Awkward!

[Danzilla]

I've been itching to play in a band again, and have been contacting some people through Craigs List adds. (yes, smack myself)Talked to one band (well, a drummer & guitarist) who are doing original music, and set up an audition for last night.

 

As I pull up to the guitarist's house, the drummer greets me and says there is a small situation. They have a singer auditioning tonight, as well. And he also plays bass. Would I mind playing 2nd guitar tonight? And bass on a few, too? Sigh. Nice guy that I am, I agree.

 

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not saying any of these things to bash the guys; it's just the way the situation is. The guitarist's amp is nice and at a decent volume on its own, plus coming through the PA. The amp he has me using, a Blackstar, is also nice, but not as powerful, and as I found out, not in the PA. We pretty much jump into playing their original songs, which neither I nor the singer/bassist have heard before. They are pretty good songs, and we have lyric & chord sheets, and are following along pretty well (when the chord charts are accurate - some were not). But something isn't right to me. Two songs in, I realize he's go the guitar in drop D tuning. Yeah, that's throwing me off. I only use that for slide playing or the occasional Porcupine Tree tune. So my head is not where it should be - first, I'm coming in expecting to play bass, then I'm playing someone else's guitar in a tuning I'm not used to playing songs I don't know!

I finally get to play some bass, and things go a lot smoother. I really like the drummer, and we got a few good locks and grooves. The singer/bassist was a pretty basic root player. Maybe once he got familiar he would open up, but this kind of jam just wasn't showing his best. Fortunately, at the end, he told them he didn't think it would work for him and his schedule, and complimented me on my playing. The drummer and I talked a bit and he really wants me to join. The guitar player seems interested but was talking to the singer more about "take care-good luck-see you with[insert other musicians they know]". So we'll see what the next jam brings. And I'll pray on it.

 

Which brings me to the next point/question: To those of you who are multi-instrumentalists, do you ever have certain groups or people who you mesh with well on one instrument, but not on another? Playing bass with these guys worked well for me, and I thought I blended well and added just the right stuff. But playing guitar - well, my internal sense of rhythm and flow just wasn't quite right with this guitar player. I don't play like him, which isn't a bad thing. But trying to find a complimentary style that fit was tough for me. There's another guitarist I've played with like this, too. I'd gladly play bass with him again, but wouldn't want to be a 2nd guitarist with him. Anybody else have this dichotomy?

[EddiePlaysBass]

I don't share that particular problem, but I can imagine it being a weird night

 

Best of luck!

[d halfnote]

For those of us w/wide musical interests & skills, we might find ourselves able to work w/diff ppl in diff ways, depending on what their interests & abilities are.

[is that too circuitous ?]

 

In this case, since gtr's gonna define a band more than bass, the potential for conflicting approaches between gtr players is obvious but y' might get around that on bass.

However,in the term is this a situation in which you can imagine being able to work fluidly ?

I think an operation should be able to potentially take advantage of everyone's, uh, potential...although in truth there're many bands that skip that b/c of their focus.

 

In that light, the snafus of the way the session went don't suggest smoothness in the future.

(He gave y' a gtr in altered tuning but didn't mention that ?.

Maybe he thought you'd realize that ...but still...)

 

You kow what's up w/you but my most helpful advice might be, to not let the desire to get playin' tie ya into the 1st train runnin'.

 

 

 

 

[d halfnote]

So how's that shaping up, Dan ?

[Danzilla]

I'm hoping to "re-audition" next Wednesday. From my discussion with the drummer, it's really that they are auditioning for me, as he's pretty much already given me the job. I just need to make sure that there's as much chemistry with the guitar player as I have with the drummer, and make sure their goals fit with my scheduling and desires.

 

That said, I've seen a couple of other adds for bass players that I might submit for as well. then - let the bidding for my services begin!

 

I will definitely report back when there's something to report.

[Danzilla]

ROUND 2!

 

Last night was much better. Once again, there was a singer there to audition, as well. This time, he played guitar instead of bass! He's a decent player in his own right, but some moments was a bit lost as to where the songs were going. Halfway through, he realized that his guitar style did not match the main guitarist's, and bowed out. C'est la vie.

 

The three of us kept playing, and things were starting to click. Part of it is a bit of familiarity with the songs on the 2nd time around, part of it is that I'm playing bass in stead of guitar, so I have more of a comfort zone and my own "voice". Drummer and I are really hitting it off, and now that some guitar riffs are synching up, the overall feel is more cohesive. He even called on me to take a solo on an acoustic song, and they were both liking what I played. Already I feel like if we had a "real" singer on board, and got booked for a 1-set gig this month, we could do it with one more rehearsal. Even with the guitarist singing, we'd be pretty decent.

 

That said, I have not officially joined, but I will definitely be back. Third times the charm?