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a rant about our band's tempo...

#42
joebar said:
the guitarist texted me the following day after that horrendous practice and asked me what should we do about phil? (the drummer in question). it is a big concern to him as well.

it isn't just general timekeeping; he flubs on intros all the time, screws up fills occasionally-things that a natural wouldn't miss.

the REAL issue here is that there is some denial in effect about the drummer because:
A-it is his place that we rehearse at (and if you saw it, you would never want to rehearse in anything short of a mansion again)
B- he is a really nice guy
this is another debate, so i won't go any farther with it.

no one wants to believe that it is serious but i know better.
we would be much better off with a drum machine and happier at this very point.
i am not overly critical at all-
i am a harsh critic on myself; i know what i need to work on, and i do it. i judge myself so i don't need to be judged (i beat them to it)

wednesday night will be interesting to say the least; we are all willing to chalk the practice up to a disaster and move on afresh

my other thought was thought maybe the drummer couldn't hear me well enough the other night. i don't like to overpower anyone but i will make sure that can be ruled out.
Click to expand...

First off, congrats on the vocals. I have a one octave low range that seems useless for backups most of the time. You guys should really value the vocal aspect and not let a novice drummer mess up your focus and enjoyment. If the guitarist is looking to you for advice, let him know you can't work with a drummer that can't keep time. That's absolutely ridiculous unless you guys simply don't care.

I was in a similar situation two years ago. I really like him as a person and we started the band from a Sublime cover thing (just for fun) to an upbeat reggae cover band with horns, keys and backups. Unsteady tempo and couldn't come in on the one after any kind of turnaround it seemed. I wanted to throw my bass into a wall because everyone else had there parts down solid. Nobody had a problem with it which was crazy to me so I hung in there. It was useless, though. After eight months of practicing 2-3 nights a week, he still couldn't do it. The other guys felt too bad to fire him so I left and the band broke up shortly after. What a waste of my time. My fault, though. I made the choice to stay in as long as I did.
 
#45
Well, darn. We have the same problem with our drummer and I was hoping a click track would improve his timing. During practice he is pretty good, but if anything upsets him....like a performance in front of people, he just falls apart. He plays from the heart though, and it might be hard to find another drummer like that.
 
#46
joebar said:
looking for a little feedback on a situation that irritates me to no end........

i suggested to the drummer the other day that we should set up a click track that we could play to help him/ us with the timing issue. he makes excuses saying that most songs speed up/ slow down more than we think.
that kind of response trouble me. we used a click last week for one tune we were struggling with and it worked wonders immediately. i am never too proud to work on the fundamentals; after all, it is the rhythym section that holds the whole thing together.

.....
Click to expand...

The excuse thing tells me he is either embarrassed about his ability or feels he can't fix the problem.
If he has to have a click to get the job done, use a click whether he likes it or not.
Or get a better drummer.

I find you get a little spoiled working with good, dynamic drummers and it's very difficult to go backwards.
Maybe he'll improve, but he has to really try.
 
#48
Some of the more negative comments regarding the situation kind of struck a chord with me. This is in regards to those suggesting that the drummer be fired..or that the bass player leave the band.

One of the things i love about the music community is the supportive nature of other musicians. At one time or another in our music careers we have been the student or the teacher, or even a combination of both. Sometimes we are even learning from those that are not quite on our level and vice versa. The point is, with the support of each other, there can be a time and place for a musician of any skill level.

I guess where i am going with this, is that if a certain band member is not exactly succeeding, instead of the knee jerk "fire him" reaction we should at least exhaust other potential possibilities with an even more positive outcome. Sit down with them, work with them, put in the time. TEACH them to succeed. You might be surprised how much you might learn yourself in the process of teaching others. You'll also be doing a greater service to the music community by elevating another musician to a higher skill level.

Obviously in some professional situations this is not an option..especially when money is involved and you have bills to pay. Totally get that. But in all other situations, we should strive to take the supportive approach.

My 2 cents :)
 
#49
If you want to sound like a pro band, you should be able to play to a click track.

Every drummer I have worked with who was a pro, could play to a click live, and usually did.

I would get a drummer who can play to a click if you want to get serious.
 
#52
Wow, I must be one of the lucky ones. Our drummer is rock solid. He used to push the tempo and did NOT lay back, but not any more. I think he was either lazy or was messing with us. It became a standing joke which he even took part in. :D

After we recorded a couple of rehearsals, he saw the light. He has previous band experience, so I think he maybe just wasn't paying attention.... He and I lock in no problem, and even the guitarists noticed. ;)

He really stepped it up and by the time we recorded our EP, he was the best I've ever heard him (and he was playing on the studio's kit). He is now easily the best drummer I've played with since college. And he's a really great guy!

:bassist::bassist:
 
#55
Seanto said:
Some of the more negative comments regarding the situation kind of struck a chord with me. This is in regards to those suggesting that the drummer be fired..or that the bass player leave the band.

One of the things i love about the music community is the supportive nature of other musicians. At one time or another in our music careers we have been the student or the teacher, or even a combination of both. Sometimes we are even learning from those that are not quite on our level and vice versa. The point is, with the support of each other, there can be a time and place for a musician of any skill level.

I guess where i am going with this, is that if a certain band member is not exactly succeeding, instead of the knee jerk "fire him" reaction we should at least exhaust other potential possibilities with an even more positive outcome. Sit down with them, work with them, put in the time. TEACH them to succeed. You might be surprised how much you might learn yourself in the process of teaching others. You'll also be doing a greater service to the music community by elevating another musician to a higher skill level.

Obviously in some professional situations this is not an option..especially when money is involved and you have bills to pay. Totally get that. But in all other situations, we should strive to take the supportive approach.

My 2 cents :)
Click to expand...

but the person has to be teachable and there was resistance.
I could not reach him.

when three members all agree that they are great when they are not, there are two things at work:
denial and ego.
me?
I was humbled by the recording we made; they were inflated.
time to go.
 
#57
i quite the band on tuesday via email-it was a very nice, to the point message.
i was surprised that no one except my friend the guitarist, wished me the best in the future. he is a class act.
the other two-nothing; not even a screw you.
wow-just when you think you know people...oh well.
just further confirms my decision and that it was the right one.
 

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