# Did You ever have to decide



## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

We are in the process of finding a new resident bass player. 
We've auditioned 2 and here's the difficult decision. 

Player #1 has mainly played in Country bands for 20 years, so fantastic pocket player and decent country singer. Unfortunately he sounds like a country singer, not nasal twang, just phrasing and pace. 

Player #2 is a bona fid rock player, Actually he is a better bass player than I am guitar player.
Thing is, he hasn't sang in quite a few years. But when he did sing, he had a pleasant voice and was in tune. 

Our needs as a three piece band:
Bass player MUST sing back up and at least 3-5 songs per set to give my voice a rest and to give variety. 

Option #2 
Is to play instrumentals in place of songs the bass player would sing. So 3-5 instrumental song per set.

Whichever option we take, backup vocals are not an option. The player must sing back up.


Any opinions?


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## amagras (Apr 22, 2015)

Unless you are making a music that's very difficult of fast to play (which you haven't said) i would go with the most experienced player provided that he's willing to work on his singing to make it work with the style of the band.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

what you're saying is - you can take the boy out of the country, but can you take the country out of the boy? 
or
Do you need a singer who can play bass, or a bass player who can sing? 
Good luck with that. My instinct says go with the better bass player and give his singing voice time to come back to full steam.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Does your band play gigs where instrumental songs will go over well? If you even hesitate to answer "yes" to that question, go with the option to have all singing in your set. That said, it sounds like #2 will be back in the saddle pretty quick (warm up and practice on his own time) so I'd lean that way.


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## Guest (Mar 3, 2016)

Since you're a cover band, whatever fits right. IMO.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

How do each of these players feel about backup vocals or singing lead on songs, have you asked them?

I'd think that would have a lot of bearing on your decision.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

sulphur said:


> How do each of these players feel about backup vocals or singing lead on songs, have you asked them?
> 
> I'd think that would have a lot of bearing on your decision.


He makes an excellent point!


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

sulphur said:


> How do each of these players feel about backup vocals or singing lead on songs, have you asked them?
> 
> I'd think that would have a lot of bearing on your decision.



That was part of the audition and the Advert. Everyone who contacted us was made aware of the need to sing.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Budda said:


> Does your band play gigs where instrumental songs will go over well? If you even hesitate to answer "yes" to that question, go with the option to have all singing in your set. That said, it sounds like #2 will be back in the saddle pretty quick (warm up and practice on his own time) so I'd lean that way.


We have done instrumentals in the past. 
Depending on the instrumental, they go over fantastic or crap

Example: 
Walk don't run - Goes over well. Well known.
SUrfin with the alien - Goes over like a lead balloon. Too unknown in the mainstream.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Lincoln said:


> what you're saying is - you can take the boy out of the country, but can you take the country out of the boy?
> or
> Do you need a singer who can play bass, or a bass player who can sing?
> Good luck with that. My instinct says go with the better bass player and give his singing voice time to come back to full steam.



He's a very fine country style singer. 

Imagine Pride and Joy (He's a huge SRV fan as well) sang country style, but played with all the aggression of SRV.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

djmarcelca said:


> That was part of the audition and the Advert. Everyone who contacted us was made aware of the need to sing.


Good communication.

That makes it a tough one. 8)
It sounds like they can both play, so it might boil down to the guy that can already sing.
Even if you have to cover a C&W tune or two, it may go over there out west.
You may be ready sooner going with that guy.

Either way, it should be a good fit. Hard to tell at an audition though.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

My first question would be:

"I assume you've reviewed the playlist and are good playing those songs"?

If they both answer "yes"

"Do you see any songs in there that you could take lead vocals on"? 

If they both say "yes" it's time for another audition. 

Outside of that it might just come down to personalities, who do you think would be the easiest to work with?


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

What we decided was not to rush to judgment.

We invited both guys back on different nights and asked them to pick out 3 songs of their choice from our setlist to sing lead on
Also to pick out 2 other songs to sing back up or just play bass on .

Myself and the Drummer will then make our final choice based on that second jam.

Hopefully it goes well.

Also googling the most popular pop/rock/jazz instrumentals of the era's we most often draw our material from


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

No matter who it is, I'm not opposed to the odd instrumental.
There are many cool dancable tunes out there.


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

djmarcelca said:


> Imagine Pride and Joy (He's a huge SRV fan as well) sang country style, but played with all the aggression of SRV.


That would work for me.


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## Lemmy Hangslong (May 11, 2006)

If instrumentals work for your audiences and venues then go with the rock bassist and rehearse him till you can get him doing what is required... ask him first if he thinks he can do it first.

If not go with the other guy or do another round of auditions.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

djmarcelca said:


> What we decided was not to rush to judgment.
> 
> We invited both guys back on different nights and asked them to pick out 3 songs of their choice from our setlist to sing lead on
> Also to pick out 2 other songs to sing back up or just play bass on .
> ...


Sounds like you'll know pretty soon then! Good luck. Finding members is a PITA!


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

We ended up going with the rocker bass player rather than the country boy.

He came back and improved a lot on his singing and took the initiative to learn about 30% of our set list we emailed him, whereas the country boy only practiced the 4 songs he wanted to sing.

So we shall see how it goes. 
I foresee more instrumentals in my future.


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

S.O.B!!!

Dude we decided on, his Wife told him No.

Country boy is.....Found a country gig.

Back to searching and auditioning
GD that was annoying


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Can be frustrating--but given the original choice I would go with the one that just feels like a better fit--musically & personally.

but then I may be wrong.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

djmarcelca said:


> S.O.B!!!
> 
> Dude we decided on, his Wife told him No.
> 
> ...


Just in case he reads this forum, I'd tell him to grow a pair and be at the next practice.


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## JBFairthorne (Oct 11, 2014)

That sucks. However, the country guy probably wouldn't have been happy enough to stick around for long anyhow, but the rocker guy should have KNOWN his wife wouldn't be on board before wasting everyone's time.


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## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

Guitar101 said:


> Just in case he reads this forum, I'd tell him to grow a pair and be at the next practice.


Then he'll end being a country singer too


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

This goes through my mind every time I see the thread title ..LOL


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

I see there is a new live venue just opening in Edmonton too. Jasper & 105th

http://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/music/the-needle-injects-some-life-into-jasper-avenue


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

My bass player is a died-in-the-wool old country boy. Every line is that "dum-dum" bass. Every vocal sounds like Dwight and far too much Jack Daniels gets consumed. He's late for gigs, offends bar owners, forgets gear and his credo is "Lonesome, Orny, & Mean". He's Willy and Waylon rolled into one cowboy bad boy who's ass has never seen a horse.

He's my friend - so he stays.................... but I would never hire him. Go with the Rock guy.


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

allthumbs56 said:


> My bass player is a died-in-the-wool old country boy. Every line is that "dum-dum" bass. Every vocal sounds like Dwight and far too much Jack Daniels gets consumed. He's late for gigs, offends bar owners, forgets gear and his credo is "Lonesome, Orny, & Mean". He's Willy and Waylon rolled into one cowboy bad boy who's ass has never seen a horse.
> 
> He's my friend - so he stays.................... but I would never hire him. Go with the Rock guy.


So, he's originally from Calgary?
(poke the darn' bear!)


Sent from my Other Brain


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

This is so coincidental! I have a singer that I want to audition but she is a strictly classically trained opera singer! She wants to break out and sing rock and blues. On the other hand the singer we do have is all country but she is starting to pick up on other genres and sounds okay. Her rehearsal attendance is becoming dismal! I have asked the opera singer to pick out 2 tunes from our list and come in and sing them. Her vibrato is killer! Her voice is so powerful! The only drawback is she has a bit of a diva complex!


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

Lola said:


> This is so coincidental! I have a singer that I want to audition but she is a strictly classically trained opera singer! She wants to break out and sing rock and blues. On the other hand the singer we do have is all country but she is starting to pick up on other genres and sounds okay. Her rehearsal attendance is becoming dismal! I have asked the opera singer to pick out 2 tunes from our list and come in and sing them. Her vibrato is killer! Her voice is so powerful! The only drawback is she has a bit of a diva complex!


You'll find that's a common trait among Classically trained musicians as well.
Some of it is well deserved. Classical music is extremely difficult verses popular music (as in anything on the radio)
So they earn a certain confidence, however its keeping that in check to play in a pop/rock area. 
If you need an example of a classically trained rock singer, the most well known and popular is Pat Benetar


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

Lola said:


> This is so coincidental! I have a singer that I want to audition but she is a strictly classically trained opera singer! She wants to break out and sing rock and blues. On the other hand the singer we do have is all country but she is starting to pick up on other genres and sounds okay. Her rehearsal attendance is becoming dismal! I have asked the opera singer to pick out 2 tunes from our list and come in and sing them. Her vibrato is killer! Her voice is so powerful! The only drawback is she has a bit of a diva complex!


my son got mixed up with a classically trained singer for a while & made some recordings with her. It was almost as if everything was too perfect, too spot on. Painful to listen to. She couldn't break away and let it loose at all.

Example https://www.reverbnation.com/xxxy/song/8444328-can-we-pretend-bill-withers-cover


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

greco said:


> This goes through my mind every time I see the thread title ..LOL


LOL, me too. I've almost posted it twice


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

bzrkrage said:


> So, he's originally from Calgary?
> (poke the darn' bear!)
> 
> 
> Sent from my Other Brain


Nope - Welland ............. but he'd insist it was Wyoming if he thought it might get him laid 

No one would say "Calgary" and hope to get laid (bears are fun to poke)


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I kind of like Spooky but the singers vocal was way too low. Not sure what happened there but it's pretty obvious.


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## Lola (Nov 16, 2014)

She has a beautiful voice but it's not in the groove of the sound!


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Guitar101 said:


> I kind of like Spooky but the singers vocal was way too low. Not sure what happened there but it's pretty obvious.


Lots wrong with Spooky but the guitar was very good.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Skill can always be Learned. Attitude usually set by out 20's . I usually choose based on attitude. Then availablity. 

Also, if songs are rearranged into better keys for vocal comfort, one lead singer could pull it. It's when we stretch that the Vox gets tired and worn.


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