(if you misread, or thought I mistyped, the title, think again … )

Well, generally when it’s not your first practice with the band.

Let me explain. Two days back I showed up to meet a Swindon-based function-Celtic-Americana band, having thought I would be auditioning or at least trying out. Turned out I was actually having my first practice with a half-established group. (Similar thing happened with Filthy Spectacula, though one prospective member did pull out after that session.) Conversely, I’ve been intermittently in touch with a London Americana/Cajun/etc. originals band who considered asking me to cover a gig at short notice but are now holding auditions with at least three fiddle players including me, even if they’re doing them all on the same night. It might be more.

Now, this isn’t a complaint and I’m sure it reflects the number of apparently plausible people wanting to be in those groups. But a function-ish mostly covers band are likely to be bringing in more cash than an originals band anyway, and given the latter has roughly twice as many members there’s also going to be much smaller shares.

To many southwesterners, I suspect the need to go to Swindon would seem enough to put anyone off anything, but I doubt it’s really that either. And it might be that all the fiddle players without high-paying gigs already but with the skills to join gigging bands are more interested in artistic integrity than financial return (and therefore refuse to cover Wagon Wheel and Galway Girl).

But I suspect it really just illustrates that music isn’t a dependable and predictable industry. It basically, in Chuck Berry’s words, goes to show you never can tell.