Red flags?

Keefy · March 2023

I auditioned for a band recently and have decided it's not for me. A lot of it was down to gut feeling but I realised there were a couple of things that put me off, namely:

(1) The volume. God it was loud. A rehearsal room, but I had to turn my amp up way past normal gigging volume just to be heard.
(2) The drummer: 4 toms and 8 cymbals - really?

Is it just me? And what are your audition 'red flags'?

4string · March 2023

Soooo many...

1. Told to pick a song of the bands to learn from BandCamp. Learnt one of the two they had on their account. Got to the audition and when asked what I wanted to play, named the song. The response "we don't play that any more. Let's play XXXX" which was not even the other song on BandCamp.

2. Advert said 'casual garage rock band, not serious, play covers, etc.' They turn out to be a group of jazzers who are clearly looking for another free associating jazz mind to play, well, funnily enough, jazz. I did wonder whether I had gone to the wrong audition at one point. The hand made jazz guitars were also a give away (they were stunning though).

3. Being offered a 15 minute slot to audition in. Apparently they were seeing eight bass players that evening.

4. Walk in and start setting up, within two minutes the drummer and the guitarist are arguing over I can not remember what. Snipping between the two went on for the whole audition.

5. Greeted by the lead singer who was slurring and subsequently went through a fourpack of beer in the hour I was there.

theatreanchor · March 2023

Being told not to improvise.

Roland · March 2023

The main NOs for me are:
1. Are they a band, or just a bunch of individuals playing in the same room?
2. Is one of them a control freak?
3. Do I like them enough to spend time with them?
4. Are they open to learning new material/arrangements?

jeztone2 · March 2023

Number 2 stands out. I auditioned for a band where the singer guitarist was clearly incredibly insecure. He just asked me to mirror his parts & said I existed to support his role. I politely played along and then he was just downright rude. I kept my cool. But afterwards the bassist rang me & apologised. I suggested he might get chinned by someone less polite.

roberty · March 2023

Two crashes, one ride, hi hat, rack tom, floor tom, kick, snare. Any more than that and I'm out

On the other hand I am allowed up to and over 13 pedals

DrCornelius · March 2023

I remember learning a cover song with a band I was auditioning with and the leader made a big thing about having a degree in music as soon as I walked in.

I can’t remember the song but there was a slight but very polite difference of opinion from me as to the identity one of the chords and rather than simply naming the chord he heard he went through the notes and intervals in the chord instead whilst stroking his chin and looking gobsmacked that I couldn’t break it down like that.

I made my excuses and that was that

’

Supportact · March 2023

I nearly joined a band who, it turned out, had all their publicity photographs taken individually on a white background, so that if/when someone left the new person could just be photoshopped in.

Practical I suppose, but seemed a bit weird. There were other reasons it didn't happen but it's probably just as well.

shufflebeat · March 2023

I once walked into a rehearsal where the singer (who I knew - female) was obviously struggling to hear herself over the guitarist and drummer (who I didn’t know - male). I immediately took the only appropriate course of action and levelled her mic up to something useful (sound-teching is my other hat), set up my gear and joined in.

It was only afterwards that the singer told me she’d spent the previous 15mins arguing with the control-freq guitarist, her work colleague, who had refused to accommodate her needs. We did the one arranged gig and I bid them adieu.

mrkb · March 2023

roberty said:

Two crashes, one ride, hi hat, rack tom, floor tom, kick, snare. Any more than that and I'm out

On the other hand I am allowed up to and over 13 pedals

And 4 guitars, one of which is kept in drop D as it’s needed for one song…

roberty · March 2023

mrkb said:

roberty said:

Two crashes, one ride, hi hat, rack tom, floor tom, kick, snare. Any more than that and I'm out

On the other hand I am allowed up to and over 13 pedals

And 4 guitars, one of which is kept in drop D as it’s needed for one song…

Lol D standard! Tbf I usually take just one guitar to a gig, maybe a backup if I can be arsed. I broke a string once in 2010

maharg101 · March 2023

Any mention, or sight of, sheet music.

Jimbro66 · March 2023

I got through the audition for a five-piece band with lots of regular well paid gigs. All seemed good but at the first rehearsal it was clear that there was rivalry between the singer and bass player as to who was the band leader. Also whenever any of the band left the room the other three would start criticising them. The atmosphere was poisonous. Needless to say I didn’t stay. More or less straight away I joined another band where we were all great mates.

Moe_Zambeek · March 2023

Alcohol at rehearsals is a no-no for me, watching everyone get gradually less competent over the course of a rehearsal is no fun.

digitalkettle · March 2023

Moe_Zambeek said:

Alcohol at rehearsals is a no-no for me, watching everyone get gradually less competent over the course of a rehearsal is no fun.

Good practice for a gig though?!!

CaseOfAce · March 2023

Being asked to learn any more than 3 songs for an audition - it's a try out - I'm not learning your set! ;-)

I think we all make assumptions when we meet musicians in an audition for the first time.
If I see Neil Peart style drum kits I'm going to assume all the bells and whistles stuff is going to be used.

Speaking of which there's a fantastic bit in the Dave Grohl Storyteller book where he says he used to be a "busy" youngster drummer playing fills everywhere... until one time the bass player got him high and got him to play a basic steady groove for 30 minutes. Grohl describes it as taming a wild horse. He never did it again - and says some players NEVER learn this..

As regards bass players - if I see a Precision style 4 string on a stand I'm assuming the bottom end is going to be covered competently. If there's a mic stand in front of him, that generally cuts out all the early-Flea style lead bass / slap antics.

Moe_Zambeek · March 2023

digitalkettle said:

Moe_Zambeek said:

Alcohol at rehearsals is a no-no for me, watching everyone get gradually less competent over the course of a rehearsal is no fun.

Good practice for a gig though?!!

The audience getting less competent is encouraged, the band less so

I've done a good number of midnight - 3am slots at one of Edinburgh's main music bars and still have some sights I will never be able to unsee

bloodandtears · March 2023

A rehearsal "room" in a shell of a house with a lamp for lighting, and a 4 way dragged from Lord knows where as the only power source active, and a drummer (rip Clive) that had never heard half the songs.

Red flag is an understatement of what could have laid in wait!

I did source a singing bass player though.

stratman3142 · March 2023

roberty said:

mrkb said:

roberty said:

Two crashes, one ride, hi hat, rack tom, floor tom, kick, snare. Any more than that and I'm out

On the other hand I am allowed up to and over 13 pedals

And 4 guitars, one of which is kept in drop D as it’s needed for one song…

Lol D standard! Tbf I usually take just one guitar to a gig, maybe a backup if I can be arsed. I broke a string once in 2010

I was also guilty of that at the last fretboard jam; taking two guitars, a bass and guitar in drop D. But then only using one guitar and a bass.

At least @roberty appeared to use all of his, and seemed to have a different guitar or bass for every song

colourofsound · March 2023

I don't have an issue with lots of kit. It's how its used. As both a gigging drummer and guitarist I can see both perspectives.

If I see a big kit, the red flag for me is that all of it is used all the time. What you want is a drummer that lay down an excellent groove and use those extra parts both sparingly and with some skill.

Same goes for a guitarist. If you're swapping guitars every song and you use every pedal at all times then you need sectioning. I'd be expecting a plain clean or dirty tone 90% of the time.

Any more than that its basically just demoing kit rather than playing songs.

HAL9000 · March 2023

The band arguing amongst themselves about what key a particular song is in.

Edit - auditions that are (and I quote) ‘open to all ages and abilities’ - nothing quite says ‘desperation’ like those six words.

stratman3142 · March 2023

It's always worth having a plan of what you're going to say, in case you get the call offering you the gig and you want to politely decline.

roberty · March 2023

stratman3142 said:

It's always worth having a plan of what you're going to say, in case you get the call offering you the gig and you want to politely decline.

I usually say I'm washing my hair that night and then ghost them

p90fool · March 2023

stratman3142 said:

It's always worth having a plan of what you're going to say, in case you get the call offering you the gig and you want to politely decline.

This! I was put on the spot at an audition recently, but luckily I really was too busy although I could have made time for something decent.

There were lots of red flags at that one - I learned the six songs in advance of it but the frontman played harmonica the whole time he wasn't singing, the trumpeter (oh joy!) played incessantly too and the lead guitarist didn't know any of the songs, he just wanked over the whole lot, vocals included.

The drummer and bassist were ok, but it was like trying to put together a subtle, dynamic rhythm section while three different car alarms were going off.

I saw from the group chat they forgot to remove me from that the drummer and bassist both left within a fortnight.

fretmeister · March 2023

colourofsound said:

I don't have an issue with lots of kit. It's how its used. As both a gigging drummer and guitarist I can see both perspectives.

If I see a big kit, the red flag for me is that all of it is used all the time. What you want is a drummer that lay down an excellent groove and use those extra parts both sparingly and with some skill.

Same goes for a guitarist. If you're swapping guitars every song and you use every pedal at all times then you need sectioning. I'd be expecting a plain clean or dirty tone 90% of the time.

Any more than that it’s basically just demoing kit rather than playing songs.

Could just be a Muse tribute.

fretmeister · March 2023

Keefy said:

I auditioned for a band recently and have decided it's not for me. A lot of it was down to gut feeling but I realised there were a couple of things that put me off, namely:

(1) The volume. God it was loud. A rehearsal room, but I had to turn my amp up way past normal gigging volume just to be heard.
(2) The drummer: 4 toms and 8 cymbals - really?

Is it just me? And what are your audition 'red flags'?

Completely agree about the volume.

4 toms is ok though. Loads of kits have 3 anyway.

Generally I’m not bothered by gear of other players as they don’t get a say in my gear.

Most drummers quickly learn to cut down the gear when nobody else will help them carry their kit.

Generally, as a bassist, the biggest problem for me is drummers who can’t hold tempo, and don’t know they are drifting. We cannot lock together if the drummer doesn’t even realise he’s doing it.

But when I play with the right drummer and we understand each other… damn! That’s just so enjoyable.

Keefy · March 2023

stratman3142 said:

It's always worth having a plan of what you're going to say, in case you get the call offering you the gig and you want to politely decline.

I almost always say that I’ll sleep on it, which is what I did this time. I’ve yet to speak to the BL so I don’t know what the band thought of me - feedback is always useful. I’m aware of one other person who had expressed an interest in trying out for the band. I’ll just say I don’t think it’s the band for me.

digitalkettle · March 2023

I've had a few of these nightmare try-outs...I even went back for a second go once thinking "I can sort this" (I couldn't).

I always politely suffered all the way to the end of the three hour session...even though I got the measure of the situation before a note had even been played ;-/

Has anyone ever calmly packed up and fucked off halfway through?

ICBM · March 2023

I've left a band in the past because the volume level at rehearsals was staggering - even with earplugs. The drummer was technically brilliant, but only had two volume levels... deafening, and apocalyptic. (I know a lot of people will say this isn't a technically good drummer.) The other guitarist only had one volume setting as well - 10/10/10 on everything.

Other red flags - no so much. I'm quite easy-going, so issues are most likely to only become obvious after a while. The other way round is more likely! And has been a couple of times, both due to my complete refusal to learn parts *exactly* like either the record or my predecessor... that's just not how I approach music.

welshboyo · March 2023

I remember auditioning for a band as a 2nd guitar player and the other guitar player (who was a bit older than me) asking me if I was good enough to “follow” him….he then proceeded to wank away in 1st position minor Pentatonic all night…and that’s all he could do…on 10…

Keefy · March 2023

I spoke to the BL and, whilst being positive about the band, explained it was not the one for me. He was fine and totally got it.

On reflection about my ‘red flags’ I stick to the volume thing but although the large drum kit could have some practical drawbacks for the band as a whole, it’s probably a bit control-freaky of me to disapprove of it - I don’t even play drums so what do I know?

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