My drummer is pissing me off

[Floyd Eye]

Putting aside for a second the fact that he insists on chiming in with background vocals and he can't sing on key ( The mics are his )
He just drops out for a second sometimes, leaving me hanging out in the breeze. These are not new songs, we've done them and done them well 1000s of times. I understand he is human and makes mistakes, but on songs we have done a million times? We're a 3 piece so it really sucks when he screws it up. I think he is coming in high on vicodin, because the nights when he won't shut his mouth he sounds like crap. Then there's his kit. He has a Pearl export set and it should sound awesome, but when I listen to the recordings it doesn't sound like it's tuned correctly or something. I guess that part could be me, since we do not mic the drums, but it seems like his snare should "pop" and all his toms sound like there is a reverb unit attached to them or something.

Then the bastard goes and gets a job, where his schedule is not set in stone and screws up the rehearsal schedule. He brings his wife and infant son to every practice ( I mean the kid is asthmatic and we all chain smoke ). My wife is in college again and has to put off her homework so she can entertain 3 nights a week and she is getting a little pissed.


Ah well, I know the responses I'll get. I am really just venting. Fact is my guitar player needs to be smacked too. Too much screwing around, like I am the only one who doesn't want to sound like crap.


I love my band.

[father of fires]

Man, I know your pain. The guitarist in my old band would bring his wife and dog over my house before we left for practice. My wife was super awesome and would hang out with them because she didn't want to be mean.

We had a band meeting where we discussed not bringing significant others to practice and he didn't even get it.

We broke up and he wanted to put the band back together and we had another discussion where we looked him straight in the eye and said he could not bring his wife. She wasn't bad to hang out with but, when a guest hangs out at practice long enough they always start chiming in. I hate that.

[St Drogo]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

I think he is coming in high on vicodin

Hey, if House M.D. can do it...

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

Then the bastard goes and gets a job

My GOD man! The makings of an evil genius!

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

Fact is my guitar player needs to be smacked too.

That goes without saying.

[Floyd Eye]

Friday nights are cool. No school the next day, the girls cook dinner. Plenty of beer, 2 dogs, 4 kids 3 women and us. The wife is cool with it, but during the week it's too much.

None of them ( the women) have ventured into the "Giving us your opinion" stage yet. I stole these 2 guys from the last band I was in, which I quit, largely because the other guitarist in that band's wife decided she was our manager and began putting up FB pages, videos, etc.. She came down and told us we were playing this song too fast and I said, " Are you in the band? Because if you are you need to pick up a guitar or something, otherwise go back upstairs and let us worry about the music."

Drummer has been unemployed the whole time I have known him until now. Hard to begrudge him you know, but jeez, get a regular job. He's a freakin' dish dog in a bar. Try a 9 to 5 idiot. But then how could he stay up all night playing video games.

[father of fires]

I feel like I've been in the same band with you but, we're both bassists and live in different cities.

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by father of fires

I feel like I've been in the same band with you but, we're both bassists and live in different cities.

Some things are universal it seems.

[Jeppe Madsen]

I love this.... keep ranting guys!!

[Floyd Eye]

I just about have my guitar player trained to turn the drummer's mic down except on songs that it is integral that he sing on. Of course we can't turn him all the way down or he'd notice it, but he has no monitor near him so we just keep saying, "We can hear you fine dude". I believe he's tone deaf and I am dead serious when I say that. None of us are great singers, but there is a vast difference between not that great and out of key.

Last practice we were working on Badfish and the drummer insisted on singing the backing vocal "underneath my bed" as "from underneath my bed". He insisted he was right, even after listening to the track 4 times. He claimed you just can't hear it because the guitar lick covers the first word. I have been into Sublime since before Nowell died ( and I have been playing this particular song for 10 years or so, including at my little baby niece's funeral 6 1/2 months ago), but since he ( the drummer) has been listening to this song recently, he insists he's right. I guess I wouldn't mind too much, but my sister will be at this party we are playing this weekend and I want to do this song for her and I want to do it well.

[snyderz]

I guess I'm lucky. We're all older, with no kids at home. Have a free rehearsal space, so it's never at one of our homes. Wives all have other things to do, so never come to practice. We have 3 good singers, except for the harp player. He knows he's bad, so doesn't even TRY to sing. I like other's rants though, so keep 'em coming!

[Gord_oh]

this thread is like a car accident, i want to turn away but its so entertaining to watch.

[Floyd Eye]

Then last Monday he has a bunch of his teeth pulled out and when he comes to practice Tuesday that's supposed to be an excuse for him being loopy on painkillers. I told him to quit being a girl and play through the pain.

[Spraeg]

Originally Posted by Gord_oh

this thread is like a car accident, i want to turn away but its so entertaining to watch.

+10 at least... I think it's because we've all had the same experience at some point, it's refreshing to know we're not alone in it

[bound'n'blocked]

The only one of our bands wives that ever comes to practice is the singer, but it's all good because she is INSANELY SMOKING HOT. It's the weirdest thing, everytime we practice the song "Her Strut", she walks in....

[totallyfrozen]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

...None of us are great singers, but there is a vast difference between not that great and out of key...

Personally, I've always thought that regardless of what instrument(s) you play in a band. All the members who sing should dedicate one practice (each month at least) to JUST working on harmonies--acapella. I've heard The Beach Boys used to do this too (maybe I'm wrong). IMO, at these practices there's not even any reason for anyone to play. IF the group knows the song(s) and can at least sing there way out of a wet paper sack (which it sounds like this drummer CAN'T), you should only need a piano, guitar, or pitch pipe to find the first note and a metronome (or you can snap your fingers) to keep tempo. IME, the hardest part about a singing practice is getting the rest of the band to be willing to do it (singing acapella is not very flattering). IME, if the band is serious and understands the importance of ALL parts of the music, they'll usually think it's a good idea too. Of course, everyone does things differently. This is just the way that's worked for me.

Granted, my folks put me in the Choir at school (before I was allowed to be in Band) so I had already learned how to listen to multple voices...but that's one thing that type of practice is for. If you can't listen to another person singing while you sing, then you won't sing a harmony--you'll sing the same thing they are singing. You need to be able to rotate your attention to your own voice, the other voices, your own instrument, the drums, etc. around and around. I think those practices are really important to get everyone's ear trained to be able to hear and sing their own part of the harmony.

If you're truly tone deaf then just face the facts, don't try to sing, and take up the drums.

[Munjibunga]

Smoking is bad for you.

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Smoking is bad for you.

Yeah, it's fun though.

[Exploiter8]

Mmmmmm...VICODIN!

X8

[totallyfrozen]

Floyd,
I feel like this is one of those "Who am I" games where we piece together the descriptions and try to guess who the character is. I'll give it a shot...

Is your drummer a meth addict?

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by totallyfrozen

Floyd,
I feel like this is one of those "Who am I" games where we piece together the descriptions and try to guess who the character is. I'll give it a shot...

Is your drummer a meth addict?

Funny you say that because I am beginning to wonder. Seriously.


We had a show Saturday, so last night we spent most of the practice setting our gear up back in the practice space. Well, we finally got to play a little and we decided that we should work on some new songs. So we start doing Caress Me Down ( which the drummer objected to on the basis that the drums on the studio version are hooked to a synthesizer and he didn't want to do it half assed ) And my guitar player/singer was trying to work out the vocals. He was screwing it up a little, so the drummer decides to sing along, which totally screws up the guitar player, who stops and says " Please don't try to help me, I'll get it". So after running through it a few more times I decided that was enough, it's getting late, let's do one more song and call it a night. I asked what song they wanted to do and the guitarist starts riffing that dumb ass Kryptonite song, which he often does just to be a smart ass because he knows we dislike that song. So drummer boy gets up and says "That's it, I'm done". Guitarist says, "Aw, come on man, I was just screwing around". Drummer boy says, "No, I don't have time for this". Now this seriously pisses the guitar player off and they begin arguing. I wiped my bass down, set it on the stand and told the drummer that the next time he says he's done and goes to leave, like as punishment for whatever, that he may as well pack his drums up and get to steppin'. We are a 3 piece and if one person bails it makes it hard or impossible to keep going. You guys want to fist fight, go on out back and get it, but you don't hold your bandmates hostage while you throw a temper tantrum.


I got a feeling we will soon be replacing the drummer.

[oerk]

He's right though. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's guitarists riffing around to show off or screw with the bandmates. I would have left too if he did this repeatedly.