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Auditioning a drummer

Amplexus

Amplexus

Oct 17, 2006
54
3
Philadelphia, PA
#1
I'm sure this has been covered before, but I'm going to throw this question out there again.

I joined my band about 6 months ago and it's been going well, except we've had some issues with our drummer and keyboardist. (mostly with attending practice) The drummer is a great drummer and we click musically and personally, so it's going to suck to lose him, but his heart just isn't into the band.

Anyway, we're going to be auditioning new drummers and this is a new experience for me. What things should I keep in mind? Any good tips, experiences?

Thanks!
 
#4
Get him copies of all the material. Pick two songs from that which you think might trip him up, and ask him to pick a further two. Four songs is plenty - no point in asking him to learn the whole set if he's not in the band yet. By letting him pick a couple, he can choose some that suit his style/he knows well, while you pick a couple to test him.

Just get him to turn up at a specific time. Play the four songs. The sit back and chat for 20 minutes. Then (good or bad) say "thanks, we'll call you tomorrow". Have a band meeting, then CALL him like you promised, even if he sucks.
 
#6
We also will be auditioning a drummer soon. In addition to things like odd time signatures, and songs he likes, I would pick something simple to see of he can hold a groove and not go fill crazy. How about a mellow/slower song to see if he has volume control, dynamics, and tempo control. Have him do a solo so you can get a feel for his "style" and chops.

Speaking of one of my old drummers, his solos were always busy and filled with odd stuff and little groove, which came out in a lot of the songs we played. I've mentioned this before, but he would cause me to lose the beat during 'Mustang Sally', so I had to develop a method of ignoring the drummer during certain songs..
 
#7
IanStephenson said:
Get him copies of all the material. Pick two songs from that which you think might trip him up, and ask him to pick a further two.

Just get him to turn up at a specific time.

Then sit back and chat for 20 minutes. Then (good or bad) say "thanks, we'll call you tomorrow". Have a band meeting, then CALL him like you promised, even if he sucks.
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+10 on getting copies of the material to the drummer so he can be prepared for the audition.

Get the drummer there early enough to the audition to set up and warm up.

Also let him know the length and format of the audition and the "chat" time.

If you have some band rules, let him know what they are. Also discuss how the band is managed, how much time you rehearse, average no. of gigs per month and other stuff important to the group.

If you haven't already, I suggest you read/study the following TB threads and pull out the stuff that you can apply:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=429034 If I only knew then what I know now...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434246 Best musical advice
 
#9
+1 to the give him a couple of songs to learn. Tell them a couple definites, let them pick another. You'll be able to tell by three or four songs if you want to go further with them.

Be patient...... some people get nervous at auditions. If they're a total spaz, that's how they'll be before a big gig......but if they're just a bit off thats normal :).

Another thing we did was to pick a song that was on the CD we gave them (but not one they chose) and had them play along with us. See how well they take musical direction.......see if they respond to cues or if they stay buried in the kit.

We went through several drummer auditions and it's a PITA......:spit:

Oh, and be nice even if they don't fit at all......you never know when you might cross paths again :0.
 
#10
Unless it's a tribute band that's playing only one style, play a verse and chorus of one of the audition songs in a few different styles (for example, "Higher Ground" done a la Stevie Wonder, but also played as a shuffle, as a Sly and Robbie reggae joint, and as a samba).

Also, make sure you check the drummer's ability to play with dynamics and tone at various volume levels. One way is to inconspicuously drop the singer's mic level 5-6 dBs a few songs into the audition. When the rest of the band adjusts their playing touch to avoid burying the singer, does the drummer hear and follow suit? If so, can he still play with tone and touch?

Alternatively (if you only care about the drummer's tone and touch, and don't want to check his/her ability to listen to the group's mix), you can just call for a live fade out on one of the audition tunes.
 
#11
In addition to a song your band plays with some trickier stops and starts (give the drummer a CD copy, .mp3 file or a link from which to practice in advance, of course), have the drummer play at least one slow blues tune and see if (s)he can avoid rushing it. Randy Newman's "Guilty" (Bonnie Raitt, etc.) has served us well in this regard in the past, but any S-L-O-W blues will work, including a sufficiently slow "Stormy Monday Blues".

Bluesy Soul :cool:
 
#12
If I were to audition a drummer again... I'd look at a few things right off the bat.

- Technique/professionalism. Do they have a warmup, do they hit like they know what they are doing? I usually like a drummer with in the first 5 seconds of them playing. Do they carry a practice pad everywhere they go? That's the type of drummer I like! Do they have a car and is their drum set falling apart?

- Can they play in odd time sigs? Do they even know about time sigs? When we auditioned drummers, the guy who could jam in 7/8 is the guy we got. Mind you, I've spent the last few years trying to develop a group to do slightly mathy stuff.

- Personality, personal problems. Will this guy be easy to work with, does he/she have a good attitude? Are they drunk or stoned all of the time? Can they take an active role in the writing, do they bring anything else to the table?

Current drummer is great. Trouble is, he's a slightly younger cat and still feels like he has something to prove, so he tends to do too much. I dont have the patience/nerve to take that on... but he can do the proggy stuff. Link Removed (first track drum & bass jam)
 
#14
chaosMK said:
Do they have a warmup, do they hit like they know what they are doing? I usually like a drummer with in the first 5 seconds of them playing.
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:) +1

I can tell as soon as a someone hits the skins to set themself up whether or not I'm going to like their playing.

In the 11 year history of The Nerve we had about 7 drummers, and probably auditioned well over 100. After a while we pretty much did it like this.

20 minute slots for whoever is auditioning.
Sent them 3 songs.
Waited until we had at least 5 drummers to audition.
Talked to them on the phone first to weed people out.
Myspace wasn't poplular then or I'm sure we'd have checked them out online beforehand.

I wouldn't audition anyone without giving them at least 2 or 3 songs to learn because I think it says a lot about how much they want the gig, and what their work ethic is like. Some guys nail the stuff no problem, others come in with countless excuses.

We also found with The Nerve that it was incredibly worth paying guys at times in order to keep the band moving along. If a drummer is really good chances are he's already got something happening and unless your band has really got something good going on it's hard to keep a guy interested. He could probably be doing more worthwhile things and won't have the same investment in your music, because it's not HIS music. By hiring drummers a lot of times we spent less money and time than had we been doing auditioning - and it's surpirising how motivating $100 for a gig can be to some drummers who really want the work. :) You can squeeze a couple of rehearsals and gig out of that.
 
#15
fdeck said:
When you call a drummer for an audition, tell them:

"You just need to bring a snare and hi-hat, and brushes, and a music stand."
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As someone that's a better drummer than bassist, I must ask:

What is it with bass players and this attitude?

A bass-playing friend of mine said he wants to make every drummer he auditions play only an 18" bass drum, a snare and a few cymbals.

Would you go to an audition where the band told you "Go buy a short scale bass. Then snip off all the strings but the E. And you can only use a pick. Oh, and leave your rig at home, we'll judge you by your unplugged sound."

I doubt many of us here would go try out unless the dough was really good.

Telling someone to leave most of their 12 piece kit behind is one thing. A good 5 piece kit should be more than sufficient for any tryout. But cutting off any more than that is messing with their sound, feel and comfort levels.

Trying out for bands is stressful enough. Why would you want to really mess with who they are as players?
 
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#16
After a few songs, ask him to give you his sticks so you can sit down and show him how you want it played. (provided you can play drums) If he gives them you you and gets up without hesitation, then thanks you for showing him how you wanted it played, then he might work out. If the veins on his neck start popping out and he goes into a rage, then send him on his way. I call this my "red flag" test. Saves alot of time right off the bat, and shows his general demeaner and "team" ability. I am not joking. We had a drummer from hell who couldnt take any constructive criticism once, so after that when we auditioned a new drummer, I would say everything that pissed off the previous drummer (over a 6 month period) to the auditioning drummer the first night. He took it all very well, so he got the job. We are great friends now, but that first night he really thought I was an A-hole! Weeks later I told him why. A good drummer can play with a 4 or 5 piece set.
 
#17
jtc_hunter said:
After a few songs, ask him to give you his sticks so you can sit down and show him how you want it played. (provided you can play drums) If he gives them you you and gets up without hesitation, then thanks you for showing him how you wanted it played, then he might work out. If the veins on his neck start popping out and he goes into a rage, then send him on his way. I call this my "red flag" test. Saves alot of time right off the bat, and shows his general demeaner and "team" ability. I am not joking.
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And I'm sure you'd take it just as well if he picked up your bass and told YOU how to play a song.

You sure have a funny way of auditioning people...throw everything insulting you could possibly do to the guy at him the first night. Why start a relationship with such an adversarial position? Of course guys are going to get pissed if you do that...who wouldn't? Jeez, that's downright cruel. Any self-respecting drummer would tell you to stick it, and I wouldn't blame them. It shows YOUR general demeanor and "team" ability more than it does his.
 
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#18
JimmyM said:
And I'm sure you'd take it just as well if he picked up your bass and told YOU how to play a song.

You sure have a funny way of auditioning people...throw everything insulting you could possibly do to the guy at him the first night. Why start a relationship with such an adversarial position? Of course guys are going to get pissed if you do that...who wouldn't? Jeez, that's downright cruel. Any self-respecting drummer would tell you to stick it, and I wouldn't blame them. It shows YOUR general demeanor and "team" ability more than it does his.
Click to expand...

I dont think you understood my post. If you knew the f-n hell we went thru with our previous drummer, this procedure just found out in a hurry if the new guy had a temper. he took it all in stride very well(unexpectedly). Then we let him in on it after a couple weeks.
 
#20
I wanna add to my other post that I think it's a good idea to also stay a little open minded regarding all this stuff too, because people do have bad days. One time a guy came to audition who was late because of some mishap, and then sat down and realized he had no sticks. He ran out of the studio hunting sticks down, we pretty much agreed this was NOT going to be the guy for us - and well, he wound up playing with us for around 6 months, and did a short tour that we had a blast on. I think sometimes you gotta trust your gut. And your ears - the guy could play.
 
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