Inside a Hollywood Awards Show House Band: The HMMAs (Episode 194)

Everything you do is an audition.

Most musicians see the glitz of an awards show: the cameras, the red carpet, the highlight reels. Very few see what goes down behind the scenes, from the house band's point of view. In Episode 194, Joel Meza, drummer and playback tech for The Career Musician house band, reacts to Nomad's vlog from the previous year's Hollywood Music in Media Awards at the Avalon in Hollywood, where Nomad was the music director. It is a field guide to playing in a Hollywood house band and getting called back.

Advance the load-in, way ahead of time

Nomad's first tip from the side entrance: on any gig, find out ahead of time where you load in. Is there a loading dock? Do you need special access or credentials past security? Do it in advance, not the day of.

Joel says this is one of the most frustrating parts of working at festivals, awards shows and corporate fly-ins. If you are the bandleader, hound the producers, because they will forget. You should know where to park and which way to turn, ideally with a little map with arrows. If you are a band member, push your bandleader for it. Limited time plus no information is a bad start to a long day.

Then, when you load in, be cool to everybody and say hello to everybody. The production manager, the monitor engineer and the techs make the show run, and most of them never want to be on camera.

Have your people's back

Joel paused the video when Nomad hyped up his guitar tech, a great guitarist in his own right. That, Joel says, is what good bandleaders do: they build their people up and fight for them.

"If you want the respect of your people, if you're running the show, the number one thing you can do is have your people's back."

Joel Meza, 4:10

When the band knows you care about them and are taking care of them, they show up for you too.

When soundcheck starts, lock in

The monitor engineer can make or break a show, and on an awards show the band's mixes get dialed in first because the principal artists show up wanting to be quick. The second soundcheck starts, phones away, absolute focus. Learn the standard hand signals for your monitor engineer: up, down, more, stop. Nomad's other soundcheck rule is to reverse the show order, so the last act checks first. That day it couldn't happen because of artist availability, so you roll with the punches.

His other advice: do as much pre-production as you can at home. When you don't have a tech yet, dial in your rig and your guitar switches before you arrive. As MD, Nomad has to direct the band and keep his eyes on the artist at all times, so he and his tech plan what he calls the choreography of the guitar changes.

Whoever is in front of you is right

Joel's favorite lesson for his students came from rehearsals. The band was told to learn the album versions. He nailed a fill note for note, and the director stopped the band and said to do it differently.

"Whoever is running the show that day, they're right."

Joel Meza, 10:40

No arguing, no "but your email said to learn the album." Say "sounds good" and lock in with the person running the show. That is Humility and Objectivity from the ETHOS code, in real time.

Be easy to work with

Nomad noticed again that the higher the talent, the more chill people tend to be. He worked that day with stars like Diane Warren and composer Aaron Zigman. The band had a small orchestra too, and rehearsed playons and playoffs, short bumpers when award winners walk on and off. They ended up not using them because the show ran video packages instead. Prepare anyway.

Joel's wrap-up: these are 12 to 15 hour days. Stay focused, support the show and contribute positively. No attitude, no excuses, no fighting people on things. We all have egos, but when time is money, go with the flow.

"Just be an easy person to work with, and you'll get so many more gigs because of that."

Joel Meza, 13:35

Low maintenance / no drama. And as Nomad says, the MD job is serious, but it is also fun, and it pays off.

The takeaway

Advance every detail, lock in at soundcheck, back your people, and take the note from whoever is running the room. Preparation is everything, and in the early stages of your career you need a plan. Start with the free plan of attack (POA) worksheet, and when the audition comes, grab the free Audition Secrets guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

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