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Bad drummers.

thenazz

thenazz

May 9, 2011
146
208
Pensacola, FL
#1
I see a lot of post about "guitards" but not much about crappy drummers. Did a pick-up gig last night with two guitars, keys and a drummer. Everyone was pretty good except the drummer, he was awful! He really wasn't even a drummer, just one of these guys that owns dozens of kits, reads Modern Drummer magazine, talks a big game, etc. but in reality can't play to save his life. Everything was boom bap boom bap boom bap (kick snare kick snare etc). I'd tell him "This is Route 66 with a swing feel." Boom bap boom bap. "This is a reggae tune." Boom bap boom bap. The solution? Plenty of vodka tonics. Just needed to vent so it wouldn't fester inside me and grow a cancerous tumor. Carry on.
 
#5
thenazz said:
I see a lot of post about "guitards" but not much about crappy drummers. Did a pick-up gig last night with two guitars, keys and a drummer. Everyone was pretty good except the drummer, he was awful! He really wasn't even a drummer, just one of these guys that owns dozens of kits, reads Modern Drummer magazine, talks a big game, etc. but in reality can't play to save his life. Everything was boom bap boom bap boom bap (kick snare kick snare etc). I'd tell him "This is Route 66 with a swing feel." Boom bap boom bap. "This is a reggae tune." Boom bap boom bap. The solution? Plenty of vodka tonics. Just needed to vent so it wouldn't fester inside me and grow a cancerous tumor. Carry on.
Click to expand...
I literally laughed out loud ... boom bap boom bap. That must have been one heck of a long night!
 
#10
Oh yes I had an experience like that. Was hired to record a gospel album with a quartet singing group. Rehearsed all of the material they wanted to record (with no drums as it was going to be guitar, bass, & piano). Get to the studio and here comes this young man who one of the singers knew and they decided to have him play drums on all the tracks! Nice guy but he played every single track with the same beat! Needless to say my copy of that album never saw the light of day again.:scowl:
 
#14
So the phone rings and it's an old bandmate of mine inviting me to come hear his band (American traditional music with a few originals) "Heck , if you want , you can sit in on a few songs. "Hey , I've got something going on but after I get done I'll drop by. Probably be able to get there after the first set." "Cool , I'll see you there." I pull into the parking lot and hear the announcement "We'll be back after a short break." I walk in and my friend says hi and wants to know if I want to play drums. "C'mon , you know I don't play drums." He tells me that the guy that owns the drum kit wont mind a bit. I told him I'd rather pass and he walked away with a disapointed look on his face. Break ends and they go back on stage. Now I've heard some terrible drummers in my day but this guy took the cake. Off time , outta step and trying 3 beat fills on 4/4 time songs. One song was all I could endure. I went up and told him "O K , I'll play drums for you" Heck all I can do is keep a beat but I ended up playing the rest of the night for them. After the gig , everyone in the band thanked me profusely. So yeah , just because a guy owns a drum kit doesn't mean he's a drummer.
 
#15
I could never understand all the comments and posts about guitar players. I could care less about the guitar player. It's the drummer who matters from a bass players perspective. I've played with drummers so good that all I had to do was play a note here or there and it sounded so good. This dude was all groove! Then there's those that make you want to take up golf. Guys who couldn't swing on a meat hook.
 
#17
I've had a few bad experiences with drummers but I'll stick to one tail.

I used to play in a technical death metal band and we had a really hard time finding a drummer. We found a guy who a lot of people recommended as a great drummer and we got him in for a practice. On his arrival to the practice room I could tell he was a pompous arrogant prick but we had been looking for so long we needed to give him a fair chance. We all set up without issue, tuned up and ready to play. He was pissing around tuning every drum skin and "fixing this terrible kit". It sounded all right to me but hey, he's the damn drummer, can't take him that long. 2 hours in to our 3 hour practice/audition and he hadn't played a beat with us. We practised a few tunes with out him and we tried writing a new tune. He insults our music as he half arsedly plays along with us and we finish. We did not call him back. Thinking back, no one who recommended him had ever played with him before or were even musicians. We never did find a good enough drummer for that band. Good extreme metal drummers are like gold dust around here.
 
#18
I've experienced two guest drummers sitting in with us on stage. One was terrific and the other god-awful. The latter did his best to demonstrate his manly strength by hitting the drums as hard as possible. Actually his time was OK but no chops and wayyyyyy too loud.
 
#20
The drummer from hell
Is alive and well
Living in my town

He has a cowbell
Clamped to the stand
Once was too much

He stares at his lap
Beats up the song
Louder and faster

The drummer from hell
Lives in my town
He knows my name.

I have to smile
I wish to hide
Thank god its finally over.

I took the gig
I took the spot
I need several strong drinks

The drummer from hell
Is approaching the stage
Someone hide the sticks

Someone hide the drums.
 

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