Bluewine

Agreed knowing how a band operates before committing to an audition is crucial. For those of us in this for money, we want to know how much, when where and how were paid. Blue

Yes the Mods vs The Rockers. I've seen many documentaries on the whole Mod thing. And no the Mod thing never happened over here. If it did it was minor. Look and image is tough on us older guys .Most of us "age out" at some point. Some sooner than later. Interesting thing, I think some guys like Mick Jagger can still pul off " look". Blue

How about the " knowing what you want in a band part" Some of us merely want to get together with a couple of guys to jam, some want financially life sustaining opportunities. I think I'd know if I was looking. I'm looking for; Good People Smart People Good Music Good Money Good Bookings and lots of them In that order Blue

I love your response, when a band is clear on specifics it helps us make a more informed decision. Look can be more important than skill for some opportunities. It's is what it is. I get it. I saw an ad recently and everything looked good for me until I read the last sentence, " We're all in our early 20s" I'm 66. Blue

For me it would be knowing I couldn't do it if I had the chance. I was watching an interview with shredder Nita Strauss of the Alice Cooper Band. She was in the right place at the right time and she told them she could out perform anyone else in the running. And she was right. She had the whole package, the skill, the look, the theatrics and the experience. Even then she had to submit tape after tape and had to audition several times. If there's a " take away from Nita it's her confidence. I remember Cooper saying. " We only have time for "A List" performers. Personally, I'm fascinated with the process; Most of us won't have the opportunity to audition for Alice however we can apply informed audition methodology in our own local world. I'll throw this out there. Prior to an audition how many of us have asked the band representative, " What are you really looking for to fill this position" Blue

I'll start. I've made the mistake of showing interest in an opportunity before I had thought out what I was looking for. To be honest there are very few opportunities that are a match for me. I'd love a shot at a pro level touring opportunity, however my age and the fact I have no touring experience no touring band would consider me. My point, be careful if your trying to audition for an opportunity you don't have the experience for. Blue

Auditioning can be very frustrating. There are so many variables., age, location, experience to name a few. It would would be cool if we can all share our approach to auditioning . I would personally love to hear about approaches to pro level touring bands Blue

At the local bar band level replacing even. a single member in an established gigging band can be very challenging. In our case replacing a guitarist that was a founding member and with the band for 14 years. We ran into a few guys that weren't big on gigging and guys that we auditioned that showed up unprepared. It's tough and frustrating. Blue

That's a great way to start out. I'm biased because that's how I started out. Playing with other 11 and 12 years olds. We learned as we went along. Blue

OUCH! Blue

I remember a gig where someones shoe flew past my head. Blue

Played a 7:00-10:30 Thanksgiving Eve Bash at Kuhtz's in Oconomowoc. Our first public gig with a new guitarist. The place wad so packed if I had went there to see a band I would have turned around and left. It was a good gig for us , great audience engagement and lots of attention given to the band. A guy that had too many cocktails was on the dance floor and fell backwards onto a stage monitor. I'm sure we've all seen that one. Blue

Compared to other sites there's a lot more diversity on this site. I'm a Yankee and everyone here is more than nice to me. I also think because there's more guys on this site that are in gigging bands makes the threads more engaging. This is a great site. Blue

I had known of the band. I knew they had a female lead guitarist, they were local , they played 70s era blues and rock and they gigged a lot. I thought, "I should be the bass player for this band" I went to their gigs and introduced myself. Eventually I told them I was looking for work. One of the members said we should talk. Turns out they were looking to replace their bass player. I auditioned several times and eventually was offered the job to play bass and sing backing vocals. That was 9 years ago. Blue

Played a 7 to 10:30 with our acoustic 4 piece in Delefield Saturday night. Very upscale community, a lot of high end homes , condos and resturants. Wasn't the best gig for me, I didn't think I played all that well. I have a full band Maple Road gig tomorrow night in Oconomowoc . Blue Blue

Try listeningg to Maceo Parkers live version of Mustang Sally with Sweet Charles singing lead vocal. Blue

Your doing the right thing. Don't be stupid like me. I've had to walk off stage at a few gigs lately due to fatigue and nausea. I'm treating for a right bundle branch block. I have an old school. 8- 11 this Saturday night with an hour commute one way. Blue

Now that's a baddass pic. Blue

You have to decide if you want to be in a band. What would be the best fit for you. Then what type of band, originals, covers, gigging band or a "for fun only" no gigging band. 42 is young from my perspective. Blue

Yes, that's definitely similar to ours.☝

We played an acoustic gig last night, 5:30 - 8:30 at The Harley Davidson Motor Restaurant. To me this is a great gig, professional staff, great hours, great pay and tips, very high caliber clientele. And the place is beautiful sitting on the Milwaukee River. We go back on January 25th. Blue

Last Saturday night I was ready to rip into House A Rocking and the bands starts at half the tempo. Absolutely nothing we or I could do. I've mentioned to the BL. Trying to correct the tempo after your already out of the gate can be challenging. Blue

Samantha Fish , I'm not sure why I'm going. I've seen her twice already and $35.00 is a little pricey. Sam has played a lot of " big time" gigs but this is a very small Milwaukee bar. Blue

Strive to make it to the 65 plus group. Blue

I wish I could slowly ween myself away from my pedals. I really like my bass octave pedal.