Preparing For An Audition
There are steps you should take to make you stand above all the other musicians who are auditioning. If you are really serious about becoming a member of the band, don’t even think about going to an audition without doing your homework first. After all, you don’t think you’re the only one they’re asking to come in and jam, do you?
This is going to sound so obvious but you’d be surprised how many musicians do not do this – Google the band and each of its band members. Even if you ask them for (or they give you) their MySpace URL, don’t limit your research to that.
Learn all you can about the band. Do they have a Facebook Page? Check it out. How about a Twitter account? Check it out. Is their music played on Jango or Pandora? Go see what the fans write about them on the “comment” page. Google the band name. Do they come up? By doing this exercise you’ll know if the band puts any effort into marketing itself. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to make a note to ask in the audition how they promote themselves and how they build their fan base.
When you Google the individuals in the band, you may learn something about their history. For example, is the drummer in multiple bands? If so, what is his commitment to this band? There isn’t a right or wrong answer to the question, it just depends on how it meshes with your goals. If your ultimate goal is to tour 300 days a year, a drummer who is in two or three other bands won’t be able to do that.
If the band member’s name appears to be a fairly common name then add “+ musician” to your search to help narrow it down to results about the individual you’re looking for.
Another thing to pay attention to is the band’s influences. You MUST know some of those bands’ songs when you go into the rehearsal. Picture this scenario. You set up an audition with a band whose influences are GnR and Motley Crue. The band gives you three of their original songs to learn. You learn them, go into the audition and nail the songs. You’re feeling good. The band seems to like you. They want to play more with you. But you need songs you all know in order to jam more. A band member asks, “Do you know any GnR?” You say, “no.” The band member asks, “Do you know any Motley Crue?” You say, “No.” Then you offer, “Do you guys know any AC/DC?” And the band says, “no.” (Do you feel the enthusiasm waning?) Then the band says, “Well, thanks for coming in, dude. We’ll get back with you.”
They won’t get back with you. You won’t hear from them again.
Now imagine if you took the time to learn a few songs from the band’s influences. The result is very different. You jam more with the band, you take a break together and talk, you get to know each other as people. This isn’t a guarantee you’ll get picked up by the band, but your chances have been increased significantly.
Finally, pay attention to what the band looks like and be sure you look like you fit in with them when you go in to audition. Consider what happened at a Black Velvet Deluxe audition when the band was replacing its bassist. The band’s photos on the web show the guitarist in jeans with a chain hanging from the pocket and a black t-shirt. His nose and ears were pierced. His hair was long. The singer had long, black curly hair. He also had jeans with the chain and he also had a bandanna hanging from his pocket. He wore a t-shirt with the sleeves cut out and both arms were full of tattoos. The drummer and former bassist were dressed similarly.
