-Feeling a little depressed? This video might help cheer you up 🙂
-Here’s a copy of the article I wrote for BAND PRIMER in the August 2009 Edition of Fourth Coast Entertainment Magazine. Past articles are also on this blog.
BAND PRIMER
AUGUST 2009
SO YOU WANT TO JOIN A BAND -Part 2- More Tips & The Audition
-Last month we talked about things you can do to get ready to join a cover band. Let me add a few things and then we’ll get to audition day.
-1st, get a COMPLETE list of the songs that they want you to play. Simple right? Unfortunately, common sense is not always so common w/ bands. There’s nothing like showing up to an audition & finding out the band was really hoping that you knew a song that you were unaware of.
-After you get the complete list, you need to find out what key the band has their instruments tuned to and/ or if certain songs are in certain tunings. Many bands tune to what is known as “standard tuning”, but they also use alternative tunings. My Band, CAROLINE BLUE, for ex. tunes down a 1/2 step to Eb. An audition will end real quick if the band is in standard tuning and you learned everything in Eb tuning (unless you’re able to transpose on the fly-always a “fun” thing to do). Singers are not exempt from this. a 1/2 step may not seem like much, but it’s enough to make you sound like crap when playing with others. A lot of modern music is in drop tunings so it’s very important to know about this. A band playing in tune is a happy band.
-Make sure to learn one song at a time. You can do a quick overview if you’d like initially, but it’s better to play 3 songs great than 8 songs mediocre. Having said that, if you can get most or all the songs down before the audition, go for it. Any band that has been around for awhile has gone thru it’s share of disappointing auditions. Coming in and exceeding what they expect will really make an impression.
-Also remember that while the band is auditioning you to join them, you are also auditioning them. You could play great only to find out the band isn’t great-or worse! Ideally you always want to be around players who are as good, if not better, than you are. Sometimes, though, you may have good reasons to join a group that isn’t ideal. Don’t join a band that’s horrible-but if they’re not bad and show a lot of potential-it’s ok to join up. Just make sure to keep checking to see how things are improving. If things are stagnant-or getting worse-get out of there.
-At the audition, be as pro as you can. After the gear is set up & warmed up (DON’T set your amp on 10 and blast everyone!) , let them pick the songs & go thru them.It’s their band, let them call the shots. Be courteous & easy going. DON’T be a braggart and start talking about how great you are, what you’ve done in the past, how great your gear is, name dropping, etc. You might as well be telling them “Kick me out now!” When it’s done,they might tell you right there & then how you did or offer to tell you later. Tell them thanks & let them make the 1st move. if they want you, they’ll tell you. A good sign is when, right there, they want to talk more about the band’s inner workings and stuff. A bad sign is when you’re done playing & everyone has to leave right away. You can do a follow up within a week, but if you haven’t heard a thing after that, move on-the band probably has.
-One final tip, if you can, bring a recording device to the audition. Recording yourself is a great way to spot your mistakes and help you improve your playing/performance. Recording yourself is a great habit to develop.
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-Not for the faint of heart, but a very important message…
-Here’s an interview I did with Peter Taboni from the Buffalo Underground Music Examiner. You can also see it HERE
Caroline Blue, a melodic hard rock band from Syracuse, New York, consists of members Wayne Johnson, lead vocals and guitar, Andy Gore, bass and vocals and Joseph Boyle, drums and vocals.
The following is an interview with Caroline Blue’s lead singer, Wayne Johnson.
Pete: How would you describe Caroline Blue’s style musically?
Wayne: Our music has been described as being similar in style to KISS – with touches of L.A. Guns, Type O Negative, Chevelle, Motley Crue, Dokken, Megadeth.
Pete: Where is everyone from Caroline Blue from and how did you meet?
…. ….
Wayne: I met Joe (Boyle) through a guy named Roy Coston. I was looking for a drummer at the time and Roy suggested Joe. I met Andy ‘Doc” Gore a year before that when CAROLINE BLUE did a show with the band he used to be in called Silence Bleeds. He was the only other guy besides us who wore leather pants. Since, in the past, the lineups for CAROLINE BLUE have been unstable, I had my eye out for potential players in case someone decided to leave. That happened and I gave Doc a call.
Pete: What, and who, inspired you to start a band?
…. ….
…. ….
Wayne: I’ve been in a number of different bands throughout the years, with great guys and musicians. The problem was (that) everyone (in those bands) knew how to get to a certain point. Once that point was reached, the bands tended to stagnate and/or break up. I wanted to take things as far as I could go and see what I could do if I was in charge. So CAROLINE BLUE was born. I have many musical inspirations, but my main one is KISS.
Pete: How did you think of the name Caroline Blue?
…. ….
Wayne: I used to work in a retail store where their code word for emergencies was called “Carolines”. A color would be after that to designate a type of emergency. For example, “Caroline Red” meant a fire had broken out. “Caroline White” meant a tornado was coming . And “CAROLINE BLUE” meant medical emergency. I just liked the way the name (Caroline Blue sounded and went with that.
Pete: What has Caroline Blue accomplished musically that you are the most proud of?
…. ….
Wayne: I’m very proud of everything CAROLINE BLUE has accomplished and most appreciative of all the people who have been in the band at various times. You have all helped move the band forward thru out the years and some have even helped move it backwards (HA!). Some of the things I’m proud of is getting our 2 CDs recorded and released, getting positive reviews in Europe and the U.S., knowing that people are able to buy CAROLINE BLUE CDs at a store in Japan, having our STTH Disc distributed by Hellion Records in Germany & Melodic Revolution Records in the U.S., selling CAROLINE BLUE CDs via CDBaby throughout the U.S./Europe/Asia, having one of our CDs being nominated for a SAMMY Award (Syracuse Area Music Award) in 2006, having pro videos made via UVTV, winning an award for best Original R&R Band at the 1st Annual Upper State Music Awards a few years ago and the honor of being able to play our music in front of all the great people who come out to our shows.
Pete: If Caroline Blue is pursuing a record label, what would that label be and why?
…. ….
Wayne: It depends on what type of label. In terms of distribution, we already have a little bit of that already. It’s always the first thing any label offers. The last thing they offer – which most bands need – is tour support. Unless they have a guarantee that they’ll make their money back – and then some – you won’t get that. Obviously, the ideal would be to be with a label that can give you all that you need – without robbing you blind in the process. While there can be trade offs, a label that is up front on what they want and able to submit a contract so our lawyer can go over it would be a good start. You want a label for the things you can’t do due to time, money and/or lack of networking – someone who can help the band reach the next level where it’s a win-win for everyone involved. I personally would also like fair terms in regards to publishing and recording – none of that “band records music for CD/label doesn’t like music/ label locks music in their vaults and band can’t use it at all” crap!
……..Caroline Blue has performed at venues that include:……..
…. ….
-Boneshakers Tavern (Ogdensburg, NY)
-Hotel Adams (Adams, NY)
-Shamrocks (N. Syracuse, NY)
-Albie’s (Utica, NY)
-Club W (Buffalo, NY)
-The Doghouse (Utica, NY)
-The Lost Horizon (Syracuse, NY)
-D.S. Humphreys (Oswego, NY)
-Gatherings By Design (Phoenix, NY)
-Mac’s Bad Art Bar (Mattydale, NY)
-Northern Lights (Clifton Park, NY)
-Legends (Gales Ferry, CT)
A list of Caroline Blue’s upcoming shows is available at: carolineblue.com/page4.html
Caroline Blue has also released two albums titled, “Slave to the Hourglass” (2005) – recorded at Eastwind Studios in Syracuse N.Y. and “Not for the Innocent” (2007) – recorded at Strangeland Audio in Phoenix, N.Y.
For more information on CAROLINE BLUE, please visit the links below.
carolineblue.com/
http://www.myspace.com/carolineblue
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CAROLINE-BLUE/7569814282
twitter.com/caroline_blue
BAND PRIMER
AUGUST 2009
SO YOU WANT TO JOIN A BAND-PT.1-GETTING PREPARED
-Hi there! I haven’t been fired yet so I must be doing OK right? (HA!). So let’s see, last issue I talked about practicing on your own & some tips on what to do. So after that, now what? Well, most people start playing an instrument with the idea of eventually being in a band. This leads to an interesting choice-do you join a band or start your own? I’ll address starting your own band in a future article-mainly because I feel that when you’re just starting out, you need to get some experience & the best way to do that is to join a band-either established or one forming.
-There are a number of things one should do before searching for a band to join. As mentioned in a previous article, have the proper equipment. For example, if you’re going to jam with a metal band and you’re a guitarist,you need something louder than a 30 watt amp. In CAROLINE BLUE, we actually did go thru some auditions for a 2nd guitarist at one time and this guy I knew sounded like he would work well with us. However at the audition, he brought this small 30 watt practice amp. The drums by themselves, without having microphones on them, were drowning him out. Plus he was next to my stuff-a 100 W. half stack. Needless to say, things didn’t work out. Now, you could mic the guitar amp thru the PA, but you’re still competing with a bassist (who can be VERY loud right Doc-HA!), a singer, and possibly other instruments. Plus you’re totally at the mercy of the monitors and I don’t know of any musician who didn’t play at least one show with a bad monitor mix-or even no monitors at all!
-You have to choose what style of music you want to play and focus on that. Now, I know there are musicians out there who can play multiple styles and play them well. But when you’re just starting out, trying to play several different styles at the same time can quickly overwhelm you. Stick with one style and get good at it. Then if you want to branch off, it’ll be easier cause you already have a firm foundation with the earlier style. This also applies to wanting to play different instruments as well. For example, I started out as a lead guitarist. Then I had an opportunity to play bass in a band so I did. While my guitar training helped me get a good start playing bass, I soon realized that I wasn’t sounding like a bassist. I was sounding like a guitarist who played bass. I could fake my way thru stuff, but I was thinking like a guitarist, not a bassist. The approaches are very different, but at least I had a head start.
-Once you know the style you want to go towards, learn some songs from that genre to have in your “repertoire” so to speak. We’ll discuss covers vs. originals in another article. For now, most beginners join up in cover bands. What songs to learn? I’d suggest songs that are “standards”-songs that most people know. Why? When you’re getting together with a bunch of musicians, after the talking is done, you want to jam. Now, you can do an instrumental jam and that’s OK (if there’s a singer there though, he or she will quickly get bored), but if you’re playing songs, it’s good that everyone has some common ground. In addition, if you really know the song well enough, it’s not only a case of them liking how you play, but you liking what they play. Course, you might learn some songs, only to find out the band doesn’t know any of them. That’s been true with me for almost every band I’ve ever joined. So what do you do? Well, you’ll have to read next month’s article cause I’m out of space. We’ll get a little more detailed as well. Keep rockin!
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BAND PRIMER
JULY 2009
PRACTICE AT HOME
-This month, as the title suggests, is about practicing at home. Now that you’ve got the desire & the gear, let’s get into it!
-So where do you start? I would say start w/ the basics. Yes, I know-they can be boring at times, but I believe that your playing ability (as well as many other things) is akin to building a skyscraper-you need to have a strong foundation or it will collapse. So many players learn to sprint before they can even walk. How many times have you seen a guitarist play all sorts of fast, technical licks yet couldn’t jam out of a 12 bar blues? Or a drummer who can play all sorts of double bass blast beats (“Unleash The Canons!”), yet can’t even keep steady time to a simple cover song? I had a drummer audition for my band CAROLINE BLUE a long time ago and he couldn’t properly play a AC/DC or KISS song-but wanted to know if we could jam on some Rush (??). Learn to be a solid player who excels at the basics and whatever you build on top of that will be a lot easier & more enjoyable for you-not to mention you’ll become more in demand from other players & situations.
-I’d start by picking up a book or DVD or CD lesson book and work your way-all the way-thru before grabbing another one. DON’T buy one product, work with it a week, then buy another one, work on that for a week,etc. I made that mistake. I have a large amount of lessons that I’m just now starting to get reacquainted with. Go thru the whole thing-it will give you a sense of accomplishment & will help establish the discipline & patience you need to get through more advanced stuff. Finding a good teacher is also recommended.
-One thing-If you’re learning a song, learn all your parts. Ever been jamming w/ someone and they say they know a song-but then just play the main riff? Weak. You don’t want to be like that.
-Always practice with a metronome. Good timing is essential-no matter what instrument you play. In fact, w/ the exception of drummers, you might want to do what I do (well, did till the battery for the memory ran out) and use a drum machine. Not only will this give you the metronome, but you can play to a beat and it will be more closer to playing with a drummer. You might even get some song ideas (BTW-this is how the CAROLINE BLUE song “Deny” was born).
-When I started, there were times when I’d practice up to 4 hours a day. While that’s great, it can also lead to burnout. Pace yourself and take breaks. You don’t want half your practice time to be doodling. Have a plan & know what you want to accomplish. Keep striving to make your playing better & better.
Oops-looks like I ran out of space. Cya next month!
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– I was thinking of starting a blog on either Blogger, Word press or Live Journal. Why do that when I have this one? Well, not everyone uses My Space-and some people just hate it. I’ll only create 1 more-instead of on all three (too much time to upkeep). Right now I’m leaning towards Word Press. What do you guys think? What are the pro’s and cons of each? Is the My Space blog program just as good or worse than the others. Just curious….
WAYNE W. JOHNSON 