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Dealing with Dumb Bandmates

#62
lovethegrowl said:
But clicks even for the easy folk, pop, rock stuff? (Like Leslie Duncan's/Elton John's ' Love Song?)
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For realz? Wow, interesting song selection.

Anyway, as has already been submitted, you are fortunate to have a drummer who gives a damn and is making the effort. This is far preferable to a drummer who doesn't care and is all over the map with his tempos. Trust me.
 
#63
Yeah, we do Stones, Dylan, Cat Stevens, Elton John, George Benson, Jimmy Buffet, Blind Faith, Johnny Winter, James Taylor, G. Harrison, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel (even Tom Petty for a recent party). We're trying to fit in Chuck Correa, Miles Davis, Stanley Clarke & Jethro Tull. Not a bad opportunity eh?
 
#65
lovethegrowl said:
Yeah, we do Stones, Dylan, Cat Stevens, Elton John, George Benson, Jimmy Buffet, Blind Faith, Johnny Winter, James Taylor, G. Harrison, Paul Simon, Simon & Garfunkel (even Tom Petty for a recent party). We're trying to fit in Chuck Correa, Miles Davis, Stanley Clarke & Jethro Tull. Not a bad opportunity eh?
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Just looked at this song list. Jesus am I over the hill. Somebody put a bullet between my eyes, please!
 
#70
So what? Also, inspired by Marcus Miller's Night at Monte Carlo performance. The reason why the guitarist invited me to play in the group is that we talked (I was a customer in his auto smog shop) & we both discussed how Mahivishnu's Birds of Fire & Chick Correa's Hymn of the 7th Galaxy changed our musical mindsets. He invited me to play with him, before I bought gear to play with him.

We also want to do Brazilian Jazz, Jobim, etc.,when we can. I Iive for the jazz/fusion stuff. I put up with the rock/pop because if it's good enough for studio/jazz musicians such as Steve Gadd, Pino Palladino, Tal Wilkenfeld, Carol Kay, Michael Walden, etc., it:s good enough for me.
 
#72
lovethegrowl said:
I live out in the desert & play with a guitarist & drummer, both of whom are far more experienced & professional than I. The guitarist is the leader of the group, however he relegated the job of establishing tempos to the drummer.

While making preparations for a performance the drummer wasted tons of time between numbers finding an optimal metronome tempo using his cell phone. It took two sessions to cover all three sets, when it could have easily been done in one.

Now that overly those rigid tempos have been established, the drummer puts his phone on his snare drum, & stares at the pulsating of the phone metronome while he plays along, completely uninvolved.

At our last performance the drummer brought his new set, & had a separate stand for a new tablet that had a metronome app. He was staring at the metronome during the damn performance! Surreal!

No need to burden all you good BTF users with what I should do. I've already figured it out. It involves chloroform & duct tape. The question is, do coyotes really devour all the bones, as well as all the flesh, of the dead mammals they eat. Or is that just a wive's tale.
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Dumb bandmates??
I'd be glad to work with a drummer that takes time doing the things that need to be done.Not so much, to play with one that doesn't or a band that doesn't allow for proper prep during rehearsal. That's what rehearsals are for. He could find the tempos at home maybe(or someone else could decide those before rehearsal), but that would potentially mean he decides on tempos hat don't suit the rest of the group. A drummer that doesn't forget those 'little ' bits of equipment at home when it comes to performance and even upgrades those parts of his set that he does not hit, would also be very welcome in a group I worked with.
As far as I'm concerned he can look at whatever he wants during performance-as long as that does not hinder him from sounding good.
He sound like he takes it all serious(and maybe get out of the desert?), but "Dumb"?...only those that don't get that. :)
Good!
Maybe you could suggest he uses headphones to hear the click, so he doesn't have to look at it during performance?
 
#74
lovethegrowl said:
The other night we played Broadway at a private birthday in Palm Springs. The drummer started Broadway at the blistering tempo, & unfortunately kept it there. Last September we all agreed (as a group) to avoid Benson's mistake & not take it too fast to begin with. I guess the drummer forgot. It was still tight, but stiff.
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Exactly why your drummer should use a metronome. :eek:

Don't let him waste time at rehearsal. Come with the tempo already decided on an email him with the number so he can preset it at home or have him get to rehearsal early to do it.
 
#75
Based on everything you wrote, OP, I get the feeling that the drummer's behavior is a little passive aggressive. Which is to say--if the group was previously getting compliments on its timing, and then the BL made a suggestion to the drummer that he fix something that wasn't broke, the problem may be between them. Drummer's cheesed off at the suggestion... So he's thinking "Fine! I'll get a ******* metronome if that's how he feels." I don't think the drummer needs to be fed to the wolves... maybe it's petulant, but for the first time in years playing with the BL, he's suddenly told he needs to take more responsibility for the time... I'd suggest the BL tell him at some point that the metronome has done the trick, and it's time to return to focusing on the feel.
 
#79
You know, you'd hope a drum teacher would tell students, at some point "When bandmates are discussing a change / break to a song, STOP PLAYING!!!". It drives me absolutely nuts having to wait for a drummer to finish getting his wank on. Arrrrg.
 
#80
hrodbert696 said:
Keith Moon started using clicks at some point, not right from the beginning but as the Who's arrangements were getting bigger. I agree with you, though, that he'll be better off listening to his bandmates rather than staring at a click. You might suggest a compromise - let him consult his click briefly before counting a song off (maybe keep it on the floor, not his snare), and then play the song without continuing to use it.
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This seems like the obvious solution to me. Let him start the tune at the right tempo, but if it speeds up or slows down a bit during performance that's just letting the music breathe. The problem is not that he's starting the tunes off of a click, it's that he's staring at the click while you're playing, ignoring what's happening, and making things too rigid.
 

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