Had 7 auditions/trials over the last 2-3 years. Mix of originals and cover bands. Only 1 of those chose another player over me, I said no thanks to 1 of them, & the rest fizzled out due to the band’s vagueness/bullsh*t/lack of direction.
Each one has involved working on a chunk of material. The originals could be creative, the covers sometimes a pain to study note by note. So I’m putting in a fair amount of time to prepare for audition & follow ups.
I’ve had 2 sessions with the latest project. The first was OK, friendly chat afterwards, they seem pleased enough. The current bass player is doing a handover and was sat watching me – no pressure!
But the 2nd time was quite different. The band leader was kind of officious & standoffish and the rest didn’t say much to me. I felt like the stranger in the room – it was a freezing cold hall, & I couldn’t relax into it. Made a few slips but they also made their own mistakes (and they’ve been gigging the songs for ages). They are now ‘going to let me know’….
I’d got myself quite nervous about it all and came away pretty drained.
I just question why am I putting myself through this again & again?
Bottom line is I set my goal 3 yrs ago, to getting into a decent semi pro band, away from the amateur chaos. But then the amateur days were the most fun! We were naïve and had great laughs. But I then fell into role of 'band organiser' because no one else could be arsed. Sorting everything out, rather than concentrated on my playing, didnt get enough support.
I just feel a bit disillusioned with the ‘trying to join pro bands scenario’….I'm 62 now (although fit and young for my age), so feel if it doesn't click soon, it will be too late.
Auditions are just weird. You’re trying to focus on the music, atmosphere is somewhat ‘strained’. Then you’re also having to assess the others while they are assessing you – a lot of headspace?!! So many questions going on:
Can you be yourself easily in such situations?
Are you trying to (over) please?
Do you click after such a short time?
Do want to spend time with them?
Is the band solid? Will they last?
Anyone else relate? Feel free to share your experiences.
Some of this is advanced from where you are, so consider it food for thought.
I'm just a bit older than you, but have been doing the weekend warrior thing for half a century (only a few gaps, I never had children). Things really began to click around Y2K: since then I've networked my way into a position of privilege, juggling a bunch of bands and sub gigs. Most of these opportunities have come via word of mouth: many bandmates also juggle multiple bands, and word travels. But I haven't forgotten about the audition process.
It's important to note that I happen to live in a huge metropolitan area with a severe bass player shortage -- it's why I stay busy despite having very little vocal ability. Speaking of which: if you don't sing, consider taking vocal lessons -- it'll greatly increase your marketability. I never bothered because I never wanted to go pro, but I regret that decision because I've lost out on some good part-time opportunities because I can't contribute quality harmony vocals.
Another suggestion: make it a habit to learn songs. I'm embarrassed to say this, but I used to get annoyed if I had to learn songs for an audition (or any other reason) and either the audition was canceled or the song(s) got vetoed. I belatedly realized that
the more songs you learn, the easier it is to learn new songs. Another advantage: a lot of bands of a particular genre play similar setlists of crowd pleasers. If you've learned a song once, it's so much easier to re-learn in the future than to start from scratch. For your purposes: it can make audition prep easier.
Last recommendation: learn to write song "cheat sheets". I can't read music, and I'm not great at formal chord charts either. I developed a simplified version of the Nashville number system (where the key is represented by "1" and other chords numbered relative to that), but if you prefer letters that's fine. However you choose to do it, writing out maps can help you memorize the song in question, but also help you recognize common song structures and chord patterns. You can save them on paper or electronically in a setlist app (my preference), so you can refer to them in the future as needed. I've been doing this for a decade and my setlist app now contains 700 songs. Some of them I play so often that I don't need the refresher, but it's great to have so many available just in case.
Right now, I'm mostly in the classic rock/R&B world*. When I get called to do a sub gig, I usually know 60-90% of the band's list already. There's also a good chance I have charts for many of the unfamiliar songs. End result: I usually only have to learn (and chart) a handful of new songs for each new sub opportunity. Some of this applies to band auditions as well: as noted, the more songs you have played, the easier it will be to prep. If you have notes/charts as reference, the prep will be even easier.
Again, these are just some suggestions, and concepts that may be useful as you become established in your area.
*My charts include songs in other genres (roots, country, oldies, pop) but it's mostly classic rock.
