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Ever had a drummer you just locked with?

#22
I've been really lucky, I've played and recorded with two great drummers, both of whom had a great swing feel. My music teacher in high school was a professional drummer and would lay down some of the best swing and bebop rhythms for me to lay the foundation. I always enjoyed playing with him and he sometimes comes out to gigs and sits in on the throne...he always pushes my playing into the next level...

Recently I was in the studio in North Carolina and had a chance to play with Mark Simonsen from The Old Ceremony (ironically, he plays vibes and organ with them) and he has an awesome feel and has great time (we played a track to a click track that we heard the first four bars of and when we were done, we were still in time with the click).
 
#23
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.
Click to expand...

+1 i had forgotten how important that was until i played with a drummer who listened more to carter beauford's fills than his pocket....it was frustrating.

in my case, it also helps that the drummer has played some bass and i've played some drums. :)
 
#24
I used to occasionally jam with a friend of mine who I totally clicked with. I felt like we were a bit of an odd couple, as he is classically trained on a handful of instruments and I'm self taught and a punk rock musician. But we really just connected totally. He had a really good innate sense of rhythm, but he played with a certain looseness that fit well with my bass playing, which I would describe similarly. He knew how to make a beat interesting without messing with the overall character of it, and that really appealed to me. We did a couple live jams, completely unrehearsed, and it was awesome. We communicated so well. We always had a good feel for when a turnaround should come, and usually we both knew exactly what it should be, so we could orchestrate some weird stuff without any planning. I loved that guy. He moved away though... Jerk.
 
#25
If the drummer can keep a beat, I can lock with him/her. I like to listen to little things that the drummer does, and play off some of his rhythms. My current drummer and I like to throw in little syncopations and triplets here and there, and he reads me as much as I read him. It gets better as you play with each other more. In my last band, we had a very accomplished drummer. Sometimes he'd start a complicated fill loaded with 32nd notes and off-beat accents that I was sure he'd never make it to the end of but, sure enough, he'd pull it off, and I'd just start laughing and so would he. I've had the good fortune to have good drummers in all of my bands.
 
#27
Yes I had a drummer back when I was in my early 20's that I locked with incredibly. We could be in different rooms and hit the same fills. He was a total flake however but I kept trying to make it work because of the awesome chemistry. If I could have gotten me, him, and my guitard buddy (who I also had amazing chemistry with) together in a band with a half decent singer, we might have went somewhere.
 
#28
Honestly, and without prejudice...

My husband.

He is an excellent drummer. Truly. There are a few things that escape him, but for blues, rock, and country, the man is *dead on*! We lock right in from the get-go, and can usually read one another without having to look at each other.

He played "Them Changes" with my guitarist buddy and me at the jam a couple of weeks ago. He'd never played it before. Except for that one stop where the guitar lead comes in, he had the thing nailed. Totally nailed. Like he generally does everything else he plays.

He says he watches my butt for time, and his talent all comes from Buddy Miles' having touched his drums whilst yelling his band's name with gusto (true story!). But he's a funny man. :D

Cherie :bassist: :)
 
#29
Both my old roommates from my California days- I locked in tight with both of them. For sheer timing, and finesse, it was Andrew.

For that ESP-like mental lock where one knew where the other was going, including matching fills, it was Dean. Wish I had him on my current gig. Dean made everything so effortless- we actually thought the same, rhythmically, so it was really enjoyable to just sit back and groove. Now he is in some band called Good Charlotte...
 
#30
Yes - been there. Back in the early to mid 90's, I had a good friend drummer that we just played off each other. Our musical background were a little different, but it still worked. I think it has to do with 1) listening and not trying to be the hotshot and 2) being proficient at your instrument (and musical skills in general).

We both decided to take a break for family reasons. 12 years later he is getting a band together (all folks I have played with before - but never together), and I am working 800 miles away. How depressing is that? We email each other frequently about cover songs, and ideas for original songs. I feel like I'm a long distance consultant. If I can get back home, and get in on it, there will be no stopping us.
 
#33
Munjibunga said:
If the drummer can keep a beat, I can lock with him/her. I like to listen to little things that the drummer does, and play off some of his rhythms. My current drummer and I like to throw in little syncopations and triplets here and there, and he reads me as much as I read him. It gets better as you play with each other more. In my last band, we had a very accomplished drummer. Sometimes he'd start a complicated fill loaded with 32nd notes and off-beat accents that I was sure he'd never make it to the end of but, sure enough, he'd pull it off, and I'd just start laughing and so would he. I've had the good fortune to have good drummers in all of my bands.
Click to expand...

Yep. The biggest problem I have locking with drummers if their tempo is variating, especially if it all is very random... Usually with experience and practice that is removed from the drummer's technique. --Kent
 
#34
My favorite and best drummer that I ever played with was my brother's best friend back in high school. My brother played guitar so we were a natural trio. Unfortunately, his drum teacher told him that he didn't have the talent or the 'It' factor and would never make it in music. Being younger and impressionable, he gave up the drums. His teacher didn't make it either, as I haven't seen or heard anything with his name on it in 21 years. Karma works.
 
#35
One is in California someplace. When we audiyioned him, I knew he was way to new, the ptential was great. I could pull him in and control him. Later he was spectacular to work with a dream come true. Was with him for five or so years.

A guy named Noal, met him again a bit later in life. was a high Iron worker and later a milkman.

My brother, man, that cat was cool. He gave it up to own/operate a litle sound company recording business.
 
#36
Yes!
The guy I worked with throughout my college years was just like that. The second we played together we knew it worked, we had a ten minute jam going from nothing, with the rest of our band just watching in awe. It's wierd, we can just look at each other and we know if we're gonna go slower, faster, change time, stop, anything. It's a damn good feeling.

I have the same thing with my current band drummer but that took years of honing.
 
#39
Yup, and it's great. I've had that instant connection, with some great players.
Jimmy Paxson Jr.
Brady Blade
Jeff "Pico" Gensterblum
Wim "Billy" Van Der Westen
Joe Meyer
Karen Teperberg

Awesome people, who I am blessed to play with. Props to them, they make me look really good.
 

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