Good audition and a terrible one. And have I met the internet myth?

[JimBobTTD]

Having moved to a new town, I felt that it was time to find a band so I can keep myself musically busy as I shall only play with my main band once a month. I have always played metal and have been indulging in pop/rock covers the last few years, but I wanted to move to blues. I placed an ad on the internets and soon found myself with no fewer than five interested parties. One was really not my cup of tea, so down to four. One is a recording project (if it ever gets anywhere), so that's good. One is still unresolved.

Which brings me on to the two auditions. The first one went very well. I was nervous, as the two gents have been playing together for about 25 years and are both amazingly talented, but I showed up and delivered the goods. No drummer, so we shall have to meet again and see what the real deal is. But we played for a couple of hours, jamming in various keys, and the chemistry was right. Really good. I left there amazed at my performance and really, really happy with the audition and the two guitarists.

And then tonight, with just one guy in his house. Drummer not yet found. Interested in playing in a trio, which is what I really want to have. There were some warning signals that I ignored. First, he seemed a little aloof at times, and extra so when I called him this evening. Never mind…probably tired and busy. Aren't we all? Secondly, when he contacted me from his private email rather than his work one, he called himself "SRV Bob". Thirdly, when setting up, he has three or four pedals on the floor in front of him, one of which is a delay and two which are overdrive pedals. All in front of a small Behringer 8" practice amp.

We start. His timing and rhythm are poor, but I put it down to nervousness. I am not on top form either and I am not 100% prepared for the tracks we were going to play. He seemed very impressed with his own playing which was not bad but was nothing special. He was clearly a real fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan and really wanted to play his music. Hendrix too. Now, I like SRV and a bit of Hendrix, but not enough to want to be in a tribute band. Jamming went very poorly, with him playing predicable stuff, mainly based on SRV. I was almost fully unable to play off him. As we continue, I realise that he might be what I have read about here - a guitard, musically blinded by his own mediocrity and a bedroom hero. My playing becomes progressively worse as our session goes from not all that enjoyable to full-on boring. His somewhat intensifies into a decent spot of guitar masturbation. My shift from the bog-standard walking bass is met with confusion, irritation and then a request that I stick to the bog-standard walking bass so he can play over it.

It ends, and not a moment too soon. He says that I need to work on my blues bass lines. This stings [b]something rotten[/b]; not because he is wrong - he is quite right, I do, and very much so - but that it comes from someone who I do not respect musically.

He mentions that he has been playing guitar for three years. Before the "I kind of knew that" thought could settle in my brain, he mentions that he played bass for 15 years before that, both electric bass and upright. But surely this would have 1. made him not a dick and 2. given him some sort of rhythm/feel/groove? When we parted, we agreed that we would not bother giving it another go; him probably thinking that I was bad and me feeling that I was bad because he was awful.

Ach, I am venting. It is just that I have been blessed my entire musical life by playing with excellent guitarists who did not overplay and who were decent people. Most of them did not even crank their amps to drown out everything else. I feel like I have been spoilt. But now I feel humiliated by someone who is among the worst guitarists I have ever played with.

[stingrayPete1977]

Ive played in bands with these people who have sacked drummer after drummer after drummer because "their timing was off and too loud", in reality that means, they are not the loudest in the band and the solo they copied note for note with no feel does not fit to a different but perfectly suitable beat that has a slightly different feel to the one they have studied on their vhs for the last 20 years!

[RhysP]

Why would the fact that he used to be a bass player mean he's not a dick? There are just a many dicks playing bass as there are playing any other instrument.

He might not have had any rhythm or groove because he was a sh*t bass player before he was a sh*t guitarist. Just because he played for 15 years doesn't automatically mean he was any good at it.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1410990800' post='2555488']
Why would the fact that he used to be a bass player mean he's not a dick? There are just a many dicks playing bass as there are playing any other instrument.

He might not have had any rhythm or groove because he was a sh*t bass player before he was a sh*t guitarist. Just because he played for 15 years doesn't automatically mean he was any good at it.
[/quote]

I agree with that. I've been playing over 40 years, and I'm still no good. [size=4] [/size]

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1410990800' post='2555488']
He might not have had any rhythm or groove because he was a sh*t bass player before he was a sh*t guitarist. Just because he played for 15 years doesn't automatically mean he was any good at it.
[/quote]

^ What he said.

* Focus on the audition you had with the other two guys. Some potential there, one assumes.

* Keep looking

* Don't worry about your blues bass playing; you're probably much better than you think. If nothing else you are at the stage of conscious incompetence, which puts you at least one step ahead of poor old SRV Bob.

[cameltoe]

Yes I often find it amazing when someone (usually a guitarist) blames another band member for not being able to get their chops off. The licks or riffs they play should be based around what the others ARE playing, not what they ain't. It's called playing together. To be fair, it sounds like it may have been the first time SRVBob had heard himself play on his own with another player, as opposed to playing over the top of an SRV cd, so no wonder he got annoyed- he's nowhere near as good as he thought.

[flyfisher]

Good or no good, SRVBob is clearly not the right sort of personality for the OP so forget him and just move on.

[Stylon Pilson]

I went to a jam night once - it was very poorly attended, and I met a guy who sounds just like your "SRV Bob". At first he was extremely pleased to meet me - a little over-eager. I could almost see him visualising the band we were going to be in together, it was that cringworthy. Anyway, we step up and plug in, and he proceeds to just play the most w***y drawn-out guitar solo you can imagine. After a few minutes I just stopped playing, because he was giving me absolutely nothing. He was completely immersed in this little dreamworld where he was showing off all his really high-speed skills. I sat there, my hands motionless, for what felt like hours, waiting for him to finish.

As you can imagine, we didn't end up forming a band together.

S.P.

[lojo]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1410990800' post='2555488']
Why would the fact that he used to be a bass player mean he's not a dick? There are just a many dicks playing bass as there are playing any other instrument.

He might not have had any rhythm or groove because he was a sh*t bass player before he was a sh*t guitarist. Just because he played for 15 years doesn't automatically mean he was any good at it.
[/quote]

^ This proberly sums it

[paulbass]

I love going to auditions....you can meet some right characters! Always remember they are being auditioned too regardless how good or bad you may think you are. I go with my gut instinct and if the chemistry is right with those musicians i tend to follow it through if i pass the audition.
You can of course meet some right nerds but thats just part of it. That guitarist sounds like he's one of them,if he was that good surely he would be in a band already?!
Its a bit like going on a blind date!

[davehux]

Me and 2 mates (guitard and sax) went to an audition with a singer and a drummer who were looking for a band. Drummer starts up, we all hit the groove, going lovely - then the singer kicks in. I'm struggling to find the words for the weak-as-a-kitten, flat-as-a-pancake, noise that came out of him. Mouse fart is about the closest.

Next day I tried to get the drummer to dump his mate and join us, but he was being super loyal. I imagine he still has a singer and no band to this day.

[JimBobTTD]

Thank you for the support, kind people. I really felt rotten yesterday.

All feelings of humiliation have mostly passed now. It was not meant to be. It looked good on paper, but when it came down to it, he was not somebody I could spend time with, let alone work with. The other audition went well and that band is good, friendly and they want to be something other than a tribute band. More importantly, they really want me with them.

All is well again. Life is beautiful. Thanks again, kind BC community.

[jezzaboy]

Bedroom guitarist`s.

We have all met them at some point down the road. I would not feel humiliated but relieved that I was shot of the tw*t.

[paul_5]

That's the great thing about auditions - they make you focussed and hungry to play well, but never forget that you're auditioning them as well. It's not just about the music either - try to imagine yourself huddled in the back of a transit van at 3am when you're all knackered, starving, stone cold sober and cranky.

If they seem like the sort of people you're prepared to endure those sorts of situations with, then it might be worth sticking around for. If not, then keep looking; thousands upon thousands of musical instruments are sold every year - the people buying them can't [i]all[/i] be twats now, can they?

[pete.young]

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1411061308' post='2556134']


All is well again. Life is beautiful. Thanks again, kind BC community.
[/quote]

I love it when there's a happy ending.

[fumps]

Yeh I'm glad you have seen the posative in this. All experiences can be useful, as long as you have learned something it's only a good thing.

I too have met & have received emails from people who speak better than they play (I'm crap at both lol) the musical underworld is littered with failed dreamers & wannbe stars

My work mate bought a guitar off a dude a few weeks ago who had a vast collection of guitars (He estimated about 20-30K's worth of instruments just in his livingroom) and felt a bit intimidated by him. until the guy picked up a vintage Fender & played a few badly timed blues licks at a beginner level to him whilst beaming a massive confident smile......my mate just stood there stunned at how bad he was.
My mate bought the guitar backed away ....lol

[Bilbo]

Guitars are like Harley's; prime material for a mid-life crisis. There are hundreds and thousands of people with loads of expensive guitars that cannot really play. I suspect it amounts to decades of trying to 'buy' your way into being a talented musician. It is endearing if they have a degree of humility but those who are delusional are best avoided.

[PTB]

Yep.....guitar owners are not necessarily guitar players.

[Guest Jecklin]

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1411070209' post='2556281']
That's the great thing about auditions - they make you focussed and hungry to play well, but never forget that you're auditioning them as well. It's not just about the music either - try to imagine yourself huddled in the back of a transit van at 3am when you're all knackered, starving, stone cold sober and cranky.

If they seem like the sort of people you're prepared to endure those sorts of situations with, then it might be worth sticking around for. If not, then keep looking; thousands upon thousands of musical instruments are sold every year - the people buying them can't [i]all[/i] be twats now, can they?
[/quote]

Exactly.
The chemistry element can not be underestimated.
I've attended and hosted auditions where before we even play a note I know "it's a no from me" simply based on the verbal dynamic beforehand (and this was probably mutual).
Similarly some of the best musical projects I've been involved with have stemmed from a friendship/relationship outside of music.

[phil.c60]

This moves swiftly into a discussion about whether you always go for the best player, or the person you feel "fits in" even if they are not the best technically.
I've done it all ways round: not got in because I wasn't good enough at the time even though we all got on (I got in 6 months later when they were still looking and it turned out to be quite a good band. It did implode after a couple of years but that's life). Got in to a band and didn't want to - just told them straight it wasn't for me! Got in to a band and after a while realised it just wasn't working for me, and that was a tough conversation because they were all really nice and had been looking for a long time for a regular bass player.
I have just had a sort of audition for a side project to run alongside my regular band: they are trying to find a group of guys that get on and then develop something as they want it to be enjoyable. They want a good standard, but it has to be fun as well, so we met in the pub and had a long chat about what we want out of a band - next step is to get together and play through some stuff we all know and take it from there. If they didn't like me, they wouldn't want to play with me, is their view and I feel the same especially as it's not going to gig for a while. It's not the same as joining an existing band, I suppose, where the band have commitments to fuflil and gigs to play so they feel they must find someone relatively quickly.
Monday night is when we find out if we can all play as well as we chat - here's hoping!