So this happened...

[BooDoggie]

I'm missing something - why did you go to this audition? Was there something that wasn't mentioned that got you wanting to get back in a band enough to go?

It was at the request of an old friend that I had talked to recently. I had told him I was looking for guys to come over to my studio since I really miss playing with other musicians.

 

[BooDoggie]

And yep - Gimme Three Steps on fretless is fun!

It really was actually...

 

[juancaminos]

Good bye!

 

[BooDoggie]

Sorry guys and or gals... As I was reading through this thread I got a call from an old and dear friend that I have been in many bands with over the years. He is one of the greatest front-man/singer/lead guitarist I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He just told me that he will be lucky to live another month due to a recurrence of a very aggressive form of cancer. Suddenly this topic no longer seems important...

 

[John Stephen]

I am very sorry to hear that. Sounds like you are lucky to have him as a friend, and he you.

 

[LBS-bass]

No count and everyone just dropping into the song randomly is garage band amateur stuff, yet they expect a note-for-note bass performance.

Arguably worse, perhaps, is the band I just quit where every single song had to have a count in, including the songs that were started by just the guitar. The BL insisted on it. I'm sorry, but when I hear a count, I'm coming in on the one. I don't want some piker counting in their own solo intro.

BL said he was trying to get them to think about tempo before playing. Fine. Count that stuff in your head. Your band is not so special that you have to deviate from all the conventions and expect us to follow suit.

 

[LBS-bass]

Sorry guys and or gals... As I was reading through this thread I got a call from an old and dear friend that I have been in many bands with over the years. He is one of the greatest front-man/singer/lead guitarist I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He just told me that he will be lucky to live another month due to a recurrence of a very aggressive form of cancer. Suddenly this topic no longer seems important...

So sorry, didn't see this before I posted my response above. That's really sad news .

 

[GretschWretch]

Sorry guys and or gals... As I was reading through this thread I got a call from an old and dear friend that I have been in many bands with over the years. He is one of the greatest front-man/singer/lead guitarist I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He just told me that he will be lucky to live another month due to a recurrence of a very aggressive form of cancer. Suddenly this topic no longer seems important...

Oh! This is rough, and it sounds like no remissions can be expected. In which case, be there for your friend, regret the loss, and cherish the memories.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

I would have immediately packed my bass & left.

 

[SixtyCycleHum]

Hey fellow TB'ers. just thought I would share what has to be the craziest experience that I have been involved in in many years.

Last week I got a call from a guy that says that they are trying to put together a classic rock covers band and are looking for a bass player. I told the guy I haven't played bass with a group in nearly 20 years, and for the last 15 years all I have been doing is writing my own music. He had heard great things about me from a friend of his that knew me almost 40 years ago when I was in a three piece band that played classic rock covers.

I told the guy that I only own a fretless bass now, and that I don't even have an amp. He says no problem. He says he has an amp I can use and a bass I can play. The guy sends me a list of 6 tunes they have on their set list the day before the scheduled "audition". My only source to even refresh my memory on these songs is YouTube. Many of these I could not really hear the bass parts well enough to work out some of the details... Some of them I had played before, but it was 40 years ago.

So I drive thirty minutes to this Guys place. Good thing I brought along my fretless because the bass he has is a cheap Chinese copy of a Fender p bass. And not even a good copy. But, I plugged in my fretless and started trying to play along to some of these old tunes. Have you ever tried to play "Gimme Three Steps" on a fretless?

They have no singer there. The guitar player had a bad attitude because I didn't know the songs that they sent me note for note. We were crammed into a small 10x16 foot portable building in this guys back yard that was so full of junk that there was no room to move around at all.

The guitar player says "well it's obvious that you know how to play", but he was upset with me not knowing the material. They didn't even count in to start a song. Even when I asked what key a song was in he would just start playing instead of telling me the key.The guy on the guitar would just start playing and then the drummer would start banging away at the drums. It was up to me to catch up and try to play along. After 30 minutes the guitar player shut off his amp and started unplugging cords. I said "well i guess we're done then?" Then the drummer hands me a list of 28 songs and says learn these and then give me a call and we'll see if we can set up another jam. I think he's going to be waiting a long time for that call...

You made the right move. That situation is very broken.

 

[IamGroot]

IMO, this was everybody's fault.

They knew the situation, yet decided to push through anyhow. They gave you the list with not enough time to learn it. You went into the audition without a bass or completely knowing the material.

Everybody just wastes everybody's time like that.

Had everyone waited a week or 2, and you gotten your hands on a bass that you knew was playable somehow - this would have turned out much differently.

What he said.

There is a lot of unprofessioanl stuff going on by those guys, but you showed up and weren't ready which is A BIG NO NO. I hope you wont make that mistake again.

I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
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I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
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will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
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will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.

 

[Space Pickle]

IMO, this was everybody's fault.

They knew the situation, yet decided to push through anyhow. They gave you the list with not enough time to learn it. You went into the audition without a bass or completely knowing the material.

Everybody just wastes everybody's time like that.

Had everyone waited a week or 2, and you gotten your hands on a bass that you knew was playable somehow - this would have turned out much differently.

joe would you please put the swimming pool music video back in your signature

would like hear that song again plz

 

[bassliner50]

You don't want that.

 

[jamro217]

Amateur hour.

 

[lfmn16]

Those guys were definitely Richard Craniums, BUT, this is why I don’t go on auditions without screening first. One of the questions I always ask is how close to the original do they expect me to play. If you haven’t asked some very basic questions, you shouldn’t be wasting your time.

 

[SemiDriven]

Have you ever tried to play "Gimme Three Steps" on a fretless?

Oh that's funny!

Glad you had fun with it!

 

[Gustopher]

I have played Gimme Three Steps on a fretless! For a few shows I only played a fretless in my classic rock cover band, it typically worked great… but it was a pbass fretless with almost no mwah. Back to your actual topic; Sounds like they were not ready for anything.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Somewhat of a derail here,but when did covering a song note for note become a thing? Looking back on my long and paisleyed musical past I cannot think of a single situation in which I was required to learn a bass part note for note with the recording. Just nailing the important notes and maintaining the spirit of the song was enough. Even with open mics where often I had to play songs I had never heard, I got the rep of being able to craft suitable bass parts on the fly. The only really notable exception that comes to mind is the Police's "Message in a Bottle." Not my kind of music, and I got massacred on that.

I'm right there with you except I love to play message in a bottle. Instead of the very simple one note per chord line he plays I came up with something that sounds much better and it's easy to play. It's not much but it fits the song nicely and complements what the drummer is doing. Actually had a female vocalist who sang it so I just had to pay attention to what I was playing. Was fun!

The only thing where I really see folks try to play note for note though is actually in the tribute bands where they are trying to sound exactly like the group they are doing the "tribute" to.

 

[LBS-bass]

I will always be ready for auditions.
I will always be ready for auditions.

For idiots who want me to know every single note in just a few days?

Nope.

 

[LBS-bass]

message in a bottle

This is a super easy song when you know it, but the main line isn't intuitive, and I can see how it would mess someone up without any work on it first. It's also really fast so if you're already not quite sure, the changes could pass you by in a hurry!

 

[40Hz]

The guitar player had a bad attitude because I didn't know the songs that they sent me note for note.

Yeah right!<eyeroll>

That alone would have been the kiss of death all by itself even if they didn’t come across as being total posers.

They’re out there folks! Sharing our world and breathing our air.