Why are musicians doing this ?

[sideswipedv]

Originally posted by JacieFB There is a bit of graduation that has to happen between the Squier starter pack and a real "professional" gigging setup. BLEH!

 

 

Hey!!! I have an awesome Squire that came in a "strat pack", difference being i kept the body and neck and gutted everything else for quality hardware. Well, and i ditched the amp, oh and the strap, and the cable , and the tuner......okay , your right.

[doubleR]

Like everyone else, I've got a few good stories, too.

 

The time we were auditioning drummers, and we had booked a rehearsal studio. We had three drummers scheduled, one hour each. In advance I emailed all three our set list.

 

Well, the first guy, he couldn't keep time to save his life. I swear, he played as if it was his first time behind a drum kit. The second guy spent the first 20 minutes(!) tuning the drums! Granted, rehearsal studio gear isn't the greatest, but hell, we were all using the studio equipment (I was playing through the crappy Crate amp that was in there). The third guy never showed up. No phone call, no email. Nothing.

 

Different band. Auditioning bass players. One guy shows up, plays one song with us, then says "Excuse me, I have to have a beer." No big deal, we all do that to calm our nerves on occasion. He reached into the cooler he had brought with him and grabbed his beer. And another after that. And another after that. A couple of hours (and many beers) later, he's crocked. Worse, he's our new best friend. Doesn't want to leave. Finally, at 10:30, our singer says to him "OK, we have to discuss some band issues, so thanks for coming and we'll talk to you later."

 

The following week the auditions continued. Another guy shows up. REALLY scary looking. Reminds me of those prison movies where there's always a sadistic, bad-ass guard. He wheeling his amp into our rehearsal space when we hear a "SPLAT!" He's on the ground. Apparently he tripped over his feet. Luckily, he didn't hurt himself, but we're all looking at ourselves like "what the {censored}??"

 

We jammed with him for about an hour, and he was actually a good bass player, but the entire time he had this thin stream of drool from the corner of his mouth. (I swear I'm not making this up.)

 

After he was gone we talked about it, and our singer said "He a good player, but I'm afraid he'd scare away our audience."

[BEAD]

I auditioned for a cover band once. I learned 8 songs, went in and nailed them. They laughed at my jokes, and we had cute little conversations about gear that made me look smart. They said I sounded a bit better than their previous bass player and the singer said my personality was a great match for the band.

 

One of the guitarists refused to let me in the band because I was only 23 (they were in their 30s) and he feared I would get bored and quit eventually. The rest of the band didn't step in... and at that point I didn't really want in anyway.

 

I guess it goes both ways?

[Monster Joe]

Most people have no clue whatsoever about their abilities...

In the early nineties we were auditioning guitarplayers.

This one guy who was a colleague of the bassplayer shows up, with a cheap Ibanez, hifi speakers, some 70s small powered mixer and a no-name distortion pedal.

He "didn't want to bring the Marshall stack he had at home":freak:

So we ask him to play something simple in E. He starts chugging away on a G power chord. We show him the riff again. He takes the G power chord and does something remotely similar to straight eights...

End of audition! The bassplayer said he'd talk to him at work.

 

Singers are something else altogether.

We were looking for a female singer in another band, this would be around 2000.

These two girls showed up, young, blond and very nice looking.

So we play the song, tell em what we'd like the vocals to do and give them the lyrics.

We start playing the song.

Not a sound comes out of either of them.

After five aborted attempts we gave up and deicded to look for an ugly dude;)

 

Or the chick who kicked out her shoes to "feel the earth" and started to howl like a banshee...

[digwhisper]

It works the other way too though. I met these guys in a bar one night after I had just moved back into the area. A mutual friend of ours made the introduction because we were all "musicians". I sat down and bs'd with them half the night about gear, bands, and experiences. we all decided to set up an audition for me.

 

I showed up the next week and was very ill. I had a very nasty head cold and I was a bit off my best but I figured I'd show them that I was dedicated.

 

The first song they asked me to play was Green Day's When I Come Around. We jammed through it and it was the scariest train wreck I'd ever heard. The song ended and the whole band looked at me smiling and hi fiving each other and said, "you're hired!". I knew it was the beginning of the end.

[Jimi Ray Halen]

 

Originally posted by BechtelChris It works the other way too though. I met these guys in a bar one night after I had just moved back into the area. A mutual friend of ours made the introduction because we were all "musicians". I sat down and bs'd with them half the night about gear, bands, and experiences. we all decided to set up an audition for me. I showed up the next week and was very ill. I had a very nasty head cold and I was a bit off my best but I figured I'd show them that I was dedicated. The first song they asked me to play was Green Day's When I Come Around. We jammed through it and it was the scariest train wreck I'd ever heard. The song ended and the whole band looked at me smiling and hi fiving each other and said, "you're hired!". I knew it was the beginning of the end.

 

 

Everybody sounds good on the phone or musician wanted ad. Some can talk the talk but when it comes time to play - there's where the proof lies. Some of the best players I know don't sit around talking about it all day and you'd never pick them out of a lineup as a good musician. But look out!

And some people have the look down but forgot to actually spend hours and hours learning somehow.

[santos]

About 15 years ago the band I was in was looking for a drummer. We had guys not show up at all, guys that sucked, guys that were decent but weren't into our music (which is fine).

 

The ones that bugged me though, were a couple of guys that seemed to vibe with us pretty well, gave every indication that they were into it, and then we never heard from them again. I understand that not everyone's gonna dig what we were doing, but just tell us, or at least have the balls to tell us over the phone - how hard is that?

 

We eventually, miraculously, found a guy who played with us for about 4 years, but it seemed really hopeless for a number of months.

[synthesized]

I've been looking for a femal singer for as long as I can remember ...

 

I've had people show and have no clue about singing... girls thinking that the singer thing was a cover up for a "personal ad"... peple sit around and ask a bunch of questions about synths, guitar, recording or whatever and never sing a note... and flakes? Too many to even mention!!!! I've had people call me 3 or 4 times and when it comes time to sing.. .they're gone. I've had girls leave notes on my door... I call them about singing and they're suddenly going on vaction for a week!

 

I've also been semi forced to do a song with a friend who suddenly told me she could sing, She "sang" something, I wrote the music behind it... waited for her to leave. "magically fixed" the vocal takes and gave her complete version of the song. Now she wants me to do some more stuff with her!!!

[Bender69]

I have a different story from the early eighties when I was playing drums. I good friend of mine (known each other since junior high school and would jam together at times) was a singer and we found ourselves both

[JacieFB]

 

Originally posted by Bender69 I have a different story from the early eighties when I was playing drums. I good friend of mine (known each other since junior high school and would jam together at times) was a singer and we found ourselves both

[Bender69]

Thanks. Bottom line the band thing meant nothing in the end. Cried like a baby at his funeral and felt guilty as all hell for years afterward.

[vanlatte]

Originally posted by Bender69 Thanks. Bottom line the band thing meant nothing in the end. Cried like a baby at his funeral and felt guilty as all hell for years afterward.

 

 

I am going through a situation right now with my former band that is less than pleasant...one member I have known for 20 years and he refuses to speak to me.

 

It helps to keep things in perspective and I can only hope that one day they will remember what is really important.