Michael Dolce: How to become a Session Guitarist - Part 2

Hi everyone welcome to part 2 of becoming a full-time guitarist. In this write up, I’m going to be talking about the road I took to establish myself steady on going work in the live scene. As i mentioned in part 1 this is based purely on my experiences from the time I decided to play guitar for a living.

LIVE GIGS
There’s so many different areas in live performances, there’s your originals gigs, cover band/duo and solo gigs, club reading gigs, musical theatre gigs, profile gigs, Clinics, busking etc. I’ve been very fortunate to have had the pleasure in experiencing all these fields, you quickly learn what your strengths are, and what gigs you don’t feel comfortable doing. I’ve now slotted into your typical cover bands and artist gigs I also do my own original stuff master classes and clinics for various products. Becoming a full time guitarist doesn’t happen over night, it’s like any business   you slowly need to build the brand name, always keeping in mind that the reputation of the business is always on show.

I started playing covers at the age of 16, I’d rehearse with some friends every Sunday and we’d play the occasional gig for free. I really started getting into the idea of wanting to play guitar full-time. I was working as an apprentice cabinetmaker at the time and completed my trade 4 years later. Within that time I found myself playing in a couple of covers bands, between them I was only gigging once every month, if that. I knew it wasn’t enough cause every time we’d do a gig it would always feel like I was about to throw up from nerves haha. I could never understand why I could never play like I did in my bedroom. I was practicing everyday from the time I got home from work at 4pm and practice until 10pm, it helped me a lot with developing a strong technique, but it also gave me the illusion that by doing these hours would gradually build up my confidence and experience to play in front of an audience and not get nervous on stage. I was totally wrong with that analogy, lol.

Like any sportsman, musicians need to maintain Live “GIG FITNESS” playing regularly is a big part of gaining experience as a player. From the time I started guitar I never had anyone to guide me or teach me the ropes of the industry,so it was trial and error. Looking at it now I see it as a positive thing. I suppose with any business there’s always that element of trying to be different to every other product. I was never conscious of trying to be different, I just went with what I thought was right at the time. I was fortunate to have had some great friends that would regularly invite me to their church to play, which eventually turned into a weekly gig/practice for me. I wasn’t to familiar with the songs I’d always find myself noodling over the top, which got me confident with creating parts and being put on the spot.

Ultimately I wanted to be playing in working covers bands and actually try to earn money by doing it. Having had no contacts in the scene, I had no choice but to pick up my free local street music magazine every week and call every “guitarist wanted” ad and go for auditions no matter what style they were advertising, I’d just throw myself in the deep end. This would happen 2 to 3 times week just so I’d keep myself in the loop of jamming with a live band. I’d prepare myself for every audition as if I was going in for a high profile gig. I made sure I was over prepared, I’d tweak my sounds and learn my parts inside out making sure I was 110% confident. I’d land 9 out of 10 auditions and in no time started reaping the rewards of actually getting paid to play live with these bands.

My lucky break came at the age of 20 when a local singer song writer by the name of Hugh Wilson won the TV series star search in Australia, he was signed up and a single was released. I had done some gigs with him previous to his success and was absolutely ecstatic when Hugh asked me to join him full-time and go on the road to promote his single and play guitars on his album. This gave me a taste of touring and being a full-time guitarist. Things eventually wound down with Hugh and soon after found myself having to work a full time job again. All my efforts trying to obtain steady gigs with covers bands prior to Hugh’s gig had been passed onto other guitarists because I was away for so long. So I was back to where I started, I needed to get a job. I couldn’t believe the timing, I got a call from one of my local musical instruments store LOMBARDO MUSIC asking me to join their team as a sales assistant, the best move I could have made. I was working along side one of the best guitar sight readers /session guitarist in the business Vince Lombardo who actually owned the store with his brother Ross (RIP mate). He taught me everything about how guitars should be set up and restrung and we would experiment with gear all the time. He opened up my eyes to the music industry in a different way, he’d also throw reading gigs my way which, mind you, was a nightmare trying to fill his shoes. He taught me one of the most valuable lessons, how to run a successful business properly.

While working in the store I’d constantly meet all sorts of muso’s and learn from them by what they had to say about their experiences. I was offered a teaching job there as well. I had no formal training qualifications on paper, so I was very grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I started picking up gigs through the shop and started to get regular calls from all those covers band auditions I did, asking me to fill in for a gig. When I noticed those calls coming in I thought to myself I’m going to do more of those auditions, and sure enough I did, 20 more auditions in the space of 2 months. I was never the type to wait for the phone to ring I would go out and create my own work, I’m still working with many of those musicians and bands today.

Most of those auditions led to nothing but about 30% of them led to paid gigs, fill-in gigs, sessions and meeting a whole bunch of new players I never worked with before which started the old pyramid effect. These players would eventually recommend me for another gig and soon enough I was gigging constantly 4 to 5 gigs a week. Cover gigs were the most important piece of the puzzle for me to becoming a full-time guitarist, I saw it as training for that bigger gig. I always treated each gig as if it was a high profile gig by over preparing myself making sure my sound and gear was on the money. By doing different gigs and styles around town would eventually lead me to playing with high profile players which led to playing for high profile artists. I was fortunate that a lot of the guys I met and played with over the years, later became producers and Musical Directors for major acts which helped me out. My theory was always about doing my own thing creating my own path and not relying on others but at the same time making sure i wasn’t stepping on anyones toes. There’s the old unspoken agreement amongst musicians that asking or approaching a musician for a gig is not really a cool thing to do, so most importantly let your playing do the talking and not your mouth. It’s only a matter of being patient and establishing good work ethics, good attitude, reliability and of course there has to be a half decent level of guitar playing to attract interest. You’ll find by playing in the same scene over time will land you that gig you’ve always wanted, it’s inevitable.

TIPS
Good attitude, being reliable and on time, respectful.
I’d choose a good player with a great attitude over an amazing player thats hard to work with, especially when touring for a length of time. This means spending time with the same crew. There’s a lot of factors that goes into being chosen for a tour apart from your playing and I’d say sitting on the top of the list is personality and how well you get along with everyone. The last thing an artist wants or a musical director wants is someone that is hard to get along with.

Have good gear that’s reliable and make sure you know your gear inside out.
There’s nothing worse than hiring someone that has a whole heap of gear and doesn’t know the basics of dialing up a sound on the spot. Work on creating a good basic clean, dirty, grit, crunch, lead sounds then build on those sounds as you go. Writing scratch charts is an important part of my playing, especially great for quick learning curves i.e. getting called for that last minute gig.

Always try and put 100% into a performance no matter where you’re playing. Whether its a classy place with heaps of people getting into it or a real dive with 15 people watching, the odds are there’s always someone in the room thats into what your doing. I’ve been in the situation where I was playing in front of 5 people in a covers band early in my playing career. There was 1 guy in the audience that saw me play, he liked what i was doing and got my number, I didn’t hear from him until 5 years later. He called me and offered me an audition for a high profile signed act, I went for it and got it.

Be aware of your position in the band,if your hired to play certain parts make sure you learn them. be conscious of what your playing making sure your not clashing parts with the other instruments on stage, most important use your ears.
Becoming a smorgasbord player, playing a lot of styles helps with regular work. I’m no virtuoso at any given style but I do know enough to get me through a gig.

It’s a great thing to record your gigs and listen back, that’ll give you a good idea of your sound and how well your sitting amongst the band.

We all get a little doubtful when we don’t get called for that magic gig, it can be a little hard not to take it personally. The doubts of “I’m not good enough, what have I done? No one is going to book me”, this all takes a backseat when you find your niche.

It’s a good thing to take on as much work as you can, but I see it too often where guys take on every gig without thinking about what the job really requires. i.e. taking on gigs they’re not really ready or comfortable with, it can taint them from being booked again if they don’t do the job well. Use your own discretion and don’t be scared to ask questions about what the gig requires.
I remember getting offered to play with high profile players early in my career and id turn them down cause I was very aware of the fact I wasn’t ready to play with those calibre of players, knowing I only had one crack at it to secure some regular work I wasn’t going to play for the sake of sacrificing future work. I knew I had to be patient and wait for the right time. Once again remember it’s not about the amount of gigs you do it’s how many you get called back for and retain.

Thanks to GUITAR NOIZE for letting me share my thoughts on this frequently asked question. I hope it helps you with creating your own path and ultimately becoming a full-time guitarist.
Cheers
Michael Dolce - http://michaeldolcemusic.com/

Make sure you check out Michael’s site for upcoming Master Classes in Australia!