So after breaking up with my old band, I have an audition for a new'un on Sunday. The snatch is, they want to check my memory by seeing how well I can play 12 songs from memory!
Well, not entirely from memory, I think I'll be allowed a few bits of paper and so on.
So anyway, has anyone else faced a predicament like this? How did they cope? Do you have any techniques to help me?

See Bart's article under Education-Articles called "tips for transcribing". That may help.
I prefer to use roadmap charts, meaning charting out the verses, chorus, bridge etc, with very simple notation rather than bar by bar. I may write one bar showing what the groove is and then write if the verse is 8 bars, or the chorus is 8 bars, and where the may throw in an extra bar. Is there an interlude between the chorus into verse 2. Notate special hits with the band, dynamics.
This kind of simple roadmap works for me so that I can still memorize a song without relying on a chart and not wanting to look away from it. How much you copy exactly what the drums plays may depend on the band your auditioning for. I would stay pretty close to the original, you own uniqueness will come through anyway.

Listen to the songs and find the places in the song that deviate from the a normal structure you would expect.

Play along with the songs using the charts and then without then until you are playing all the drums parts correctly.

good luck!!

Not sure what style the tunes are your learning, that may change your approach.

I have been through this several times.

Once, on bass, I had to learn 45 songs in 6 days.
[Some may disagree, but I find memorizing material on bass or guitar more time intensive than on drums.]

But, anyway, what works for me is:
- I don't try to get Every detail of song 1 before moving to song 2.
- I do All the songs at once, in layers - first sketching out the basics
  of the song structure, special beginnings, endings, and breaks.
- After, I fill in details as time allows.
- The other part is: if there's any way to listen to your material even when you're not practicing, do so.  If you can use an MP3 player at work, listen.  If you can get a CD put together and use it in the car, listen.  If you can listen while you're going to sleep, listen.

Oh, I agree!

Drums= 2 sticks
Bass= 4 strings

That works out to the bass being twice as hard as the drums.

Drums = two hands and two legs.
Bass = 8 fingers max.
 

Yes, first and foremost don't freak out, tense up and worry about every possible little mistake. The overall effect is really the most important thing.

But that being said, while the band would "be better" to choose the best sounding drummer over the fast learner - for lots of jobs and lots of bands, the person that sounds the best  with the band in the present will be the one to most likely land the job.  And often the best sounding overall initially will the one that can play like they know the material. I've landed many a job through being a fast learner and by simply doing my homework - even in situations where it was quite likely that I might not have been the best guy available for the material in the long run.

Anyway - this kind of cramming to learn new material comes up all the time. So Apollo, if nothing else this is a great opportunity to put your chops for learning new songs to the test. And a really good argument for having or getting your "cheat sheet/drum charts" routine together.

Good luck with audition.

David

Nope. 

Words couldn't be added.
Besides I hadn't looked at my post count until you mentioned it.

Ok, the 4 days elapsed.   How did it go?

I've been in this situation many times.  Not necessarily for auditions but to fill in for bands on short notice.  Hopefully you don't have to learn 12 Dream Theater songs, that would be a tall order.

What works for me is that I'll listen to all 12 songs one after the other and as many times in a row until I can't take it anymore.  I'll try to pick up the basics at first and the type of style the drummer plays so that if I don't play a part/fill exact it will sound like something that drummer might have done.  Next I'll play along with the songs and make notes where I'm not sure of something or where I made a mistake.  Most times it's making notes about arrangement or if there is a particular stop or accent or anything out of the ordinary that you can't just wing.

If I have trouble with an actual part, that is when I'll make some kind of note to remind me what to play.  I have my own shorthand for writing out beats in case I need to.  Normally I'll be able to learn everything and not require notes but on short notice sometimes it's better to have notes to at least skim over before a song starts so you can play with confidence.