Preparing to audition singers is a very difficult task. You have to have an idea of what you are looking for, be open for something completely unexpected to change your mind of what you originally wanted and have a way to compare all of the candidates. I have auditioned many singers for Evil Kitty. The band over its tenure had 5 lead singers: Olivia, Kurt, Jenn, Jamie and Sue – 7 if you count our short lived side project (a pop rock group called k-12). In between each of those singers we auditioned to find the next. At the time I had no idea what I was doing and our goal was to always appear bigger and better then we really were to attract the best candidates. New York City is packed with aspiring singers and actors so finding candidates was rarely a problem. We used to rent a studio space – invite the singer in and ask them what they wanted to sing. Some of them played guitar or piano and would accompany themselves, others would keep naming songs until we found one we could play. Then we would run through instrumental versions of our songs to kill the full 2 hour session we were paying for. Some of these auditions were brutal. One candidate wanted us to play one of her songs which she showed us – it was a piece that the root note descending each phrase with the remainder of notes remaining the same. I compared it structurally to a funeral march which led to an adversarial audition – our bass player really liked her voice and wanted to sign her up (he still keeps a copy of her demo she gave us), our drummer asked her to move in with him 20 minutes after they met and she wanted me to jump out of a window. Another time we auditioned someone based on a headshot that was far from recent – she did not keep her looks up and she could not sing. I couldn’t wait for that audition to end – our drummer stuck around and went back to her place. Eventually the bass player and I would run an initial interview at a diner with prospects – warn them that our drummer would probably try to get her in bed at the formal audition and if we “connected” we would schedule a formal live audition.

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I learned a lot from these auditions – 1^st off having a potential singer sing to a live performance is a bad idea. The band is focused on playing and can’t give the singer their full attention. While you want to get to know their personality – it should be as professional as a business interview. You also need a way to fairly compare all of the prospects. For my new project I have already begun recording tracks for the album (I am about 1/3^rd finished) so I know the sound I want. I want a female fronted Van Halen or Guns N’ Roses. I want it similar to my old band – but a bit grittier and musically more complex (not to the extent of progressive). That being said I know I am looking for a seductive, sultry voice. I want something sweet and tender for soft sections and earth shattering for the heavier parts. To compare the candidates vocally I am going to have them sing/record over studio tracks. Since I plan on sending them all copies of the songs this weekend I guess I can spill the beans. I am going to have them all sing “Try” from my old band, as well as compose original lyrics and sing to an untitled piece and finally I have recorded a version of Cindy Lauper’s “Change of Heart” – they will get the original version to practice to and they will hear the new version at the audition as I don’t want the music leaked (this should be a killer cover and will be unreal performed live). Why did I pick these songs? “Try” has a ballad verse and a hard rock chorus so I can hear how they sing 2 genres in 1 and have to transition between the 2. The new piece lets me see their lyric and melody writing abilities and the cover will let me compare them to a famous artist (albeit unorthodox artist) and see how they sing what I consider to be the cornerstone of the new album. Using studio tracks will let me record them so I can compare using more then my memory and will let the band focus on listening to the singer. I also plan on having a list of questions to ask – then the answers can be compared to see who is going to fit in personality wise with the other members of the group, to compare experience and to see if they will be comfortable in the genre and image of the band. I have started coming up with some questions – any suggestions? Auditions are a month away, but I will defiantly break them down here – but I don’t think I will post the audio/photos as it would be unfair to the applicants so my verbal descriptions will have to suffice – I am considering posting the winning auditions version of “Try” to let everyone have a taste of things to come without giving away any of the new album pieces yet.

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Stay tuned – I should be finally meeting and playing with the nucleus of the band. Let’s hope this goes smooth. I am preparing singer auditions for a band not even formally assembled – is this my first mistake? Worse case scenario I can record the album with the singer while finding replacements – but I am hoping the guys I am bringing in will be no worse then “rough around the edges” and I can form them into my vision!!