Hi,
I applied for fall 08 and didnt get in. I spent about a 1000 bucks getting a plane ticket to boston(im in cali), hotel, food, application fees, etc...a real bummer
Everyone on here knows what they are talking about, clapping rhytms, different styles, etc. So do that.
For your audition piece make sure you can get it without drums. I remember that being a requirement. I picked a bassline from a king crimson song called Starless. Its in 13/8 and i soloed over it. My friend recorded it on the computer through cu-base and put it on a cd, so i was fortunate. They also ask you to bring any recordings(cd) of yourself, maybe some stuff with a band, whatnot. The specific audition room i was in had poor acoustics and had a bogus set up. A small room, A DRUMSET, and this bogus stero(small). It was hard to hear myself and i ended up geting a little lost. My nerves probably had something to do with it, but just a little fyi.
Im not going to say Im a fantastic drummer and rate myself, but i will say i have been playing for 8 years. Ive done HS and College jazz bands, drumlines, private lessons, clinics, etc. So going into it I figured I would be ok. I sat down on that throne...and my nerves shot up so high. I spent so much money and had so much pressure and hope from my friends/family that I just couldnt handle it, and i just crumbled. I read/played music like i was 14 again. I could have been as good as dennis chambers, that wouldnt have helped me. So make sure you calm yourself. Breath deep and relax or you dont stand a chance. I messed up on simple reading, counting simple phrases. I felt like a retard walking out of there, like a failure.
The most important piece of advice i have for you, is PLAY SIMPLE. They dont ask you to play crazy blues, latin, jazz. They just ask you to play a chorus(12 bars) of each with a 4 measure fill and back into the beat for another 4 bars. Something like that. So if you can count your measures then you are good to go. Dont worry about being flashy. You play those beats with the correct phasing,read, and have a good ear, you are good to go. You are better off having an ACDC "back in black" backing track than that some fusion craziness that you might mess up.
but hey you could be a thomas pridgen or something, who am i to say keep it simple. but i gave you a fair warning. A solid audition is 30 times better than a half ass flashy one.
Sorry for the rant, its 345am over here and im just in a ranting mood. feel free to ask anything else.
good luck
mike.