Would you go to an audition ...

[EddiePlaysBass]

Curious what your reactions will be ...

[g.]

I think polls from a limited sampling are stooo-pid - especially when the question is so general and we've had a lot of threads about it before... You probably even started one or two of them ; }

[Luke73]

I'm not sure why you would go to an audition if you found the music utterly boring....

[g.]

I wouldn't be playing many gigs around here if that weren't the case ; }

[rumpelstiltskin.]

i do not approach auditions based on what the band is doing now, but rather what i am taking to the band and how i can make it better. every band that i join, i end up changing significantly. sometimes the band wasn't even that much what i was into before i joined, but i was able to make myself the critical element in really making the band special.

 

besides, sometimes it's just fun to get out and play and not have to put a lot of investment into it.

 

robb.

[butcherNburn]

If it's that boring with no prospects of anything better, don't bother. You will be uninspired and it will reflect in your playing. You can chalk it up to experience but it will be an utterly boring one.

[cloclo]

http://www.gold-line.com/pwn1a.gif

[g.]

You will be uninspired and it will reflect in your playing.

Not always. As robb said, it's possible to bring something new to the party, and I've had many a night where *I* played well even if the band was not always consistent. Also discovered gold in them thar tunes.

[DONUT]

How much does it pay?

 

If only there was a band that I could audition for that wants to play white noise in the local bars. Cruel. Hmmmmmm.

[jeremy c]

I don't think it's fair to the band to waste their time with an audition if you are totally uninterested in taking the gig should it be offered to you.

 

You wouldn't want people to waste your time if you were auditioning them....and I've had plenty of those....people who auditioned and then said they didn't want the gig....and this was after it was made very clear what the band was all about and how much the gig paid before auditions were even scheduled.

[davio]

Are we just talking about auditioning only for a boring band? How 'bout a boring musical? Or an orchestra that plays boring music? If it's a decently paying gig, I'll audition. If it's a band that might or might not be decently paying, I'll audition if I see some glimmer of potential.

 

My current band changed drastically when I joined. Then it changed drastically again when we brought another guitarist in. I'd say it's somewhere in the neighborhood of a billion times better now and if you hear our current music you'll ask yourself how much worse we could've possibly sounded before.

[alexclaber]

Originally posted by jeremy c:

I don't think it's fair to the band to waste their time with an audition if you are totally uninterested in taking the gig should it be offered to you.

Hear, hear!

 

Alex

[Luke73]

Originally posted by greenboy:

I wouldn't be playing many gigs around here if that weren't the case ; }

True, if it meant the difference between playing and not playing, I would play boring music - perhaps it pays well, or perhaps you might consider that you have an opportunity to make it interesting...or perhaps it is genuinely boring, but it's the only way to get out, so you play it anyway

[NV43345]

If they Pay..I will play. Does not matter what kind of Music it is.

[SteveC]

I wouldn't audition for a long term thing like a band if the music was boring. That wouldn't be fair to anyone.

 

I have, however, played different musicals or other "variety" type shows where some if not most of the music was not my thing. I still played well, but I did it mostly for the $$'s. Don't we all do that from time to time?

[g.]

Well, bobb and I have a good point that I think some are still not seeing. If you audition for a boring band and consider yourself any kind of a dynamo or a quiet instigator, if you have some modest leadership abilities, you can turn the situation around (if you cut it at the audition) at rehearsals and/or gigs.

 

At first you may be a jewel in poor surroundings (there's no reason you can't play with energy and gusto in such circumstances unless there are also morale problems, a separate issue) but exposure to your influence as a player and a person with ideas and heart can make the others take stock and improve. Maybe the sky isn't the limit, but bands that were boring have gone on to become phenoms. And YOU can make a difference.

 

I'd be more concerned about my own areas where I can improve.

[Danzilla]

I don't miss Robb. & GB's point that you can change a group and add a spark of energy to them. But you have to at least be interested enough to want to do that, or see the potential to do that. If you're bored, or find the music boring, you probably aren't going to be interested enough to try to change them. If that potential is there, great; if you don't see it, move on.

[Seamy ALB]

I don't do music that bores me or that I don't like. No money could buy me for it either.

[g.]

A lot of being bored is an internal habit, and sometimes one may find that the music wasn't boring, but that they had a block of some kind. Sometimes growth comes from trying other things. It's not just about money -- it's about broadening one's scope and perceptions too.

[Nicklab]

The only way I would be halfway interested in a gig like this was if the money was good and I actually NEEDED the dough.

[g.]

I guess one man's fish is another's poisson. Because from the outside a lot of bass player gigs and bands look pretty boring to me. But when I step inside if the door is opened I seem to have a different perspective sometimes.

[jeremy c]

Some good points here.

 

It's possible to be bored while playing the greatest music in the world.

 

Say you have a hit song. You now have to play that hit song at every show you play for the rest of your life...maybe for the next 50 or 60 years. Do you think you might get bored?

 

Say you are a bass player in a band. You play the same songs with the same basslines in the same order every night. The other people in the band play the same parts every night, possibly playing even the same or similar solos as what they play on other nights. You even have a lot of the same people coming to see you every night. Do you think you might possibly get bored?

 

And it's possible to be interested while playing extremely simple music or music that you hate. There are musical challenges that can be met...can you play everything perfectly without making a mistake? Can you control the length of every note? Can you interact with the drummer and get an extremely tight groove? Can you play a style which you do not particularly like to listen to and still give a convincing performance so that the listeners are convinced that you are an expert at that style? Can you play a whole night of two chord songs and make them all sound different? Or if they are supposed to all sound the same can they all still sound fresh and exciting?

 

It's you that makes that decision.

 

I still don't think that I would audition for a band where I knew that I disliked the music ahead of time.....unless it was a really well-paying job that I thought would be a benefit to my career in the long run.

 

I wouldn't audition for a band if I knew ahead of time that I was not going to take the gig if it were offered to me.

[Bassplayerjoe]

I would go to the audition because I like that sort of thing. Judging who I think might make it. I like watching new talent and people become parts of bands. I don't know why I find that interesting but I do.

[ArwinH]

Originally posted by jeremy c:

 

I wouldn't audition for a band if I knew ahead of time that I was not going to take the gig if it were offered to me.

I think this is what many people see the main question as addressing.

Do I play boring music? Would I audition to play boring music? Can I be happy playing boring music?

Yes. Yes. Yes

I play boring music everyday, it's a steppingstone and sometimes that boring gig or boring song idea can lead to an inspired performance.

Would I play music that I don't want to play (syntax, eh?)? Would I audition for a gig I don't want? Can I be happy playing music that I can't be happy playing?

Well, it's pretty obvious that those answers are NO. NO. NO.

If you are in a musical situation that can not possibly lead anywhere and can not possibly teach you anything get the hell out.

[Fred TBP]

Eddie, I like to think everytime I talk to a musician about a potential audition or gig I'm keeping a purely open mind and ask all my questions up front. 9 times out of 10 if it's not for me I tell them so on the phone. On the 10th, I may catch an interesting song or two and decide to give it a try. But if I commit, there's nothing less than 100% on my part because I like to think my word is my personal contract.

 

Not only that, but the word gets out about you, good or bad, pretty quickly in the music community. So I hope that I've only left good impressions about myself and my work. This applies to any form of social interaction, not just musical.

 

Oh, yeah, about boring music. When I was younger I found my dad's classical and "crooner" music boring. Today I listen and find things to enjoy about it. You'd be surprised how your tastes change as you get older.

Now make sure to eat your veggies!

[Steve Force]

Great post, Fred!

[ZZ Thorn]

I saw an ad for a band needing a bassist last week, heard one song off their website and called them up for an audition. It was a funky tune, and the lead guitarist had a ton of soulful chops. While on the phone their guy said they had aquired a drummer, a guy with a masters degree in music, so I thought GREAT! A sweet drummer, a bassist's best friend. So we set a time... and then I hear the rest of their songs, which are nothing like the one I liked.

 

But I went to the audition anyway, cuz who knows what'll happen, they were good musicians despite playing boring originals, and cuz I promised. But if I had heard all their website tunes I probably wouldn't have wanted to audition. So I was 90% sure going in cuz I wouldn't join their band - I figured the drummer would have to be excellent.

 

Well, just goes to show a masters degree doesn't mean jack sometimes - I swear the drummer was awful. He knew more about theory than any of us but he was as exciting on the skins as a bag of wet noodles. He pulled along the beat like he was dragging an anchor. His fills were of junior-high quality. Ane he's teaching students! Poor students....

 

So I can tell quickly this is not something I'm going to spend a lot of time on cuz this would be a labor of love for awhile, but like y'all say, word gets around so you need to be courteous, and I was. If they ask me to join I'll have to politely turn them down, but I think that's fair. I wasn't asked to join the Rolling Stones, I didn't know what their sound was, and I needed to hear what we'd all sound like before I could make a decision. I wasn't leading them on, I'm not a bass-tease - I'm auditioning them as much as they're auditioning me and thumbs down.

[EddiePlaysBass]

What's all this talk about paid gigs? Different worlds for sure

 

Not sure what the deal is in the other parts of my small country, but over here it goes like this: band places ad. You respond. You show up for audition. If you make it, you spend between 3 months and a good year rehearsing and investing money. If you're lucky you'll get gigs that pay more than $25.

 

And I'm not talking "per head" here ...

 

Anyway, following the posts here (and making up my mind) I have decided not to go. I don't mind playing "boring" music. As long as I can find some level of enjoyment.

 

Remember I spent ELEVEN months in a band with a song list of 10 songs ... Most of which not even performed up to standard. And yet I wasn't bored while going over those ten songs at home.

 

While going over these songs the only enjoyment I had was in putting my bass away again when I was finished. It's not like I don't enjoy the kind of music (Enter Sandman, Paranoid, Smoke On The Water, Bro Hymn tribute) it's just that I've been there one time too many.

 

I would really either like a new '70s cover band with my dad (which will happen in a few months, if all goes as planned) or something different. But everyone here plays the same old cliché rock songs. Even me, because the afore mentioned cover band will be the same old song and dance

[g.]

Yeah, DONUT and I have commiserated with each other on the cover band one-set-list-fits-all phenom before. For me at least, there still is gold in some of those tunes and parts; it's more the fact that the people in many of these bands often need to be repeatedly tricked to play some additional/alternate material ; }

[Eric VB]

Well, if there's no money involved, that changes everything, doesn't it?

 

"band places ad". This caught my attention. At least over here, the last thing a working band does to find a replacement is place an ad. Most of the openings get filled by word of mouth. So, the ones placing the ads are all "start up" bands; those that are still trying to get things together and don't have any gigs lined up (and may never have any). [My "favorite" start up ads are when you see the same guy place multiple ads: "band seeks singer", "band seeks bassist", "band seeks drums", etc. I always get a chuckle out of that, even though it is not as immediately lame as the all-in-one ad for "band seeks singer, bassist, drums, etc.", when it's obvious it's not a band posting the ad, it's an individual. ]

 

Sure, they may say they have "CD deal in the works" or "gigs pending", but no, not really.

 

So, unless you're just looking to fill up your social calendar, you're probably wasting your time auditioning for such groups. (Well, maybe some of you here can assume leadership and get the band gigging in a few months, but it's still a big investment of time.)

 

Now, how do you and your dad go about forming your own start up band? You could place an ad, too, and you just may get lucky and land some up-and-coming talent that's really into what you're doing. Just be sure you've got your stuff together so when somebody good does show up, they want to join.

 

Going to "open mic nights" might work out better. Remember, even if there are no drummers there, there will be other musicians there. Talk to them; they just may know a good drummer that's looking for some extra work, for example.

 

Go to venues that feature paid bands. If it's a small crowd you can usually talk to the band during a break. Some bands may even try to mingle with the crowd at some point. Even if you don't get any leads, you'll still get a chance to check out the venue.