How to Audition for a Band

We've been running auditions for a new vocalist for the past few months (with steadily improving results thankfully), but it appears the world needs this post.

Bummer.

An audition is a JOB INTERVIEW. Sure, it's not usually super-formal and often involves beer, but your goal is still to impress complete strangers enough to want to work with you multiple hours a week, for an indefinite amount of years.

And 90% of what we make our decision upon will be our first impression of you. That's the way the human brain works. It's not fair; the true measure of a person can only really been determined over the course of years. But that's the way the human brain works. 

Research on first impressions from Barking Up the Wrong Tree: "The findings indicate that getting off on the wrong foot has devastating long-term consequences. Although later breaches seemed to limit cooperation for only a short time, they still planted a seed of distrust that surfaced in the end."

Artists, even more so than the average person, make decisions on intuition and emotion. If the band gets bad vibrations from you, there's no way you'll get in the group.

So what are ways we can give off good vibes to help increase our chance of getting into a band? The same ways that help you do a kickass job interview:

-Show interest in the band you're auditioning for.

   Unfortunately, this does need to be said. You want to show genuine interest in this band, not a band. Even if you only listen to a couple songs and read a bit of the website, this is very important. 

Mention to us "I really like what you did with the harmonies in The Golden Vine, how does that relate to the direction your music is going?" and we'll be ecstatic. This shows you've at least thought about what we're trying to achieve with our music, and you're intrigued enough to ask for more information. 

If you send us an email or text saying "Hey man, I can scream. What do you sound like? When can I come in?", you're not going to get an audition. It's not hard to google the band so we assume if you won't make that little effort, we assume you'll never make any effort.

This is why good job interview advice always says "Ask questions at the end of the interview." It's not the questions that are important, it's all about signaling to your interviewer that you care enough to know more about the position. You want to convey that you want this job, not any job.

Other examples of good questions/conversational topics: 

   "Where do you draw your influence from?"

   "I come from a background of _______, and I could use that to add some _______ to your music. I think it would improve your current _______ influences."
   "Between your last album and your most recent album, I see you went more in a ____ direction. Why did you decide to make that change?"

-Look like the band. Even if you have the technical skill, bands are as much about talent as they are about personality and artistic fit. Don't show up to an indie rock band wearing all black. Conversely, if you're a perky, positive drummer who loves wearing sun dresses, you're probably not going to get the gig for Metallica.

The whole "you shouldn't judge a book by its cover" argument may have moral merit but it's counterproductive to getting the position you want. Unless your mom still dresses you (NERD), you're in complete control over how you present yourself to the world and, therefore, how you would like to be perceived by the world. THIS IS YOUR CHOICE. AND IT WILL AFFECT PEOPLE'S FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF YOU.

People like people that look like them. The friends we associate with have a similar level of attractiveness as us.  If someone has a similar trait or interest, we tend to ascribe other traits to them without any other information.

Be conscious of what the band's image is. Act accordingly.

-Ask them what they're looking for and why they're looking for it

   Sure, the musician wanted ad they posted had good info, but this question is very important to determine the big reasons the band is looking for a new musician. Did their last bassist have a super-dramatic ex who constantly fought on stage? Did two guitarists have a drug problem? Did the drummer not have "the band's look?" This is important for you to know, since it lets you know what the band values.

In a similar vein, if you found the ad on craigslist, make sure to reply back to the message saying how you fit the criteria. You don't have to mention everything, since that would become tedious, but if the band says they're looking for a serious musician, tell them how your serious. Telling only that "yeah, i'm serious" doesn't convey the same conviction as "I'm ready to throw everything I have into the band."


Want ads are a golden opportunity that lets you know what values are important to the band.

If you want to get the gig, you'll have to know how the band will determine if you're successful or not. It's an easy issue to over-step Which brings us to the next step:

-Once you know what the band values, either say that you're (a Ask for the Job or (b Walk Away.

   In the nervousness of an interview it's easy to forget or wuss out and not ask for the job/position. Trust me, I understand how it sometimes feels emotionally awkward to be so forward and ask for what you want. I've spent a large portion of my life afraid to ask for what I want and what was important for me. Once I got over the fear of speaking up for myself, (which turned out to be baseless) I began to get ridiculously awesome results in both my business and personal life. 

So if you want the job, and you're a good fit, ASK FOR IT. It's scary, but once you finally internalize it you'll see crazy results. Promise.

On that same point, if what the band values isn't what you feel is important for your art, walk away. Trust your artistic gut on this one. If your values aren't aligned now, you'll eventually have to compromise or argue over what's important to the project.

-Don't talk smack about your last band.


Even if there were terrible, awful people (like some of the stories I heard, wow), do your best to spin it as positively as possible. If you come across as bitter and negative, it only reflects poorly on you and shows off your bad side. Since this is an interview, you should probably be playing up your good side. Just an idea.
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That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure I'll come back to this as more ideas come up.