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Fire the drummer or give a chance.

#23
peer pressure, have your other band mates confront him. Tell your other band mates your relationship to him and ask for their help.

As a friend dont say much, let your band mates do the work. If he still doesnt comply, then YOU will just have to fire him.
 
#25
I was fired from a band that had a few friends in it. They were still my friends afterwards. One of them is the singer/harp player in my present band. A real friend will understand that they aren't doing their job and won't hate you for kicking them to the curb (where they belong)
 
#26
I think some musicians feel that because they are friends with the BL, they have the gig and don't have to do the work. Others, especially drummers, just can't seem to keep time or they just don't want to take the time to learn the songs correctly. A friend of mine and I started a band several years ago. He insisted on having his friend play drums. The guy was one of the nicest people I've ever met but his timing was inconsistent. After a few months, we made the decision to fire him. It's never easy but if you don't replace him, you will continue to get frustrated and the band will probably break up sooner than later.
 
#27
woody357 said:
I’ll have to disagree with you on that. It is my decision it’s my group I put it together I book the gigs, I pay everyone. I could discuss it with the others but at the end of the day it’s up to me.
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Then give him an exit interview and explain why he's being replaced. Frankly, undisciplined musicians are (one of) a bands worst enemies. If you have time for this, hang in there, but if you really want to get out and share your bands music with audiences, then it's time to face reality and let him go. Nothing to see here, move along...
 
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#29
REV said:
Have you recorded some of your shows or practices so he can hear how his playing is affecting the music?
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I record all rehearsals and send them Out to everyone. Sometimes he listens to them sometimes he doesn’t. I say that because when I ask two days after the rehearsal did you listen and you say not yet it tells me a lot
 
#30
woody357 said:
I’ll have to disagree with you on that. It is my decision it’s my group I put it together I book the gigs, I pay everyone. I could discuss it with the others but at the end of the day it’s up to me.
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It sounds like you know that keeping this guy on would be a bad business decision.

If you had an employee at a company you owned who just consistently didn't do any work, you wouldn't think about giving him a chance. This is no different if he's not learning the material.
 
#31
Oof.
Friends and all.
Several months of tutalige and blows a gig...and the rest of the band is rightly pissed, and comes to you?
Got to let them go bro. I get the whole friendship, strife, struggle, good and badd etc., but like others have affirmed-and I agree-got to let them go musically.
Can't save people from themselves.
Good luck, sincerely, good luck.
 
#32
It’s been my experience that if you let a musician (drummer or no, friend or no) get away with underperforming they will continue to underperform; just by allowing him in the band your actions have told him more convincingly than your words ever will that he can keep screwing around and get away with it. It sucks, but one way or another you need to let him go. He’ll never seriously improve if you don’t.
 
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#33
Take him to Krystal and get him a Breakfast Scrambler. When you guys get to the table let him get about halfway through his orange juice. Oh yeah, make sure he orders orange juice. So when you guys get to the table, like I was saying, what you do is, you let him get about halfway through his orange juice. Then you say "good orange juice huh?" and he will probably say something like "yeah real good". Then you can say "hey do you know where really good orange juice comes from?" and he will probably say something like "Florida" but you say no, the best orange juice comes from the oranges that learn the f'ing songs, you're fired
 
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#34
I'm the first to try to bring someone along - especially if they are a friend or at least someone pleasant to hang out with. But it sounds like you've made every effort to school him and it's just not taking. It's hard to judge form here why he's not improving (not practicing, not caring, not capable), but in the end it really doesn't matter. He's not getting there. If you believe he is really practicing, time to cut him loose - he's not capable. If he's not, then he probably doesn't care; perhaps an ultimatum might work ("you will have this, this and this dialed in by next rehearsal or we'll have to move along". I'd hate to put that kind of pressure on a guy, but it's probably the best chance you can give him at this point. Tough talk I know, but you need to keep your band solid.
 
#35
Band meeting. Get it all out. Let him know, either step it up buh bye. Nothing like cats holding up band progress and not caring. My band is having an issue with the male singer. Forgetting lyrics and song forms. He's got one foot out the door. I called him out in a group chat after the last gig. He skipped rehearsal last night. We already have cats knocking on the door to replace him.
 
#36
Great TOPIC! From experience you need to be rid of the drummer and move on. Fire him. Trust me, he’ll never meet expectations. Here’s a story of my experiences.

The LAST 2 bands I was in I had a drummer issue. The cover band I was in,the drummer was a good friend but he was bad. Drummers are supposed to know at least some basic fundamental technically. He didn’t know how to count as he had to depend on the vocals and or the lead guitar to know his spot in the songs. The drummer of all people needs to be the one who knows how to count. For every regular paces rock n roll song. We’d do, we’d have to play 2 slower songs for him to catch his breathe. He literally would practice by taking his drum seat and sitting on it with his drum sticks,headphones on and f*cking air drum! AIR DRUM! 2 years later and he’s making the same mistakes as the 1st rehearsals. He acted like he wasn’t the issue and always argued with everyone else. As a bassist,it was impossible to lock in with him. I tried so many different ways and it’s just didn’t work. Looking back he should been GONE! That band was Bs and didn’t last anyway.

I was just recently in a GNR tribute project that went to hell after 5 months of rehearsal. Long story short, our band manager who was our lead guitarist a wife was baton the singer. A month away from our 1st gig and the band ended. Anyway! About the drummer. At the audition I He happened to audition the same time as me. He was NOTHING SPECIAL and made quite a few standnout mistakes. I remember leaving their after nailing the audition and thinking I hope I NEVER SEE THAT DRUMMER AGAIN! Well somehow he got the gig. This guy was even WORSE then the previous drummer of the band I was in. In GNR the rhythm section is every bit as important as Axls voice and slash’s guitar. Me,the lead guitarist and drummer would have separate rehearsals to help the drummer learn the songs. He had no musicianship AT ALL! No idea what counting was,couldn’t pickup a song from any point during the song. He literally had to learn a song from start to finish and if you wanted to extend a solo or improvise he’d get lost. 30 years of drumming and I’ve seen people at 1 year better then him.5 months of rehearsal and his audio orb was his best rehearsal. I hated him. Then it ALL CAME TO A BLOW AT OUR FINAL rehearsal. He was worse then ever . I was on his ass and finally he goes “ you wanna play drums.” “ you never missed a beat.” Everyone messes up but there’s a difference between messing up and not knowing *** you’re doing! For 3 1/2 months o told the manager we needed a new drummer. Her husband even told her. She wouldn’t replace him. Probably was banging him too. Point is, fire him. It’s not worth it man.
 
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#37
Bodeanly said:
Bad tempo and doesn't learn the material? You do not have a drummer. You have a "dude that owns a drum set."
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Turbo Sparky said:
Can't save people from themselves.
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good luck with your drummer issues! :thumbsup:
 

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