Becoming a Back-Up Musician

[pete408]

How does one become a back up musician for a popular act, such as a pop or R&B singer? Is it all about connections? Since I don't have any connections, any advice on how to go about achieving that goal?

[daddymack]

mainly, yes it is all about connections....and reputation.

Rarely is there an open audition....things like American Idol and RockStar are not normal.

You need to establish yourself as either a phenom in one genre on one instrument with a positive attitude and a great work ethic, or as an outstanding 'generalist' with a positive attitude and a great work ethic. Then you need to network with every local band leader, agent, etc.

And then, someone has to recommend you...

And, since your location isn't showing, let me add that you need to be in the right place at the right time.

The one and only time I worked for a national touring act, a friend of a friend recommended me. I had to audition....and pass an interview... for a backing acoustic rhythm guitar slot; the fact that I also sang high harmonies was what got me the gig in the end. If you have a reputation, it is a lot easier, but getting the reputation takes years of hard work.

[crossways]

Start playing for everything you can. Most of the guys I know personally are horn players. They have degrees for the most part.

 

Be flexible and reading music is probably essentially (at least charts).

 

The guys I know start out doing a lot of community theater and then their name and number get around.

 

The one guy I know that is really playing bigtime stuff is a Horn player, moved from TN to LA. plays for movies - Rocky 6, Flag of our Fathers, were a couple, - has a steady gig with one of the symphonies, backed up Michael Buble on a concert. I think he got some references through some profs at his university which was pretty well known for its brass (TN Tech), and then went out their and got his union card and started auditioning.

 

probably wouldn't hurt to be able to cover several rhythm instruments (guitar, bass, mandolin?, banjo?)

[BlueStrat]

You have to be fairly good, but not phenomenal. And yes, it's 99.999875% having a connection.

 

I have a good friend whose sister is a seamstress and did Bonnie Raitt's wardrobe. She found out Bonnie was looking for a new 2nd guitar player (this was about 13 years ago) and told me to get some tapes of my playing in the mail to her as soon as possible so she could play them for Bonnie. But Bonnie's bass player had this friend who also played guitar and was looking for a gig....guess who got hired? The guy she hired (and still has) is no great shakes on a guitar; he's pretty decent, certaily as good as he has to be to back her up. But it's just an example of the way it works.

 

I agree with crossways about horn players; my trumpet player used to get calls to back Ray Charles whenever Ray was in the Northwest, because he's a great player but more importantly he is friends with Ray's main trumpet player and arranger. And my sax player is a grad of Berklee, and does a lot of session work and backup stuff for different people.

[daddymack]

Horn players ...especially if they play multiple horns...are more apt to get road work than gutarists, bassists and drummers and keyboardists...because for one thing they hire a horn section...usually anywhere from 3 to 15 horn players. I know a few who road quite a bit..most play a combination of Sax (alto, baritone or tenor or all 3), clarinet, flute, and some who play trumpet, cornet, french horn (one guy also plays valve trombone).

Reading standard notation is generally a must, sight reading is less important (although a great skill)...but for studio work, you have to sight read....

[gtrbass]

I went to Berklee and played with a drummer where we clicked. Not long after he left the school he recommended me to replace the bassist in the band recently joined... Generation X. After the gig was done, I got other offers to audition for major touring acts of the day, including the Fixx. I lost that one out to a great bassist named Danny Brown.

 

Eventually I moved to LA. I did a sub gig for a bassist in a well known local band, and got on well with the drummer. A couple years later the drummer calls me and says hey I'm doing this band. Wanna try out for Thomas Dolby's Lost Toy People? I lost out to a great bassist named Terry Jackson on that one, but I wouldn't have gotten either of those two calls without knowing how to lock up with those two drummers.

 

The sideman business is about professionalism, personality, and skill. You need all three.