Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

So we had one audition today. Thought it was s'posed to be 2, but we won't be able to have the 2nd guy over for 2 weeks, I think.

So anyway, this 22 year old guy shows up with his gf. I started off messing with him, pretending he was at the wrong place. Yanked him into the studio & made him use a tuner. Told him he already had 2 strikes against him - his age & the fact that he brought his gf. They both laughed...hmm...I must be losing my touch to intimidate ppl!

Ya know...this guy ain't bad at all. He's got chops. He ain't askeered to play. Most importantly, he doesn't fall apart when I mess with his head or holler out changes to him. He seems like he's a fairly good fit (yes, even musically!) but I wish he knew a lil bit more of the tech side so I could talk to him without him looking at me like I have 3 heads. Still, I got the message across, eventually, & he was playing like he'd done it all his life. He followed chord charts well, even in my hastilly scrawled chicken scratches...He's also a recent vet...Marine Corps? I forget what brand. But he'll look good to the wimmenfoke as he plays...(better than I ever will, anyway!)

It's also obvious he hasn't heard some (most) of our stuff, but he seemed to slip in seamlessly. I was very pleasantly surprized. He caught onto to it all very quickly, even little nuances I've had so much trouble with with the last 3 guys we had in the group.

I asked him how he feels about playing with us old farts & he actually said he preferred it, cuz he could pick up stuff from us that he couldn't from his peers.

Okay, I'm thinking, this guy is obviously an alien creature, cuz no damned American youth ever acted like that around me before! (well, other than me!)

Methinks it may behoove us to get him a CD of all our material. I'm almost excited at this prospective member of our lil family. Reminds me of the 1st time I saw Huey Lewis, & marvelled at his young guitarist...

I still wanna hear the other guy in the wings, but this one, Matt, has me grinning bigglier than I have in a while...now, if I haven't scared the f*cker off, we might have something going!

You didn't give him the ultimate test,,,,, go play with deer outside my kitchen window,,,,, while preparing dinner.

The only thing is his youth. Young people tend to be flaky no matter how good they are. I would keep him on probation.

Now, Mary!!! We always give the young bands a hard time for discriminating against us old farts. We have to be better than that.

If he was a Marine, chances are he is a lot more mature than his age.
Having old leathernecks slap you around and scream at you will make or break a man. Think you may find that if this is the case he may be more man than most his age group.
Good luck.

Some young people can RIP circles around us old farts. It's the nuances of experience they are missing. This guy sounds like he understands that he can pick up some of those needed nuances from you. Some young guys think they know it all, but this guy sounds like he might be a real find. Keep working with him, it might be a pleasant surprise...

From one old fart to another , having the young ones come play with you makes you feel 25 again . I figured that out recently when my kids boyfreinds started playing in one of my projects. Sometimes we get a little stale in our approach to things and a young one can breath some new life into it . Good luck !!


And another day in Paradise !!!

I agree with Bob and Collaborator, it might be a good idea to give the youngster a chance. I like jamming with younger players too, at least when they have the presence of mind to realize they might learn something from us old farts. Most don't, but when you find one that is up for it, they can be an excellent addition to your band.

Well, I just got offa the phone w/Dddonnie & Mike, & it seems we have a consensus - if he's interested, he can pick up the practice CD anytime after Wed. This could be very very cool.

Hope he doesn't turn out to be a flake...*knockin' on wood*...

I'm looking forward to this, ladies & gents! I think I can teach him what he'll need to know to play with us, or just about anyone else, for that matter. Hope he does his homework!

Very cool Philby!


I joined a second band a couple weeks ago; all young guys, at least 10-15 years younger than me. But they're really talented and really passionate about their music. It's been pure joy playing with them.

When we first started talking about the possibility of me playing with them, I let them know right off I was much older than them. They didn't care; they just wanted to know if I could play.


We let age get in the way far too much in our society...

Black57 wrote:The only thing is his youth. Young people tend to be flaky no matter how good they are. I would keep him on probation.

I thought all musicians were a little flakey?? Have`nt met one that is`nt yet !!! lol