I didn't know my drummer was subbing for other bands. 
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Fill in drummer - would rather not play than use this guy again....
- Thread starter Justice
- Start date
GrumpiusMaximus
I've Seen Things You People Wouldn't Believe
As a drummer (as well as bassist) I'll happily say that the guy should never, ever be hired again. If I were subbing I would be humble, play my parts, help the band out with loading/unloading and delicately approach the issue of payment. I'm not a great drummer but I can hold a set together no problem - it just absolutely boggles my mind that somebody who pulls off the stunt the OP describes is being paid to act in that way!
Having spent time with other drummers in enclosed spaces (I sometimes man a stall at trade shows for a particular company) I am quite happy to say that I hate most of them.
Having spent time with other drummers in enclosed spaces (I sometimes man a stall at trade shows for a particular company) I am quite happy to say that I hate most of them.
I'd never even get to the point of gigging with a guy like that. He'd probably get fired 2 songs into rehearsal zero. I definitely don't like my time wasted to flagrant rookieness, and only give free lessons when I choose to. My conclusion (after almost 30 years playing bass) is that only half the drummers I see can really play. The other half well, lets just say mom should have told 'em "honey, maybe you're not born for this" but unfortunately didn't, giving them the false impression that they have any business being in a band. Not bad, as this same situation happens to roughly 90% of singers.
I must say it makes a sad but amusing tale of idiocy behind the kit. The guitarist who hired him a second time needs a good talking to.
I don't even like playing with people who are annoying at rehearsal. I've never had that kind of problem at a gig. You are a soldier on the field of battle, friend.
Been there, done that... unless it's a trained pro, I always cancel.
This is never a good idea, unless you are playing with professional musicians.
Live and learn.
As the old tried yet painfully true adage goes:
"The only thing better than no drummer is a great drummer..."
"The only thing better than no drummer is a great drummer..."
I would never use that guy again, as has been said, but did anyone ever call him out on any of his behavior? For his benefit as much as yours.
Sometime in the past we had a drummer fill in for our drummer who was sick. Seemed to be a nice guy but during the gig his tempo was spotty and he overplayed. He also jumped in on lead vox unannounced more than once.
Fast forward to Saturday night, we are playing the Halloween party at one of the clubs we play regularly. I arrive and start unloading and only one of the guitar players is there, and he asks me if I knew that our drummer was not going to be there (flooded in because of all the rain, cannot get out of his neighborhood) and that we were going to have a fill in drummer. (I was hoping it was not the guy from before) It was the guy from before
Oh well, I'll just make the best of it. Yeah, uh huh...
So he gets finished setting up, and decides to play along with the juke box (loudly). Luckily for just one song, then he wanders off. We get ready to start and the guitar/singer starts the first song (setting the tempo) and in comes the drummer rushing the tempo so now we are playing too fast but during the song he continuously slows down so that by the time we finish the song we are now going too slow. This would continue over the course of the night where we would either have the tempo start fine and then slow down, or it would start slow and stay there. I tried to get him to pick up the tempo several times to no avail. And again with the overplaying, missing cues, coming in wrong and taking over lead vox when he felt like it.
After the first set I told both guitarists that if we ever had the situation again where it was either call this drummer to make a gig, or cancel, I would rather cancel.
Other times during the night he would just break into the between song banter and talk about how he got the call at 4pm that day to come out and play with us, or talk about his son who is playing football in college? really? One song he came in so off that I was getting ready to stop but instead the guitarists and I kinda paused for a bit and he got back to a spot where we picked it up again. Then after botching the intro to Brown Eyed Girl, when we get to the bass solo (which I play like the record, only twice through) he starts telling the story about getting the call at 4pm to come out and play with us. Really? during the song? During the bass solo? (everybody talks during the bass solo) and of course the story is going to be longer then the solo. I shot him a couple of "shut up" looks during the solo which went unnoticed so I just cut him off by going back into the third verse the way I normally do. This kinda shut him up because he was quieter the rest of the night.
Then at the end of the night, we call the last song and play it and when we are done he wants to play another song. He's like "lets play some Cheap Trick. Surrender!" (we don't play Surrender) So one of the guitar players suggest I want You to Want Me instead. Drummer says OK and starts the song, badly. Then proceeds to play the wrong beat throughout the song until it comes to the drum break near the end, which he plays correctly, and then finishes the song with the wrong beat again. Then he wants to play another song and gets mad when the guitarist tells him "no, we're done"
He wanders off while the rest of us start tearing down our gear and loading out. Then he comes back in and starts tearing down, and as he is just about done he's like "Where's Doug!? (guitar player) I'm like "he is around here somewhere" and he is all "He better be! I better get my money or you'll be getting the ass whoopin!" and I'm thinking "seriously? This is how you are going to act now?" I go back into the bar to use the restroom and as I am coming out he is coming in and is like "Where the hell is Doug?!?!" and I point at Doug over at the bar getting our pay and then take the last of my gear out. He gets payed and leaves.
So yeah, I don't want to play that guy again.
OK, I'm not even going to bother reading the remaining four pages of this thread, but...
Your post reads as if you were somehow mysteriously helpless in the face of this guy's douchebaggery, as if he could act up in any way that he wants, and there's nothing you could do about it.
Did you ever think of setting any limits? Has anyone ever told him "no"? Has anyone ever said to him, "These are the requirements, these are the rules. Either get with the program, or don't bother coming back"? What do you mean by "He also jumped in on lead vox unannounced more than once"? More than once? You mean you actually allowed him to do it...again? What the hell?
And "...he would just break into the between song banter"? And "...when we get to the bass solo...he starts telling the story about getting the call at 4pm to come out and play with us." Did no one ever tell him, "Knock it off!"? Does the term "enabling behavior" mean anything to you?
This doesn't make any sense at all. Not. At. All.
MM
Flooded in Houston???? Who would have thought............ I'm from Lake Jackson and moved to Iowa a few years ago. Anyhoo, I feel your pain on the fill in drummer. It seems like fill in drummers come in two flavors. One is like you described and the other can play rings around your current drummer. It's always a toss of the coin and can ruin or improve your gig.
Hmm. I think you are being a bit harsh here. I have been in a similar situation - not with a drummer (although I've played with terrible ones), but with a dude who played harmonica. We had a four-piece punk/funk-jazz band and were playing 3+ hour slots. At a NYE gig this dude dressed as baby new year asks if he can sit in on harp. He did, he was good. So we asked him to play an out of town gig with us. Well, we get up there and all of the sudden he whips out a notebook and starts reading his bad poetry, playing in inappropriate places and keys, etc. Here's the problem - there is a fine line between showmanship and being able to correct this crap on the spot. The more dirty looks you shoot or muttered conversations you have between songs, the less likely you are to keep the audience. Let's face it, the gig is going to suck. Sure, there are things the OP and his mates could have done, but it sounds like this was very last minute, no rehearsal, no time to really get ahead of the problem. So I think his current attitude is correct - don't play with the guy anymore. Institute a policy that all members get weigh in on proposed subs. But I don't think he could have done as much during the set as you imply.
A drummer I played with a while back , always had to have the "Last Word " . The song would end and then he would always play something right after the ending . .... Couple of bass drum kicks , snare shot , couple of extra crashes etc . A couple of times when he did this I would intentionally slap and pop a couple of notes after him ...... He shot me dirty looks when I did this and then started playing another couple of drum beats . Our last gig before he got fired , we had him do 4 drum solos and we all walked off stage for a break each time . Even when he started getting tired and running out of ideas , we just waited !
Your point is well-taken, however...
There is nothing stopping OP and his band from pulling the drummer aside between sets and telling him to stop showboating. There is nothing stopping them from removing his microphone. And for them to invite him to another gig for a second helping of "look at me!" is kind of baffling.
Your point is also well-taken, however I got the impression that the first gig was not nearly as annoying as the second and as the OP stated very clearly, he has no idea (which points at some other issues). Agreed about the between-sets talk. Agreed he shouldn't have had a mic. I get the sense that not everyone was on the same page as to the level of annoyingness and what to do about it...
Also I will add that it sounds like this guy was a live wire (as was the harp player in my anecdote). I distinctly remember in our situation we just decided to live with it for the night and eventually he wandered off and started hitting on girls. I wouldn't find fault if OP and his bandmates were concerned that they could make it worse and preferred to deal with it post-show.
