Why can't I hold a drummer? Southern WI TB'ers please read, you may be able to help..

[ErebusBass]

I have been playing in a symphonic black metal band for slightly over 3.5 years now. I love this band and the music we create. For the past 3.5 years it has been my passion, the flame that keeps me going. It currently consists of myself (bass), lead guitar, keys, and rhythm guitar/vox. We are all good friends, all love this music, and are very devoted, we all travel quite a bit to practice (we're kinda scattered around right now because of college).

But ahh... the drummers. I can't count how many drummers we've gone through in this time, my estimate would be at least 5-10. Other than that we have had no lineup changes (except a couple vocalists, which we eventually replaced with a good friend who is one of the best metal vocalists I have ever heard, and is proficient at guitar).

Whenever we get a drummer we like, something comes up and he has to move on. On several occasions we have found someone who didn't quite meet up to our expectations, and thought we could work with him, mold him if you will (big mistake, lesson learned).

FINALLY, we got a good drummer a month or two ago. He was absolutely amazing: fast, technical, best drummer i've ever heard in my area. But after a couple of weeks I could tell that he wasn't really feeling the music. He liked death metal, and pretty much just wanted to "grind" as he would call it. That's not our style, and with him we wrote a couple tunes, IMO the best we've ever written, but it still wasn't good enough for him. He said he was going to take a break to record some stuff with an old band that had moved out west, but I knew he wasn't coming back. Last night I jammed with my rhythm guitarist and he confirmed my fears. He said he spoke to drummer and he was "done with us."

I am SO SICK of this neverending drummer hunt. I'm posting an ad on Craigslist and some music stores tonight when my guitar player comes by, but I'm skeptical. Just feeling really down about all of this. Everyone in this band is completely committed and all we need is one more member who feels the same, but after looking for so long I'm starting to feel like one isn't out there.

Sorry about the long post, I'm just feeling kinda down about my music, think i'll go play the bass for a while, that always cheers me up.

I know this is a longshot, but if there are any TB'ers in the Madison, WI/South Central WI (guitar player and I go to school in Whitewater, so anyone in the Jefferson/Cambridge/Lake Geneva area would fit the bill) area, who know any metal drummers who aren't doing anything at the moment, please shoot me a pm so we can get them my contact info. Thanks for reading.

[priesj]

Checkout www.milwaukeerocks.com for Wisconsin listings if you haven't already.

[iriegnome]

Sometimes it takes a long time to find that right person. From what I have seen over the many years of playing is that drummers and Bass players are very hard to find and good ones are very hard to keep.
Check with the people over at Kenosha Conservatory of Music. They have one of the best drum instructors in the state. He might know of someone. Also, check out a show or two from Extreme Sound and Lighting http://www.myspace.com/extremesoundandlighting
They have shows at least once a month if not more. There are tons of people that go to it and the bands that play all know other musicians that are looking for bands. Post a comment on the page looking for a drummer.

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by ErebusBass

I have been playing in a symphonic black metal band for slightly over 3.5 years now.

Symphonic black metal? I would get tired of that pretty quickly. Your drummers may be looking to be a little more mainstream.

[ErebusBass]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Symphonic black metal? I would get tired of that pretty quickly. Your drummers may be looking to be a little more mainstream.

No mainstream drummer could keep up with us, we just keep either finding druggies or death metal guys who don't like anything remotely pretty.

[invader3k]

Been there, done that. I used to play in a standard bar rock cover band, and we went through basically 7 drummers in about 8 years (with one coming back for a second stint). For whatever reason, it seems like the drummers are extra flakey around here. Unfortunately, I don't know any good available drummers in the Madison or Whitewater area. Have you tried posting on madisonmusicians.net? That's a pretty decent site for finding people. Milwaukeerocks.com, as mentioned, is another good site. You could also try wibands.com, though I find that is not as good for finding band members, though I know quite a few drummers post on there, too.

[NKUSigEp]

Consider yourself lucky to have had more than 5 even though they didn't last. I had one long enough to record then he went back to his old band, and have tried out at least a dozen others, which none have been good enough or interested in joining.

[sasebastian]

I would take a look internally, at the remaining band members. Maybe there is something in the band dynamic that might be putting these guys off. Are you all easy to work with? Is there someone that might be a little too bossy? Is everyone pulling their weight or performing as good as everyone else? Do these drummers share similar musical interests? Are they given input into the music or direction? Did you over-hype the band? Are you progressing the way you advertised (gigging, recording, etc...)?

Here's a couple situations I was in where the band messed things up, causing many people to quit.

I was in a band once where the singer complained that he could never keep bass players longer than a few months. He was amazed I outlasted them all. I eventually left, and the problem was the singer fancied himself a bass player and made it a real pain to be in the band constantly being told you aren't playing a part the way he would, or you aren't as good as him.

In another band we went through a million drummers, and lost a few before even getting out of the rehearsal studio. After seeing a couple of the guys who quit later on each one didn't like the singer's voice (the guitar player was the singer) and quit rather than suggesting we try getting a singer that didn't play guitar.

Both situations could have been fixed and been avoided.

[aurian4parker]

Are you bossing them around? telling them what to do and what to play? I find THAT is the reason why many drummers dont like my band. because they wanna do what THEY want to do

[QORC]

if you are any good at all and can't hold drummers for more than a few months at a time, I would take a look in the mirror. If people are jumping ship that quickly, chances are it isn't a coincidence.

[ErebusBass]

Originally Posted by QORC

if you are any good at all and can't hold drummers for more than a few months at a time, I would take a look in the mirror. If people are jumping ship that quickly, chances are it isn't a coincidence.

We've only really had two "jump ship" quickly, and one of them was kicked out of school and forced to move across the country. The other one didn't like the music, simple as that. Unfortunately those were the two best ones I've ever had. Most of the other turmoil has either been the absolute lack of drummer, or only finding one that was sub-par and trying to make them get better (that doesn't work).

Lets redirect this:
How do YOU find members for your projects?

[invader3k]

Originally Posted by ErebusBass

Lets redirect this:
How do YOU find members for your projects?

Usually postings on the before mentioned websites. I've even taken out classified ads in the local newspaper...though I find you tend to get more of the people who are like this: "Well, I used to play drums in grade school and I've been to like 300 concerts...I think I would kick ass! Do you guys do any Pantera or Slayer?"

"Uh...OK, do you have a drum kit?"

"Um...no. Don't you guys have one at your studio?"

We did find one guy who worked out for a while through a newspaper ad, though, so it wasn't a total lost cause.

[kevinmoore73]

Our drummer just quit on Monday without telling us. He only told a mutual friend of ours. He was a little princess anyway, (would only play tunes he picked, completely inflexible regarding scheduling, poor communication, played without dynamic range, etc.), so we're probably better off not having him any more. If anyone knows of a jazz drummer looking for a band in the Cleveland area, let me know.

[sasebastian]

In Atomic Brother, we hire out drummers, but only friends that we know have the chops, and by referral from people we trust. This way we know we are getting pros and people that can cut the gig. As result, we haven't auditioned anyone in years, and have the pleasure of playing with some excellent drummers. They can take side gigs and whatever, without worrying about having to leave the band.

[crazyguy832]

Symphonic black metal? DO WANT (and would drum for if I lived in the area)!

(seriously, man, gimme a myspace )

In all honesty, I agree with everyone who's mentioned that it's probably someone in the group. The only reason I've ever left a group is because of inter-personal relationships.