That was one of the strategies the bandleader and I came up with yesterday - I'm positioning myself on stage to watch his hands, along with listening to which words in the lyrics he finishes singing to start the chord change. I'm glad it isn't a long set list. I think I won't be turned up too loud for the first gig.
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tips for someone going to a gig with poor chops and no exp?
- Thread starter choo5
- Start date
That was one of the strategies the bandleader and I came up with yesterday - I'm positioning myself on stage to watch his hands, along with listening to which words in the lyrics he finishes singing to start the chord change. I'm glad it isn't a long set list. I think I won't be turned up too loud for the first gig.
Ahhh yes, the dreaded SRDS (Singer's Rhythmic Deficiency Syndrome). That always makes things a wee bit more challenging.
Sheesh, no matter what, that bassist still had a better night than the singer!
Agreed, that was some brutal vox work.
lock on the kick drum and don't play over the snare drum...
don't over play
and if you get confused, watch the guitar players hands for the root note of the chord.
don't over play
and if you get confused, watch the guitar players hands for the root note of the chord.
I wouldn't take the whole thing too seriously. Like someone else said, if they can't be bothered to get you a few songs to learn before the thing, then their standards can't be very high.
Also, and I'll probably take some crap for this, but if you're still really nervous, knock down 2 or 3 beers beforehand. It'll take the edge off nicely and help you relax. Obviously you don't want to kill a fifth of Old Grandad on the way over to the audition (or whatever it is they're calling it) but I don't think a couple of beers every hurt anyone before playing.
Also, and I'll probably take some crap for this, but if you're still really nervous, knock down 2 or 3 beers beforehand. It'll take the edge off nicely and help you relax. Obviously you don't want to kill a fifth of Old Grandad on the way over to the audition (or whatever it is they're calling it) but I don't think a couple of beers every hurt anyone before playing.
well I had the audition, everyone was realy friendly and had a great time.
first up the band played some of their originals and I just jammed along, they said I did well... (even though I just followed the beat and played random notes... haha :$)
then I met the other bassist they were auditioning and we all played together (with two bassists) the other guy absolutely played rings around me, in a literal sense even when I fingered on the E and the A he played the upper registry slapping, popping and thumping.
everyone seemed pretty keen on the idea of two bassists, but I think the only reason we pulled it off is the other guy being experienced enough to literaly play around what I was doing.
i'm invited back next week... if nothing else its good to finaly get out and jam with some people, I had the best time iv had playing bass
first up the band played some of their originals and I just jammed along, they said I did well... (even though I just followed the beat and played random notes... haha :$)
then I met the other bassist they were auditioning and we all played together (with two bassists) the other guy absolutely played rings around me, in a literal sense even when I fingered on the E and the A he played the upper registry slapping, popping and thumping.
everyone seemed pretty keen on the idea of two bassists, but I think the only reason we pulled it off is the other guy being experienced enough to literaly play around what I was doing.
i'm invited back next week... if nothing else its good to finaly get out and jam with some people, I had the best time iv had playing bass
Had another practice session today, very brutal since we went through every song three times. Dear Leader never makes the same mistakes twice, he has fun and makes new ones or doesn't make the mistake I expect (the one he's done twenty times before). He added a beat before a chord change to one song that shouldn't be there last practice, and I figured we had cleared up that he was keeping it. Fine, he does it that way the first time. Second time around he adds the beat before the chord change only now and then so I have no clue when it's coming. Better still, he completely blew a chord change on a 12-bar blues by at least two bars. I just stopped and stared until he made the change and he realized I was way over at the V, and he just hit the IV. Geez, I make plenty of mistakes myself, but I own them and work like hell to fix them. I'm the one that's had a twenty-some year layoff and only played bass for a year before the layoff anyway. And he's the one who wrote the songs. I swear he's "accidentally" gonna get a headstock in the melon if this keeps up. It's fun up to a point, because we can lock in on some songs, but a couple of his songs that he loves so much they have to be on the set list, he just cannot play and sing together on and it irritates me no end.
Good things for me are I can keep a beat alright and I'm getting to the point where I may get to be mediocre in a few months! I came up with two good bass lines for a couple of his songs and worked them out today in practice. Now my fingers just need to go where they must consistently.
Good things for me are I can keep a beat alright and I'm getting to the point where I may get to be mediocre in a few months! I came up with two good bass lines for a couple of his songs and worked them out today in practice. Now my fingers just need to go where they must consistently.
Rick Auricchio
Registered Bass Offender
I haven't read the entire thread, but here's my two cents:
Pass on the gig. If you're not ready to gig, you risk getting a reputation as a bad bassist. I'd rather wait a bit longer to gig than try to change that reputation.
Pass on the gig. If you're not ready to gig, you risk getting a reputation as a bad bassist. I'd rather wait a bit longer to gig than try to change that reputation.
This is the 2nd post where you've commented on the leader's rhythmic quirks/inconsistencies. I think you need to decide very soon if this is something you can live with cause guys like your leader don't "get better" and they don't change cause they don't feel like they have to (after all, they're the singer/leader). The fact that you call him "Dear Leader" (LOL) makes me think you are having some serious 2nd thoughts...? Usually good to go with your gut on these things.
I am having second thoughts, but right now I'm not good enough (I still make far too many mistakes) to audition for anyone else. I've only been practicing regularly since early May. He is an excellent guitarist when he keeps his mouth shut, but lately he's become well-known for doing this sort of thing (I think half the musicians he knows hate playing with him since he started writing and singing his own songs and look upon it as a good-paying burden - he can't keep anyone for long). I listened to him last year and he had a three-piece and wasn't anywhere near this bad (that's what gave me the idea to play with him, he needed a bassist), but since he got the bug to produce himself (never hand a songwriter a copy of Protools, they suddenly think they're a one-man band) and some of his songs weren't very well structured, he rewrote them. I told him that he ruined a couple of his tunes doing this, and it seems he doesn't have an easy time with those songs since he redid them. He's a lifelong guitard, so his ego won't let him admit major mistakes like that. I'd say about 5 of the 20 songs he's written are decent and fun to play now, and he's written just one good song since last year.
Maybe you can answer this - doesn't music require a certain level of discipline, at least enough so all the players can be together on a song? That's what I always thought, and that's why we practice and rehearse, right? Dear Leader doesn't seem to think discipline is necessary. His most gobsmacking remark is "just follow me". I think I now know why he never has a stable group around. I may be dealing not only with SRDS, but also NSGS (narcissistic songwriter/guitard syndrome). After the summer's over, I'll probably find someone else to play with. I sort of committed for the summer, and there's enough money in it to keep me with whatever band he can scrape together. Sort of an earn while you learn program, but not something that'll go on my resume.
Maybe you can answer this - doesn't music require a certain level of discipline, at least enough so all the players can be together on a song? That's what I always thought, and that's why we practice and rehearse, right? Dear Leader doesn't seem to think discipline is necessary. His most gobsmacking remark is "just follow me". I think I now know why he never has a stable group around. I may be dealing not only with SRDS, but also NSGS (narcissistic songwriter/guitard syndrome). After the summer's over, I'll probably find someone else to play with. I sort of committed for the summer, and there's enough money in it to keep me with whatever band he can scrape together. Sort of an earn while you learn program, but not something that'll go on my resume.
Oh man, get this: Dear Leader is listening to me! I know I didn't do anything different, but something happened. I got him to play more rhythmically instead of wandering around the beat so much (how do you play off a drummer if you don't have one? Make the guitarist play tight rhythm is better than nothing. The violinist could play tambourine which she's capable of, but it won't happen). Got him to take out the extra beat to that one song. He gave me lyric sheets I'd been asking for since early May. My only problem is that too many of his songs have changed since he recorded them for me to use the recordings to practice (he added/deleted words and verses), he wants to add a couple more songs to the set list that I'm not very familiar with and we can't practice together again till Monday. Why he takes until now to get serious about a paying gig, I don't get. Whatever, at least it's not so stressful anymore. I can even use my practice amp at the gig since everyone else is going to be acoustic. Well, except for the PA for the singing.
