Last Night's Audition

[bluewine]

I had my first audition for a classic/modern rock cover band last night. I'd spent a week learning the songs and I decided to add a little flavor to some of the more bland ones. Nothing huge just a few fills and pickups. Is this an acceptable practice for being in a cover band? I thought so, but the drummer kept giving me funny looks and now I'm nervous that I may have overstepped some sort of boundary.

Yes, in my opinion it's acceptable to add a few fills and pick ups, however I would be careful about doing that in an audition.

I recommend everyone play it straight for an audition unless you know the band.

When I first joined my band they wanted the bass lines straight and simple and that's what I did.However now that I have been in the band for 7 months I can put my own stamp on the bass lines and it's perfectly cool.

blue

 

[JumboJack]

You might also look at Lopoline cabs. I've got a few of them and love them - killer cabs for the money.

These are 2 custom 1x12's that I use constantly -

Sorry for the threadjack but those look sweet....Did not see much info on their website about bass cabs...

 

[Dark Horse]

Sorry for the threadjack but those look sweet....Did not see much info on their website about bass cabs...

Thanks - basically I had them take one of their existing guitar cab designs and modify it to be a bit deeper so it would have enough space for the speakers to work properly. The rig was affordable, sounds great, and gets nothing but compliments.

 

[Dark Horse]

I would never ever go into an audition and try to play any other way than the way I would play at a gig. Trying to disguise every distinguishing characteristic of your playing style seems like a weak way to get the gig. Imagine your bass idols going into an audition... do you think they would wuss out and try to play it safe, or would they just go in and own it?

Thanks, but I'll take the gigs and money over the "ego". Just my personal thing. If you are auditioning for an existing band or sideman job, the biggest thing is keeping your ego in check and playing what the songs need. If you are forming a band from scratch, it's definitely a different matter, but when I'm hired (I usually do 20+ gigs per month), I play like the artist wants. Sometimes that's "just like the record", and sometimes that's "get the groove and feel and make it your own".

At any rate, I'm off to tonight's gig. (Yes, I have a gig tonight...and tomorrow...and Saturday...and Sunday.... Tuesday... Wednesday... Friday.... Saturday... etc, etc....)

 

[azureblue]

ask Jennifer Batten how she got the gig with Michael Jackson...

 

[Marko 1]

Thanks, but I'll take the gigs and money over the "ego". Just my personal thing. If you are auditioning for an existing band or sideman job, the biggest thing is keeping your ego in check and playing what the songs need. If you are forming a band from scratch, it's definitely a different matter, but when I'm hired (I usually do 20+ gigs per month), I play like the artist wants. Sometimes that's "just like the record", and sometimes that's "get the groove and feel and make it your own".

At any rate, I'm off to tonight's gig. (Yes, I have a gig tonight...and tomorrow...and Saturday...and Sunday.... Tuesday... Wednesday... Friday.... Saturday... etc, etc....)