Hi! First post in this sub, been a long time lurker though....

Anyway, let's cut right to it.

I auditioned for a Well-Established Cover Band recently. Saw numerous postings on Facebook and Craigslist that intrigued me. They band has been around for 20 years, although the only original member is the rhythm guitar/male vocalist... Singer, Bass player, and Lead Guitar just joined 1 year, 4 months, and 2 weeks ago, respectively. They have had 2 other drummers (my forte) in the past year, and both couldn't handle the gigging schedule (they play all over the region, most Fridays and Saturdays with a couple weekend-long gigs throughout the year at 3 different locations.

Anyway, here's the text of the ad on Craigslist that I responded to:

"Pro Cover Band Looking for Drummer. Shows Booked for 2022. Serious inquiries please. Pro Gear and Experience. Rock , Dance , 80's , 90's , Country , Pop , etc....Ages 25 - 50"

I messaged them and signaled my interest. Within 30 minutes, the Founding member had friend requested me on Facebook, and responded to my email asking for videos or audio as well as telephone contact.

Later that night I talked for a good 20 minutes with him on the phone. I asked some questions about the band, their music, etc. He asked about my playing style, influences, and experience. It went well, and we decided that I would sit in for an hour long audition over the weekend. He told me they had a kit, and all I needed to bring was a snare.

Here's where it gets fun (Not!).

I arrived to the audition a few minutes early. It was in the basement of one of the band members' house. I texted him to let him know I got there, he came upstairs and welcomed me in, leading me downstairs into the "studio". I was introduced to the Lead Guitarist, The Rhythm Guitarist, and the Lead Vocalist. I introduced myself, and looked at the kit that this "Pro" Band had for auditioning new talent. It was a 30 year old, 3 piece Tama Rockstar kit, half falling apart, with a busted bass pedal, the absolute trashiest cymbals I've ever seen (or heard), and a busted throne. I quickly got it into position for how I play, replacing their snare with my own, and asked if I could go grab my bass pedal, throne, and hi-hats out of the car. I wanted to grab my cymbal bag as well but they only "allowed" me the 3 main requests, saying it would take too much time to swap all of the cymbals (a splash, a 13" hi-hat used as a crash, and a 20" cracked ride).

The audition went well, all things considered (especially considering the state of the kit. At one point the Tom fell down as I was playing Jessie's Girl). They had sent me a list of 12 songs to prepare, and we played through all of them efficiently. They had a few of their own accents and stops/breaks on a couple of songs, but I am a quick learner and am keen on reading other musicians from playing open mic nights for over a decade. They then through in 3 extra songs that I wasn't warned about, but they're of the standard 80s-00s cover band repertoire, so I pulled it off swimmingly.

At the end, we chatted for 20 minutes about the audition. I got some great feedback and was able to answer their questions and concerns. The only real concern was that I was "reserved" in my playing. I explained that I can turn it up if they need me to, but that I didn't want to melt faces on our first encounter. They said they had a few more to audition over the next few days and I would be hearing from them soon.

My issue is this: why is it OK for Bands to audition Drummers specifically, with the shittiest equipment available? If you're going to market yourself as a "Pro Level" Band, why would you subject a potential bandmate to novice level equipment?

Nobody tells a guitarist "yeah, just bring a strap, we have the rest", and then he gets there to find a Johnson Acoustic Guitar and a mini-marshall speaker.

Nobody tells a keys player to come with a music stand, and he arrives to find a 1983 Casio learning keyboard with 12 keys and 3 of them busted.

I just don't get it. If you're a pro band, you want a pro drummer playing on well-built, reliable, fantastic sounding drums and cymbal, with robust hardware that can endure a rigorous gigging schedule, no?

Tl;Dr? Stop subjecting auditioning drummers to torture by making them play on your crappy FrankenKit