Tips for auditoning band members...

SquadLeader

Gold Member
Any and all tips/advice very welcome.

So the HR Director of our band (ie. me) sacked our unreliable singer off last week. No-one had the bottle to do it and the guy's unreliability has pissed me off so much that I felt the urge to take the bull by the horns and deal with it, rather than continue in limbo.

Apparently "I can't do that" according to the singer (who STILL seems to think the band that was never his, is)

So...that's done.

We're now looking to recruit a singer and have a guy coming across to see us next week. He's heard us, likes us, is currently singing covers in a punk covers band and wants to do originals and likes our stuff.

We've never 'recruited' a musician into a band before. Nor have I. If people who have, have any recommendations, comments, observations, they could make then it would be gratefully appreciated.
 
As someone who's seen at least 15+ members come and go over the years, it's important that you all feel that you can get on with a person.

After all, how long can you actually wait to decide?

If everyone has a good feeling about the person, if no instant personality clashes come about right away and the person is keen, you just have to go with it.

If it all falls to bits then it was meant to be that way. Sad fact of being a musician who chooses to play with others for fun!
 
The most important aspect to match is the level of commitment.

There's no point in even auditioning if the guys wants to gig each week and the rest of the band are up for 4 gigs a year or vice versa.

Then, they need to be on a par at least with the average musicianship of the band.

Then, they need to be "normal" and fit in. If a guy is into jazz and your direction is metal it's unlikely to work out in the long run.

Other than that, gut instinct takes over ...

Davo
 
also if they are already in a band you can attend a gig of theirs and can see their behavior and skill level that way.
 
Being in a band is like being married to two, three, or four other people, and one rotter in the bunch can ruin the whole thing. It's got to be a completely good fit with everyone. I worry less about styles and influences than I do about whether everyone can get along, if someone has a runaway ego, or if there's that one guy nobody likes.

I would personally also look for dependable, music-savvy (if he plays an instrument or two is a big plus), and possessed of other good-to-have skills outside of singing.

A lot of the best musical pairings I have seen have resulted from (as Old Hyde mentioned) seeing the guy play out live with someone else. if you have open mic nights or blues jams, all the better, less of a "poaching" aspect about it...
 
I have found over the years, you have to find someone you can stand to be around. The amount of time we spend together, (practice , gigs, photos, videos, etc ) makes it so.
 
Treat the new prospect the same way YOU would like to be treated. Golden Rule applies here.

(On a side note, somehting funny. Whilst auditioning a few years ago, my prospective bandmates asked if I knew a conga player. I reponded that I did and I thought she was very good. They proceeded to ask if she was cute. I said she was attractive and had a nice set of congas. They mistook that to mean...well....you can figure that out for yourself. I was actually referring to the brand of her congas...which actually were quite nice and sounded fantastic. Little bit of audition humor there. Ha!)
 
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