Thinking about moving to the other side

[LBS-bass]

So is your audition with the four songs today? Please let us know how it goes. I'm interested.

Yes, it's this afternoon. I'm doing my last round of practice now, trying to see how many harmonies I can toss in comfortably for good measure. The harmonies tend to clinch it when it's a situation where they're desirable but not asked for, but they have two singers already so I'm not sure which parts I'd need to sing. I'll let you all know how it goes when I get home

 

[LBS-bass]

Well this went about the same way they always go. Within the first five measures came the first missed change and I knew at that point that I knew the arrangements better than they did, which is a bad sign. They weren't horrible, but they were average, with some potential. The female singer has a great voice and her harmonies were done well, even though she said she struggles with those. The male singer could use some work. He's a little pitchy but more concerning was that he didn't seem to know the melodies well and his voice was not strong at all.

The guitar player and drummer were okay; not the best drummer I work with here by any stretch, but he was acceptable for this material and he played pretty well. There's another guitarist who wasn't playing, but was there. There's a keyboard player who also wasn't playing because of a wrist injury, but he was there. The guitarist didn't know his parts too well so it's hard to know how good this ensemble will sound when they're well rehearsed, and the fact that they weren't able to bring the full ensemble to the table means that they didn't understand an audition goes both ways. And that's the thing. They're not really "together" in the sense that they're really just forming, and I'm not looking for a startup. This would have had to have been stellar for me to consider a startup, and it wasn't.

That being said, the guitar player says he has connections from a previous band he was in which does quite well, and I believe him. But that's not where I'm looking to go right now, so I realized after the first few measures that I'm likely going to decline.

After that, I just relaxed and had fun. They're nice people and I had a good time jamming with them, played a tune that wasn't on the list from a chart, and drank a beer. But it was just a fun afternoon playing some music.

They seemed to like me and what I brought in but, smartly, said they needed to talk before they came to a decision. I told them that I had a few possibilities in the works and needed to work through all of that before I made my own decision. But my decision is really already made. I'm going to keep looking.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Always a big red flag for me when people don't know their parts. I know I'm not a virtuoso musician, but if you tell me to learn a song (or a dozen), I will have them ready for rehearsal.

 

[LBS-bass]

Always a big red flag for me when people don't know their parts. I know I'm not a virtuoso musician, but if you tell me to learn a song (or a dozen), I will have them ready for rehearsal.

Exactly. Everyone needs to bring their A game to rehearsal. I recognize that not everyone has time to practice the way I practice beforehand, which is fine for them, but at this point it's just another red flag that we're not on the same page as far as music as a passion vs. a hobby.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Exactly. Everyone needs to bring their A game to rehearsal. I recognize that not everyone has time to practice the way I practice beforehand, which is fine for them, but at this point it's just another red flag that we're not on the same page as far as music as a passion vs. a hobby.

THEY called the tunes for YOUR audition. In that situation, I would assume they know the tunes. Lack of preparation is one of two things (along with excessive volume) that I just will not put up with no matter what.

I will say, playing with a top drummer is the best thing. I don't know how "ok" he/she was.

 

[P_Robyn]

Your report is very interesting! It's not what I was hoping for you, but it's pretty much what I was expecting to hear.... As long as there was no long-distance travel involved, at least you had a good time for an afternoon. I have had similar experiences over the past three years or so. One time the drummer was really top-notch but I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach his attitude when the guitarist wanted to play a slow blues and the drummer disparagingly called it 'gay music'. One time another drummer spent 45 minutes trying to find the shorted wire in his electronic drum kit while the other three of us forged ahead without him.... The singer has a pretty good voice but it's soon obvious that she doesn't get the right phrasing or doesn't feel the right place to come in....

Don't get discouraged!!! Keep trying!!! Sooner or later it will happen, and hopefully you'll enjoy the journey!!!

 

[LBS-bass]

THEY called the tunes for YOUR audition. In that situation, I would assume they know the tunes. Lack of preparation is one of two things (along with excessive volume) that I just will not put up with no matter what.

I will say, playing with a top drummer is the best thing. I don't know how "ok" he/she was.

Yep. I'm spoiled. The two drummers I work with the most here are both top notch. Both have toured with well-known acts and one can be seen playing at one of the Woodstock shows if you look up that band's videos there. And they're both nice guys. It's hard to compete with those guys so I try to be generous when evaluating.

This guy was keeping good tempo and playing good fills, not overplaying, and playing correct beats. He wasn't great, but he wasn't horrible. He just wasn't these other two guys.

 

[LBS-bass]

Your report is very interesting! It's not what I was hoping for you, but it's pretty much what I was expecting to hear.... As long as there was no long-distance travel involved, at least you had a good time for an afternoon. I have had similar experiences over the past three years or so. One time the drummer was really top-notch but I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach his attitude when the guitarist wanted to play a slow blues and the drummer disparagingly called it 'gay music'. One time another drummer spent 45 minutes trying to find the shorted wire in his electronic drum kit while the other three of us forged ahead without him.... The singer has a pretty good voice but it's soon obvious that she doesn't get the right phrasing or doesn't feel the right place to come in....

Don't get discouraged!!! Keep trying!!! Sooner or later it will happen, and hopefully you'll enjoy the journey!!!

Yep, it's what I was expecting, too. I always have hope, and sometimes it's well rewarded, but the odds are never in my favor

 

[buldog5151bass]

Took me over a year to find the primary band I am playing with. Don't settle.

 

[LBS-bass]

Took me over a year to find the primary band I am playing with. Don't settle.

I don't plan to. I'm on a mission right now to find something that will meet all my criteria as an exceptionally good band that has steady work. I know they are hard to come by and I know that they are out there and eventually this will happen!

 

[buldog5151bass]

I'm in two bands (along with some such work), both with exceptional drummers. One is a rock band, playing good covers (Steely Dan, Abbey Road medley, etc), and gigging on a fairly regular basis. The other is a jazz band - tough to get gigs playing the music we want to play, so we gig occasionally, and play together weekly, challenging ourselves as much as we can (since I'm not a Jazz guy, it's even more of a challenge for me).

 

[LBS-bass]

Oh, I forgot the best part. I emailed the BL at 7:30 this morning to ask him what I should bring. Never heard back from him, so I put everything in my car (combo amp, mic, stand, cables, etc.) and headed out.

Turns out there was an amp there, A Workingman combo that was EQ'd way too bassy for my B string, and it crapped out about halfway through the audition. So I had to bring in my combo and set it up for the rest of the thing. No problem, but if that guy had responded to my email I probably wouldn't have had it with me.

 

[LBS-bass]

I'm in two bands (along with some such work), both with exceptional drummers. One is a rock band, playing good covers (Steely Dan, Abbey Road medley, etc), and gigging on a fairly regular basis. The other is a jazz band - tough to get gigs playing the music we want to play, so we gig occasionally, and play together weekly, challenging ourselves as much as we can (since I'm not a Jazz guy, it's even more of a challenge for me).

I would love to once again be in a band that could handle Steely Dan covers. Used to do quite a few of them way back in the day.

The first band I joined here (with Woodstock drummer) actually used to do the Abbey Road medley but we cut it when our keyboard player quit.

 

[Jeff Scott]

...they didn't understand an audition goes both ways.

Yeah, way too many musicians don't get that, sadly.

Sorry your audition didn't work (seems like, for the best, in the long run).

The past couple of weeks I had been learning songs for an audition with a duo that wanted to expand to a full band. We'd been e-mailing back and forth for info, etc., but the last one I got from the singer made me realize I was wasting my time. I said "thanks, but no thanks".

 

[LBS-bass]

Yeah, way too many musicians don't get that, sadly.

Sorry your audition didn't work (seems like, for the best, in the long run).

The past couple of weeks I had been learning songs for an audition with a duo that wanted to expand to a full band. We'd been e-mailing back and forth for info, etc., but the last one I got from the singer made me realize I was wasting my time. I said "thanks, but no thanks".

I "liked" this for acknowledgement, but don't really like it. I get it, though. Best not to waste your time once you realize that is what it will be.

 

[mrcbass]

This is always the goal. Since I just started playing out again a couple of years ago, and I have no track record as a player here, I've had to keep moving forward in order to network with various players. The first band I joined had four players; two of us are people with flexible work hours who have played many pro-level shows and made our livings in music in the past. Both he and I take on other band commitments. The other two have serious day jobs and that limits what they can do. That band has gone about as far as it can go with its limitations, but I've met a lot of other players in this town as a result.

My newer originals band is comprised of some serious professionals who have toured in the past with bands whose names I know you would recognize. Our singer has been building a following over the past decade in the Bay Area with her cover band and is now stepping out on her own with her first album. We're writing the second album with her now. I believe this band has a ton of potential, everyone in that band puts music first and works their work commitments, if they have them, around music.

But all of this still leaves me without a gig on most weekends, so it seems like moving toward a working band to fill in the cracks and alleviate some financial pressure will be worth it. Everyone I work with in music knows that I always throw multiple projects onto my plate because I understand that few of them will stick with me over the long term. That's been true so far.

Honestly, this type of situation would be perfect for my needs : gigging cover band that keeps me on stage and a promising originals project that challenges me and has a real shot at getting regular stage time as well. I have fun working out originals, but the problem is that they can't become part of my portable catalog - stuff I can play with my "next" band.

 

[LBS-bass]

Honestly, this type of situation would be perfect for my needs : gigging cover band that keeps me on stage and a promising originals project that challenges me and has a real shot at getting regular stage time as well. I have fun working out originals, but the problem is that they can't become part of my portable catalog - stuff I can play with my "next" band.

Yep, that's a problem I have as well. I spend a lot of time learning or relearning new stuff because we don't play out enough and when we do we want to bring something new to the table. But the songs we learn don't usually get added into a regular rotation. The originals bands I'm currently in both need cover material to flesh out a night because we don't have enough originals for that. So we might have a show that's two sets, polish up seven extra songs for that, and not play those new songs again for three months or more because our next two shows are just one set of originals only.

In the meantime, I just want to be out there playing some music somewhere but the time I spend doing that takes away from the time I can spend in income-producing activities, unless i'm getting paid to do the music. So it's really just a practical matter at that point to want to do the cover gig. It replaces the other things I do for a living and keeps my chops up.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I "liked" this for acknowledgement, but don't really like it.

To me, another definition of a "Like" is the acknowledgement and understanding of what the poster was relaying to their audience. So, I get you what you said.

 

[redwingxix]

Good luck with the hunt. You'll find it, I'm sure. In the meantime just enjoy getting to play with new people and you never know what might come from a new contact.

 

[LBS-bass]

Good luck with the hunt. You'll find it, I'm sure. In the meantime just enjoy getting to play with new people and you never know what might come from a new contact.

I might have something new in the works. Not sure how lucrative it might be but I met a friend yesterday for coffee who is recently retired. He's a very good jazz/swing guitarist and he wants to play. So I'm assembling a bunch of players I already know to do a jazz/swing sort of thing with him. Critical instrumentalists are all available to rehearse during the day. At least with this I will know that the bar is fairly high in terms of ability, and I know that we'll have fun.