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Ever hold grudge for not getting the job after audition?


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About 20 years ago I auditioned for a classic rock band located a one hour drive from me. When I arrived, they told me I had 30 minutes to show what I got. It took almost 15 minutes to haul the keyboard (Kurzweil PC2x) and amp from the car to the house and setup. There were two guitar players in this band and the audition started with Johnny B. Good. Mid song, I was told to play a solo, got two 12 bars in, then the guitar players improvised for many more. When it ended, the band then argued among themselves about how the song should be done differently. I don't remember what the second song was but it was another three chord progression which I got to do one 12 bar solo. I felt I played interesting solos that were not simple or easy, but I can't live on three chord songs all night. The next guy showed up 30 minutes after I got there and they told me my time was up but thanks for coming and we'll call you.

 

They didn't call, so after a week, I called the bass player who asked me to audition to find out what was going on. He said they thought I was good, but they were looking for someone who could sing. They never asked me to sing or if I sang. It didn't make sense to me, but I took it as a nice way to reject someone. I rationalized the rejection along the lines of "I didn't really want to do two hours of driving for once or twice a week practices and all of their work was a minimum 1-2 hour drive one way, anyway".

 

A few months later, I went to see them play. They hired a much older guy with a real B3 and Leslie, he didn't have a microphone in front of him. I couldn't hear the B3 at all during the hour I was there, but he had a lot of hand/arm motions going on that probably looked impressive to non-keyboard players. Maybe equipment does matter after all, or at least the look of it.

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I was told to play a solo, got two 12 bars in, then the guitar players improvised for many more [...] I got to do one 12 bar solo [...] I couldn't hear the B3 at all [...]
Sounds like a band that doesn't really appreciate the value of having a keyboard player. You can probably do better.

 

Cheers, Mike.

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Decades ago when I was 17 or so, I had the brass balls to audition for a group of stoner/jammers that were in their early 20's. I did OK, probably the best 17 year old they'd auditioned.

We played for a couple of hours and then they thanked me and told me they weren't interested.

 

That stung, 17 year old ego and all. So I went home and woodshedded for 3-4 years. When I reappeared on the scene, various former members of that band wanted me to be their guitarist.

 

So, I started my own band and none of them were asked to try out. Petty but it felt good.

It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is.
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Wow! 2007? Zombie thread alert!

 

I had a feeling I had something to say back then, although I didn't know what! :laugh: Yeah I remember that failed audition of mine 14 years after I posted about it, but a little differently now. I think I was mostly just crushed because I didn't get the gig.

 

It's always fun when these things get resurrected - just to see what my frame of mind was at the time. It's usually changed over the years.

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I have never not got a job that I auditioned for, but I always felt that if I failed to get the job it would be my lack of singing that caused it. I can understand bands prefer musicians that can sing. It is just too handy. Luckily I was able to counter with a nice stack of keyboards and the ability to cover most any instrument and play multiple parts at one time. A few bands have tried to make me a singer but then give up too easily. Usually 10 minutes into the project they take the microphone away and never mention me singing again.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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There have been a handful of auditions I didn't get. A lot more I got, and more I've been offered unsolicited.

 

Never held a grudge, or felt weirder than feeling of "would have been cool, hope the guy who got it loves it".

 

There was one audition I had to work up a bunch of stuff (a tribute act) and they told me I was the #2 pick. I was a little sad because of all the work I put in, but not mad or grudge.

 

Maybe for me it's because I have more opportunities than turn-downs - don't know.

..
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For me situation was for NOT even getting to audition for my friends band when they had to replace their bass player. I think I could of easily handled the gig, but they didn't even give me a token audition just to be nice. They asked another buddy of ours to join the band and not even audition. That guy is now a world famous bass player and told them he wasn't interested. I was pissed then and still because these guys were all my close friends. So at the time decided to push them to have their 2nd guitarist become the new bass player since he knows all the songs and vocal harmonies. Even though he never played bass before. They eventually made the 2nd guitarist their new bassist the group got signed did one album that flopped. That was the end of the group after eight years of playing together.

 

Now one audition I didn't get but loved it was with singer/songwriter Alex Harvey who wrote the tune Delta Dawn and some others. I got the called in the afternoon and was told to go to Capital Records studio in Hollywood. Ends up I was the last bass player of the day and they had the studio for the rest of the night. I show up and drummer is someone I knew who was already doing studio work. So I knew this was probably going to be over my head so mentally prepare myself I wasn't going to get the gig so just have a good time playing. That is exactly was happened we played for about an hour really funky Country/Rock stuff and I was holding my own. Alex was this funky cat beating rhythms on body of his acoustic guitar to count off tunes. We took a break and I talked to Alex and this funky guy in worn out jeans has a doctorate in music. We got back together played for about another hour then called it a night. So I had a great time, they got to go over the tunes so I was happy to fill in so they got to work on some tune. So not regrets or grudges for me I had a great night and got to play in Capital Records Studio and walk around checking out the place.

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It just hit me that I have been on the other side of this. Something that was painful and I had pushed it out of my mind for a long, long time. Everyone here knows how it is in high school. You form garage bands with your friends and have a great time, but at some point the talent separates and you start grouping with people who can help you land the club circuit. When my first working for money band formed with the best musicians and singers in the small town area I got word that my best friend was talking smack about me and the band. The reality of it, he was a mediocre rhythm guitarist at best with dreams of being a rock star. When I landed a job of drummer in the best band around and did not take him with me it split us apart. We went from being best friends to not talking for years. I never thought about how much it would hurt him to leave him behind and do what he wanted to do. To him I was a traitor. I don't know how I could have done it any differently. If I had stayed in his garage bands I would never have experienced the life of being a full time musician. It was not until I moved away to Louisville that he was willing to talk to me and be friends again.

 

Edit - Ironically, the picture of me on the left behind the drums is from a picture of the band that I was talking about.

This post edited for speling.

My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page

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In my musical endeavors over the years I can only remember one instance where I was not hired after an audition. That may have been due to the general shortage of competent local keyboardists.

 

I really wanted to join this 4-piece cover band and followed them at gigs for quite a few months off and on before the lead player approached me about trying out. Since they were a 4-piece, one or the other of the guitar players was used to covering prominent keyboard parts on the guitar. The audition was a bit nerve-wracking since I had learned all the parts off the original recordings, and my playing was often duplicated by the guitar. The only tune that clicked was Hard to Handle. I suggested we try working together to let the keys take their appropriate place in the songs but they were just too set in their ways and really pushed back on my suggestion. Even insisted I just play string pads all during Rolling In The Deep, since the lead player was hitting those 8th-note chords the piano does on the original.

 

I never heard back from them for like 2 months at another of their shows, but I pretty much stopped following them and attending their gigs after that. I guess I was holding a grudge since I thought keys and another voice would really help their sound.

 

~ vonnor

Gear:

Hardware: Nord Stage3, Korg Kronos 2, Novation Summit

Software: Cantabile 3, Halion Sonic 3 and assorted VST plug-ins.

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I do auditions too, except I call them "gigs". A band knows about you from word of mouth or they've seen you play, they know you're seasoned and already know a lot of songs and can follow the other players on the ones you're unfamiliar with, they book you for a gig, then if they like how you do they offer more gigs. I only want to work with players that handle it like that. If a group asked me to audition it tells me 1) they don't have much going on and 2), they're lightweights. Exceptions of course for national touring acts.

 

I did fail one such "audition" 29 years ago, was recommended by a departing player but I was green, way over my head with some heavy hitters and not seasoned with the soul/R&B they played. Can't say I held any kind of grudge, especially the further down the road I got and saw how lacking I was for the gig.

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The one situation I can remember never actually got to the audition stage for me. I was living in Atlanta, and a great local band, Starshower, was looking for a keyboard player. I went to the band leader's house and after listening to about 10 minutes of their demo stuff I found I was self aware enough to not even waste their time with an audition. I knew wasn't in the league those guys were in.....probably still not, 40 years later.
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I remember an instance I didn't win a spot because my equipment wasn't up to par a local band told me. It was never for lack of skill in the few auditions I went on. These guys never lasted and I forgot about it Years later in 2010 I subbed for a band and the bass player was from the band that I auditioned with. He asked me a couple of times that he thought I looked familiar. I told him " I am the guy that you didn't think was good enough for your old band" He kind of stood there not knowing what to say. It doesn't matter as he isn't doing shit musically now and never moved on with his skill level as a player.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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