Nervy Tuesday, 9th November

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!LISTEN TO THE THEME TUNE BY CLICKING HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Why nervy?” I hear you ask. Because tonight I have an audition for a lead guitar position in a gigging country band! Woohoo! These guys play a gig every week at the sorts of places and events I’d love to be playing at. For example, next weekend they are playing at the Castlemaine Truck Show. I love trucks, they’re awesome pieces of machinery, beautiful to look at and HUGE!



Give me one of them in white with a whole lot of blue pin striping on it and a red leather interior! HOT!!!!

But I digress. Along with truck shows they play at some great local bars where I’ve seen them play. They’ve even been flown to other parts of the country to perform. But perhaps best of all is that they do several shows for the ‘ute brigade’. These guys and girls love to have a good time and make a great crowd. They’re called the ute brigade because they drive utes with a lot of spotlights, mudflaps and Bundaberg rum stickers all over them, just like this one:



Oops, I’ve digressed again….I’m always nervous at auditions. The nervousness manifests itself as complete mental blanks (what does a G chord look like again?) along with a really tight grip of the neck - I probably give the guitar an entire years worth of fret wear in the course of a 15-20 minute audition!

Has anyone got any tips on auditioning? Booze is absolutely not an option (I do enjoy a drink, but never when performing). As is picturing them in their underwear – these guys are in their 50s and I don’t want to think about what they’d look like without trousers.

Lunch today will be a salami sandwich, an orange and a cup of tea. The salami was given to me by a friend whose family make it. They are of Italian descent and do a whole bunch of that sort of thing – salami, tomato paste, hunting. It’s very cool. This salami is the best stuff I’ve ever tasted. They put red wine and garlic in along with salt and pepper. They also use every cut of meat from the pig in it, whereas other people who make salami will reserve the better cuts (leg, fillet etc) for other smallgoods such as prosciutto. This has all the good stuff mixed in and man does it taste good!

That’s the non G&L topic out of the way, now for the G&L topic

Headstock shapes. Forgive me if this has come up recently but its something I’d like to address. They can make a great guitar look bad if they’re shaped wrong. I love the current G&L headstock, I find it a great, somewhat ornate interpretation of Leo’s classic design. Anyone out there dislike the G&L (or indeed any other manufacturers) headstock and if yes, then why? Is there a way you’d like to see it improved? Angled, locking tuners as standard etc.

Another manufacturer whose interpretation of the classic tele headstock I really like is Chihoe Hahns. It has a more modernistic look, almost like something you’d see in a Danish furniture shop.



That's all for now - I'll report back tonight after the audition to let you all know how it went.

Any feedback about the theme tune would be great!!!

Jamie

Hi Jamie,

Good luck with the audition tonight. Like Tim, I'm not a good bloke to ask for advice either. I've only ever played in bands where I already know the other musicians. From experience I do know that it's possible to over-practice to the point where you're tired of what you're playing and your brain just tunes out.

Which of your lovely axes will you be using?

Re. headstock shapes, that's really the only thing about G&L guitars that I'm not totally over the moon about. To me the G&L headstock looks a little too ornate for such well made, heavy duty instruments. I'd like to shave about 0.5 to 1" off the overall length to make it look more 'muscular'. But I don't really notice it anymore to be honest. What really does offend me are the ugly black Tribute decals on my 2 MIK guitars. I've never got used to them. They do nothing for the headstock whatsoever whereas the gold decals look really cool.

Tim - the Hahn brewery was (is?) owned by, surprise surprise, an American calling himself Chuck Hahn. They have some great ads, and Hahn Premium is a lovely drop, especially with a bbq. Haven't had one for a while, might grab one tonight on the way home.

Good luck with the audition tonight.

Which of your lovely axes will you be using?

Thanks a lot, Phil. I'll be taking this rig with me:


Look at those babies shine! Man was it bright outside today! That's my SH BB and an Ampeg J-20. It has the sweetest built in tremolo ever! It's basically a clone of a "brown face" Fender Deluxe with an amazing AlNiCo magnet-ed speaker. That's my favourite strap on top of the amp, it was hand made my some guy in the US, I got it for $60, which I think is a very reasonable price.

Using these pedals. Most likely I wont be using the fuzz, but it 'don't hurt none' to take it along. I'll take my delay pedal just in case we end up playing some rockabilly. The audition is 60km from my place, I have to use the damn Eastlink to get there - I'm a real tight arse when it comes to tollways (I'm from W.A. originally, where they don't exist)

GL with your rehearsal, I have no advice though, my past rehearsals have been 'sure come on out' and had no clue what the band played. However on a bass I can wing it quite well, so I was kept on.


As far as headstocks go, I hate the kramer hockey stick think. I really like the G&L headstock though, pictures kind of make it disproportionate but in person it looks awesome and not overdone. Much better than the original fender headstock as it has some flare. The 'tit' also avoids making a ASAT headstock look all wimpy (don't like the original tele one)

Elaborate more on some non G&L topics.
Everyone in the US knows you have Kangaroos for pets instead of dogs, and how many times have you been bitten by a Great White while surfing?

I like the G&L headstock. It is unique and its a Leo original.

Auditions: - Keep it simple. I would avoid taking a pedal board just because it is that much more to go wrong.

They are interested in your skill as a guitar player, not how many pedals you have. (At least they should be)

Play in tune and not too loud. Blend with the band. If you have to have a certain pedal for a required sound, make sure that you have good cords, fresh batteries or a reliable power supply to run your pedal board. You don't need it crapping out mid -song.

I don't know if they gave you a list of songs and keys before the audition, but if they did make sure that you know them cold.

Also try to have fun while your playing, Good equipment, like a G&L guitar, and fresh strings should help build your confidence.

If you sing, don't hesitate to as then to change the key of any song to suit your voice. A good band should be able to change keys with no problems.

Have a good time and good luck on the audition.

Good luck at your audition. Auditions are really hard, for me, especially if you really want to the gig. The best audition I ever played was with a band I wasn't that excited about, but needed to get out and get the juices flowing. They played mostly stuff I wasn't familiar with, so I really didn't feel a whole lot of pressure. But I really focused on keeping it simple, and focusing on the music, not really trying to reach to far or really impress.

Recently when I got together with my current band, I was really nervous. I know all the guys, one of them is my brother, and another a best childhood friend. I really wanted to impress them, cause I really respect all of their playing, so I proceeded to play like garbage at rehearsals for a month. So hopefully I got that out of the way for all of us!

I like the Current G&L headstock, quite a bit. It think it looks better from an audience perspective than it does when you see it while playing. I know they are the evil empire, but I like Gibson's classic Les Paul headstock, on customs and stuff. I don't like the really over sized ones, I can't think of who is doing that right this second. But some of the better known 'custom' manufacturers just look ostentatious.

I had the audition last night, I'm unsure as to how it went. I played the riffs and little embellishments just fine but the solos I played were unimpressive at best. It's a band with two lead guitarists and the other guy is pretty damn good which didn't help my nervousness at all! They asked that I learn three songs from a CD they gave me with 20 songs on it. We ended up playing about 12 of them, with me just going by feel for the ones I hadn't charted up. I hadn't even heard a couple of them before but I think I got through them alright. Anyway, what I thought was going to be a 20-30 minute audition turned into what seemed to be a 90 minute rehearsal. After that I hung around for a cup of tea and didn't get home 'til after midnight. The hanging out and 90min time make me think it MUST have gone well, but I was so unhappy with my playing that I'm unsure that that is the case. Worse thing is that the other guy who is auditioning can't do so for two weeks meaning I have to sit around not knowing! Aaaaaarrgghhhh uncertainty!

Bassman - thanks for the advice. I had changed strings earlier in the day. I took pedals along without any apprehension - I keep them stuck to the pedal board with the power supply. I have played a lot of gigs with it and had no problems at all. I know what you're getting at though - there's nothing worse than watching a guitarist fumble around in his gig bag for a 9V battery that isn't dead or a power supply that doesn't crackle!

Elaborate more on some non G&L topics.
Everyone in the US knows you have Kangaroos for pets instead of dogs, and how many times have you been bitten by a Great White while surfing?

Yes, yes. We actually get around in kangaroos pouches instead of cars. One of my lecturers is a Kangaroo, a western red. He's pretty big. Although I have never been bitten by a Great White, I have bitten them.

No not really. There are a hell of a lot of kangaroos here, not in the city, but as soon as you get out a little way you start seeing them, usually dead and on the side of the road. If you live in a rural area then chances are that when you look out in the morning you'll see a whole mob (that is the correct collective noun for a group of roo's) of them. You can buy kangaroo meat in most supermarkets. I hate it, it's exceedingly tough and has an overwhelmingly pungent smell. I hate sharks, I have seen them a few times while spear-fishing but never hung around long enough to find out if they're aggressive!

I bet you got the gig. Good for you for trying either way.

Speaking of off-topic stuff, ever hear of a dingo eating somebody's baby? - ed

Great, I hope you got it.. I think Playing well and getting along go together.
You can have a good audition but not really get along with the band well and
it won't matter, I've had a couple that I didn't end up playing or singing with
the group but made some good friends...

Love the G&L headstocks, don't care for anderson or Valley arts.... don't
hate em just don't like em....

Great, I hope you got it.. I think Playing well and getting along go together.
You can have a good audition but not really get along with the band well and
it won't matter, I've had a couple that I didn't end up playing or singing with
the group but made some good friends...

Love the G&L headstocks, don't care for anderson or Valley arts.... don't
hate em just don't like em....

You're right about that Chris - you have to get along with the other guys.

I'm with you on the Anderson headstocks, they look a bit too much like a Jackson. Great guitars though. I had a go on the tele shaped one with P90s, what a beast!