Met a very talented young guitar virtuoso, how can he become a session guitarist?

[rlm297]

Through a mutual friend, I've become good friends with a 22 year old guitar virtuoso. His touch and technical proficiency are at a master level, it's almost like seeing a master actor morphing their mannerisms and voice. It's a total mind blowing experience to see him play. I originally anticipated that he'd be your average "great" local lead guitarist and nothing worth writing home about, but after seeing him fingerpick, shred, sweep, rake, do insane trills, and imitate the masters (even in minimalism).. I knew he had something special.

 

I no doubt believe he'd be an asset to any major label studio, but he doesn't know how to get his foot into the door for that. Too humble. He sits in with the 60 year old cowboy chord bar bands and steals the show.

 

American "boy next door look," kind of like Ryan Adams, and honest.

 

In my 15 years of playing, have never seen anyone my age that ridiculously good with a guitar.. and I'd like to find out for him if there are any options for someone like that? Or how he could get evaluated/audition to be a hired gun?

 

Would he need to make a video demo reel to shop around? Who should he contact? Email someone MP3s? Formally audition?

 

I used to be a Viral Marketing Intern at Sony BMG, but don't know how actual recording studios and session guys are linked to the majors.

 

Any insight would be appreciated and I'll pass it along to him.

[urca]

1) Locate major label you're interested in

2) Obtain name of dept. head of A&R

3) Fellate

4) Repeat as necessary

 

Remember the old saying "It ain't what you know ........"

[flatfinger]

Not sure that the best advice wouldn't be to get a repertoire together and perform live. The old studio system that supported session players is history!!!

 

 

there are 4 majors left , and all are corporations who have seen there revenues drop in the last decade............. Maybe indies could be the way to go , as they might not be assuming such a defensive posture....

[flatfinger]

I hate to say it , but the stuff thats been popular lately doesn't seem to be very "guitar centric" .

 

........ Better keep a contingency plan up his sleeve( yup ; life ain't fair !!!)

[daddymack]

okay, the hard truth is that there are only so many session guys in any major music mecca that make a good living. The old days of steady work are pretty much gone as noted, as there are fewer and fewer calls for guitarists, especially 'non-specialized' players. His looks won't mean squat in the studio realm.

Where does he live?

How are his notation reading skills?

Is he innovative?

Is his sound 'fresh'?

Does he take direction well?

Does he take criticism well?

 

He may do better to form his own band, find a good songwriter and frontman, and try to get his name out on a regional level. If he is as phenomenal as you suggest, he should turn heads when he plays live.

[Blackwatch]

To add what Daddymack said, it's about more than just good guitar playing, it's reputation, it's personality, it's experience.

When these guys book someone for a session it's not just that they want a great guitar player, they just don't want any hassles, they want a professional that they know will get the job done. And it takes time and experience to get that kind of reputation.

At least from my limited experience....

[Visconti]

Becoming a session guitarist is a very rare job since there are millions of guitar players, but it can be done.

 

In LA, NY and Nashville there are only a few guys that play on all the TV shows, commercials and CD's.

 

It can be done.

[BlueStrat]

On nearly every hit record you hear, the studio players are almost always selected because the producer or artist knows them.

[Matximus]

Not sure what you can do for him, really. Talent is cheap as table salt. Drive is what matters. You can't give someone that.

 

How do you break into any competitive field? Go where the work is. Be willing to work for free, better and harder than the competition. Hope for the best.

 

What that guy said about experience and professionalism - that's right on the money. People get these weird ideas about art that just because they have a knack for it they're qualified to create it at a professional level. It's nutty.

[3shiftgtr]

Being able to sweep etc doesn't mean he can come up with what a producer wants when the light goes on. The first thing that takes is interpretative communication skills. To have the ability to know what the producer wants DESPITE what came out of his/her mouth.

 

He also has to have and or develop the elusive ability to know EXACTLY what the track is going to sound like in the mix, AS HE IS PLAYING IT. He also has to know whether or not it will be good when he listens back to it as the producer thinks it is when he is playing it.

 

He also has to have to ability to know what his gear is going to sound like based on what the engineer is going to throw up and what it is being recorded on. Which means you have to have {censored}loads of gear and know how it interfaces with all the different modern mics and recording systems.

 

And as Daddymack said, he has to be a reading monster if he wants lasting work.

 

And he has to be able to mimick the most obscure style combinations and dirivitaves imaginable. Django meets Eric Johnson at Marc Ribot's house over a country track is the descriptions he will have to deal with and he better be able to dial that tone in deliver it in one take.

 

He also has to have the ability to network, network, network, network. And be easy and fun to work with.

 

And he also has to be willing to give his creative away. When you sign that piece of paper at the beginning of the session, and play a hook that they use that defines the song, you can't bitch about it later.

 

Which means he needs to have {censored}loads of experience first. You are a bit naive if you think you can plug him into master sessions just cuz he can play.

 

Then again, you worked at a label, how could you be expected to know that?:poke: (sorry dude, I had to!)

[chevybusa]

 

On nearly every hit record you hear, the studio players are almost always selected because the producer or artist knows them.

 

 

+INFINITY This is the cold hard truth about this whole "scene", if you will, at both the local indie level as well as the major label level. As someone else said and BlueStrat said perfectly it's not who you ARE it's who you KNOW.

 

Unfortunately no matter how good this guy is, even if he's better than Hendrix, Van Halen, Via, Satriani, Al DiMeola and John McLaughlin COMBINED LOL it won't matter if he's not "in" with the right people, meaning that he either knows them personally or is a "friend of a friend" of the right person. I've seen it personally at the local level countless times and know someone who has seen it at the major label level just as much, and I'd be willing to bet every dollar I had that every single muso on this board has seen at least one instance of an inferior muso getting picked for a gig or some type of musical job over a much better muso simply because of who the inferior muso knew.

 

Sure, there have been a few guys that managed to get into those gigs without any of the aforementioned "connections" at all and managed to magically get "discovered" but they are such a small percentage as to be pretty much non-existent.

 

This is IN ADDITION to the fact that as someone else pointed out there really isn't any need for exceptionally skilled guitarists in the stuff that the corporate hit making music machine is currently interested in churning out. Seriously, when's the last time you heard anything on the radio that had any real above average guitar skill at all?

 

I hate to say it and come off like Captain Bringdown and the Buzzkills but this young man honestly has a better chance of getting struck by lightning twice on the day he wins the lottery than to do what you are suggesting.

[sventvkg]

Tell him to Go Nashville and Sit in at all Broadway clubs and the ones that the musicians hang out in. He'll have a career in no time if he's that good. This is what Johnny Hiland did and from his first night in Nashville he's had a career. This is REALLY what he needs to do.

[[Animals2]]

 

Being able to sweep etc doesn't mean he can come up with what a producer wants when the light goes on. The first thing that takes is interpretative communication skills. To have the ability to know what the producer wants DESPITE what came out of his/her mouth. He also has to have and or develop the elusive ability to know EXACTLY what the track is going to sound like in the mix, AS HE IS PLAYING IT. He also has to know whether or not it will be good when he listens back to it as the producer thinks it is when he is playing it. He also has to have to ability to know what his gear is going to sound like based on what the engineer is going to throw up and what it is being recorded on. Which means you have to have {censored}loads of gear and know how it interfaces with all the different modern mics and recording systems. And as Daddymack said, he has to be a reading monster if he wants lasting work. And he has to be able to mimick the most obscure style combinations and dirivitaves imaginable. Django meets Eric Johnson at Marc Ribot's house over a country track is the descriptions he will have to deal with and he better be able to dial that tone in deliver it in one take. He also has to have the ability to network, network, network, network. And be easy and fun to work with. And he also has to be willing to give his creative away. When you sign that piece of paper at the beginning of the session, and play a hook that they use that defines the song, you can't bitch about it later. Which means he needs to have {censored}loads of experience first. You are a bit naive if you think you can plug him into master sessions just cuz he can play. Then again, you worked at a label, how could you be expected to know that?:poke: (sorry dude, I had to!)

 

 

 

This sounds like an utter phucking nightmare... wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy...thus im not a session player.

[daddymack]

we were discussing session life a while back in here...

[3shiftgtr]

 

Tell him to Go Nashville and Sit in at all Broadway clubs and the ones that the musicians hang out in. He'll have a career in no time if he's that good. This is what Johnny Hiland did and from his first night in Nashville he's had a career. This is REALLY what he needs to do.

 

 

And he had a manager when he hit town. And he got bumped from a few sessions for not cutting it. Seriously. Took him a while to get master sessions.

And most of those were using him as the next "hot" telebasher. He wasn't grinding it out as a studio rat like say, Brent Mason.

 

And this is in no way a hack on Johnny cuz he is a great player, and a great dude. I hung with him a bit at this summer's namm, and he is just a sweet guy. He has worked his ass off and deserves everything he gets and more. It just took him a manager and some experience before he got to the master sessions.

[sventvkg]

 

And he had a manager when he hit town. And he got bumped from a few sessions for not cutting it. Seriously. Took him a while to get master sessions. And most of those were using him as the next "hot" telebasher. He wasn't grinding it out as a studio rat like say, Brent Mason. And this is in no way a hack on Johnny cuz he is a great player, and a great dude. I hung with him a bit at this summer's namm, and he is just a sweet guy. He has worked his ass off and deserves everything he gets and more. It just took him a manager and some experience before he got to the master sessions.

 

 

Fair enough but there are no shortcuts. If he's that good he should go to Nashville and start sitting in. Word WILL get around and he WILL be seen. Talent like that can not be denied. Along the way he'll get to know the other top players and by jamming with them he can earn their respect, maybe get picked up for a few tours, and work is way up. Again, there are no shortcuts.

[Matximus]

 

This sounds like an utter phucking nightmare... wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy...thus im not a session player.

 

 

Uhm... It sounds like... a JOB. Hello?

 

And a damn good job, to me.

[3shiftgtr]

Fair enough but there are no shortcuts. If he's that good he should go to Nashville and start sitting in. Word WILL get around and he WILL be seen. Talent like that can not be denied. Along the way he'll get to know the other top players and by jamming with them he can earn their respect, maybe get picked up for a few tours, and work is way up. Again, there are no shortcuts.

 

+100

[Kramerguy]

Like BS said - you gotta know people, or get to know them.

 

Now my opinion on the topic:

 

Among the dumbest people I know, most of them are musicians - and I do use that term loosely. So often, guitarists especially, get this friggin ego.. they are soo freekin godly that the studio should be in awe of their presence. They show up late, they are rude, behave like 14 year olds, actually that would probably insult the average 14 year old..

 

The bottom line is this:

 

1) Show up ON TIME, every time. Whether it's band rehearsal, a meeting with industry folks, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you are there.

 

2) Show up PREPARED, every time. Again.. what you are showing up to doesn't matter. What does matter is that you are prepared in every possible way to do what you are there to do.

 

3) Be humble and courteous. Be open to suggestion. You don't know it all, and you probably never will. Once you think you know it all, you should have at least 3 to 4 triple platinum albums (your own) hanging on the wall behind you and a wallet to back it up.

 

4) Be consistent. Do it right the first time and every time.

 

So really, if you always show up, on time, are a decent person, and are consistent on your instrument, you will do FAR better than the average "god" of their instrument.

 

I believe bluestrat is fond of saying "you can swing a dead cat and hit 10 better players" ... beyond true.

 

..oh yeah - my rant about guitarists is simply that 9 out of 10 of the guitarists out there make me look bad by not following those simple rules. I'm tired of people assuming I'm a raging egomaniac- just because I play lead guitar...I work my ass off to maintain a solid reputation and it's constant work with the lot in these parts!

[daddymack]

Around here, we call that professional attitude.