Things You Never Really Hear On A Gig

I have spent more than 4 years on the road for Taylor Guitars as a traveling Product Specialist/ Clinician. Many people ask me how I got the gig and the answer is simple: it’s because I love people. I enjoy talking to guitar players both young and old, beginner and expert, and all points in between. I think there are funny questions asked, but no stupid questions. And, yes, there WAS an audition to get the gig. During my interview, they put a guitar in my hands and watched me play. Then they put a different guitar in my hands and asked me to tell them why somebody would love it. Then they put yet a different (and unfamiliar) guitar in my hands and shot of a video of me talking about it, basically doing a demo video. After all was said and done, I had done some playing, but most of what I did was talk about guitars and have conversations with people who cared about guitars. When they gave me the gig, they told me, “we’ve had LOTS of guitar players in here, many of them faster and flashier and more technically proficient than you. But they just wanted to show off their mad skills and they were too busy talking to actually realize that there was anyone else in the room. Their problem was that the greatest thing in the world, from their perspective, was them.”

Since moving to Southern California, I have had the opportunity to hang out with some amazingly successful musicians. Case in point, these days I’m getting to do a few shows as Matt Scannell’s guitar tech for his band, Vertical Horizon. His band and tour manager are all top notch players, straight up pros, and some of the nicest folks I’ve ever gotten to hang with. For the first show, we loaded in at 2:30pm and they took the stage at around 9. Soundcheck took some of that time and there was some logistical stuff to handle, but the bulk of that afternoon and evening was spent in the dressing room. You need to know that every player in the room is an amazing player, but there are ZERO egos and those guys were all so encouraging and constructive with one another. It was pretty amazing. And I was reminded that these guys have gigs with Vertical Horizon, Colby Callait, Sara McLaughlin, Alanis Morrisette, etc. not (only) because they’re great players, but because that 4-hour hangout in the dressing room is just as much part of the gig as the 75-minute performance on stage.

This principle applies equally to your local garage band, your local church band, your national touring act, your gig as a clinician, etc. You may get a gig as the hottest player in town. You’ll get a career out of being the talented player who is the best hang.