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"Live" audition
- Thread starter Depth_Charge
- Start date
When I responded to the ad, I spoke to the band leader about my experience, his goals for the group and the standard of musicianship he expects. During the conversation, I named a few cover acts I'd played with previously, some he knew of. One group in particualr that I spent close to eighteen months working for had one of his current members in the lineup previoulsy. So the BL knew the credentials of that band and got a feeling I could hit the ground running, hence the invitation.
Then last night, I visited the venue. I met the venue owner and was able to check the backline out. I found out they want Wednesday to be a regular jam night. The band leader is using that jam night as a platform for finalising the lineup for the house band, which I am hoping to be part of.
I often consider myself lucky to have had the experiences I've had musically, given my lack of formal training and my strict penchant for rote memorisation and note for note covers
Sounds good to me. If I where in your shoes I would go for it!
I personally wouldn't worry about pay. One free gig with the possible outcome of a steady weekly gig is a good tradeoff.
Blue..
BAND LEADER
There's an entire field of frontmen... normally extremely good vocalists & instrumentalists. They have a "tiered" listing of people they keep in their phone.
One guy I know plays 400-500 gigs per year (3-4 per day during the summer). He's well aware that he can't keep most band folks to this pace.
His entire career is based around keeping a calendar & address book current.
His gigs would drive most folks nuts as he NEVER uses a setlist... will change genre depending on the gig... sometimes you show up and it's old school R&B... other times it's outlaw country... sometimes it's tejano
I'm called for his weekday & daytime work.
WEBSITE & BOOKING
Going to Godaddy... registering your name... and pointing it to an online calendar takes 5 minutes.... there are calendars that you can restrict delete/edit to authorized users... anyone can add a date. Most of our wives would appreciate being able to use this to block dates. REALLY cuts down on the "dude can you play 2-14?" emails.
Like other have said this depends on other factors. If a band knows you can play and only wants to find out how you groove with the drummer and maybe how well you move on stage, a live audition for a few songs should not cause an audience any undue hardship. In fact, since the alternative to this is to have the whole band get together on an off night for an audition, it is obviously much more efficient to do it at a gig (again, stressing that only if the band already knows the player being auditioned is competent).
Being efficient is one of the hallmarks of a professional.
I have gotten with two really good, professional bands where I made a bunch of $ over the years, through live auditions. The 2-3 songs I played during these gigs did not bother the audience in the least. Since these facts seem to directly dispute your opinion, I'll go on thinking that I'm right. Because I am.
The problem with making sweeping, absolute statements is that you're wrong given a single cotradictory example.
Factor88 and MNAirHead offer and examples and rationale that make these absolute statements wrong.
Sounds good to me. I wouldn't venture much else but to say again, good luck. I hope it works out for you. It seems to me like it has the makings of something that will.
jive1
Commercial User
You know what they say about assuming........
A live audition doesn't mean that you picked someone off the street and plugged them in to do an all-night gig. Usually bands want to sound good, so they will do their research into the person they want to use. Sometimes an audition isn't always about whether or not someone can play. Sometimes they want to check out their stage presence, sometimes they want to see how they can handle a gig, see how prepared they are, see how they fit in with others, etc. Whether or not they can play is just one factor, and most bands that use subs or a live audition know how to determine if someone can play or not.
For the live auditions I did, the guys were comfortable with having me just come and fill in after they talked to me and doing some research to check my credentials. It's not like they had everyone who responded come in and fill-in on an A-List gig. To me it's a win-win, regardless of the outcome. They didn't have to get everyone together for an audition, since they were already at the gig. They didn't have to figure out whether or not I could handle their material in 3 songs, because I did 40+. They got to get a fill-in for a date they needed, and I got a date booked on my calendar. I got paid, regardless of whether they hired me full-time or not. I really got to check out the band to see if it's a fit. If anything, doing this reduces the amount of assumptions because you can see the reality for yourself where the rubber meets the road, which is at a gig.
A live audition doesn't mean that you picked someone off the street and plugged them in to do an all-night gig. Usually bands want to sound good, so they will do their research into the person they want to use. Sometimes an audition isn't always about whether or not someone can play. Sometimes they want to check out their stage presence, sometimes they want to see how they can handle a gig, see how prepared they are, see how they fit in with others, etc. Whether or not they can play is just one factor, and most bands that use subs or a live audition know how to determine if someone can play or not.
For the live auditions I did, the guys were comfortable with having me just come and fill in after they talked to me and doing some research to check my credentials. It's not like they had everyone who responded come in and fill-in on an A-List gig. To me it's a win-win, regardless of the outcome. They didn't have to get everyone together for an audition, since they were already at the gig. They didn't have to figure out whether or not I could handle their material in 3 songs, because I did 40+. They got to get a fill-in for a date they needed, and I got a date booked on my calendar. I got paid, regardless of whether they hired me full-time or not. I really got to check out the band to see if it's a fit. If anything, doing this reduces the amount of assumptions because you can see the reality for yourself where the rubber meets the road, which is at a gig.
Well, that sure was a hoot!
I rocked up early, set my gear up through their backline, jammed with a shaky "original only" drummer, waited on the late drummer*, met the other bass players jamming that night (didn't know to expect them either) as well as a few other "jam regulars" and jammed a bunch of songs we mutually knew, from the list and from memory.
It was really cool jamming with other bass players present...all the gear and band talk etc was fun. One bassist ran his own band and was sporting a Fender Jazz, and the other bassist worked in the bass department of a local music store and sported a Teal Ernie Ball Musicman that sounded sweet
I played as well as I could and was as tight as everyone else. I was the "heaviest" bass player style wise (took most Metallica/ACDC/heavier type covers). But the other guys sure had me on tone, ability and they knew more songs than I did. I doubt I'll get the houseband call but I'd happily return on jam night.
PS - I also scored a feed and a couple drinks. Can't complain about that!!
* the drummer was the drummer I've been jamming with endlessly the past few months with no end in sight!! Neither of us knew we would meet up last night. Pity he "forgot" about the jam and was an hour late. What a laugh
Thanks for all the replies, btw.
I rocked up early, set my gear up through their backline, jammed with a shaky "original only" drummer, waited on the late drummer*, met the other bass players jamming that night (didn't know to expect them either) as well as a few other "jam regulars" and jammed a bunch of songs we mutually knew, from the list and from memory.
It was really cool jamming with other bass players present...all the gear and band talk etc was fun. One bassist ran his own band and was sporting a Fender Jazz, and the other bassist worked in the bass department of a local music store and sported a Teal Ernie Ball Musicman that sounded sweet
I played as well as I could and was as tight as everyone else. I was the "heaviest" bass player style wise (took most Metallica/ACDC/heavier type covers). But the other guys sure had me on tone, ability and they knew more songs than I did. I doubt I'll get the houseband call but I'd happily return on jam night.
PS - I also scored a feed and a couple drinks. Can't complain about that!!
* the drummer was the drummer I've been jamming with endlessly the past few months with no end in sight!! Neither of us knew we would meet up last night. Pity he "forgot" about the jam and was an hour late. What a laugh
Thanks for all the replies, btw.
Actually, I'm pretty small potatoes, but you raise an interesting point. I suspect you're right about subbing / sideman work being associated with high profile gigs within contemporary music such as rock, blues, etc. Especially in our region of the country.
In the jazz world, where I presently reside, low- and high-profile gigs tend to be managed in similar ways. It may be for historical reasons: Back when a dance band meant 19 players, there was no way to manage gigs without dealing with subs and sidemen. Still, even 15 years ago when I started playing in Madison, there was enough work so that a bandleader had to hustle in order to be assured of having a bassist for each gig. I was never at the top of anybody's call lists, but I had my fill of gigs. Today, not so much.
At one point I thought about getting into sideman work on more contemporary stuff. It seems to me that most local bar bands are content to book the gigs that they can manage with a dedicated lineup, and I'm just not good enough on electric bass to get called by the top bands. I could possibly get there with a concerted effort, but I suspect that the travel and setup time for things like festivals and full blown wedding / corporate gigs would be prohibitive for me.
We ain't splitting atoms here fellas, we're playing bass in pop/rock/blues bands.
It I broke my hand and had a gig coming up I know I could call up a guy like Jive (or any number of good bassists around),give him a set list and have no worries that the gig would go on fine. Happens all the time.
I've done "live auditions" before only because the leader trusted the person that recommended me. It turned into a full time fill in situation. Easy money.
It I broke my hand and had a gig coming up I know I could call up a guy like Jive (or any number of good bassists around),give him a set list and have no worries that the gig would go on fine. Happens all the time.
I've done "live auditions" before only because the leader trusted the person that recommended me. It turned into a full time fill in situation. Easy money.
jive1
Commercial User
