the worst drummer you've ever worked with?

crj14525 · #1 07-20-2011, 12:14 AM

Ok, my first band was quite possibly the worst band experience of my life. We practiced three times. It ended. Our guitarist was an outstanding musician and is in my current band. I am a decent bassist. Not spectacular. Now our drummer was the reason we broke up. He played entirely to loud, had no rythm, and I distinctly remember one time where he lost control of a drumstick and sent it through his ceiling. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this?

UnfortunateTony · #2 07-20-2011, 12:25 AM

I once played with a guy who quite literally could not hold onto his sticks. Fun guy to hang out with, we're friends to this day, but the band was getting pretty serious at that point and I had to draw the line

Exploiter8 · #3 07-20-2011, 12:29 AM

In the 80's we had a girl drummer. She sped up, slowed down...I dubbed her "Roller-Coaster Carol!" It was just for summertime S&G's, anyway.

X8

phatbass · #4 07-20-2011, 01:06 AM

The worst for me was a guy who'd just stop playing in the middle of a song if it wasn't being played perfectly (in his opinion), and announce loudly it was all wrong and we were screwing it up.

Would have been ok at a rehearsal, but this was onstage at a gig in front of a roomful of people... After the third or fourth time in the bracket I cut the set short and quit the band before we even started loading out.

Fortunately the gig was part of a "5 bands for 5 dollars" night so we only had one set to do. Funniest thing was the bar manager insisted on paying us our cut of the night, and as the other guys had left I kept it all. About enough for Pizza and a coke I guess (it was a LONG time ago).

paganjack · #5 07-20-2011, 01:18 AM

The worst I had to play with just could not keep time steady. He could play the drums OK, but man he would rush EVERYTHING and it drove me nuts. Every song would end up like almost 2x faster than it should have been. He was always pushing it forward. He joined as I was leaving the band (since I was moving soon anyway, amicable terms for me and the guitarists), and brought in another bass player who he said could hold it down really well.

Well, the 2 guitarists brought me back for the gig right before I moved. As it turns out the bassist he knew, who he thought was awesome, could barely play a single song, and didn't practice or anything. I never saw her play, but I heard that it was rough. So yeah, playing with that guy about 5 times was the worst I've had to deal with.

5StringBlues · #6 07-20-2011, 01:23 AM

All I remember is we hid his Roto-toms.

crj14525 · #7 07-20-2011, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

All I remember is we hid his Roto-toms.

Nice. Ill keep that one for future referance

Depth_Charge · #8 07-20-2011, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crj14525

Ok, my first band was quite possibly the worst band experience of my life. We practiced three times. It ended. Our guitarist was an outstanding musician and is in my current band. I am a decent bassist. Not spectacular. Now our drummer was the reason we broke up. He played entirely to loud, had no rythm, and I distinctly remember one time where he lost control of a drumstick and sent it through his ceiling. Has anyone else ever had an experience like this?

Yep.
One group I played with no matter what song it was, the drummer would revert back to a standard 4/4 rock beat. We covered Fortune Faded and in the 40 odd times we played it through, he never hit the chorus triplets, even after slowing it down and jamming it over and over and being queued by members!

Another group I played with (rehearsing for work), every time we played 'Play That Funky Music', the drummer would throw a stick at the same place in the song. EVERY TIME! It got so predictable the rest of us would all follow him using body language and I would staccato his notes for him while he retrieved another stick from his bag.

Another drummer in a frequently working cover band hit so hard he had 2 volumes. Loud and ear piercing. He broke at least 5 sticks a night, every gig. Between replacing skins and sticks he wasn't making much money. One night he smashed the snare so hard the stick broke clean in 2 and the broken part bounced up and hit his eye, affecting that gig and the following nights gig. Oh yeah and he forgot his cymbals on a 2 day road trip once. I was impressed by the band leaders ability to work around that issue, pity he wasn't consistent in his ability to manage other aspects.

Oh yeah I forgot one. Me!

I mess about on drums at home for kicks and a couple years ago my partner bought me a pair of Zildjian sticks with vinyl or rubber coating on the ends you hold them. I liked them so much they became my exclusive set until the vinyl/rubber wore/was torn off. Now when I use non-coated sticks I throw them too, at least once or twice a session. But noone is paying me and I don't jam drums with anyone so does it really count?

IME all drummers throw a stick occassionally, just like all string players fret a note wrong or miss a string here or there etc. Its how we manage the situation and whether we try to get better that separates the pro's I think.

Shoewreck · #9 07-20-2011, 02:08 AM

I played in a band I liked much, except the drummer. He could keep the tempo, but he played only one pattern, with no fill-ins. Now I realize that he was quite decent.

DeathFromBelow · #10 07-20-2011, 02:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5StringBlues

All I remember is we hid his Roto-toms.

If you see roto-toms; RUN!

Ursus Tyrannus · #11 07-20-2011, 02:16 AM

I recently tried out for an original "stoner/doom" band. The drummer was all over the map. For a band with super slow down-tuned songs he would play completely inappropriate speed metal double kick style half the time and out of tempo all the time.
Between his losing the tempo after each fill, speeding up, slowing down, and playing the same songs wildly different every single time I was frustrated but hopeful. I really wanted it to work and I liked the songs and it was musically a good fit for me. But the thing that made decide I needed to just escape...he was texting while drumming.

Texting while trying out a new band member, he would put down one stick and send text messages during the songs!

As I was loading up my gear I was talking to the guitarists and mentioned they might be better off with a new drummer, they said if they could just, and I quote, "reign him in and get him to play a song the same way twice he would be great".

I just this second checked their ReverbNation page, they are now looking for a bass player and a drummer now, maybe I should call them back...

Depth_Charge · #12 07-20-2011, 02:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ursus Tyrannus

I just this second checked their ReverbNation page, they are now looking for a bass player and a drummer now, maybe I should call them back...

I wouldn't call back personally, but YMMV.

Broomwinkle · #13 07-20-2011, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ursus Tyrannus

I just this second checked their ReverbNation page, they are now looking for a bass player and a drummer now, maybe I should call them back...

Sounds like a good idea, if you liked them and they know you, your more likely to get in

makkE · #14 07-20-2011, 05:15 AM

I once played with a drummer who used to speed up/down at extremes. He'd speed up by at least 20 bpm before any fill he tried, then we all waited for what he'd consider the next 1.

He couldn't even keep time when counting in. It was like "one" "two" (speed down) "three" (speed up) "four"...

It was a shame, because thechnique wise, he was really good, and also had very good ideas - just no time whatsoever.

makkE · #15 07-20-2011, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ursus Tyrannus

Texting while trying out a new band member, he would put down one stick and send text messages during the songs!

That guy would have had my lower strappin in his face...

Just in the process of convincing my 14 year old drummer that it's rude and unpolite to get out the phone after each song... drives me so mad.

Journey55 · #16 07-20-2011, 05:30 AM

I was in a band with a drummer that played fine (surprise!) but everytime we stopped a song at practice to fix something he jut couldn't stop playing, he'd bang away on them while everyone else was talking, needless to say he got the boot

IncX · #17 07-20-2011, 05:39 AM

lol remembering my worst drummer story makes me laugh.

so i was buying a hotdog when the guy manning the stand asked me if i was in a band. he then proceeded to say that he saw me playing a gig once, etc. etc. me, being always happy to be recognized, chatted with him a bit and found out he was a drummer. we exchanged numbers parting with "i'll call you if we ever need a drummer."

3 weeks later i was out of my death metal band and looking to form a more mainstream metal outfit. i called the hotdog-stand guy and he said he is familiar with the material (slipknot, rammstein, lamb of god - stuff). i organized a band with a few i have worked with, and we were on our way.

come meeting day, we all met and the drummer was dressed like ... well he was dressed in a shirt 5 sizes bigger, and for some reason i ddnt notice it before but i realized he was a little shrimpy guy - 5"2' and probably weighing around 85 lbs - imagine a metal band with a guy who is lighter than 3 of my last ex gf's.

on we went to rehearsal, and holy mackerel, he cannot play anything at all! it was as if it was the first time he saw a drum kit and was overjoyed to hear guitars and bass along to the racket he is making. needless to say, we threw away our song list (the slipknot, the rammstein and the lamb of god), and asked him what songs he wanted to play. he requested for "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 ... so we tuned back our guitars to standard because well, we were there, we had nothing to do, might as well mess around. we figured the song out on the spot, our death metal singer also managed to sing in this high-pitched pop punk voice - he came there expecting to growl and scream and he ended up doing what he did - the expression on the singers face was really funny.

the drummer though couldnt tell when to hit the snare and bass drum... sometimes its the snare on 2 and 4, and the next 3 bars would have the snare on 1 and 3 - can you imagine what that sounds like?

the guitar player was so pissed he grabbed the sticks and told him to just do the standard rock beat where kick drum is on 1 and 3 and snare is on 2 and 4. needless to say, the drummer still did his random racket making, until the hour ended and we bolted out the rehearsal room as fast as we could.

for 2 weeks and a few random months after, the drummer guy kept texting me, saying he said the band is so good and that he has booked us gigs and why isnt there a schedule for another rehearsal. i think i said something about being busy lol

and oh, the drummer is called - Dix

that name has since become a legend, when we audition drummers, we basically say "i hope this one's not gonna 'dix' us around"

im thinking all of us who played long enough has to have a dix come in to our life lol

Broomwinkle · #18 07-20-2011, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Journey55

I was in a band with a drummer that played fine (surprise!) but everytime we stopped a song at practice to fix something he jut couldn't stop playing, he'd bang away on them while everyone else was talking, needless to say he got the boot

Same with my band, when we try and talk he keeps playing. Now I just take one of his sticks and hit him with it, Shuts him up until the end of the next song.

baileyboy · #19 07-20-2011, 05:46 AM

We just auditioned a drummer a few weeks ago. After a couple minutes I realized that I had played with him for a couple times back in the late 90s. My heart sank as I remembered how poor his timing was, how he lacked fundamental skills.

Anyhow, I figured that maybe in the last decade he has taken some lessons and made improvement. Nope... he's still a beer-guzzling yahoo that bangs around on the drums, one of those guys that surrounds himself with lots of toms and cymbals to hide the fact that he can't keep a simple beat.

More than half the tunes we rehearsed, he'd throw everybody off or stop part way through and say something like, "I have to listen to that song still", or "I have to work on that part". After the audition, he asks if he can leave his drums at my place so he doesn't have to haul them back and forth. Huh? Is he really that clueless? To top it all off, he calls mid-week to ask if he can have the song list (again) so he can review it. What a piece of work.

Broomwinkle · #20 07-20-2011, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baileyboy

To top it all off, he calls mid-week to ask if he can have the song list (again) so he can review it. What a piece of work.

Ha that sucks, I hate people who go to one practise and think they've done amazing and just assume that there now part of the band, jerks