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Ever had a drummer you just locked with?

seanm

seanm

I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize!
Supporting Member
Feb 19, 2004
8,629
3,199
Ottawa, Canada
seanm.ca
#1
I have played two gigs with one drummer, and just found him so easy too play with. It was like we locked right away. We have never practiced, the two gigs where done cold. And yet each time he has commented on how easy I was to play with.

Have you ever just clicked with a drummer, or did you always have to work at it a while?

I don't have a lot of experience with drummers. Almost all of my paid gigs are drummerless.
 
#2
I am most lucky. I have TWO drummers that I can play anything (from straight simple to dead complicated stuff) so easy, without any rehearsal. Once they listen to what I play in the first beat they follow, add and or lead as necessary
 
#3
To be honest, almost every drummer I've played with, except noobs, I have been able to lock with. I'm just one of those guys that have a good ear and good sense of groove. I mean, I played piano when I was 3 so you learn a lot about rhythm and groove with 30 years of experience playing 4 different instruments.
 
#4
I had a drummer that had all the chops and fills. Of course the SINGER could not get along with him. So away he went. Every time I see him play with another band, I get pissed.

O I forgot he also sang killer back ups and some leads vocals.
 
#6
seanm said:
I have played two gigs with one drummer, and just found him so easy too play with. It was like we locked right away. We have never practiced, the two gigs where done cold. And yet each time he has commented on how easy I was to play with.

Have you ever just clicked with a drummer, or did you always have to work at it a while?

I don't have a lot of experience with drummers. Almost all of my paid gigs are drummerless.
Click to expand...

YUP.

I am still playing with him...

The miracle is ... he is my brother. :)
 
#8
Yes, I find it so easy to write fun basslines with drummers I "click" with. I find better drummers are the easiest to do so. It's less you feeling like you have to drive the band and more just everyone flowing. (Granted the guitar players and singer follow suit...:))
 
#9
Yup! I had a great drummer friend that I played with all through high school..really clicked and we grooved every day. Went our separate ways when university started though, bummer.

Now I am stuck with a drum machine...and it doesn't laugh at any of my jokes.
 
#10
To be honest, almost every drummer I've played with, except noobs, I have been able to lock with.
Click to expand...

That's a good thing.
I generally find that as well.
I also find that periodically I run into a drummer that somehow feels time the same way that I do, and when that happens, really cool music starts happening that much more easily.
It's kind of like dancing - I can dance with anyone, but some people are just more fun for me to dance with (and some people who are just good dancers are more fun than others who are technically better dancers).
 
#11
capnsandwich said:
To be honest, almost every drummer I've played with, except noobs, I have been able to lock with.
Click to expand...

Same here.

I have noticed, however, that the music style play a role in this. One drummer I played with had a very "open" or "airy" and laid-back playing style which was perfect for some songs but not all. One of the songs that didn't work very well was "Love Foolosophy" by Jamiroquai. I had played it before with another drummer who kept the beat much more driving and spot-on and it worked much better for that particular song.
 
#13
kesslari said:
That's a good thing.
I generally find that as well.
I also find that periodically I run into a drummer that somehow feels time the same way that I do, and when that happens, really cool music starts happening that much more easily.
It's kind of like dancing - I can dance with anyone, but some people are just more fun for me to dance with (and some people who are just good dancers are more fun than others who are technically better dancers).
Click to expand...

Deacon_Blues said:
Same here.

I have noticed, however, that the music style play a role in this. One drummer I played with had a very "open" or "airy" and laid-back playing style which was perfect for some songs but not all. One of the songs that didn't work very well was "Love Foolosophy" by Jamiroquai. I had played it before with another drummer who kept the beat much more driving and spot-on and it worked much better for that particular song.
Click to expand...

I think another reason that an experienced drummer is easier to work with to me is the fact that he's not all over the place, but yet know where to put each beat as if it were meant to be there. I find that a drummer that can stay true to the pocket without trying to overplay is much easier and funner to lock in with. My drummer that I play with is a perfect example. He's studied percussion since he was a freshman in high school and then went to Berklee for a few years. He's got a great ear and is probably the most solid drummer I've ever played with.
 
#16
capnsandwich said:
I think another reason that an experienced drummer is easier to work with to me is the fact that he's not all over the place, but yet know where to put each beat as if it were meant to be there. I find that a drummer that can stay true to the pocket without trying to overplay is much easier and funner to lock in with. My drummer that I play with is a perfect example. He's studied percussion since he was a freshman in high school and then went to Berklee for a few years. He's got a great ear and is probably the most solid drummer I've ever played with.
Click to expand...

I think not overplaying may play a big part of it.

The drummer I originally mentioned plays the smallest kit I have ever seen live. A tiny bass drum which he mics even for small gigs, snare, hi-hat, and one cymbal. I don't remember him having a tom.

He gets a huge sound out of that small kit.

And after all the "my drummer stinks" threads, it is good to hear that many people have good experiences with drummers.
 
#17
The first drummer I played with in a band also was in the second and third bands I played in. I didn't learn to appreciate him until I eventually got stuck with a bad drummer. Things always went so smoothly with (the first guy) that I never understood the threads here about "locking in with the drummer"--as it turns out, we were always locked in, but I had nothing to compare it to. Oddly, as he admits himself, he's got a way unsteady kickdrum foot...but his high-hat and snare work is so rock-steady that it never made a difference to the way I heard him.
 
#18
I used to play with a drummer with whom I locked up amazingly.

I can lock and groove with any decent drummer, but...

With this guy, we used to play a game where we would both close our eyes, and without a beat, totally out of tempo, we would hit random kicks and accents. 90% of the time we would hit perfectly together just by feeling what was "in the air".

I miss playing with him...
 
#20
Oh yeah. My current drummer is great. He's a pro at learning songs (basically just has to listen to it once to get it down) and great for jamming. Before we headed out to a party he stopped by my place for a quick drum-bass jam. Ended up lasting an hour. I swear, if we recorded it, we could of done it for a song.
 

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