"Auditioning" for an Originals band

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, AndyTravis said:

have you seen yesterday’s update?

 

Original Guitarist quit at 5.30 after 3/4 rehearsals back.

 

His replacement (who i’d wanted to keep…) Came down on 2 hours notice and absolutely smashed it - So he’s back, and original guy can’t come back now. He’s gone.

 

There’s more to it than that. But this isn’t the place for it.

 

To the OP - best of luck, go for it!

Oh yeah, I’d seen that one. I thought there were even more developments. Phew!

[BigRedX]

21 hours ago, Graham56 said:

...and/or a Pa

 

A totally unnecessary expense for an originals band. Just about every gig I have done over the last 20 years (many hundreds) the PA has been supplied by the venue and in most cases has been far superior to anything a band could afford. The number of gigs I have done during this time where the there was no in-house PA are literately a handful and all were in venues that don't usually have bands playing; and in each case it was cheap and easy to hire in a suitable PA system.

 

The money would be far better spent on merch - T-Shirts CD/Vinyl etc, where unlike a PA the costs can easily be recouped if the band are suitably entertaining.

[geoham]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

A totally unnecessary expense for an originals band. Just about every gig I have done over the last 20 years (many hundreds) the PA has been supplied by the venue and in most cases has been far superior to anything a band could afford. The number of gigs I have done during this time where the there was no in-house PA are literately a handful and all were in venues that don't usually have bands playing; and in each case it was cheap and easy to hire in a suitable PA system.

 

The money would be far better spent on merch - T-Shirts CD/Vinyl etc, where unlike a PA the costs can easily be recouped if the band are suitably entertaining.

Definitely agree - in over 20 years I’ve never played an originals gig where the PA was supplied.

 

The opposite is almost true for pub covers bands!

[uk_lefty]

Can you play it as the original? I dep occasionally for a friend's band and there's no way I can play like the regular bassist, so I asked them if it's OK if I play it "my way" on fretless bass. They were more than happy with that. I didn't take over the sing and overpower it or anything, just simplified and played my own fills instead of trying and inevitably failing to learn the original and make everything sound rubbish. 

 

In my view, if they get a new bassist, they get a new sound. U less there's singles out that people know really well. If you have to play someone else's lines and aren't allowed to write then I'd want paying just for going to rehearsal. 

[uk_lefty]

1 minute ago, uk_lefty said:

Can you play it as the original? I dep occasionally for a friend's band and there's no way I can play like the regular bassist, so I asked them if it's OK if I play it "my way" on fretless bass. They were more than happy with that. I didn't take over the song and overpower it or anything, just simplified and played my own fills instead of trying and inevitably failing to learn the original and make everything sound rubbish. 

 

In my view, if they get a new bassist, they get a new sound. Unless there's singles out that people know really well. If you have to play someone else's lines and aren't allowed to write then I'd want paying just for going to rehearsal. 

Tried to correct my typo, ended up quoting myself... Didn't mean to

Edited August 7, 2021 by uk_lefty

[Ed_S]

Personally I'd always go in straight away with my own take on the songs, because doing anything else would be presenting something at audition that I wasn't willing to continue doing if hired. I'd eventually end up doing my own thing because that's me; that's what I do as a bassist - I play the instrument, not individual songs or lines. Far better in my opinion that the prospective band gets the opportunity to decide whether or not 'what I do' is right for them before hiring me instead of having to deal with it later when I've inevitably reverted to form.

 

If you're willing to not only play the original lines at audition, but then also continue to play them as a member of the band and maybe even continue in that style when writing lines for new material... go for it! If you're considering playing the written/recorded material as-is and then 'putting your stamp' on the new stuff, consider that if your take on their existing material wasn't going to excite them, then your take on their new material possibly won't either, and you could end up stuck being their old bassist instead of their new one.

[Stub Mandrel]

21 minutes ago, geoham said:

Definitely agree - in over 20 years I’ve never played an originals gig where the PA was supplied.

 

The opposite is almost true for pub covers bands!

 

Cripes, very different in my day when originals bands played pubs!

[Nicko]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

Can you play it as the original?

There's nothing too technically challenging in any of the lines.  Some of the fills are a little cliched, or in some cases difficult to work out due to the quality of the recording.  I definitely don't plan on changing the lines to something completely different, and having been in covers bands for years using someone else's lines isn't too much of a stretch.

 

My notes for one song at the moment state "G Bflat C - Play like Duff" because it really just feels like someone freestyling.  I could tab the whole lot out but   In other cases there are some more memorable fills that I've tabbed because they seemed to have been constructed to fit the rest of the track

[peteb]

On 06/08/2021 at 00:19, chris_b said:

So it's OK for he rest of the guys to be in an originals band, writing their own lines, but the bass player has to be in a covers band, by only playing lines as written!!!!

 

IME that's not usually how originals bands work (at least the ones that are ever likely to go any further than a rehearsal room).

 

Generally, you have some principal members (often the frontman and the songwriters) and the rest of the band are there to play their parts to support them, especially the rhythm section. Once you are established as part of the core band, you may (or may not, depending in the main guys’ approach) get to contribute to new material and develop your own parts. But until then, you are normally very disposable!

 

As @Stub Mandrel mentions above, in certain genres there may be a slightly different approach and different expectations of the incoming bass player.

 

[Lozz196]

Person applies for job.
At the interview states they won’t follow company procedures & rules.

Door.

 

[SteveXFR]

Make sure they know you've arrived and you're in charge. 

Arrive at least an hour late with a bottle of Jack on the go. Spot the smallest member of the band, throw your car keys at him and tell him to fetch your gear. You need to tell them how lucky they are you've shown up, their music sucks and from now on things will be done your way. 

[Waddo Soqable]

47 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Make sure they know you've arrived and you're in charge. 

Arrive at least an hour late with a bottle of Jack on the go. Spot the smallest member of the band, throw your car keys at him and tell him to fetch your gear. You need to tell them how lucky they are you've shown up, their music sucks and from now on things will be done your way. 

Nah.. That'd be if he was auditioning for guitarist..

( Lead guitarist that is )

Edited August 7, 2021 by Waddo Soqable