I was in a band that had a regular trap kit player and a guy on timbales -- we did a bunch of old hippie rock (ABB, Santana, that sort of thing). Damn those timbales were loud as hell.
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Two drummers in one band
- Thread starter Rytch
- Start date
jerry garcia had some experience with two drummers
go watch some old dead footage, i suppose?
+1. IMO with 2, they have to be twice as good and twice as tasteful to not sound half bad.
are you playing with two drummers because you want to have two drummers in your band....or because you have two friends that are drummers......if its the latter I would suggest finding another solution.
I'm pretty certain that isn't the case. They had three core drummers (Benny Benjiman, Uriel Jones and Pistol Allen), but they would usually record only one drummer (lots of percussion though). Each had their specialty and they'd be chosen on a track by track basis.
On topic - I've drummed in two drummer situations and I never found a good use for it. They should definitely play different parts. Ringo would play the beat and Jim Keltner the fills on post-Beatle recordings by Lennon and Harrison.
Check out the Allman Brothers and the Grateful Dead. I think that the Doobie Brothers would use two drummers at a time occasionally - I know they had two, but I'm not sure if they'd switch off on percussion or not.
In one band I eventually just switched to percussion and I really enjoyed the role - it's nice to be able to step back occasionally, which the drummer and bassist don't usually get to do. It's also funny, but the most unexpected challenge was to strategize how to smoothly between instruments in a very short amount of time ("where does the tambourine go? How do I pickup the claves quickly? How do I get rid of the timbale sticks quickly when I switch to congas but still have them accessible when I get back to the chorus?", etc.)
I think having a percussionist fills out the sound a lot better than having two kit players. Especially if the percussionist can sing as well. The more that guy can do, (bass, keyboards, guitar parts, percussion, vocals) the better the band will sound. It gives the band a lot of options.
KO
You could give the other drummer to the band I am trying to start but we can't because we don't know any drummers.
not necessarily on topic, but last time i saw mewithoutYou, they were on tour with Thrice and Brand New.
on Oh Porcupine, the drummers for Thrice and Brand New joined onstage, as they had their sets already set up. it was huge.
on Oh Porcupine, the drummers for Thrice and Brand New joined onstage, as they had their sets already set up. it was huge.
true, but in the movie Standing in the Shadows of Motown, there's footage (or just photos) of them using two drummers at once. it may not have been a common occurance, but it did happen. they also list some songs they had the two drummer approach on. i can't remember any of them, however.
Hey all, to answer a few questions:
at practise last night, it was decided that two drummers just isnt going to work, and one of them graciously stepped down, so we are a 'normal' band now. getting things to gigs and stuff would have been impossible, for the best really.
we were asked to find band members for a mini-project at college where we would make a timetable for what we wanted to achieve, and it was mentioned that last year a band was formed becuase of it, so we thought we would give it a go, hence the two drummers!
And hell yeh KYLESA rock!
Thanks for all the replies guys
Rytch
at practise last night, it was decided that two drummers just isnt going to work, and one of them graciously stepped down, so we are a 'normal' band now. getting things to gigs and stuff would have been impossible, for the best really.
we were asked to find band members for a mini-project at college where we would make a timetable for what we wanted to achieve, and it was mentioned that last year a band was formed becuase of it, so we thought we would give it a go, hence the two drummers!
And hell yeh KYLESA rock!
Thanks for all the replies guys
Rytch
