tl;dr version: Does this sound like a good gig:
It's in Swedish, but that doesn't really matter.
Full story:
It was a Candid Camera Audition. Well, sort of, in the sense that I was constantly looking for the camera and waiting for someone to jump out from behind a door.
In short: Since my latest band has petered out I decided to try answering an ad. It was a woman who wanted a bassist that could also play keyboards or guitar in a pinch. The ad said she played folk rock with her own songs. Fine, that could be really cool. Gigs were booked, so that was a bonus.
We get in touch and arrange to meet at her "studio" this Monday. I ask if she has anything I could listen to in advance, but she says no. OK, we'll just take it from zero then. I'd found some stuff on Spotify which sounded "interesting", but luckily that wasn't her, then.
We'll have an hour to have a look at the songs and play a little before her buddy Henrik will show up. Apparently he's the main bassist, but plays keys on some songs.
Sunday evening (or rather Monday morning - 2 AM) she texts me and asks if I could also play some percussion. I answer I'm no Paulinho Da Costa, but I've rattled a few tambourines in my days.
So I show up and knock on her door way out in nowhere at 16:00. I hear a bit of shuffling behind the door, and she opens after two-three minutes. Things got a little messy, she said.
So I enter, and it look rather tidy. Small studio corner with an iMac, some MAudio keyboard, bass, acoustic and electric guitar. Not too shabby.
From then on things sort of started going south. As she started running through the songs I noticed a she had a very - shall we say - unconventional take on tempo and rythm. And yes, the Spotify songs were her.
The songs were possibly nice, but not clearly laid out on paper, and she didn't exactly follow what was there anyway. Most verses in something which could at best be described as 2/4, but with license to place the "1" anywhere. Choruses in 6/8, it seemed.
The guitar playing was mainly informed by the pattern of popcorn popping.
And here's the kicker: For every song, she decided it was probably better if I played "eggs" and tambourine. Quite challenging! It turned out the designated percussion player was unfortunately "busy" on the gig days, so he'd cancelled. I sympathise!
When the bass player shows up I can hear him struggling too, but he'd played with her before. I couldn't but wonder if he owed her serious money.
After 4 confusing hours we call it a day. I have at that point percussioned on 8 songs and played guitar on one. She asks me what I think, and as I find it really hard to be unkind I respond a bit wishy-washy and agree to meet again this Thursday.
Well, I came to my senses and called her today to say I didn't feel it was a good fit for me. She says she's already put my name on posters and what not, but I can only answer "Well, that's too bad."
Lesson learned: There is such a thing as too much kindness.
It's in Swedish, but that doesn't really matter.
Full story:
It was a Candid Camera Audition. Well, sort of, in the sense that I was constantly looking for the camera and waiting for someone to jump out from behind a door.
In short: Since my latest band has petered out I decided to try answering an ad. It was a woman who wanted a bassist that could also play keyboards or guitar in a pinch. The ad said she played folk rock with her own songs. Fine, that could be really cool. Gigs were booked, so that was a bonus.
We get in touch and arrange to meet at her "studio" this Monday. I ask if she has anything I could listen to in advance, but she says no. OK, we'll just take it from zero then. I'd found some stuff on Spotify which sounded "interesting", but luckily that wasn't her, then.
We'll have an hour to have a look at the songs and play a little before her buddy Henrik will show up. Apparently he's the main bassist, but plays keys on some songs.
Sunday evening (or rather Monday morning - 2 AM) she texts me and asks if I could also play some percussion. I answer I'm no Paulinho Da Costa, but I've rattled a few tambourines in my days.
So I show up and knock on her door way out in nowhere at 16:00. I hear a bit of shuffling behind the door, and she opens after two-three minutes. Things got a little messy, she said.
So I enter, and it look rather tidy. Small studio corner with an iMac, some MAudio keyboard, bass, acoustic and electric guitar. Not too shabby.
From then on things sort of started going south. As she started running through the songs I noticed a she had a very - shall we say - unconventional take on tempo and rythm. And yes, the Spotify songs were her.
The songs were possibly nice, but not clearly laid out on paper, and she didn't exactly follow what was there anyway. Most verses in something which could at best be described as 2/4, but with license to place the "1" anywhere. Choruses in 6/8, it seemed.
The guitar playing was mainly informed by the pattern of popcorn popping.
And here's the kicker: For every song, she decided it was probably better if I played "eggs" and tambourine. Quite challenging! It turned out the designated percussion player was unfortunately "busy" on the gig days, so he'd cancelled. I sympathise!
When the bass player shows up I can hear him struggling too, but he'd played with her before. I couldn't but wonder if he owed her serious money.
After 4 confusing hours we call it a day. I have at that point percussioned on 8 songs and played guitar on one. She asks me what I think, and as I find it really hard to be unkind I respond a bit wishy-washy and agree to meet again this Thursday.
Well, I came to my senses and called her today to say I didn't feel it was a good fit for me. She says she's already put my name on posters and what not, but I can only answer "Well, that's too bad."
Lesson learned: There is such a thing as too much kindness.
Last edited:
