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Glastonbudget Festival


chrismuzz
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So, I just did an audition for this thing with the cover band the other day. Out of the 5 bands on I'm pretty confident that we got the best response from the judges... But that's not what this post is really about!

Just interested in knowing what it's like really! Any good? Worth sticking around to enjoy the event after playing? Will we end up playing a blinding set of about 25 minutes to three men and a dog???

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  • 2 weeks later...

We "auditioned" for it a couple of years ago. I think it can be ok if you get on. Though I have seen some photos of bands playing to emptiness. We "auditioned" a couple of years ago and to be honest, I found their whole set up a little unprofessional and felt like we got the piss took really. We got the last slot on audition night (11pm on a wet Tuesday), which punters had to pay to come to and by which time the only judge, who'd told one of the other bands earlier that he "doesn't like Neil Young" had fooked off home. As a Neil Young tribute, we wondered what the hell we were doing on a few different levels. Their loss as it were. :)

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My old band 'auditioned' for this a couple of years ago. We had to travel to Leicester for 8pm as instructed, and played to an empty pub at midnight, only to be told that we could had to play at another Leicester-based audition a month later. We didn't bother. The general conclusion was that they used these 'auditions' to get bands to play for free.

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I know a couple of bands who've been through this, first one got on and got a bloody awful 1am slot at the festival, for them anyway, they're a accusticy originals band with no drummer, you can imagine how that went. The other band did the audition thing, with admission charge, in mid week which meant there was nobody there, and weren't told they were on till a couple of months before the festival by which time the singer had booked his holidays, as somebody else said amateur hour

Edited by PaulWarning
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I left one band precisely because they committed to play Glastonbudget. The rest of the band was into camping, tents, port-a-loos, the whole shebang; they were going to play on Fri and Sat night and spend at least two nights under canvas.

I believe they used to call this [i]Care In The Community[/i].

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[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1349380640' post='1825634']
So, I just did an audition for this thing with the cover band the other day. Out of the 5 bands on I'm pretty confident that we got the best response from the judges... But that's not what this post is really about!

Just interested in knowing what it's like really! Any good? Worth sticking around to enjoy the event after playing? Will we end up playing a blinding set of about 25 minutes to three men and a dog???
[/quote]

My originals band were invited to "audition" for Glastonbudget this year. We received an email before hand implying that unless we could guarantee at least an audience of at least 20 people turning up on a Wednesday night then we really shouldn't bother. So we didn't.

We could have pulled the audience in but surely an audition is about the quality of the performance?

I have been as a punter though and if you like a [b]lot[/b] of covers and tribute acts one after another then its alright.

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[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1350409268' post='1838468']
We could have pulled the audience in but surely an audition is about the quality of the performance?
[/quote]

Or about actually being auditioned, rather than them collecting the door money and buggering off home before you even play.

Basically, all they're bothered about is gauging if you'll sell some tickets to the festival, whilst taking door money as a bonus. You could be a one man band who plays Dixie on a toilet brush shoved up your arsehole and you'd pass the audition if you bring enough punters.

Though I'm sure there are some very good bands who have graced their stages, their once-in-a-lifetime chances to do so bestowed purely on musical merit and suitability. ;)

Edited by bigjohn
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Hmm, sounds interesting to say the least!

I'm sure we've got a good chance since we brought the most people along to our 'audition', and hey it'll be an experience!


[quote name='police squad' timestamp='1350395929' post='1838221']
I think it gets a goof turn out.
who you playing with?
[/quote]

This is good to know :) If there's an audience we'll have a good time at least! It'll be with Generations, the metal cover band I'm gigging with a lot at the moment.

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If you're an originals band, unless the focus of the festival has changed, I see little point in doing it.

We auditioned a couple of years ago for it and although our gig went well and we got an excellent review out of it on the local arts and culture website, our slot at Glastonbudget itself was something of a disappointment. The main stages where the tribute bands play are incredibly well run and look great. The originals bands occupy little publicised stages hidden away in tents around the festival, generally playing to a handful of people.

The impression that I get from this is that the festival is required to put on a proportion of original music to secure some of their funding and this is just a token gesture to accommodate that requirement.

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