Ugh, I really do not like some drummers..

[JoeyZ]

I agreed to fill in on bass in a band that I used to play in. It's all coming back to me, why I left the band in the first place.
1st, he's lazy. We had to practically fight with him to run through the 4 song set we were trying to get together a 3rd time.
I'm trying to relearn the lines, and he just kept saying he didn't want to get tired or something..

He also plays in a way that is impossible to lock in with. He never plays the same thing twice, and never plays a song the same way. He knows the songs, and knows where the accents go, but I cannot get ahold of him. When I brought this up tonight, his response was "We come from different backgrounds"..
What style of music could he be reffering to that doesn't need you to be even slightly consistent?

I don't think this is going to last

[Depth_Charge]

On the surface it sounds like the drummer is into improvising his lines and is more into a jam based situation. Not much you can really do there, especially as a fill in and where the rest of the band are cool with it.

Are the other band members cool with it?

[sobie18]

Yeah, I don't care for crappy drummer, either. That, and idiot guitarists...I feel your pain. Sometimes ya gotta cut it loose.

[Darth Handsome]

This drives me crazy. Go ahead & improvise, but do it on all the other pieces. Keep the f'n bass drum consistent!

[Clark Dark]

what was it Vic's drummer said ?
"you can't hold no groove, if you ain't got no pocket"

[metalstorm]

Sounds like a bad situation with immature musicians. I would get out of there quick and save yourself the wasted time. Good luck!

[Munjibunga]

Me too. Especially Ringo.

[Bassdirty]

Man , I can't stand that.I have to have a decent(And consistent) Drummer.

But anyway, you're just filling in.. right?

Originally Posted by Clark Dark

what was it Vic's drummer said ?
"you can't hold no groove, if you ain't got no pocket"

I like that.

[eSmith]

Even in a jam band you still need to be consistant. I improvise all the time but one of the most essential elements of improvising is the concept of "theme and variation" Without a Theme you have nothing to vary and at that point it is just random unrelated noise.

Covers, origionals, jam bands.... All the same, each needs a consistant drummer, unless of course he's just consistatly bad.

-eSmith.

[trainofthought]

My drummer is similar, but a bit different. Jamming with this guy is like pulling teeth, no consistency whatsoever. That said, man is he tight. Great technique, interesting fills. Just gives no appreciation to the 1 beat. He knows where it is always, but he just rolls right over it.

Coming from a drumming background myself, I can handle him on bass, but just barely. I have to keep my count just to keep him in line. Tough to do, but imo worth it in the long run for the cause of originality. If every person in my band was easy to learn and read all the time, who would keep me on my toes?

[Russell L]

One night we were doing the dinner set, playing All of Me. The guitar player and I looked at each other, both of us with puzzled looks on our faces, when he said, "What's wrong with this?" Gyah, it's just an easy swing, but it didn't feel right. It was clunky or something, no groove. Being the bass player, I knew right off what was wrong. I nodded toward the drummer. I mean, come on, a drummer that can't swing. But, it's more than that, he's clunky on everything, and too loud, and everybody knows it. The kick is always too busy and there's nothing for me to lock into. I eventually quit. But, I'm back helping them out in a bind for awhile. Meantime, I'm in a fun band with a great drummer, and a blues band with another great drummer (except the band broke up for a week and now back , but missing one guy).

There was another band I had for a little while where the drummer couldn't count, and had no dynamics. All just loud.

I hear ya, pal. No fun on bass when the drummer isn't right. Get outa there.

[fourstringdrums]

There is improvising and then there is playing to where you are not a solid foundation. Those are two totally different things as a drummer. I will sometimes mix things up and play a different fill, do a slight variation on a beat, but in the end the key elements that allow the band, especially the bass player, to lock are still there.

[Exploiter8]

As long as he can keep time, just think of him as a metronome, and ignore him.

X8

[AltGrendel]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Me too. Especially Ringo.

I can't stand Bill Bruford.

He makes me so jealous.

[Muzoid]

You want a lazy drummer?


How about one that rests his forearms on his knees when he plays....always chews gum, and has a look like you just tried to serve him dog poop on a plate.

Seriously this guy is so funny to see, we make plans to go and laugh at him.

[tonymcbony]

I hate the situation where you have to keep the drummer in time, and worry about holding the whole rhythm side of things together. You have to just play root notes and chugg away because otherwise the rest of the band falls over.

Crap drummers suck, and make me want to play guitar so I can largely ignore them.
Awesome drummers make playing bass an absolute joy.

[Muzoid]

This is why I hate auditioning drummers.

They come in...take 30 mins to set up....they play 4 bars, and suck....we say "thanks but it's a no-go"....then there's that 30 mins of uncomfortable tear down.

The latter 30 mins is excruciating!

[Depth_Charge]

Muzoid a very simple soultion is to swap the last two stages. Have him tear down "while you discuss things outside" then once he is done and packed up, deliver the news and wish him well.

The result is the same but you save yourself that tension while he tears down.

That said, unless I got the job on the spot I have never been told the result on the night of an audition. Often they tell me to expect a call back in a week or so. More often that not, that call won't happen.

[Muzoid]

Originally Posted by Depth_Charge

Muzoid a very simple soultion is to swap the last two stages. Have him tear down "while you discuss things outside" then once he is done and packed up, deliver the news and wish him well.

The result is the same but you save yourself that tension while he tears down.

That said, unless I got the job on the spot I have never been told the result on the night of an audition. Often they tell me to expect a call back in a week or so. More often that not, that call won't happen.

Ya...I hear ya...luckily I don't have any need for drummer auds anytime soon......and I have a nice list of decent drummers.

But should I ever need to in the future...your way will be the way it's done.

Good call!

[Depth_Charge]

Glad to hear it. I'm about to start a cover group from scratch. First time doing it without at least one other person already in and on the same page.

I'm not looking forward to the first few jams/auditions, thats for sure!