Here is a cool article from one of the guitar players who auditioned for lady Gaga
his experience and some great advices!
He is explaining how to get ready, how audition is going and how hard it is to get the part even if you are a great player!
http://www.guitarmessenger.com/lessons/aud...-for-lady-gaga/

Actually pretty interesting.

Yeah it is a cool story!

A great read, thanks for sharing Alex! Already shared it on FB.

Yeah I found it really interesting!!! Everything he is saying is the way it is! So if you are getting ready for some major audition you can use his advices!

You have to wonder though if you really would want a gig like that for a music style and and music personality you can't really relate to and would feel uncomfortable in. When I was a teenager and playing around in the 90s (I played drums back then) there was a local alternative Christian band (Violet Burning)we used to play with that had an excellent guitarist -Shaun Tubbs. He ultimately went on, and still is the lead guitarist now for Carrie Underwood, who is a huge star in the states. He's is now getting paid well for his craft, but his personal musical tastes changed dramatically too- I think he's into Jengo style of guitar when doing it for himself, and not working.

Well it's a good point but when you are a musician and it's your job you will take this gig and will enjoy it!
When I started playing guitar I was attached to style as well but more you grow and more you play more you start liking different styles and enjoy them! Lady Gaga is a huge gig to do! And it's a huge opportunity to secure more and more jobs!

This is the top of the top of auditions, so it's definitely valuable experience. It shows some excellent upsides, but downsides of the industry too.

Exactly! It shows that a lot of times industry does not care about how you play it's mostly about the look

+1

It is great to know how the big scene moves, thanks for sharing this Alex! I really enjoyed it.

do you know how much they get paid for doing a tour like that? just to have an idea

It depends....
I know drummer from Paul McCartney he makes 1M a year
Keyboard player from Bon Jovi get's about 700K a year (when they are on tour)
Lady Gaga probably will be around 400K+ a year
When you are working with a high level celebrities you make a lot of money!

Really cool article, thanks much for sharing! This is worth a post in the WIKI IMHO!

Todd

I think you should better rely on your own abilities to express yourself throught music, and improve your writing and technical skills , and not to be the servant of some of todays famous mediocrities... but if that's what you want from your life - just go for it!

Rare are those who make it to stardom, as opposed to millions of others who don't. But at the end of the day, they have to make a living right?

Well if you want to make money from music you kinda have to rely on today's famous "mediocrities"
We are in the entertainment business and our job is to entertain
If people like Lady GaGa or whoever and that's what they want to hear just go with it! And enjoy the ride!

Honestly speaking only going to that audition would be an experience in itself - the ones having ears to hear and eyes to read will keep in mind what mistakes they did so next time MAYBE they will get the gig thank you Alex!

Well....that's ONE way to look at it!!

Although I personally feel that "to each his/her own" is a better philosophy to follow, meaning.... we're all at a different place in music, with different tastes, styles and influence. Whereas you could look at auditioning for Lady Gaga as becoming "the servant of today's famous mediocrity...", but you also have to consider that the writer of the article had attended berklee, which intends to give you the skills and connections necessary to make a career out of music. I'd be willing to bet that the author had also put many years into his own musical projects as well. But as a musician who (I assume by the fact that he attended berklee) is looking to make a life-long career out of music, it would simply be foolish NOT to try and land that gig because it's not his original music.

Also, many musicians I know are only able to be a full-time working musician by playing with 1-3 projects that get them paid. Then, they put extra time, effort and energy into their solo projects which represent the music they love.

For me, I get stressed out playing in situations I don't totally LOVE!! (To each his own!!) So, I'm personally happier at this point in my life by working a full-time job for bills, then playing in about 3 other projects and gigging 1-3 times per month, depending. The more I practice, and the more knowledge I pick up, I start to wonder if I could eventually be a full-time player.... maybe someday.

Anyway, I say "cheers" to the recreational and "sell-out" players making $$ alike!! After all....we're ALL musicians!!

+10

All musicians who I know are doing both
They are working with an artist that pays well so they don't have to worry about bills too much
and having a project on a side playing what they want! It's a big dream for many musicians to make money playing music and be able to survive, unfortunately it's a hard work and you have to get involved in music you are not too crazy about, but it gives you
ability to work on your own music and play what you love as well!


You are 100% right!