Drummer nightmares

[bassbrad]

Bass players and drummes have a special relationship that other band members rarely share and are mostly oblivious about. On rare occasions the collective "you" can jell seamlessly almost playing telepahically grooving, push & pulling and hitting in all the right spots. Other times it can be a constant often unhappy struggle for the power of the beat and groove.

I once played with a drummer that must have been deaf because he had no dynamics, evert snare note was a 50 Cal going off and cymbals were a wash of jet engine level blast, even in tiny rooms. His playing might have been okay at an outdoor 50 foot stage but crammed in next door it was unbearable even with ear protection. It got to the opoint that he was on one side of the stage and ai was at the other and he was still too loud. His nick name from the band was BamBam and even that was too kind.

My favorite drummer and best friend have been playing on and off for almost 50 years, we listen closely to each other knowing instinctively when and where to hit, groove or dig into simplicity and can play practically any style of music. Our connection was instant when we met in a college big band. He has an iinterest in playing bass as well as other instruments and I have always been a bit of a frustrated drummer.

After college music studies playing bass was a bit of a challenge as all i saw were possibilities that i could not decide upon. Still wanting to do something musical I boiught a little drum set and played in a C&W band for a while. When the bass player got arrested and jailed indefinitely for drunken driving (cliche I know) the band decided i should slide over and play bass. That was my rehab into becomeing a bass player again, as the Jerk might say "my special purpose". That experience playing drums in a dance band was a valuable experience.

Currently I am working in a jazz band with a good drummer but he's is a bit to caught up in what he is playing and I'm trying to get him to listen and settle into a mutual groove. The band feels that tension but it is working somehow. It is forcing me to adapt more than I'm usually comfortable with but sometimes that is the gig.

 

[Major Seven]

I played a couple of reggae gigs recently with a drummer who clearly felt Keith Moon was the right style to use, if Keith played with a very erratic tempo and kept inserting long busy fills that never ended up on the beat.

Embarrasing.

This is a funny image. Keith Moon playing reggae.
Then again, he really liked the Beach Boys.

 

[Major Seven]

watch a jazz drummer take a solo... w t f is that ?

Ginger Baker's solos made sense to me.

 

[Heiwa]

For some reason, I can't seem to connect with drummers outside of when we're playing together. I've never met a drummer who makes me think, "Hey, let's be friends."

 

[Fondsdale]

Sounds like everyone here would prefer a drummer like Ringo, Steve Jordan or Phill Rudd. Yeah, solid unwavering groove is great. But that's not the only valid approach to drums. Not every song requires a simple beat like Billie Jean. There are plenty of drumming examples on the busier side showing up in pop/rock/funk/r&b recordings.

 

[vacuumchild]

"Got to show off my new kit, doncherknow."

I worked with a drummer who had a bunch of odd percussion bits like wind chimes, bells, etc., and whichever one he decided to pack for a gig would most certainly end up on way more than the one song it was used on in rehearsal. He didn't want to waste his effort bringing it. (He was also so cheap that he would only wear black, white, or grey clothing when he found out a photographer was taking B/W photos. Didn't want to waste the color.)

Some drummers can dance, but most can’t. Guess which kind you want to play with?

This is a really important point and something I am keeping in mind as I'm seeking a drummer now.

Lesson learned. When you ask people to do things that are not in their wheelhouse, you get what you get.

In college, I played in a band with some punk/metal influence but not totally serious (we covered Bu&&h*le Surfers for example). In a bind, the only drummer we could get for an upcoming gig was a metalhead who was easiily capable but not a good fit. We should have told him so instead of going ahead. He backed out at the last second and we ended up having the drummer from one of the other bands on the triple bill (who we knew casually) sit in.

I do love my Beat Buddy. So solid, doesn’t need a ride, a small loan, a place to stay…..changes on the one, fills that fit, reasonable, adjustable volume, and all of it works with just a toe tap.

I never feel like I need to stick my foot way up his butt.

I love my beatbuddy too, but the stock and downloaded patterns are of little interest to me, and building my own take time. I also miss the organic interplay you get with a drummer who's a good match.

If you want to really know how good a drummer is, request that they only come with a snare, bass drum, high hats and a crashable ride or ridable crash cymbal. No more. Invent a reason.

I was considering something similar when we start auditioning. "The usual practice space is being renovated so we have to fit everything in my home studio space."

One time I had a drummer complain that I had way too much mids in my tone and say he "hated mids in bass".

I never had a drummer meddle in my equalization, but I did read a review of an album I played on that said my bass "...combines girth with a pokey mid-range penetration." I'm sure the writer could barely type through the snickering.

Sounds like everyone here would prefer a drummer like Ringo, Steve Jordan or Phill Rudd. Yeah, solid unwavering groove is great. But that's not the only valid approach to drums. Not every song requires a simple beat like Billie Jean. There are plenty of drumming examples on the busier side showing up in pop/rock/funk/r&b recordings.

I'd prefer Jaki Liebezeit or Carla Azar.

 

[Major Seven]

I worked with a drummer who had a bunch of odd percussion bits like wind chimes, bells, etc., and whichever one he decided to pack for a gig would most certainly end up on way more than the one song it was used on in rehearsal. He didn't want to waste his effort bringing it. (He was also so cheap that he would only wear black, white, or grey clothing when he found out a photographer was taking B/W photos. Didn't want to waste the color.)

This is a really important point and something I am keeping in mind as I'm seeking a drummer now.

In college, I played in a band with some punk/metal influence but not totally serious (we covered Bu&&h*le Surfers for example). In a bind, the only drummer we could get for an upcoming gig was a metalhead who was easiily capable but not a good fit. We should have told him so instead of going ahead. He backed out at the last second and we ended up having the drummer from one of the other bands on the triple bill (who we knew casually) sit in.

I love my beatbuddy too, but the stock and downloaded patterns are of little interest to me, and building my own take time. I also miss the organic interplay you get with a drummer who's a good match.

I was considering something similar when we start auditioning. "The usual practice space is being renovated so we have to fit everything in my home studio space."

I never had a drummer meddle in my equalization, but I did read a review of an album I played on that said my bass "...combines girth with a pokey mid-range penetration." I'm sure the writer could barely type through the snickering.

I'd prefer Jaki Liebezeit or Carla Azar.

Clive Bunker

 

[Pocket Dave]

About twenty-two years ago, a bandleader needed a drummer in a hurry. I recommended a guy I'd worked with before. Total pro. Or at least he had been.

Day of the gig, he rolls in, sets up, everything looks normal. Somewhere between soundcheck and downbeat, though, he took a little field trip.

We kick off the first tune, and something feels... off. Looser than I remembered. Then he misses a downbeat coming out of a fill. Couple songs later, another fill that sounded like it'd wandered in from a different song. Then another bad re-entry. The clams started breeding.

First break, he looked even worse.

Thing was, I'd watched him all break. He wasn't at the bar. Just disappeared into the bathroom for a while.

Oh.

Then it hit me.

Glassy eyes. Thousand-yard stare. Wobbly on his feet. Slow to react. That permanent little grin that says, "It's all good, man," when it absolutely isn't.

Turns out he'd been clean when I'd known him before. This time, heroin had come back like it'd spent ten years planning the reunion.

Second set was held together with wishful thinking. Missed cues. Long, unexplained holes in the groove. By the third set, he stopped playing twice in the middle of songs. Once to answer a call from his dealer. The other because he honestly couldn't figure out where he was.

Not metaphorically.

Physically.

Meanwhile I'm dying inside, because I'm the guy who vouched for him.

End of the night, he's tearing down with three cymbals stacked in his arms. One slips out and crashes onto the stage.

He just stands there.

Blank stare.

Another one slips.

Blank stare again.

Then the last cymbal - and by now your whole job is to just hang on to the one you've got left - slides out, rolls across the floor, and comes to rest a few feet short of my amp.

He looks at me and says, "Uh... I... I dropped my cymbals."

I said, "Don't even f***ing talk to me. Get help, man."