****ing Singer Auditions

monquixote · August 2014

So my new band is instrumentally awesome and super fun to play with, but we need a singer so I'm doing some auditions.

Auditions involve me driving for 45 mins in each direction spending an hour setting up and an hour tearing down.

5 auditions booked of the people I've spoken who haven't been shit.

2 have shown up and been professional though neither has completely blown us away vocally.

1 has postponed (fair enough)

1 has confirmed and then canceled with two hours notice meaning a session has been wasted (though we had enough notice to not turn up)

1 postponed then booked another session then yesterday just didn't turn up and stopped responding to phone calls, text messages and emails. Result 5 hours of my life completely wasted to no advantage whatsoever.

Why are a vast percentage of musicians such total dicks?

GIJoe · August 2014

They are singers, I think so...

EricTheWeary · August 2014

I think singers are affected by a lack of confidence more so than instrumentalists - perhaps an odd thing to say when so many of them are raging ego maniacs. But poor excuses for failing to turn up or just not turning up at all may be about them getting into a panic and fleeing rather than facing up to you, especially if they are inexperienced. There isn't neccesarilly a stage between hairbrush in front of the mirror and singing for a band.

Really good singers tend to know they are really good singers as well. So they either have their own thing going or at least expect a situation where there are instant rewards. If you are a starter upper band then you might have to 'make do' with someone who is competent and can turn up - your dream singer maybe out there somewhere but you may not be his/ her dream band. And, as with any band member, technical prowess is only one element of what anyone brings to a band.

So, crack on with those singing lessons...

Roland · August 2014

It's primarily the wannabes who are dicks. This is part of the weeding out process. It's tedious, and I hate it. The good thing is that, because the rest of the band is well rehearsed and play tightly, when the right singer does come along they are likely to accept the job over the 20 other bands they've met

John_P · August 2014

I think part of the hassle with singers come from the way a lot don't have very much invested in it - we spend a fortune on gig worthy gear and time learning to play and in comparison they can just walk in and have a go....

The other big factor is that to be good at fronting a band they need a big ego - sometimes that clashes with be reliable.

I've been through 3 singers this year in one band and I'm still looking!

octatonic · August 2014

Totally sympathise- I've been through it time and time again.

This is why demo's are mandatory.

If you don't have anything recorded of your voice that you are ok with me hearing then you aren't going to be able to cut it in person.

I can deal with a prima donna who can absolutely deliver- it is the unreliable wannabe's that give me the shits.

gusman2x · August 2014

Went through a couple of meatloafs before we got a good (excellent) one. Musicians/band people are just generally a pain the ass.

mudslide73 · August 2014

It'll be worth it. You have to be a bit mad to front a band and this often means they're a bit full of themselves.

Our singer is an exception because he's on class A painkillers and well chilled as a result. Sometimes too chilled.

Danny1969 · August 2014

Can't you just get them to email you a Youtube link so you can at least check them out before organizing an audition I mean most people will have something even if it's only a shit camera phone recording. If they haven't then make em do one

monquixote · August 2014

EricTheWeary said:

I think singers are affected by a lack of confidence more so than instrumentalists - perhaps an odd thing to say when so many of them are raging ego maniacs. But poor excuses for failing to turn up or just not turning up at all may be about them getting into a panic and fleeing rather than facing up to you, especially if they are inexperienced. There isn't neccesarilly a stage between hairbrush in front of the mirror and singing for a band.

Really good singers tend to know they are really good singers as well. So they either have their own thing going or at least expect a situation where there are instant rewards. If you are a starter upper band then you might have to 'make do' with someone who is competent and can turn up - your dream singer maybe out there somewhere but you may not be his/ her dream band. And, as with any band member, technical prowess is only one element of what anyone brings to a band.

So, crack on with those singing lessons...

I think that's the issue. A lot of them think they can sing in their mind, but moments before the audition the reality hits home and they bottle it.

I've had a couple of auditions with singers in the past where that's happened during the audition. They've suddenly realised that outside of their dream world they can't do the business and a painful hour ensues.

In fairness for the people that turned up I have had recordings and both of them were "quite good", but "quite good" won't cut it for this band. The other two guys are people I've hand picked because they are both very good musicians and hard workers so whoever is going to sing for us is going to have to be very good.

Had I been looking for someone to bash out Mustang Sally at a pub then either of them would have done.

Got one more person in the books so fingers crossed for next week.

meltedbuzzbox · August 2014

John_P said:

I think part of the hassle with singers come from the way a lot don't have very much invested in it - we spend a fortune on gig worthy gear and time learning to play and in comparison they can just walk in and have a go....

The other big factor is that to be good at fronting a band they need a big ego - sometimes that clashes with be reliable.

I've been through 3 singers this year in one band and I'm still looking!

I really disagree with that on so many levels.

Not everyone spends a fortune on gear as it is not a requirement for playing an instrument. Singers generally need lessons and a shit load of practice, proper vocalists invest easily as much time and effort as any other instrument playing musician.

Hitting a note vocally is a whole different ball game to fretting a note. Not to mention singing out of your natural range and all sorts of other things that come part and parcel of being a vocalist.

digitalscream · August 2014

monquixote said:
I think that's the issue. A lot of them think they can sing in their mind, but moments before the audition the reality hits home and they bottle it.

I think this only accounts for a part of it. In my identical experience of looking for singers, it usually transpires that the ones who cancel at short notice or don't show up will have taken your description of the stuff you play and thought, "Yeah, I got this". Then, a couple of hours before the audition, they actually listen to it and realise is some way out of their wheelhouse and realise that they should've spent the last few days getting it spot on.

Same goes for a lot of guitarists, actually.

monquixote · August 2014

I've had a few that suddenly realise they can only sing a track if it's along with the record.

John_P · August 2014

meltedbuzzbox said:

John_P said:

I think part of the hassle with singers come from the way a lot don't have very much invested in it - we spend a fortune on gig worthy gear and time learning to play and in comparison they can just walk in and have a go....

The other big factor is that to be good at fronting a band they need a big ego - sometimes that clashes with be reliable.

I've been through 3 singers this year in one band and I'm still looking!

I really disagree with that on so many levels.

Not everyone spends a fortune on gear as it is not a requirement for playing an instrument. Singers generally need lessons and a shit load of practice, proper vocalists invest easily as much time and effort as any other instrument playing musician.

Hitting a note vocally is a whole different ball game to fretting a note. Not to mention singing out of your natural range and all sorts of other things that come part and parcel of being a vocalist.

You're totally right - for good singers.

But for the type of people that we're talking about in this thread - no shows, talk a good game and can't deliver I'm thinking about the "singers" that think they can do it. I've audition a LOT of kareoke singers over the years that think they can front a band and say all the right things. Hopefully I've got better at filtering most of them out but it only really shows when you're in the same room and then more so when you're onstage.

guitarfishbay · August 2014

It can be very frustrating, but all you can do is stick with it and keep to the game plan. If you're asking for clips up front and then doing a thorough audition (including two way Q&A to make sure goals are aligned etc) then that is pretty much the best you can do. Good luck!

Drew_TNBD · August 2014

monquixote said:

I've had a few that suddenly realise they can only sing a track if it's along with the record.

Huge part of the reason that vocalists should get lessons. Forces you to sing along to a piano or a guitar, and makes you feel so much more naked when doing it. You can hear every little mistake you're making, and you're much more able to be objective about your own singing.

PolarityMan · August 2014

Anyone else ever had a vocalist turn up with a guitar and try to audition as a guitarist for a band that already had 2 guitars?

He was a shit vocalist *and* a shit guitarist too but had a huge amount of self belief.

Drew_TNBD · August 2014

Awful. Simply awful.

John_P · August 2014

PolarityMan said:

Anyone else ever had a vocalist turn up with a guitar and try to audition as a guitarist for a band that already had 2 guitars?

He was a shit vocalist *and* a shit guitarist too but had a huge amount of self belief.

Yes! A few months ago - loads of chatting before the audition about things he claimed to have done and what we wanted - a singer, rock music. Then he turns up with a guitar and starts trying to teach us lots of ska songs that he would play while someone else sings... nutter!

Danny1969 · August 2014

I've had trouble in the past auditioning singers in person, simply cos they just weren't good enough but I wouldn't make that mistake again. We have had quite a few drummers in one band over the years so the last time we needed one we put the word out, picked a shortlist of 6 based on their demo vids and auditioned 6 in one afternoon session. Had their been anyone who couldn't play they wouldn't have made the short list.

In this day and age anyone who can "Do" something is gonna have an example of them doing it. I reckon you should check the demo's first. If I wanted to audition for a band I would expect to send them some live footage first, otherwise any dreamer can turn up!

mudslide73 · August 2014

We had a bass player come without a bass recently. " if you're up for it come along for a bit to see if you like it." was what I typed... I'll be more explicit next time.

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