Bloody Singers

Putting a band together and have all the pieces minus a lead singer, rest of us have been rehearsing for 2 weeks. Had our first singer audition last night, guy responds to the ad like all the rest - "I can sing my *** off you can pull the ad now".

I sent this clown the set list 2 weeks ago and specifically stated we were only auditioning from this list (Dig In, All the Small Things, Lil Devil, Interstate Love Song, Blitzkrieg Bop) but if he had a specific tune to send it and we would learn that song. No response.

Here's how the audition went last night (he did show up on time):

Ned: "What song would you like to do first?" (We've got the set list on the wall)
Singer: "I don't know any of those songs"
Ned: "I sent you the set list 2 weeks ago why are you not prepared for the audition"
Singer: "I don't have any of those CDs and I don't listen to new music, if I can hear one of the songs I can wing it"
Ned: hands singer lyric sheet for Dig In and fires up the iPod

We play Dig In (really easy tune) and this clown is so far out of key and hits notes so baddly that myself and bass player start missing chord changes. This is in A (why we choose it) and even I can sing in A (bass).

Singer: "Can we do the STP song"
Again this clown can't carry a tune if he had a dump truck. We call rehearsal early. I will give him this - he sent a email 15 minutes after rehearsal ended stated he didn't feel like he fit with the band. As for listening to new music this guy was the youngest person in the room.

Next 2 auditions are chicks and I'm hoping it goes better.

Ned

"Blitzkrieg Bop" is new music?

Reminds me of the time in college I went to audition for a new group forming. In the phone conversation, the singer and keyboardist were adamant that they wanted to play Styx, REO, Loverboy kind of songs (yeah, it's all I can do to keep from barfing in my lap as I'm typing this!). So, in preparation for the audition, I learned as much of this material as I could, and I went in with two songs each by the mentioned bands.

The only song they could play from these artists was Styx' "Come Sail Away." For the rest of the audition, they wanted to play Beatles and Doors songs. The guy who came in after me played "Riders on the Storm" perfectly, and he got the gig.

On the bright side, they never found a drummer or bassist who could work with them either, so the band never happened.

Ned, good luck with the female singers. I would love to play in a female fronted band these days. I think the performance is much more interesting for everybody.

Well we're all working for the weekend - sorry had to throw that in there.

My bass player is female and I got a email from her this morning stating that we can't "have any ugly chicks as lead singers". I about died laughing when I saw this as I have been wanting to say this all along but didn't want to come off as a pig.

ned said:

My bass player is female and I got a email from her this morning stating that we can't "have any ugly chicks as lead singers".

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Hmmm, sounds like she might be playing both electric AND acoustic bass, if you know what I mean! :wink:

Now that I'm off of the floor from laughing.

Her quote was something like you can get away with a ugly dude if he can sing but no one wants to look at a ulgy chick singing.

ned said:

No one wants to look at a ulgy chick singing.

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Sadly, classic talents like Cass Elliott or Janis Joplin would never be successful today....