fake it" equals a good off-the-cuff performance. So what? Most bands don't specialize in off-the-cuff performances. Most bands--the ones worth showing up to see, I've found--consist of band members who listen to each other, who develop a shared musical vision, who contribute their musicianship to something that's greater than the sum of its parts. He failed the "listening" part before he showed up.

Would you want to have that kind of approach, that attitude, baked into the day-to-day existence of your band? I wouldn't, no matter how objectively "good" a player they are. Might as well go full mercenary, and hire subs for every role and every gig.

On the face of it, the guy was either contemptuous or clueless. If he was a chop monster, his ignorance of the playlist was contemptuous, and unprofessional. If he wasn't, his cluelessness has the same result. Seems to me the BL was doing his job when he said thank you very much.

 

[LBS-bass]

The first guy you describe sounds like the guy that is subbing for us (Michael AKA Rusty). The second guy sounds like our poor auditioner fellow (Don). Could be coincidence, could be the guys, don't know.

Not the same guys, thank goodness. Sounds like you may have dodged a bullet. I know there are far more of the latter around than the former.

 

[sqlb3rn]

Sounds like it ended up being a big waste of time for everyone involved. Hopefully someone at least learned something.

 

[crguti]

Too much cockiness from just a cover band.

 

[murph7489]

. 10 years ago, I was encouraged to put together a u2 tribute. Sound and look were important. Especially for whoever is going to do Bono and The Edge. I found a guy with a goatee and with stocking cap looked like the Edge and played well. Had someone contact me to try-out as the singer. Assured me he could do the 4 songs we asked him to learn. 4! all hits. He shows up, he's a young Indian guy (well there goes the look part), doesn't know the songs but is holding lyrics sheets in front of his face, and of course, doesn't sound like Bono. Couldn't even come close to hitting the notes. it didn't last long. Of course "Pride in the Name of Love" is one of the songs. if you can't hit the chorus, why bother? When he did the chorus it sounded like geese being slaughtered

ha ha...this actually made me laugh out loud especially the end..cracked me up..
When I auditioned for my current band I was given a list of about 25 songs I learned them played with the band..went well I didn't know I was auditioning..I thought I was just in the band..lol..so they give me another list of about 15 - 20 more songs..and we rehearse the next week. We played house is a rockin' they said you can play way faster than the other bass player..then they ask me to go outside. So did thinking what the hell??...they were inside taking a vote on weather or not to have me in the band..They bring me back in and say, well we want you in our band if you wanna play with us...I said, that's good cause I already thought I was in the band..lol

edit / Ps...
This band is easily the best band I've been in and everyone has a lot of experience, very professsional. Tonight at a gig the drummer said to me. man its so good to have you in this band. You are solid, you are dead on everytime..so consistent. I took that as a high compliment because I serve the music, I'm not there to be Geddy Lee or Chris Squire or Jaco, etc..I play the parts as they are written and try to be consistently on my game..