 When a band is looking for a new musician, the step after a successful phone screen is usually an audition. However, in an effort to save time in the long run and establish as much of a relationship before decision-making time, you should interview musicians. There are many advantages of interviewing a musician outside of strapping on a guitar and jamming, the biggest reason of which is to save time. You can only learn so much about someone through a phone call. Give a musician 20 minutes to meet with you and talk further about the band.
It can be uncomfortable, awkward, and de-motivating to bring in a musician to an audition who doesn’t present professionally and click immediately with the team. The first impression will set the pace of the rest of the screening process. A bad first impression can end a meeting quickly and save the rest of your band the trouble of false hope and a bad audition. A good first impression allows you to plan and prepare with excitement for the audition.
If you have 4 or 5 musicians that are possible candidates after a phone screen, set a block of time at a local coffee shop and schedule each person to meet with you for 20 minutes. Grab a coffee and let the conversation take you. Explain to the candidate why you are meeting with him or her and discuss your band further. Allow the other person a chance to ask you some questions as well. If the meeting is going well, set up the official audition and coach the musician how they can prepare for the nerve wracking experience of being judged by the band.
Below are a few steps to help you interview musicians.
- Schedule each candidate to meet with you every half hour for 20 minutes. This gives you 10 minutes of prep-time and flex-time.
- When the candidate arrives, shake his or her hand, introduce yourself and offer to buy a cup of coffee.
- Before the discussion begins, ask the candidate if there are any initial questions. This can give you an immediate direction to take the conversation or help set some context for the rest of the interview process.
- Explain why you are meeting with him or her. Re-introduce your band and why you are looking for a new musician. You are meeting with this person to gain a better understanding of the candidate and ensure that the individual is a fit for the team outside of specific musical talent.
- To get the conversation rolling deeper, ask the question again, “what made you interested in auditioning for our band?”
- Let the conversation continue and keep an eye on the time. After 15 minutes, take control of the discussion and direct the next steps of the process. As with the pre-close of your phone screen, ask the candidate if, based on the conversation, he or she would like to pursue the opportunity further.
- If the interview went well, explain your follow up steps and offer advice the musician can use to prepare for the audition. If the interview did not go well, tell the candidate that you will be reviewing each musician with your team and will follow up on a specific date.
- Thank the musician, for his or her time, provide a business card for follow up, and reiterate when and how the candidate will hear from you next.
- Write down some final thoughts and prepare for the next interview.
I would like to re-iterate that although there should be a process and plan to your interview process, conversation should be liquid and flow naturally. People are people and situations rarely, if ever, go as planned. If you had 4 or 5 candidates after the phone screen step, hopefully you have been able to weed down to just 2 or 3 for the audition. You now have the opportunity to spend a good chunk of time auditioning and jamming with a few musicians and can continue to further build the relationships with your potential band mates.
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