Audition Thursday night. Advice?
 

So, I've somehow convinced a local band to give me a shot, sight-unseen, but they've checked out my Soundcloud stuff. I don't know much about them, but they apparently have gigs and are in need of a lead guitarist.

I play out in low-stress jam situations about once a month, but have never actually auditioned for a band before. I'm picking up the five songs they sent me today–I think I'll have them down by Thursday–and I'm planning on taking one Les Paul, one 35W combo amp, and my pedal board.

I know right now that I'll have to fight the temptation to overplay since I mostly play by myself. Beyond that, what advice do you more experienced players have for me? I'm actually kind of nervous.

I’ve only been in one band and I remember how nerve wracking audition night was. I wouldn’t worry too much about overplaying, to me, a good lead guitar player treats the songs like a coloring book. Use any color you want, as long as you don’t color outside the lines. It also depends on the songs. If the songs have iconic solos that most people can air guitar note to note, then you better play that solo just like the record.

Don't sweat it. If everything works out you will know it, if not then that's just the way it goes. They want you to work out well just as much as you do. But getting nervous doesn't help anything.

You've got to ask "what they want" out of a lead guitarist - and much depends on the type of music and the songs and style.
Do they want you to lay back and play low volume chords to back the rhythm guitarist during verses and choruses? Or maybe to play little fill leads between vocal phrases? To be the front-of-stage star during leads?
Keep pedal use to a minimum - just use pedals to make the 'right sound' for the song.

They’ll be evaluating you as a person as much as, or more than, you as a player. So yeah, relax, have fun, treat it as a learning opportunity. Play the parts, as you have learned them, with confidence. There are lots of “right” ways to play a tune, just pick one of them. At some point, in conversation, nothing wrong with saying something like “ if we get to that point, we may want to adjust how I play these “, but for an audition I say just go in and play with confidence.

Good advice, players. Thank you!

Yes, there are a couple of iconic and fairly easy solos that I'll need to do almost note-for-note (The One I Love--REM, and Stop Dragging My Hear Around--Nicks/Petty). A couple other songs are jazzier without distinct solos and I can tell I'll need to improvise. Those have me freaked out because I'm a recovered 80s fake-shredder whose inner Slash can lash out at any moment.

Just do you.

Look at it like this: if you play like the guitarist that you aren't, they are going to always expect that style of play and you'll be stuck.

Play the tunes how you'd like to play them live.

Wow. That's good advice.

It's like when you're dating someone, and you hide your secret hobbies and interests, and pretend to be into other stuff to impress them... they'll think they're dating a different person than you really are.

You should be receptive to ideas, and be willing to collaborate, but you should really just focus on showing them what you bring to the table. If they don't like it, at least you aren't stuck playing some perverted version of yourself just to hold onto a gig.

Couldn't say it better. Be yourself and play how you play. Take in the experience like you're jamming with old friends and .... just play. Have fun knowing that it could result in future jams with these players. Remember that you get asked back because you're great to work with not because you're great.

Got it. "December Rain" solo over the "Moondance" warm-up. I'm gonna NAIL THIS! :guitar:

Another +1 on this. Well put.

How did it go?

Ditto! 78910

OK, so an update.

Overall, good, I think. The band consists of three guys (guitar, bass, drums) who all appeared to know one another pretty well. The female singer was in the band but probably the most recent addition. I was possibly the youngest of the bunch.

I had prepared:

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around (Nicks/Petty)
Moondance (Van Morrison)
Hey Jealousy (Gin Blossoms)
Sade (Smooth Operator)
The One I Love (REM)

And we also ended up playing:

Give A Little Bit (Supertramp)
Smoking Gun (Robert Cray)
Deceptively Yours (Nora Jones)

I took my Les Paul and Mesa Boogie V:35, no pedals. The other guitarist played a Tele (through a Blues Jr.) and for the first time I experienced how a Les Paul and Tele can really complement each other in the same sonic space. The other guitarist and I mostly kept things clean, though I think I'm more comfortable than him driving the tubes a little. The bassist was very good and drummer was darn near perfect. The singer had an excellent voice and was still finding her range in songs where they had changed the key.

Overall I think it went well. We played for about two hours. I certainly did not embarrass myself and was able to keep up with most of the songs. In the ones where I couldn't because I hadn't prepared, I just tried to play accents without taking up too much room. A couple times the other guitarist and I walked on each others solos, but it wasn't bad–especially for two guys who hadn't played together before.

It was interesting to compare our styles: because he plays almost exclusively in a band, he is very precise and consistent in his licks, whereas I'm much more improvisational and varied in my delivery. I played some solos close to note-for-note, but most of the other songs required fills that we approached very differently.

There was some awkward but friendly banter between songs, but mostly I tried to be innocuous while they worked out arrangements. I made a couple suggestions that went over well. Afterwards we chatted while we packed up our gear and things were friendly. I thanked them for letting me play in with them and then left so they could talk.

I emailed the drummer when I got home to thank them again and he responded very positively saying that "everyone got a good vibe" from me, they're booking guitarists for the next week, and would get back to me immediately afterward, saying that they hope I'm still available if they decide on me. I gave the thumbs up.

If they go with another player I will not be upset at all. I learned a lot and had some fun. It wasn't nerve-wracking in any way and I found out I can actually play with other decent players. A good learning and growth experience.

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