A drummer with a natural groove, an unshakeable time feel, and a grasp of music theory is a force to be reckoned with.
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Drummer appreciation can be a real thing
- Thread starter Hasty
- Start date
I'm spoiled. I've only played with really good drummers. One actually toured the US and Europe, and the others toured regionally. Amazingly good, considering the format is very loose almost "open mic" atmosphere that happens on Fridays in my brother's basement.
I do love the feel when locked in with a good drummer.
I do love the feel when locked in with a good drummer.
Guitar player's don't pay near the attention to a drummer as a bass player does. I've asked several what they pay attention to? One told me that "you two ( bass / drums) are background, I just hear you that's all". So, I guess we were just noise.
Freekmagnet
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I have a drummer friend who used to play in our cover band fairly regularly. He's a great drummer - he's played with bands like Slave and last I heard, he was playing in Lakeside. His feel is impeccable - he'll straight eighth notes on the hi-hat and somehow make it sound like funkiest thing you've ever heard. However, he's deeper than that, because when he plays a beat, you can hear every album in his vast record collection. Ironically, he's humble to a fault.
Anyway, I've always loved reggae/rock steady music from 1968-1977, but I've never really pursued playing it in a band context. In the past, I'd tried out a few beats with some really good drummers, but the feel never clicked. I just kind of assumed that white guys aren't meant to play reggae, I took the stance of, "You can't be good at everything," I accepted it, and moved on.
I'd just recently started playing with this guy, and we had a Bob Marley song in the set at a gig. I apologized ahead of time, explaining that kinda sucked at playing the reggae feel, to which he replied, "Don't worry about it brutha, you got it." We played the song, and to my surprise it didn't suck - it was actually pretty good! My revelation was that it wasn't me who sucked, but it was the drummers I'd played with in the past.
On a side note, on our break, he and I sat down and talked about music and shared a few stories. He's from the Dayton, OH area, and he grew up with and played with all those famous Dayton bands like Ohio Players and such. Anyway, I told him my story about how some friends and I snuck backstage and met Charles Wright. He suddenly got really quiet and said, "I have always wanted to meet Charles Wright."
Anyway, I've always loved reggae/rock steady music from 1968-1977, but I've never really pursued playing it in a band context. In the past, I'd tried out a few beats with some really good drummers, but the feel never clicked. I just kind of assumed that white guys aren't meant to play reggae, I took the stance of, "You can't be good at everything," I accepted it, and moved on.
I'd just recently started playing with this guy, and we had a Bob Marley song in the set at a gig. I apologized ahead of time, explaining that kinda sucked at playing the reggae feel, to which he replied, "Don't worry about it brutha, you got it." We played the song, and to my surprise it didn't suck - it was actually pretty good! My revelation was that it wasn't me who sucked, but it was the drummers I'd played with in the past.
On a side note, on our break, he and I sat down and talked about music and shared a few stories. He's from the Dayton, OH area, and he grew up with and played with all those famous Dayton bands like Ohio Players and such. Anyway, I told him my story about how some friends and I snuck backstage and met Charles Wright. He suddenly got really quiet and said, "I have always wanted to meet Charles Wright."
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Guitar player's don't pay near the attention to a drummer as a bass player does. I've asked several what they pay attention to? One told me that "you two ( bass / drums) are background, I just hear you that's all". So, I guess we were just noise.
Which is unfortunate, and supports my belief that rhythm guitar is a dying artform. A great rhythm guitar player listens to everyone, though should be really keyed in on snare.
Most of the time I've been lucky enough to work with really good drummers with a few duds along the way. The duds seem to put themselves out of business.
You'll find them in the metal genres, like for example thrash metal.
Full disclosure: hobbyist here. I played with only 3 drummers for my 1st 15 years, all of whom were musically weak. It was very "suboptimal" but I still had fun, frequent frustration notwithstanding. Over the past 5 years I have played with a couple of fantastic drummers and it was like my trip across the Sahara changed from riding on the hump of a drunken camel to sitting in the passenger's seat of a Land Rover with AC. Great Chet Baker quote: it takes a really good drummer to sound better than no drummer.
Maybe so. In my circles and music, I hope, often against odds, for someone like this on rhythm guitar:
Leo Nocentelli! Great player indeed, legendary funk guitarist! It is a bit weird though to see him playing that song with another bass player instead of Porter.
What do you think of Cory Wong?
Cory Wong - Some of the best rhythm guitarists are also bassists.
- Dec 21, 2007
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I’m currently traveling and went to a couple of great jams in Knoxville TN, and played with 3 really, really good drummers. I give a hearty AMEN to the OP’s sentiments.
I have tried in in vain to point out drummer’s inadequacies to guitar players and all I get is “I dunno what you’re talking about man I just hear drums.”Guitar player's don't pay near the attention to a drummer as a bass player does. I've asked several what they pay attention to? One told me that "you two ( bass / drums) are background, I just hear you that's all". So, I guess we were just noise.
I think it's different if the bass player (or someone else in the band) can also play the drums...
Years ago in an old band we were trying to learn 'My Sharona' and the drummer just couldn't get the beat right... I was trying to explain what I thought the right beat was and drummer just handed me the drum sticks - so I sat down and played it and guitarist said "That's it"!
After that I was not allowed to play on that drummers kit again.... LOL
in my current band we were learning 'Everybody wants to rule the world' and drummer was having a hard time getting the beat right... I actually sent him the youtube clip that just has the drums only (FYI that song actually uses a linn drum machine and not real drums) but he said that's no use to him..... we did learn the song and played it twice, but it's no longer on our regular setlist (much to the disgust of Mrs Bassman who's an avid Tears for Fears fan)
Good drummers are worth their weight in gold
I started as a drummer and I'm also a producer/engineer so I forget sometimes that my ears are more fine-tuned than some others. I have the opinion that you either have "it" or you don't as a drummer. Some guys are just pounders with no subtlety at all. I could lock them in a room for all eternity and they could never play like Jeff Porcaro. And some guys just have a pocket so deep there's lint in there. Those guys are a dream to play with. The others make it a chore.
The past couple years with my current band was an adventure finding a drummer. The one who stands out in my mind is technically very talented, but has no chill.
I don't know what else to call it other than he was on the beat to a fault. We record practices, and he was always steady, but it always felt rushed to the rest of us because he was so on the beat and rigid.
I saw him with another band last week and he still can't lay back and just groove. I've never experienced that before, but it did make me appreciate our current drummer on a whole other level.
I'll trade chops for groove any day.
I don't know what else to call it other than he was on the beat to a fault. We record practices, and he was always steady, but it always felt rushed to the rest of us because he was so on the beat and rigid.
I saw him with another band last week and he still can't lay back and just groove. I've never experienced that before, but it did make me appreciate our current drummer on a whole other level.
I'll trade chops for groove any day.
Just my opinion, but since I started as a drummer when first gigging at 18. So maybe it's easier for me to appreciate drummers having been one.
But that also makes me critical of drummers, do it like this, do it like that. No matter how nice you try to be with suggestions it comes off as condescending.
I played with a drummer for almost 20 years who was rather heavy handed and rock solid on tempo. But when I say rock solid I mean if he started at the correct tempo you're golden, but if he was fast or slow then you were stuck. He had no capacity to change during a song. But he was reliable, always on time, and a good guy so we went with it. I look back at that decision now with mixed feelings.
But that also makes me critical of drummers, do it like this, do it like that. No matter how nice you try to be with suggestions it comes off as condescending.
I played with a drummer for almost 20 years who was rather heavy handed and rock solid on tempo. But when I say rock solid I mean if he started at the correct tempo you're golden, but if he was fast or slow then you were stuck. He had no capacity to change during a song. But he was reliable, always on time, and a good guy so we went with it. I look back at that decision now with mixed feelings.
