Interviewing a new drummer

[Altitude]

We made a few bad hires on drummers, so I do have a point of view here. My suggestions:

Key Recommendation: Pick a song or two where the drum part is a large part of the identity of the song. Not necessarily a hard drum part, but one where it is absolutely necessary that the drummer understand and play the part in order for the song to sound correct. "Need You Tonight" by INXS might be a good example.

Here's why: Drummers with a certain amount of capability and decent ears can mail it in. They might approach each song with a general understanding of style and tempo, and listen hard and wing it. If you are not an improv-jam band, you want to make sure your drummer is willing to learn the parts to your songs just as rigorously as the rest of you are. Experience has shown me that this is kind of a big deal. This is obviously most important if you are a cover band, but important even if not.

Additionally:

• Test stylistic knowledge by calling a few audibles, like "let's play a slow blues" or "we have an original instrumental, it's an upbeat shuffle, play it at about 94bpm".
• Ask him about his gig night regimen. When does he usually arrive, what is his normal gig gear, that kind of thing. You don't want your drummer always showing up last and then setting up his Neil Peart kit 15 minutes before the downbeat.
• Ask him if he has any venue contacts

Best luck!

 

[skygzr]

Ask him when he gets off parole.

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

We sought a guitarist late last year and asked the two who approached us to learn two of our songs (simple ones) and two of the covers we'd started off with.

One put some effort into learning them, and also suggested a couple of similar covers for us to learn to hlp him play something he knew well.

The other one turned up and said he hadn't listened to our songs and started to play some of his own, expecting me as bassist to follow chord and key changes that happened every other bar, having never heard them.

Needless to say the first one got the gig.

I'd recommend the same, it worked well for us at ruling one guy out.

 

[Hounddog409]

Hey folks, when interviewing a new drummer, what do I tell him to play?

Should we have him learn some of our original tunes, famous covers, or just make it a jam session.

We're having some conflict in the band about this.

The gui**** player says originals, the silly bass player says otherwise.

I'm the silly bass player.

What do you think?

whats the point of a "jam"?

Not going to tell you much about what the drummer is like playing actual covers and actual songs during the gig.

I personally dont give a rats behind if the dude can jam or not. Can you play a cover? can you play our songs w/o changing them?

unless your gigs are a 2 hour jam session - you need to know how he plays songs.

 

[madbass6]

Hey folks, when interviewing a new drummer, what do I tell him to play?

Should we have him learn some of our original tunes, famous covers, or just make it a jam session.

We're having some conflict in the band about this.

The gui**** player says originals, the silly bass player says otherwise.

I'm the silly bass player.

What do you think?

Silly bass player don't be silly!
of course it's what he (band) wants you to play not what you want !
after all it is his gig!
Just Look at it like any other job,
If you go to a job interview to any giving job(music related or not) you're expected to answer there question not the other way around! and if asked to demostrate your ability regarding that job you just do it! That is if you care and want the job! So stop being silly and just do it!

P.S Silly rabbit tricks are for kids.

 

[Loki_the_2nd]

One of my bands had a DIFFICULT time finding a drummer and went through many tryouts. We proceeded by doing these things for the tryouts:
1. Ask a few songs that he plays and would like us (the band) to learn, just 1 or 2 songs that he does so that you can start with those at the tryout so he can warm up and get comfortable. It also gives you an idea of what kind of songs/style of music he likes to play AND you get to learn new songs, which is always fun
2. Send him a few covers that your own band likes to play, and like was mentioned pick songs where the drummer needs to do shots or has an important role. This allows you to know if the guy or girl listened to the song and understand the structure of songs that you play. So many times drummers just play a typical beat to a song and didn't actually LEARN the song, tells you a bit about their dedication and their attitude towards learning music and being organized.
3. Play a few originals with him at the end. Gives you an idea of band chemistry and if his style will suit the rest of the bands players. Also it allows to see how creative he or she is.

Good luck! Tryouts are never a fun time, but once you finally have a fully formed band nothing is better than jamming with a tight drummer, especially as a bass player!

 

[BurnOut]

Silly bass player don't be silly!
of course it's what he (band) wants you to play not what you want !
after all it is his gig!
Just Look at it like any other job,
If you go to a job interview to any giving job(music related or not) you're expected to answer there question not the other way around! and if asked to demostrate your ability regarding that job you just do it! That is if you care and want the job! So stop being silly and just do it!

P.S Silly rabbit tricks are for kids.

And where do you see yourself in five years?
Who would you say has inspired you in life and why?

 

[PauFerro]

I'm thinking the whole point of giving them your originals when they're trying out for your band is to not only see if they can play them, but also that they are really into what you're doing and can complete a simple prep assignment to proceed. Learning anything is never a waste of their time.

Not in full agreement that learning anything is never a waste of time (as I guy who has made a career out of learning), but I do agree that if the oriiginals are highly specialized, requiring unusual skills, then I have no compunction about giving the drummer a few of them. I just wouldn't give him too many originals if the quantity of songs doesn't showcase his skills or duplicates too much from other tunes.

Yes, I think it's important for the prospective drummer to determine if he likes the tunes though. You don't want someone who hates your original music, that is for sure.

The other issue, though is whether the guy's non-technical skills are a good fit.

How do you go about assessing those features? They can be even more important than their technical skills, in my experience...

 

[G On Bass]

One of the bands I'm in is currently in the exact situation. Here's what we have done so far.

We do mostly originals, but also a few covers of familiar songs. We gave the potential drummer 4 songs to learn: 2 originals and 2 covers everyone has heard, plus another 'bonus' cover song to gauge effort. He showed up and did pretty well on all of them. We gave him a total of 8 songs and had him back the next week. Some of them he never listened to, some were exactly the same as the previous week, others were worse. To break the tie, we had him back week 3, having gotten the list from him of what songs he had learned that he considered 'ready'. Of the 8 he gave us, maybe 2 were usable, most were worse than the previous 2 weeks and 1 had not been listened to at all. We have new auditions next week...

I think we dodged an uncomfortable situation for everyone including him by having multiple sessions. Bu doing so, we were also able to get an idea of work ethic/skill as well as get an indication of honesty in communication re: what is ready and what needs work. Honesty is always appreciated on that front.

He is a really nice guy and a good drummer, but this project was probably not the best fit for his skills.

 

[brbadg]

I played an open mic with a guy that had great timing but no sense of when not to play. I played a laid back Dead song and he played like 4 drummers worth of beats.

This happens a lot! Even with guys who are supposed to know that music.SMH!

 

[pcake]

any time you audition a player for an originals band, give him/her a few of your songs to work with. that way you'll not only get to know how he/she deals with the actual music the band is playing but will also see if he/she is willing to put in the work. when we were looking for a singer, some spent time with our music, worked on lyrics and showed right off the bat that they were serious about working with us, but most either didn't work with our music at all but several literally didn't listen to it.

 

[Raw N Low]

Definitely give him songs that are well known and see if he can cover. The challenge is that all musicians come from different back grounds. Some are more proficient and technical than others. Some can turn covers songs into their own and make them sound wonderful. Some may have a strong background in theory, and may want to impose some input over time.

I would recommend a player that can serve the songs and can gel with the band. There is going to be a learning curve no matter the background or the band. Go for a person that will work hard, team player, and helps the songs sound not only good but, sound right!

 

[el murdoque]

It has not yet been asked what you want the drummer to do and what kind of band you want to be.

If you are an all originals band with a whole set ready that just needs a drummer and as soon as that is set, the stages are waiting, then you should mail him a record of your material and ask him to learn a few songs.
That way, you can see how much effort he puts in (if it's fairly easy and he shows up and knows two it feels something different than if he shows up, knowing all songs and already making suggestions on how he'd rather play these parts)

Will you want him to be included in songwriting in the future or do you have a bandleader who does the writing and tells the players what to do?

 

[DukeCC]

We have a standard drummer app for that. Selected section below. If he can coherently fill out the form and do a stick twirl he's in.
Name:_______________________
Prison Name:_______________________
Name of Parole Officer: ____________________
For the following questions circle one answer:
Do you have any original songs ? No Yes (Peek over his shoulder and stop him if he answers yes).
Is your girlfriend's vehicle reliable? No Yes
IQ?: 10 20 30 40 50
Highest school grade level completed: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Previous Employer: Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Cici's, Domino's, Little Caesar's, Chuck E. Cheese
Value of drum kit: $5,000 $6,000 $7,000 $8,000 $9,000 $10,000 >$10,000

 

[electracoyote]

Hey folks, when interviewing a new drummer, what do I tell him to play?

Should we have him learn some of our original tunes, famous covers, or just make it a jam session.

We're having some conflict in the band about this.

The gui**** player says originals, the silly bass player says otherwise.

I'm the silly bass player.

What do you think?

If you perform originals and famous covers, give him a few of each. If you like the way they were recorded and you want him to stay faithful to those recordings, tell him so.

I'd want to hear him play a wide variety of tempos and feels. Some drummers have "blind spots," and the more variety you give him the better you can assess his over-all versatility.

Also, I always stick what is historically the most technically challenging and problematic drummer song on our playlist in there. A drummer is only as good as he is on the hardest song on the list.

Jamming is helpful in a creative sense, so if you will be needing his input with future original material, maybe throw a new unfinished song idea at him and see what he does with it. If you have suggestions on how you wanted it to feel, make those and see how he responds. Good band mates will at least try something once to see how it sounds. If he stiff-arms your suggestions, it could be a red flag.

I'd be doing all the above if it were my audition.

 

[mellowinman]

And where do you see yourself in five years?
Who would you say has inspired you in life and why?

1. I see myself as the Undisputed Ruler of all of Time, Space and Dimension
2. I am inspired by Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa and Cher, because selfless giving and good looks are important to me

 

[MDBass]

If it's an original band, I'd only be interested in them learning the original tunes.

I think 2 or 3 is a fair amount to get a good idea of the person you're dealing with. It will not only show you their playing, but will give you a clear idea of their work ethic. If you plan to spend more than just twenty minutes with them, I'd add a cover or two, jam - or send them a bunch of originals, tell them to learn whatever they want (but learn at least 2), and see what they come up with.

IMO, asking them to do covers, if you're an original band, or just jamming is a potential waste of time. I've auditioned many many many drummers, and some great drummers can jam, and bang out a bunch of covers - yet never learn originals the way ya want them to, or really work themselves into the music. Why waste time? If they can't or don't want to learn 2 originals, then you know what you're dealing with right out of the gate.

As always, @Joe Nerve is the voice of reason.

Seems like the people suggesting covers or a jam have never actually done this before: why would you waste your time, or their's, with cover songs that you'll never be playing?

Have them learn a handful of songs you'll actually be playing together should they get the job; the sole exception being if you don't have any of your original music recorded yet, in which case a handful of covers in the same genre should suffice.

 

[Phil508]

Grill him on why he rage quit the last band and let him know he must put forth a better rage quit if he is to join your band!!!!

 

[40Hz]

One size doesn't fit all.

If originals, provide a CD or the mp3's in advance.

If covers, give him/her a set list. Tell them they can pick two and you'll pick two.

If blues, bring them in and run it jam style. Announce a series of standards and see how quickly and well they blend in and pick up on tempo changes as the music goes where it will.

Recording project? Make sure they're comfortable playing while wearing headphones and to a click track, and can also take direction from a producer and do requested changes when asked.

 

[Biggbass]

Turn on a metronome or click track...run it thru the PA, and ask him to play a few different rock beats to it and see if he can keep time. Then proceed to songs.
See if he can create parts to something original, then see how well he covers
a classic. Pay attention to his dynamics.
Have a safe word for the band to end things in case he twirls his sticks, wears a tank top, or has a mullet. Something like "Tippy Toe" works well.