Was this complete BS or was I being too sensitive?

[Charlzm]

Am I being too sensitive or was this audition complete BS?

The latter.

 

[4dog]

You stayed way longer than i would have..sheesh !

 

[waveman]

Total BS. I would not have played at the same time as the other bass player. If they were not down for that. I would have left right then. I don't mind being given a 40 song set list, in fact, I kinda like that so I can get a feel for the band. I will learn what I can on a list like that and roll through an audition as best as I can.

 

[40Hz]

Can you spell : Bozos?

 

[electracoyote]

If I got to an audition and was expected to play along side another bass player, I wouldn't even unload my gear. Look I understand auditioning multiple people in the same day, but at the same time?!

Nah not happening.

+1

Having been to a few auditions, and now as a band leader conducting auditions, I don't even like my audition candidates to meet at the rehearsal space. Some people are fine with it, some people get a little freaked out, so I try to be considerate and leave a 15 minute buffer between candidates.

I'd do a live audition (in fact, I've done a few unwittingly when I was tapped to sub for a gig and it went so well they just kept calling me back), but playing with another bass player at the same time audition? Nope. Not only would I be disoriented, but how can anyone tell what's going on and make a valid assessment?

 

[SmokinJoe992]

You're certainly not being sensitive. This was an out of control circus and although you may have been able to maybe steer it back on course, it's hard to deal with that much stupid on the fly.

Curious what the other bass player's reaction was to all this.

That was the other confusing part. The other bass player (who appeared to be in his 40's, seemed to have a little experience, and decent equipment) seemed to be unfazed. He was obviously more of a metal or hard rock player, and didn't always play appropriately for the genre, but he did not seem clueless. He never offered one objection.

 

[lfmn16]

Can you spell : Bozos?

B ... O ... Z ... O ... S

 

[dreamadream99]

My opinion is that it's bad enough to schedule two auditionees simultaneously--the only thing worse, is asking them to play simultaneously.

I would have balked at the mere mention of this. That's not an audition, that's a sideshow.

 

[Ellery]

Sounds like you were right about that being total B.S. I agree with other posts that these guys will be looking for a long time. A waste of your time, but count your blessings, you dodged a bullet. Had they run a better audition process and you got in, this would have been a "should I quit this band" post.

 

[B-line]

I only read about 1/3 of your original post, up until the time you wrote "and the other guy was another Bass Player, set up on each side of the drums etc., followed to studio...."
O
M
G

No need for the rest. That, and sadly so- is typical of much of CL ads. However to be fair, I have in the past used CL successfully, although the ratio of successful responders to numbnutz is way out of proportion.

Anyway- No comment except Ugh. Keep trying Lots of acts, but not all of them looking for bassists are total scrouchebags.
(That's even worse than a douchebag).

 

[mrcbass]

Warning This is Long!!! I recently responded to a CL ad for a bass player needed to round out a 3 piece blues band. To be honest I was only mildly interested. I currently play in two bands one of which plays out regularly. That being said I took a chance because I like the type of music and because they are based much closer to me than the other bands I am in. They had also posted the ad 2-3 times over the last month or so and appeared to be having trouble finding what they were looking for. I decided to give it a shot. In the ad they mentioned that they practice every Sunday afternoon, and in their response they requested I audition at their next practice. By text I asked them to send me 5-6 songs that I could work on to prepare for the audition. They proceed to send me their complete 40 song set list (IMO this is the first BS move). Why would you expect someone to learn 40 songs for an audition which is 4 days away? Most of the songs were very obscure and I hadn't even heard half of them. I decide to work on getting 5-6 of the songs down good and to at least make notes on the others for the audition. They had a couple of Allman Bros, and Clapton songs which I felt I could nail pretty easily.
On the day of the audition I get a text to meet him at a local restaurant, and from there I can follow him to their practice location which he claims is 10 minutes away. I meet him (guitar/vocals) at the restaurant at which time he tells me he is waiting on another musician. I assume it is the drummer or maybe another guitar player. The other musician pulls up a short time later and we proceed to follow the guy for about 30 minutes to his practice location. When we finally arrive he politely asks me and the other guy if we need help carrying our stuff in. I thank him and tell him I got it. He then starts helping the other guy with his stuff and it was at that point that I realized he was another bass player (BS move #2). I am a little stunned that they would expect 2 bass players to audition at the same time, but I soldier on. It gets worse.
He gives each of us an outlet on opposite sides of his practice room with the drummer in the middle and asks us to set up. Once we set up, and with no discussion or warning he begins playing one of the songs from his list and asks us both to join in (BS move #3). Of course he is playing one of the songs from his list that I barely know, and the fact that there is another bass playing at the same time made just about anything I did sound awful. Even with all this I pretty much had the song down by the last verse. He then calls out another song I barely know and starts playing it. At this point I have had about enough and I quit playing after the first verse to at least give the other guy a chance. He appeared to be struggling also.
At this point the guitar/vocals notices that I have stopped playing (and probably that I am not very happy ) and decides that we should alternate. He allows me to go first he again picks a song I don't know, but without the other bass player muddying things up I am able to get through it pretty easily. The other bass player plays his song, and when they are done the guitar/vocals looks at me and asks me if I can play "Crossroads." My eyes light up. He has finally picked a song I know. We start playing it and its going great until the second verse when I realize the other bass player is playing to (BS move #4). I again stop playing in disgust. They finish the song, and then play another one. At this point I am looking at my phone and not even paying attention to them. I had originally agreed to play from 1-3 pm. It was only 1:45 and I was already trying to think of a good excuse to bail. They play a 3rd song "It's been a long time" by Led Zeppelin which wasn't even on his list. I am still looking at my phone. When they get done he asks me which song from their list would I like to play, and he makes a point to tell the other bass player not to play on this one. At this point I had already decided I was leaving when the song was done, and after telling him once that it didn't matter to me I begin to play "Whippin Post" one of the songs on his list. He immediately recognizes the song and stops me. He proceeds to tell me that they don't play the standard version of the song, but some super slow tempo version he had heard on some live recording (BS move #5) . He begins to play his super slow version and at this point I had completely given up. As soon as the song was over I began packing my stuff up, and told them I had to go. In an attempt to remain professional I shook everyone's hand and thanked them for the opportunity. I left with a new found appreciation for my other bands. A short time after I left, the band leader sent me a text thanking me for my time, but telling me they were going to keep looking (apparently the other bass player did not work out either).
I apologize for the super long post (BS move on my part), but I had a lot to get off my chest. Am I being too sensitive or was this audition complete BS? In hindsight I probably could have communicated to him from the beginning that I was not willing to learn their entire set list for an audition. I would also like to add that they were good musicians. The drummer IMO was very good. However, while I assumed they may be trying out other bass players I did not even consider the possibility that they would try out two at the same time. Aside from this what could I or should I have done differently?

Total Nonsense. It is highly impractical to audition any two musicians at once. We all lean on each other so much that even auditioning at the same time as say keyboard player really makes it hard to know who's tight and who's not. Auditioning two bass players at the same time is ludicrous - shouldn't even be in the room at the same time IMO.

Regarding the set list, I always nail down at least a handful of specified songs to work out for auditions - I've had people send me much larger lists, but I work out what I can and make sure that we work out to those first. If they want to have me muddle through stuff I'm not familiar with after that, I do so with disclaimers.

No you're not being too sensitive - just remember their names so you don't bump into them again.

 

[lfmn16]

My opinion is that it's bad enough to schedule two auditionees simultaneously--the only thing worse, is asking them to play simultaneously.

I would have balked at the mere mention of this. That's not an audition, that's a sideshow.

I've never even heard of anything this stupid. Every time you think you've heard it all, some dim bulb digs a little deeper and manages to surprise you.

 

[Plectrum72]

Entertaining read. Not a total loss, you now have one more *** story for your collection. Now I'm waiting for a similar thread from the other bassist at your audition.

 

[SmokinJoe992]

I greatly appreciate everyone's responses. I guess I needed some confirmation that I was justified to be as mad as I was when I left. I can now find the humor in it, chalk it up to experience and move on.
Just to clarify some things. I expected to show up, have a brief discussion about experience and 'getting to know you stuff'. Then have them ask me which songs I knew the best from their list. After we played through those if things are clicking stick around and play through some other songs. If not thank them for their time and move on. That is pretty much how most auditions I have been on have gone. This was just a complete cluster of epic proportions. This is also the first audition I have ever been on that I did not get a call back (not that I wanted one).
Both of the bands I am in now were found through CL so I guess I can't complain too much.

 

[Munjibunga]

Once I discovered the other guy was a bass player, that would've been the end of the audition for me. I could never be in a band with a dumbass like that BL.

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

I greatly appreciate everyone's responses. I guess I needed some confirmation that I was justified to be as mad as I was when I left. Just to clarify some things. I expected to show up, have a brief discussion about experience and 'getting to know you stuff'. Then have them ask me which songs I knew the best from their list. After we played through those if things are clicking stick around and play through some other songs. If not thank them for their time and move on. That is pretty much how most auditions I have been on have gone. This was just a complete cluster of

Of course that's what you expected, because you are normal. Not psycho bananas.

 

[Spectre1966]

I probably wouldnt have bothered unloading my gear but a side of me would have ridden this out because it seemed so friggin bizarre it had to be for a tv show or twisted contest or something.....

 

[Joe Ty]

Can you spell : Bozos?

Except he felt both members were more than competent. Hard to get a read without actually meeting the BL yourself but when they called back with the turn down I would have probably said something to the effect of "Thanks for the call back. As you probably realize, I didn't expect to get the job after walking out early. That said, I had a very good impression of you both of as musicians. If you are still looking for someone down the road and want to give this another try, I'd be happy to do it again on different terms. I suspect you will continue to have trouble finding someone at your level going about the process the way you are."

Out of curiosity, since you met the BL at a first location, then drove 30 minutes to the practice facility, did you backtrack at all or is it more than 30 minutes from your house?

 

[hrodbert696]

Just when you think you've heard everything...

 

[SmokinJoe992]

Entertaining read. Not a total loss, you now have one more *** story for your collection. Now I'm waiting for a similar thread from the other bassist at your audition.

I would love to hear from him to, and yes this is a story I will enjoy passing on someday.