Frustration with drummer.

[ultra60]

Many drummers don't even listen to the songs before rehearsal, much less work on them in my experience.

To the OP.... I believe the above is the most accurate statement yet. When I learn a cover, I hyper focus on the drums. When the drums sound "off" at practice, and I inquire, the drummer will usually respond that he is playing from "Radio Memory". I'll ask him to go back and give another listen. We are not 100% like any original song. But we are not that far off either.

 

[lfmn16]

This is the reason I keep harping on having a discussion about how close to the original recording you want to get BEFORE you join a band. Now you are trying to impose your standards on someone that never agreed to them. What happened to the art of communication? No need for dramatics, just ask the drummer if he intends to learn the songs as played on the original recordings. If he says no, ask the rest of the band if they are OK with that. Either you leave or get a new drummer. He's not going to change, I guarantee that.

If you've been in four bands and the same thing has happened every time then shame on you for not bringing it up before you agreed to join. Insanity if doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

 

[viper4000]

One of the best drummers I ever played with in a band could replicate any line he heard. Almost first time. However, he rarely played cover songs with beat for beat, hit for hit accuracy. Why? It bored him silly. Having a lot of classic rock and blues in the set, this guy just felt he was playing the same thing all night. He changes it up. Groove, feel, etc were all there. No one knew, except me. We fed off each other very well. It made me think of how to play the similar groove and feel differently, but stay true to the song. It is possible.

Good Luck OP!

 

[dbsfgyd1]

OK. So, some friends of mine going back to the 60's-70's wanted to try to assemble a new band.

The good:
1. Awesome female singer who also knows harmony parts, is actually sane, and can really draw in bodies that wiggle.
2. Scorching, tasteful guitar player who doesn't play too loud, sings great, and can harmonize instantly.
3. Decent keyboard player who can sing some harmony.
4. Great songlist.

The bad:

We agree on 4 tunes to go over. I really dissected all the bass parts and got my $hit together. I was psyched.
The drummer had a good reputation around here.
So, at practice, all my work goes out the window simply because the drummer did not bother to play
the bass drum parts correctly.
I don't understand this at all. The same thing has happened in the last 3 bands I've been in.
The FIRST thing I do is listen to the bass drum when I learn my parts. Even I know the bass drum parts.
This one thing is a total show-stopper.
Any ideas on how to handle this? Since his bass drum parts are incorrect, his timing is way off concerning BPM.
What would you do? If this isn't fixed, I can't play with this lineup.
I simply refuse to play in a band with bass drum parts incomplete/missing/sloppy. I just can't deal with it.

How would you guys approach this? I am so irritated, I don't think I could be anything but blunt about it.
It doesn't seem like anybody else noticed, but I haven't spoken with anybody yet.
All I know is, I play the parts correctly with the BPM ingrained in my head.

Record you practices, then have a review session. A recording is worth a thousand words. If that doesn’t work either replace the drummer, or it’s onto the next project for you.

 

[Kmonk]

You should practice until you can play songs at different tempos.

If people wanted to hear a carbon copy of the original recording they would listen to the original recording.

Then try taking a song that was written in 4 and play it in 6.

My experience has been the exact opposite. When people go to see a cover band, they want to hear the songs as close to the original as possible. Unless you're a famous artist, most people don't care about your interpretation.

 

[Dr_Benway]

Of couse I could play it. If you want to be in a cover band, then do the cover. If you don't want to be in a cover band, then don't be in a cover band.

I don't think you understand the meaning of "cover." Tony Bennett covers songs. Never wrote one in his life. He makes them his own. He doesn't do them exactly the way anyone else does. Not remotely. Lots of established acts do covers and make them their own.

Bruce Springsteen covered "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." He made it his own. For most of it's history, Nashville has had song writers and performers, who "covered" the songs that the writer's wrote. They didn't do it exactly as the demo.

Personally, when I see a band doing covers "exactly like the record," I find it extremely boring. It's like the "players" who lose their mind if you change the key of a song. None of that is etched in stone. If a band is great and can make the song their own, that is so much more enjoyable. And for what it's worth, as long as it grooves and is reasonably in tune, the audience could care less.

The fact that you repeatedly have this problem, makes it seem like you are the problem. If you hate straying from the original so much, I would suggest you become a DJ. You can ad value to your gigs, by playing the bass along with the tunes. It will be nirvana for you....

 

[Dr_Benway]

My experience has been the exact opposite. When people go to see a cover band, they want to hear the songs as close to the original as possible. Unless you're a famous artist, most people don't care about your interpretation.

That's why DJs became so popular.

 

[alanolynn]

Hark, bassists defending drummers. Light the beacons!!!!

 

[Wesley R]

Maybe consider having a one on one conversation with the drummer. Perhaps something like " It would help me if...……." maybe the drummer has another idea, or will say " I can do this.... if that would help", or he might just say something that leads you to a different conclusion.

A thought: Adapt and overcome.

Another thought: More than once I have found it necessary to step up my capabilities to learn to work with others or compensate for someone's current level of performance.

 

[TNCreature]

I agree with the OP.
People getting down on him for not going with the flow or whatever can do what they want. There are differences in being in a good cover band or a great cover band.
But I understand being a perfectionist and wanting to deliver a great version of a song. This is not about doing an interpretation or reinvention of a song (which is what I like to do occasionally in my original band), it is about identifying what makes a great or hit song what it is. Even small changes can change why a song grooves and satisfies the way it does. And you will feel this most of all with the drums.
Wanting to deliver accurate and excellent versions of songs that are ingrained into the fans consciousness is admirable.

 

[Dr_Benway]

"Wanting to deliver accurate and excellent versions of songs that are ingrained into the fans consciousness is admirable."

That's what they make DJs for.

 

[BurtMacklinFBI]

I am inclined to think this drummer just didn’t bother to learn the parts. Been there. Ordinarily the fact that this has happened 4 times before would raise a red flag for me, but in this case I suspect you’re in a similar situation to mine; you are in an area where drummers are very scarce, an the drummers in your area realize this. As a result, they know that they can get away with virtually any BS they feel like, because what are you going to do about it? Fire them and then not have a drummer? Does that all sound familiar to you?

Having said that, if this is your situation you may not have a lot of options. You’ll probably need to work on your own temperament and communication skills, not because you’re wrong to be annoyed but because if you are in a situation like what I described then your drummer can, in fact, get away with slacking off. You can either figure out how to navigate the situation tactfully, just suck it up and deal with it, or leave. It sucks, but sometimes that is just the reality of being in a band.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

It doesn't seem like anybody else noticed, but I haven't spoken with anybody yet.
All I know is, I play the parts correctly with the BPM ingrained in my head.

Speak up! Be blunt! Otherwise, chill out and show some adaptability.

 

[klejst]

I can see with overly loud guitarist and a over inflated ego singer...but frustration with the drummer?! Actually frustration with all the before mentioned I could understand

 

[tmw]

Tell the drummer that your bass line and his kick drum are NOT in sync, if that's what the tune calls for.
Work it out before you go through the song a second time.
If he still can't get it , he likely will not, which then may speak to his abilities rather than a lack of preparation.

My drummer and I have worked together for the past seven years, we've both lost a step or two and so can compensate for each other.
The most important thing we do is communicate our parts before, during and after a song.
It also helps that we are rather consistent in our screw-ups.

Talk to the drummer.
If need be set up a session with just you and he and go over the tunes prior to rehearsal.
It may shed some light on both your abilities.

All the Best.

 

[QORC]

your band, ANY band, is only as good as its weakest link. Yours is the drummer. You can't really improve musicians in the short-term, in my experience. You either have to tolerate his laziness/inabilities with grace and silence, or walk. that's pretty much it.

 

[AlexBassMP]

Our former drummer quitted two years ago and after one or two months, a friend joined the band. We knew that he was skilled enough to play our songs...and he was a good guy..so at least we didn't need to deal with bad attitude and drama.

Is hard to lock in with a drummer when it's the first time you play with and he didn't record the songs.. the firsts rehearsals were a little bit unconfortables because some fills and kick patterns were different than the originals recorded by our former drummer...I was confused at first but after paying attention I started to lock with him and all started to work better...Not a huge problem here.

 

[InhumanResource]

I don't want to play them "in a variety of ways". They are extremely danceable the way they are.

Then you guys need to have a conversation (without getting emotional) about whether the intent is to play the songs the same as recorded or not.

 

[bumperbass]

By the same token, if you want to be in a band, be in a band.

What you seem to be annoyed about is this band not doing a glorified form of karaoke.

You’ll need to learn to be a bit more flexible when it comes to music performance if you’re going to remain in any band. Most times an attitude that it’s “my way or the highway” isn’t going to get you anything other than the rest of the band pointing you towards the exit door.

 

[Dr_Benway]

your band, ANY band, is only as good as its weakest link. Yours is the drummer. You can't really improve musicians in the short-term, in my experience. You either have to tolerate his laziness/inabilities with grace and silence, or walk. that's pretty much it.

How do you know that?