The WAKE UP CALL many great musicians will have to face!
Summary
TLDRThe story follows a guitarist who started playing in their early teens, inspired by Guitar Hero and quickly excelling in real guitar. After joining bands and sharpening their skills, they audition for a well-known band but are ultimately rejected, not for lack of skill, but for image and connections. This realization prompts the guitarist to rethink their approach to success, deciding to focus on not just technical proficiency but also creativity, networking, and stage presence, vowing to become a more well-rounded and sought-after musician.
Takeaways
- šø A young person starts playing guitar, inspired by a relative or Guitar Hero, and picks it up quickly.
- š¶ They progress rapidly from beginner riffs to advanced metal songs within a year, impressing friends and peers.
- š¤ After rejecting an opportunity to join a cover band, they finally join a progressive metal band with peers, showcasing their skills.
- š The band enjoys success for several years, but eventually, members start leaving due to life circumstances, leading the guitarist to look for new opportunities.
- šµ They receive an audition offer from an established band, 'Zaap Dingbats,' blending Led Zeppelin's music style with Queen's vocals.
- š² At the audition, they face tough competition, including a Viking-like guitarist, a stylish female guitarist, and others.
- š§ The audition goes well, but they are rejected, and itās revealed that the Viking guitarist was chosen for his on-stage look and image rather than musical skill.
- š The rejection highlights how factors beyond skillālike appearance and connectionsāplay a role in band selection, frustrating the guitarist.
- š¤ The guitarist realizes they need to focus not just on technical skills but also on areas like vocals, style, and networking.
- š„ Motivated to become a more well-rounded musician, they start working on songwriting, improvisation, and building connections in the local music scene.
Q & A
What motivated the person to start learning guitar?
-The person was motivated to start learning guitar in their early teens, possibly inspired by a cool relative or playing Guitar Hero, which gave them a head start in understanding rhythm and coordination.
How did the person progress in their guitar skills so quickly?
-The person quickly advanced by watching YouTube tutorials, learning riffs they liked, and signing up for an online guitar course that helped with music theory and technique.
Why did the person initially decline joining the cover band of older musicians?
-The person declined the offer to join the cover band because they were more focused on developing their skills in metal music, which the cover bandās classic rock style didnāt align with.
How did the person's experience in a progressive metal band affect their development as a musician?
-Playing in the progressive metal band allowed the person to fully utilize their skills and gain experience performing at various shows, contributing to both their personal growth and the band's success over a span of seven years.
What caused the progressive metal band to fall apart?
-The band began to fall apart as members' personal lives changedāone got married, and another had legal issues. These factors led to the eventual dissolution of the band.
What was the person's reaction upon being invited to audition for the more established band, Zaap Dingbats?
-The person was excited and saw the audition as a big break, particularly because Zaap Dingbats was a popular band with a unique mix of Led Zeppelin and Queen influences.
Why did the person ultimately not get the gig with Zaap Dingbats despite performing well?
-Despite performing well during the audition, the person didnāt get the gig because the band prioritized factors like image and networking connections over technical skill. The person who got the spot, Bjorn, had a strong stage presence, while the runner-up, Beth, had valuable industry connections.
How did the feedback from the band's manager change the person's perspective on being in a band?
-The managerās feedback made the person realize that being in a band requires more than just playing skills; qualities like image, networking, and versatility (such as singing and improvising) are also crucial.
What steps did the person decide to take after not getting the spot in the band?
-After the rejection, the person decided to work on improving their overall value as a musician by taking vocal lessons, updating their wardrobe, focusing on songwriting, and networking within the local music community.
What is the person's long-term outlook after reflecting on their experience with Zaap Dingbats?
-The person is motivated to become a more well-rounded musician, confident that their improved skills and new approach will make them more competitive and lead to success in future auditions.
Outlines
šø The Guitar Hero Dream
The narrator recalls how they started playing guitar as a teenager, inspired either by a family member or video games like Guitar Hero. After receiving a guitar for Christmas, they quickly picked up the instrument, thanks to the hand-eye coordination learned from Guitar Hero. They began learning songs via YouTube and shocked their friends with their rapid progress, evolving from beginner riffs like 'Smoke on the Water' to complex songs such as 'Hangar 18'. The narratorās growing skill even attracted attention in music stores, leading to an invitation to join a cover band, which they declined, as they wanted to focus on metal music. Later, they found a teenage progressive metal band, where they felt they truly fit in and the band started gaining success.
š The Rise and Fall of the Band
After years of performing with their progressive metal band, the groupās dynamic started to crumble as members faced personal issuesāsome got married or had legal troubles. This left the narrator contemplating their next move. They spent a few years refining their skills in anticipation of a new opportunity. That opportunity came when they were invited to audition for a regional tour with a band called Zaap Dingbats, described as a blend of Led Zeppelin and Queen. The narrator felt confident, having mastered more challenging music in the past, and saw this as the big break they had been waiting for.
š¤ The Audition Day
On audition day, the narrator arrived to find a room full of other hopefuls. They noticed a range of competitorsāfrom a Viking-like guitarist practicing in a corner to an average-looking man in cargo shorts, and a stunning woman with a purple sparkle guitar who stole everyone's attention. Fortunately, they were called in before having to socialize. Confident in their skills, they showcased their guitar abilities, impressing the band with a flawless performance. Afterward, the narrator made a professional move by turning down their sound to avoid feedback noise, adding to their sense of accomplishment.
š Rejection and Reflection
Despite feeling confident about their audition, the narrator received a text the next day, informing them that they didnāt get the gig. Curious, they called the band's manager for feedback. It turned out that the Viking-like Bjorn, who didnāt even play as well as the narrator, was chosen for his 'cool' stage presence. To make matters worse, the runner-up was Beth, the stunning woman from the waiting room, selected for her industry connections and backup singing ability. The narrator realized they had played by the rules and failed to stand out by thinking outside the box.
š” Lessons Learned and Growth
The rejection led to an epiphany: being a great player isnāt enough in the music industry. The narrator realized that beyond skill, factors like image, connections, and versatility matter just as much. Determined to evolve, they decided to broaden their skill set by taking vocal lessons, improving their style, and becoming more active in the local music community. Though they were passed over for the Zaap Dingbats gig, the narrator felt confident that the next time they auditioned for a band, theyād have more to offer than just guitar skills.
Mindmap
Keywords
š”Guitar Hero
š”Progressive Metal
š”Zap Dingbats
š”Audition
š”Shredding
š”Image
š”Connections
š”Second Place
š”Dime a Dozen
š”Self-Improvement
Highlights
In your early teens, you start playing guitar, inspired by a relative or Guitar Hero.
You pick up guitar quickly, with Guitar Hero giving you a unique head start.
After learning from YouTube and online courses, you're playing advanced metal songs within a year.
Your skills impress people in guitar stores, and you're asked to join a band.
You refuse to join a cover band of older musicians and instead wait for a progressive metal band to approach.
You join a progressive metal band with other teenagers, and the band quickly takes off, leading to many successful shows over seven years.
As the band members grow older, life changes (marriage, DUIs) lead to the band's slow decline.
Years later, you receive a chance to audition for a more established band called Zaap Dingbats, who are about to go on tour.
At the audition, you face competition, including a Viking-looking guitarist, a normal-looking guy, and a talented woman with a stunning purple guitar.
You nail your audition performance, feeling confident and professional.
Despite your flawless performance, you lose the audition to the Viking-looking guitarist, Bjorn, due to his stage presence and look.
Beth, the talented woman, was a close second due to her connections and singing ability, making her highly valuable to the band.
The manager explains that while your playing was excellent, your extra noodling was off-putting to the band.
You realize that being a great player isnāt always enoughāconnections, image, and other factors matter at higher levels of music.
Determined to improve, you decide to expand your skills beyond guitar by taking vocal lessons, building connections, and working on songwriting and creativity.
Transcripts
so picture this you're in your early
teens and you decide you want to start
to play guitar maybe you were inspired
by like a relative may maybe a cool
uncle or something or you played guitar
hero and thought hey I want to try the
real thing so you beg your parents for a
guitar for Christmas and you end up
getting one and to your surprise and
their surprise you actually pick up on
it pretty fast playing Guitar Hero gave
you kind of this weird uh Head Start you
just get the feel for it down right away
next thing you know you're going on
YouTube you're learning all these cool
riffs that you always liked and now you
could finally play them for real you
might even sign up for an online guitar
course wink wink and uh learn some
details about Theory and some of the
inner workings of Music your friends are
really shocked at your progress because
you went from playing Smoke on the Water
to like Hanger 18 in less than a year
and you're feeling pretty good about
yourself at this point you find that the
response you're getting when you go to
the guitar store and play has been
changing drastically in the last year it
went from the employees being annoyed
with you and telling you to turn down to
people actually gathering around you a
little bit to hear you play one day
while you're playing at the guitar store
somebody approaches you and asks you if
you're interested in joining their band
it's actually a cover band of older guys
and uh you know they play songs from
like the eagles and zzy top and you tell
them that you're not interested because
you really want to focus on your
flashing metal chops and that doesn't
seem to be the right kind of band for
you so you hold out until one day a
group of teenagers comes up to you and
asks you if you want to join their
progressive metal band and uh you say
you're Allin cuz you could finally
utilize the full extent of your talents
now just just like your skills this
metal band starts to take off really
quick because you were the missing piece
and now they're ready to take off now
this goes on for many years let's say
seven years and uh you know you played a
whole bunch of great shows you got to do
your flashy licks on stage under the
spotlight and you felt really great as a
band for a while but then people start
to get a little bit older and things
start to change so maybe the drummer
went off and got married and the bass
player on his third DUI or something and
you just feel like it's starting to fall
apart and so you start to plan your next
move well after a few years of just
practicing in your room you know
sharpening your skills for that next
group that's lucky enough to have you in
their band you get a call from someone
in the band called zaap dingbats which
is a great name I think for a band and
their lead guitar player just quit so
they need someone to fill the spot
because they're just about to do a
regional tour well they're a pretty
popular band they're like a mix between
lead Zeppelin musically and then Queen
Dr vocals so it's a really cool uh
mixture of styles this is the big break
you've been waiting for ever since you
left your first band and you think man
I'm going to be ready for this so you
put a whole bunch of hours into
practicing and even though you're
practicing a ton you know the music of
the zaping Bands isn't super complex I
mean you've played Dream Theater covers
before so this should be no problem so
tryy out day finally arrives after a lot
of anticipation and you drive to the
site and you realize that there are a
lot of cars parked outside and it's kind
of confusing because it's only a
four-piece band so you're surprised to
see this many cars parked in the parking
lot well it turns out they're having
several people trying out for this spot
you know this isn't some startup band
these guys are somewhat established like
I said they're ready to go on tour and
they need someone ASAP turns out the
band did a smart thing and they just
want to try everybody out on the same
day so that they don't have to keep
coming back for more auditions they're
just going to get it over with and one
fail swoop so you get out of your car
you grab your modeler you sling your gig
bag over your shoulder and you walk
through the front door and there you see
a whole bunch of people sitting in the
waiting room with their instruments the
first guy kind of looks like Zach wild
at first you thought it was Zach Wild
and your heart stopped for a second but
it's this big Viking bearded looking
dude you know someone you would never
want to mess with he's in the corner
just practicing you know it sounds like
he's doing some warm-ups with pentatonic
scales or something and uh you know so
you keep looking around the room a
little bit the next person you see is
kind of an average looking dude he's
actually wearing cargo shorts doesn't
really look like it belongs in a rock
band at all and he's just sitting there
with his guitar he's not even practicing
but uh he doesn't seem like much of a
threat to you and then sitting on the
other side of the room is someone who
makes your jaw drop it's it's this
really pretty woman who looks like a
cross between Lizzy hail and like orian
or something and she's sitting there
with a purple Sparkle V guitar and her
sense of style is like breathtaking you
can't believe she's not on tour right
now you know with liny kravit or
something so you know you look at what
you're wearing it's pretty much just
jeans and a black shirt kind of like
what I'm wearing now and you go to sit
down but to your surprise they call your
name and you're relieved because you're
a little bit socially awkward and you
don't really want to sit down and have
to sit in silence or you know make small
talk with these people so so you know
you grab your stuff you're excited to go
in and you meet the band you do your
typical what's UPS you know it's your
first time really trying out for a band
the first band you were in just welcomed
you right away because of your skill but
this is the first time you actually have
to prove yourself but you're very
confident because of all the practicing
you've done over the years you feel like
you've got it handled so you plug your
model into their PA system you whip on
your guitar and you start to just shred
a couple licks almost to kind of show
them that you're serious that you're not
just messing around after you do your
flashy licks you look over at the
drummer who actually looks a little bit
annoyed but uh he does a quick little
yawn and he counts off the for count for
the song that you had ready for the
audition you play the song flawlessly
and when you hit the last chord you look
up and everybody seems pretty happy with
it you know you know in your head that
you nailed it as well and that was the
best feeling you talk a little bit to
the group they ask you what your goals
are you know the things that you prefer
as far as musical style taste you know
what your schedule's going to be like
and everything seems to go smoothly so
you ask the guitar player who's Manning
the soundboard to turn your channel down
because you want to unplug your Moder
and uh you think that's going to win you
some points cuz it's kind of a
professional move that way when you
unplug there's not a huge popping sound
in their PA system so you figure that
they'd appreciate that you grab your
guitar put it back in the gig bag put it
over your shoulder and you say goodbye
as you walk out through the try out room
you could feel all the eyes on you and
you look over to the Zach weld guy and
he nods on approval and he's kind of
like hey man that was badass you're
basically on Cloud9 as you walk out the
front door and out to your car well that
first night you find it really hard to
sleep because it just keeps racing
through your mind how awesome that tryy
out was uh you eventually finally get to
bed knowing the next day they were going
to make their decision and you'd be
getting the call well instead of getting
a call you actually get a text late in
the day and the text just says sorry bro
we went with somebody else at first you
think it's just a joke you just can't
believe that you didn't make the
audition so you text back are you joking
and the followup is no sorry so now
you're just in this weird numb state of
disbelief and all you want are answers
you want to find out what happened so
you text back can I call you he agrees
and you call him directly by the way
this is the band's manager you're
talking to your first question is well
who ended up getting the gig and the
manager says do you remember that Viking
looking dude named Bjorn he's the one
who ended up with it of course the guy
who looks that cool would have that name
right so then you ask well did he
outplay me did he out shred me or
something and the manager's like no not
at all in fact one part of the song
bjorne actually screwed up so bad they
had to go back to the beginning and try
it all again now you could feel yourself
getting actually angry inside and you
ask well then how did he get the gig and
the manager goes hey man I got to just
be honest you played really well but
Bjorn has a certain look that just
resonates with the band and we know he's
going to look really cool on stage you
know it's one of those things where it's
women will want him and guys will want
to be like him so he's actually the
perfect fit for the image of this group
talk about a kick or a boot in this case
to the gut because you know you're not
badl looking or anything like that but
compared to Thor over there it's going
to be really hard to compete in that
department by now you kind of have that
hysterical laughing thing happening as
you're talking just because you're in
utter disbelief so you say okay well
tell me I at least got second place and
the manager's like do you want me to be
brutally honest with you and you're like
yes just hit me with it and he's like
actually second place went to Beth and
you kind of roll your eyes even though
he can't see you but you go let me guess
because she's gorgeous right and the
manager's like well yeah she is gorgeous
but the real reason why she came so
close to getting the gig is because
she's really connected with a lot of
people in different bands and she knows
a lot of club Owners a lot of places
we'd love to play she's friends with and
so she'd be a really great asset in the
band and then he said in fact we're
thinking of actually opening a spot in
the band just to have her in the group
because of all that value she could
bring to us so with two greatl looking
people in the group plus one that has
all those connections we can't lose and
then he said oh I forgot one thing she's
actually a great singer as well and she
could sing backup and then you're like
well I never even knew I was supposed to
sing at the audition and the manager
goes well didn't see that microphone
sitting right in front of you the entire
time you could have just gone up and
started singing back up that would have
been really cool and you get kind of mad
at yourself cuz you realize you just
followed the rules exactly what you
thought they wanted and you did your
best but you could have done more if you
just would have thought outside of the
box a little bit and then with the last
your frustration you just utter well at
least tell me I made it higher than the
Normy looking dude and then the
manager's like man you're really putting
me in a tough spot here I have to tell
you the truth though he finished above
you as well and now you can't help but
be a little bit sarcastic because
because you're so outraged so you say
what is he you know the son of the head
of Sony or something the manager
actually laughs a little bit at this and
he's like well close he's actually
really well off so financially he's set
his dad actually owns this really huge
house and they said we could rehearse
there anytime we wanted to and they have
a golf course next door so all you got
to do after practice is grab a few beers
jump into a golf cart and Bam you're Off
to the Races sounded like a dream
scenario for band practice and so a lot
of people in the band were pulling for
him at first then the manager says that
he fell short though because even though
he's really well off and could really
help the band out financially he just
didn't have the look they wanted and uh
his playing was pretty average to decent
so now you're just looking for a little
crumb of Hope after your heart's been
dashed basically so you ask the manager
well did the guys appreciate anything
about me and the manager's like hey man
don't get me wrong everybody loved your
playing they thought you were very solid
a top-notch player but all that extra
noodling you did before and during the
song kind of turned the band off a
little bit plus when you get to the
level that they're at there are
countless amounts of great players like
you to tell you the truth they're pretty
much a dime a dozen at this level so you
thank the manager for his honesty and
you hang up you go to bed defeated that
night but suddenly the truth begins to
sink in and you realize that you
prioritize the wrong things the entire
time you've been playing guitar all you
really focused on was getting better and
better and better at your instrument but
you failed to realize that sometimes to
be in these band situations you need to
have more than just that it might seem
really unfair but a lot of things go
into the decision- making process when
it comes to being in a band you know are
you easy to hang out with do you have
the look they're going for you know do
you have means you know even just like a
car to get to practice could be a
deciding factor when you're a big fish
in a small pond you know when you're the
shredder at the guitar store that feels
great at that moment but that most
likely won't take you to the very top
unless you're at the extreme Elite
levels where you're just undeniable as a
worldclass guitar player but even then
it can be tough to break through you
wake up the next day to up your value as
a music position so you book some vocal
coach sessions and you go to Ragstock to
pick up some sweet threads you know that
your playing is at a high level so even
though you'll still practice you're not
going to put all your attention on just
your techniques anymore you decide to
work on improvising actually writing
songs too being creative and then you
look to reach out a little bit and get
to know the inner Circles of musicians
in your area so that you have a solid
base and a community that you could
always associate with and even though
the zaap ding bets passed on you and
they're now on tour with their new
guitar players you know that the next
time you try out for a band you're going
to have a lot more to offer than just
what you play on your instrument what
really motivates you is that you know
that the world is eventually going to
see the 2.0 version of you and you can't
wait to see how far that takes you
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