Drum Auditioning

i have been playing the drums for roughly 16 years but i have always done it for myself and i havent really pursued joining a band until now. I have jammed with friends alot, but i have never really played with complete strangers. This one band asked me to audition for them and i was curious if any of you guys had any suggestions. i am fairly confident in my drumming ability but any comments or advice would be really helpful. thanks

uh... dont make it awkward??

(1) don't wear a shirt

(2) every time there is an accent requiring you hit 2 crash cymbals, spit beer

(3) hug everyone really tight after the tryout, and hold on too long

Find out what tunes they play and start working on them, so that you can nail them during the audition. People respect effort.

This is a good question. Auditions can be somewhat intimidating and at times wierd. Depending on how many drummers they audition, you may never even hear anyting back unless you call them back. That said, here are some tips I'd recommend:

1. Get there a little early. If you bring your own drums arrive about 30 minutes early so you can set up and be ready to kick at the audition start time. If you use their kit, bring your own snare, bass drum pedal and cymbals in case theirs are crap.

2. Bring a kit configurtion that fits the band. If it's a blues or c&w audition, dron't bring you entire 12 peice double kick set, etc.

3. If they give you a list of tunes, learn them cold. Beginnings/endings, etc.

4. Call them or email the next day thanking them for the audition. Follow up once a week or so until you hear something for sure either way.

5. Be friendly and easy to get along with. Accept their input on how to play openly and TRY IT.

6. Dont' drink beer or smoke anything illegal until you get the gig!

This is all I can think of right now. Maybe others have good ideas.

LOL- the most important rule!

Boomboomdrums got most of the important ones. Based on a recent audition I had after many years off, here are my recommendations:

If at all possible, audition on your own equipment. Being comfortable is huge here. If you must use someone else's kit, definitely bring your own pedal(s) and throne.

I got asked a bunch of questions like "who are your influences", and "what kind of music do you like." You might want to have answers to these kinds of questions. These are normal questions, and usually come before they ask you to audition, but in my case they asked these questions after I finished playing. Sort of caught me off guard since I figured once they had heard me play their tunes, it didn't really matter much what drummers I liked when I was 12 years old.

Personality-wise, just be yourself.