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Drummer out front ?

TeamTrejo

TeamTrejo

Oct 12, 2008
506
0
60
Franklin WI
#1
Our drummer is also our lead singer. In order for him to better connect with the crowd, I had the thought of having him set up toward the front of the stage. The rest of us would be behind and to the sides.

Anyone try this? Pros vs Cons ? Don't bother?

BTW we are a four piece classic rock cover band. We play at bars and clubs. We mic or DI our amps, mic drums and use IEMs.

Any thoughts appreciated.
 
#2
there was a band in the 90s that did that. they had the hit called "jenny says" or something like that. the local radio station here seemed to love to book them for their events, and the approach seemed to work well.

i seem to recall that they used some small risers for the other band mates to that they didn't get hidden behind the cymbals
 
#6
I play drums and bass and unless it's an electronic kit - the idea isn't good. 1. the accoustic kit is loud which why it has always been pushed to the back - cymbals can be piercing for anyone standing directly in front. 2. If he can sing in the front he can sing in the back - doesn't need to be spotlight of the evening. I'm sure he'll be mentioned 3. you have mics for the drums - chance of other instruments bleeding back into the mix because of the proximity of the mics may sound like a bundle of mud and feedback. 4. When standing to the side or behind the drums - it's going to be hard to get a good stage mix. Unless you each have a monitor - it's be hard to hear each other. Just my opinion and experience.. unless you have an electronic kit that you can control - I wouldn't bother.
 
#9
94Stanger said:
I play drums and bass and unless it's an electronic kit - the idea isn't good. 1. the accoustic kit is loud which why it has always been pushed to the back - cymbals can be piercing for anyone standing directly in front. 2. If he can sing in the front he can sing in the back - doesn't need to be spotlight of the evening. I'm sure he'll be mentioned 3. you have mics for the drums - chance of other instruments bleeding back into the mix because of the proximity of the mics may sound like a bundle of mud and feedback. 4. When standing to the side or behind the drums - it's going to be hard to get a good stage mix. Unless you each have a monitor - it's be hard to hear each other. Just my opinion and experience.. unless you have an electronic kit that you can control - I wouldn't bother.
Click to expand...

good points. i would imagine you would need a drummer with a really good touch to make this work, and also a good sound man.

i know that i personally hate having to put up a vocal mic for drummers. it almost always ends up being much more of a cymbal mic and i have to ride the mute button all night long.
 
#10
TeamTrejo said:
Good info there. He currently has an accoustic kit with plenty O cymbals.

He's been thinking of reasons/excuses to get an electronic kit. This might do it.
Click to expand...


You might get what happened to a band I was in once - as we came off for a break a member of the audience asked the drummer - "why don't you move those big round things out of the way? - we couldn't work out where the singing was coming from" !! :help:.

Honest !!
 
#13
monkeyland said:
there was a band in the 90s that did that. they had the hit called "jenny says" or something like that. the local radio station here seemed to love to book them for their events, and the approach seemed to work well.

i seem to recall that they used some small risers for the other band mates to that they didn't get hidden behind the cymbals
Click to expand...

Cowboy Mouth

I saw them at a festival a few years back. Not my cup of tea but they (especially the drummer/singer) put on a hell of a show.
 
#18
the sideways drummer works as long as you have the kick going into the PA, otherwise the kick mojo gets lost. I've played in a lot of bands with singing drummers, and as long as no one stands in front of them it's not so bad. A spotlight on the drummer and a kit set up in such a way that you can see his or her face helps too. Outside of blowing the audience away, anything that makes it harder for you to hear the drums isn't so great. Also, on a raised stage, the closer the drummer is to the front, the harder it is to see them.
 
#19
honestly, unless you have a custom stage that's optimized to have a singing drummer up front, i think it might work better just to set up normally. didn't think of that until IvanMike's post, but he's right...put the drummer up front and people dancing will have a hard time seeing him sing if the stage has any real height.
 
#20
i do not like the look of drummer front and center... the stage looks cluttered, and it is usually too loud.

as suggested, the semi-circle is my fav, regardless of who sings, with the drummer upstage right or upstage left. reasons-
-the drummer is fun for audiences to watch
-if the drummer angles his kick on an angle, so it isn't aimed directly at the audience, the sound man has better control over the levels
-it makes for better eye contact among the band
-it's more egalitarian, no one set front and center
-i think it looks cool
and if the drummer is singing, he is visible w/out taking up the entire stage.
 

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