When the band you're auditioning for,..

Vandalay

Member
..sucks, but they still reject you.

I thought I played well, (in spite of an off-key lead singer, and a guitarist who used wayy too much distortion imo) I tried to stay in the pocket, not too many fills...

I've only been playing for a year after a long layoff, I'm currently part of the backline at a local open mic, and have been approached by two working bands about doing fill-in work. I thought I was making progress. Maybe not

has this happened to you?,..does it mess with your confidence?
 
You've stated the reason why you think you may have been refused. If you can control or change any of those that you may be responsible, work on those and move on. After a layoff, you may need more work, so go do it. Good Luck
 
It happened to me once as a guitar player. It may not even be about your drum skill at all. You just have to laugh it off and move on.
 
Don't take it too personally.

There could be a million reasons why you weren't chosen, that have nothing to do with your playing.

- They didn't like your look.

- You weren't the right age.

- You were the best player they ever played with, but you didn't copy a pet fill of the guitarist's in one of his favorite songs.

- They just heard from an old buddy who plays drums, and they are choosing their old buddy.

And a million more.

If you can, record yourself playing along to songs, and listen.
 
On the upside, why would you want to play for a band that you thought sucked anyway? Now you don't have to decline an offer in a band that sucks.
Its all reached equilibrium.
 
If the band sucks, should you really trust their judgement anyway? Not everyone wins every audition, and Frank covered just some of the reasons above.

Don't worry about it, I'm sure it's an isolated result and doesn't warrant too much introspection. And be careful about getting too clinical about your playing, with too many rules where you're no longer playing naturally. Bands will spot that immediately.

Bermuda
 
Maybe it was just personality conflict. I mean, I wouldn't make it far in a band of staunch religious people. I tell too many off-color jokes.
 
loads of mis-informed musicians think they will find the perfect band member and they will start sounding great without having to practice.

Don't feel bad that you came up against someone's delusions!
 
Been there. Done that. In my case, they gave me a CD of original music and told me which tunes to work on. I get to the audition, using only a snare, kick, hats & crash/ride, and they are flummoxed that I don't have a full kit. I assure them I do, but I'm too lazy to tote a full kit for a 2-song audition.

We play. Sounds okay. I can't hear the bass, just two loud guitars, piled on top of a loud keyboard/piano. One guitarist says that it feels so much better than the "other guy". The other guitarist exclaims that "it's like old times" (we used to play together 15 years ago). Then we go off into the weeds when one guitarist wants to play a song where "in this part of the song, there is no '1' beat." We try it a few times, and I finally remark that, if I can't dance to it, I can't drum to it.

That's when the bassist says, "My drummer can play it."

My response: "Time for beer!"
 
Back when I gigged 30 some yearsago, musicians would send a tape of them playing. Then the band would choose among the submissions. I did play a couple of times ( Audition I guess) with a band that had a bass player always sliding up and down frets to find the spot ( proper note). Drove me nuts. I basically played 4 on the floor just to keep some consistancy on the low end. After 2 jams, I was done.
 
Dude happens to the best of us.

I auditioned for a Genesis tribute once, got given the songs learnt them, even borrowed my mates old premier concert tom kit and didn't get the gig. My girlfriend at the times bro was on bass and my best mate was guitarist but the front man wasn't keen.....messianic complex. (Bit awkward for a few months afterwards as he didn't bother to tell me I'd not got the gig and dumped it on me best mate)

Karma is a wonderful thing, my best mate left them not long after as well after he was told the birth of his daughter shouldn't conflict with a tour......a nice man.

It sucks, your pride gets hurt a bit but when you settle in a good band that makes more money and is way more fun than learning a 1974 version of Suppers Ready that on 10 people have ever heard, you can laugh at them :)
 
Yup, it does. I'm sort of going through that right now.

I had a band contact me saying they are interested, but never got back in touch with me to come out. It's been a few weeks. Nothing. Heck, I've had about 3 of those. In the meantime, the band I'm in now is starting to get booked up for fall which is nice!

I don't think it's due to lack of skill; I'm just unsure if I'm a good fit. I also mentioned crazy stuff, like, getting paid to play (which I don't think they are into). They do it strictly for fun. I do it for fun too, but I like to get paid for my efforts from time to time.
 
I'm just unsure if I'm a good fit. I also mentioned crazy stuff, like, getting paid to play (which I don't think they are into). They do it strictly for fun. I do it for fun too, but I like to get paid for my efforts from time to time.

They did you a favor not calling you back. You don't want any of that.

Any band not looking to get paid can't be very good. Plus any band doing that ruins live music for the rest of the world. You don't want to be a part of that.
 
They did you a favor not calling you back. You don't want any of that.

Any band not looking to get paid can't be very good. Plus any band doing that ruins live music for the rest of the world. You don't want to be a part of that.

That's sort of how I'm approaching it. Thanks!
 
I got rejected recently because they said I didn't stay in the pocket. They said I did not do enough fills and other things. Hmmm....not in pocket but not enough "other things" I need to do more than just do what drummer is supposed to do they said. Huh? Sounds contradictory. Also when they contacted me they said they wanted a very simple rhythm section just simple grooves. That's what I did but they didn't like it when they heard it. We went through two of their sets it was 2 hours long and they never said anything never asked me to change anything and then see if it fit what they wanted.

Oh also the front who played guitar and sang sped up no matter what I did. I got blamed for not being able to hold down the pace.

They're still looking for as drummer last I heard lol. I saw an ad on Craigslist last week.
 
I got rejected recently because they said I didn't stay in the pocket. They said I did not do enough fills and other things. Hmmm....not in pocket but not enough "other things" I need to do more than just do what drummer is supposed to do they said. Huh? Sounds contradictory. Also when they contacted me they said they wanted a very simple rhythm section just simple grooves. That's what I did but they didn't like it when they heard it. We went through two of their sets it was 2 hours long and they never said anything never asked me to change anything and then see if it fit what they wanted.

Oh also the front who played guitar and sang sped up no matter what I did. I got blamed for not being able to hold down the pace.

They're still looking for as drummer last I heard lol. I saw an ad on Craigslist last week.

You probably already know this, but sometimes people equate "pocket" drumming with minimalist drumming, and it's not that. You can be perfectly in pocket while executing a fill every measure if you like; conversely, you can be nowhere near the pocket while not playing any fills at all... It depends on the music much more than anything, some songs need busy and some the opposite. The "pocket" is the deepest part of the pulse that the whole band establishes.

The drums aren't just "time keepers", they are a part of the song, they set up sections and manage the transitions, they often lead by dynamics or sound texture and anchor the song for the listener. We occupy both high and low end, and have huge control over the "feel" of a song just by our choice of voicing around the kit.
 
If you're not a hired hand for a certain project, but actually going to join a band blind then auditioning is a numbers game. Doesn't matter if it's not working for you or the rest. It will not be healthy or productive for anyone if it doesn't feel right.

Subbing and getting recommended is the safest way, but it takes a while if you're new to a scene or area.
 
I do it for fun too, but I like to get paid for my efforts from time to time.

A few years ago I didn’t even get to the rehearsal stage with one band because during email exchanging I made a point of saying that while I’m always happy to do the odd real favour, I wasn’t someone who will routinely do a battle of the bands, showcase gig or charity event. The answer I got was a bit blunt saying that I didn’t sound like the kind of person they wanted in the band, which was absolutely fine because I’d made a point of mentioning my attitude because I didn’t want to be in a band with people who would routinely play for nothing.
Probably nothing to do with that, but the band did get off the ground and disappeared shortly afterwards, meanwhile the band I did join (you could almost say I co founded it) a month or two later is now in its fourth year. Between that and my other band I’m able to provide the spending money for our Summer Holiday as well as paying for the entirety of a weeks break we can take abroad every autumn too. A friend of mine I was talking to last night has recently moved to a badly paid job and he told me that on the weekends he doesn’t gig he acutely notices how he has to withdraw money for fuel costs and small grocery shops through the following week instead of being able to draw on the relatively small amount of cash he would have gotten from pub gigs.
Being paid, very underrated.
 
That's what I was thinking! Sounds win/win to me.

I guess my take was "If they weren't very good, and rejected me, I must really suck..I know, glass half empty..

When I think "pocket" I think guys like Porcaro, Purdie, Benny Benjamin, etc who can really lock down a tempo, and use a smart approach to fills, thats what I aspire to,..Unfortunately, the more I watch Youtube, the more I think people are attracted to flashier players like Peart, Portnoy, and Carter Beaufort
 
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