How do you approach members that overplay

[bolophonic]

It'll either sound good in the studio or it wont.

 

[tedious1]

The producer comments are pretty clever, the drummer in particular had this issue in another band, he and the producer butt heads pretty bad. So much so, in fact, the producer called one of the other band members and said more or less, " I don't mind recording your demo, but I don't have a lot of time so I don't want to argue over drum parts"

So the producer route is closed then. You'd simply be paying someone to argue with the drummer, it would be more cost-efficient, and as likely to effect a change to pay a homeless guy to do the same thing, and the homeless guy will appreciate the income more.

Has the drummer ever responded to critique on one of his embellishments by outlining the changes that the other players would need to make his creation work? If the answer is yes, it's pretty clear what you must do, the only question to the assembled masses then is are you going to settle for firing the drummer, or are you going for the Full Monty and follow up with a rage quit?

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Yeah, original music - been there done there - will likely do that again. Original bands attract folks who want to *express* - and sometimes they are overly verbal about it, ya know. Just part of the gig. Me, when I encounter that guy, I gently quote DeBussy and Miles about how "music is the space between the notes". Sometimes they hear me, sometimes they do not.

 

[Lo-E]

Good taste and propriety are in the ear of the beholder. When you're dealing with original music, the only benchmark regarding what's appropriate is what the members of the band agree upon.

Express your concerns respectfully and see how they react. If they freak then it's time to go. If they ignore you then it's probably still time to go. If they're open, then just keep the communication on the front burner so everybody stays on the same page.

Bands are made up of all of the members' influences, so something you feel is inappropriate might seem perfectly fine to them. You need to respect their musical sensibilities just as they need to respect yours.

Bottom line: talk about it. If it all stays bottled up, everybody drifts apart. If it's all open and respectful, it can be really productive.

 

[BboogieXVII]

We all have a metal background and it seems two of them have a pension to make every track as heavy as we'll collectively let them get away with.

I know how I'm going to handle it, but how would you guys approach this situation?

Sooo, wait. What is your plan?

I would just go kick in the drummer's teeth and give him what for. As for the guitarist I'd break all his fingers in at least two places and saw all his guitars in half. Just kidding. Ha ha! I really am just kidding. So don't do that.

I really, would have a band meeting and say you'd like some help in getting a direction for the band's sound. See where the conversation goes.

 

[Lownote38]

I'll preface this with a few things. This is a band that plays originals. The parts are open to interpretation from the individual members.

99% of the music is radio rock. The band was formed with the intention of recording an album and touring. It should be radio accessible (as agreed upon).

The lead guitarist and drummer both understand the direction of the band and play the parts with ease, but they never seem satisfied and are always adding something. Maybe a triplet here or there, accelerated strumming or palm-muting, or a measure of double kick where it really isn't appropriate.

Yesterday the drummer texts us, "I've been thinking of a drum fill to spice 'The Girls Got Me' up a little. Its in the middle of the double kick part. Once I get back, I'm going to test it out and hopefully have time to record it".

For me, this is the point to have a band meeting and reassess the goals and priorities of the band, as well as reaffirm what style of music we are playing.

We all have a metal background and it seems two of them have a pension to make every track as heavy as we'll collectively let them get away with.

I know how I'm going to handle it, but how would you guys approach this situation?

I'd say if you're going for "radio friendly" the problem is that you have a real drummer in the first place, and a lead guitar player at all. With radio these days, all you need is rhythm guitar at best and a sequenced drum part.

 

[EricssonB]

I'd say if you're going for "radio friendly" the problem is that you have a real drummer in the first place, and a lead guitar player at all. With radio these days, all you need is rhythm guitar at best and a sequenced drum part.

Come on now, those guitar and drum .vst plugins are getting pretty good these days; really don't even need the rhythm g4x anymore.

 

[Matt B]

record your practice and listen back to it together. You would hope they hear it for themselves at that point. If they do not it may be cause for concern...

 

[39-Bassist]

As said by others: Record the session of practices and then REALLY LISTEN to see if the song is now better or worse...then have the band give their opinions.....doesn't always work but MOST times it will.
Also if you think band is going in a different direction than what you like....say something...there are always other opportunities.

 

[friendlybass]

I think your overreacting my friend. Listen to his idea, if it sucks, just tell him.

 

[Lowness]

The old-skool way of dealing with over-playing band members.

 

[ThePresident777]

I'll preface this with a few things. This is a band that plays originals. The parts are open to interpretation from the individual members.

99% of the music is radio rock. The band was formed with the intention of recording an album and touring. It should be radio accessible (as agreed upon).

The lead guitarist and drummer both understand the direction of the band and play the parts with ease, but they never seem satisfied and are always adding something. Maybe a triplet here or there, accelerated strumming or palm-muting, or a measure of double kick where it really isn't appropriate.

Yesterday the drummer texts us, "I've been thinking of a drum fill to spice 'The Girls Got Me' up a little. Its in the middle of the double kick part. Once I get back, I'm going to test it out and hopefully have time to record it".

For me, this is the point to have a band meeting and reassess the goals and priorities of the band, as well as reaffirm what style of music we are playing.

We all have a metal background and it seems two of them have a pension to make every track as heavy as we'll collectively let them get away with.

I know how I'm going to handle it, but how would you guys approach this situation?

Play something legato to contrast? Give him space? Double up with them? Try to push their ideas into another song? Do they write substantial portions of music or just little snippets?

My underlying point is that it would be more productive to respond musically than ideologically. It's possible that the band is their only outlet for their musical ideas. The result is that every song is a work in progress or a test bed for all the little snippets that occur to them.

 

[skwee]

Remember that the studio track and the live performance can be (and in my book ought to be) two different animals. Make the studio version simpler, but encourage embellishment live.

 

[Gyver]

My drummer is very good at playing covers. He has great feel, is rock solid time-wise and can copy other drummers very well. But when we play originals he often overplays; it is like he is trying to show the world how great of a drummer he is. It bothered me at first, but eventually I decided to just let it go for the sake of keeping the peace. If we were making our living playing music I'm sure I would look at it differently, however.

 

[ctpunk]

I stand firm, look him straight in the eye, directly into the mirror and say, dude, you f'n rock.

 

[Fat Fingers]

I'd say if you're going for "radio friendly" the problem is that you have a real drummer in the first place, and a lead guitar player at all. With radio these days, all you need is rhythm guitar at best and a sequenced drum part.

Come on now, those guitar and drum .vst plugins are getting pretty good these days; really don't even need the rhythm g4x anymore.

Back in the day, a couple of music friends of mine (guitarist and bassist) recorded a demo with the drum machine "Dr. Rhythm". They sent the cassette to the local radio to try and get some airtime and the guy told them: "Well... the guitar and bass are pretty good, but your drummer is awesome!"

 

[NOVAX]

A decent drummer is almost better than no drummer at all

 

[lpcarter]

Outplay them, obviously

 

[D-Smith]

I joined a band a couple months ago but ended up leaving because the drummer played lead drums. There was no subtle or direct way to talk to him. A couple times the songs sounded so jumbled I asked him to show me what he was doing on the bass drum so I could just hit root notes along with it and he said "you just do what you want and I'll do what I want." Huh?

 

[MJ_Sotti]

this goof drummer with us has pretty good hands, the closet headphones in the basement type and he thinks he's Steve Gadd. Overplays and the tempo goes up and down. he was saying how much he paid for his DWs and I said "you should have spent a extra $125, and got the set with the built in metronome". he didn't like that. F him.