Auditioning Lead guitarists...!!!!.......any criteria or litmus tests...??

[waz416c]

well Ive auditioned 3 ppl by now....and Im a modest guitarist...but I can safely say I was better than 2 of them...teh 3rd one was good...but a lil too old and lived kindda far also.......well......in quest fora lead guitarist now.....and no idea how to really tell who is good.....my friend said that they shoudl learna song or two of our bands and then perform them for us......???..is that agood idea.....im jsut not really sure....when someoine comes to audition Im like....go ahdead show off...i literally say that.......ahahaha.....and they shred...well teh ones who can....but yeah...i dont relaly know how to lok for a good lead guiitarist........any help woudl be apprecited......and if ure from AUstin TX and wanna join my abnd..... www.myspace.com/atoneaustintx ......check out teh tuens adn lemme know ....!!!......PEAC EOUT

 

[Id]

well what kind of leads do you want for the band? if you don't like how they play just tell em to peac eout imo

 

[waz416c]

well what kind of leads do you want for the band? if you don't like how they play just tell em to peac eout imo

I want someone who can shred it up like a metalguy but can also play some sweet blues licks...adn add to the melodic adn mellow acsoutic stuff we have too......!!!........so VERSATIILE is the word...!!!......and thats hwo we've been puttin teh add in the paper....VERSATILE lead guitarist wanted...!!!......adn still no luck...but eyah I think we make it clear waht kindda player we want........we even put our myspace in teh apper...so ppl can see waht kindda music thy'll be playin............!!!>.......PEAC EOUT

 

[Metal is Religion]

tough luck dude, sometimes thats how things are. trying to find good metal members in my area is hard as shit too. just keep looking, your bound to find someone.

 

[blackmailtheworld]

why dont you fart on em

 

[Helspyre]

In the case of lead guitarists, IMO it isn't just about how technically good they are. Do their leads "say" anything? Do you actually think they kick ass?

One real peeve of mine is a candidate that shows up not knowing any of the songs. I think a "lead" guitarist should at least be expected to have come up with some potential leads to your songs. Not doing their homework means they are wasting your time, as well as their own.

So they can shred....but can they write a good lead part for your songs?

Secondly, they should show that they can learn the songs and keep up with the rhythm parts too. A lot of "shredders" can't.

Unfortunately 95% of musicians that show up to auditions have not done any preparation. If you see potential in one of them, show them some riffs and give them a homework assignment to learn a couple songs AND write leads/solos for them and come back next week.

Also, important to note is their rate of improvement between auditions.