Not looking for a fight but I've worked with many drummers in bands and for some reason they tend to be the most anal, as well as most organized members in a band. I can understand when as a guitar player I only have to plug it in as opposed to the drummer who has 50 some components to bring and assemble where ever you play.
Drummers in general
- Thread starter mojka
- Start date
Whoopysnorp
New member
Yeah--the guys who aren't like that are generally shitty drummers.
I'm a drummer and I know I'm like that. I don't try to be but with my old band I always got the feeling that nobody else gave a damn. And we broke up after 4 shows. Now I'm with some new guys- the guitarist is a machine..he's twice as 'bad' as me - this summer is going to be great!!
dr.colossus
New member
mojka said:
and this is where i used to get pissed off a lot as a drummer in bands.... "how the fuck is it that you got here before me, and i've set up and tuned my kit and your amp is still in your fucking car?"
hehehe.... nah me and my guys used to help each other out a lot... we had muso mode and roadie mode ..... i have seen some drummers who could use a good dose of prozac or some chloroform. yup some drummers are real knuckleheadsMy old drummer got pissed off at us once because we didn't appreciate his punctuality and his time invested in setting up so he said he had to leave early after a gig and asked us to break down his kit. We took him to heart and stripped his gear down to the manufacturing line stage. His high-hat was about 20 seperate pieces. He never said a word again.
Downside Studio
New member
Like tuning all five guitar strings to the same note.
or 2 minutes before showtime...the guitaris asks the keyboard player for a straight A and he does with the pitch bend slightly bended.
or 2 minutes before showtime...the guitaris asks the keyboard player for a straight A and he does with the pitch bend slightly bended.
Downside Studio
New member
hahahaha
i mean seven
Uladine
New member
My experience with drummers hasnt been so good. Our first drummer was always drinking (a lot) before and after shows, borrowing other drummers equipment because he had broken cymbals that he wouldnt replace, then he'd break the borrowed cymbals. He didnt own a drum set, he used mine. I sold him my first drum set when I got my new one, then he joined our band and I started letting him use my drum set. Shortly after that I guess he figured he didnt need his drum set anymore and sold his and tore mine up. He never practiced except for during band rehearsal.
Our next drummer would always make plans and cancel them, and he would always want to use guitar riffs that he wrote that no one else liked, and he would spend forever during sound check kicking his bass drum and going through the presets on his trigger module while the audience would be saying "hurry up!" It also took him 5 months to get 10 songs down to where we were comfortable playing them in front of people.
The guy we're jamming with now seems cool though. He doesnt do drugs, rarely drinks, hes a perfectionist when it comes to his beats, he's on time, he never breaks his equipment, and hes a gear head like the rest of us.
Our next drummer would always make plans and cancel them, and he would always want to use guitar riffs that he wrote that no one else liked, and he would spend forever during sound check kicking his bass drum and going through the presets on his trigger module while the audience would be saying "hurry up!" It also took him 5 months to get 10 songs down to where we were comfortable playing them in front of people.
The guy we're jamming with now seems cool though. He doesnt do drugs, rarely drinks, hes a perfectionist when it comes to his beats, he's on time, he never breaks his equipment, and hes a gear head like the rest of us.
Bass Master "K"
New member
My buddy/drummer must be the exception...
My best friend and I have been in bands together for 10 years and he is the type of person who can walk into his house and within one minute, lose his keys. In his college classes he is consantly losing notes and getting papers from one subject stuck in another subject's books leading to some hilarious quotes: "Daaaaaamn! These are the notes I needed for the test yesterday! Cripes! Oh look here's my recipe for kick butt hommade beef jerky... I need to check my psychology book more often!" If you want to go to a movie you have to lie and give him the time 30 to 45 minutes early or you'll be walking in late. Practices regularly start 20 minutes late =P
But when he sits behind the kit he is a mad genious who keeps impeccable time, and except for our first gig ever, when he forgot the clutch for his hi-hat, he has his drums in perfect organization. Probably 200 gigs worth of set up and take down with no mistakes or catastrophies. Don't know how he does it for only the drum part of his life, but he does. We tease him about it all the time.
My best friend and I have been in bands together for 10 years and he is the type of person who can walk into his house and within one minute, lose his keys. In his college classes he is consantly losing notes and getting papers from one subject stuck in another subject's books leading to some hilarious quotes: "Daaaaaamn! These are the notes I needed for the test yesterday! Cripes! Oh look here's my recipe for kick butt hommade beef jerky... I need to check my psychology book more often!" If you want to go to a movie you have to lie and give him the time 30 to 45 minutes early or you'll be walking in late. Practices regularly start 20 minutes late =P
But when he sits behind the kit he is a mad genious who keeps impeccable time, and except for our first gig ever, when he forgot the clutch for his hi-hat, he has his drums in perfect organization. Probably 200 gigs worth of set up and take down with no mistakes or catastrophies. Don't know how he does it for only the drum part of his life, but he does. We tease him about it all the time.
I'm a drummer. I'm definitely anal (but who isn't on a forum like this?) and I love to be organised!!!!
I had to leave my last band because I couldn't put up with wasting my time with a bunch of slackers who took endless cigarette breaks, didn't do their homework and weren't as wired as me.......well, that's almost true.
In my limited experience one of the hardest things to do is keep a band together. Does everyone else experience that? I seem to come across loads of people wanting to be in a band, but not wanting to work at it. Shit, that's life.
I had to leave my last band because I couldn't put up with wasting my time with a bunch of slackers who took endless cigarette breaks, didn't do their homework and weren't as wired as me.......well, that's almost true.
In my limited experience one of the hardest things to do is keep a band together. Does everyone else experience that? I seem to come across loads of people wanting to be in a band, but not wanting to work at it. Shit, that's life.
I've been a gigging drummer for over 30 years - and yes I'm very anal when it comes to my gear (and setting up on time, etc.) Ironically, I'm not all that organized outside of a gigging situation (on occasion, my studio is in near chaos - and my personnal life is in purpetual chaos).
Having been a touring drummer for several years I developed an organization out of need (forget something on the road and you can be AOL)
And mojka is correct, drummers do have a whole lotta gear to keep track of - and if we forget something (or if it breaks at a gig) we can't borrow anything from someone else in the band.
I can think of many times guitar players or a lead singer (don't get me started on singers!!!) come to a gig and ask to borrow a cord, pick, tuner, mic or something simply cause their gear is not in order.
Having been a touring drummer for several years I developed an organization out of need (forget something on the road and you can be AOL)
And mojka is correct, drummers do have a whole lotta gear to keep track of - and if we forget something (or if it breaks at a gig) we can't borrow anything from someone else in the band.
I can think of many times guitar players or a lead singer (don't get me started on singers!!!) come to a gig and ask to borrow a cord, pick, tuner, mic or something simply cause their gear is not in order.
Uladine
New member
I seem to have alternate personalities. Theres the normal me and the music me. Normal me is very unorganized when it comes to regular things like keeping my room clean, doing laundry, etc... But music me is a neat freak. When neat me is miiking up my drum set, all the cables are neatly aligned and routed together to the mixer in a nice fasion, and each channel is labeled and color coded. Black for kick, red for snare, yellow for overheads and blue for toms. Crazy.
Bass Master "K"
New member
mikeh, you sound like my drummer (and best friend)....life in chaos, drums in time....
just the number of items a drummer has is mind numbing, but when you start looking at all the little pieces that go with all of that, it is incredible. I remember being pissed about that missing hi-hat clutch at our first gig, but then after delving into the gigging scene and seeing how much actual crap drummers have to make sure they remember, it is amazing catastrophies don't happen more often. Anytime a friend offers to help me with my bass gear I always send them to my buddy. I have it easy compared to what drummers go through each and every gig.
just the number of items a drummer has is mind numbing, but when you start looking at all the little pieces that go with all of that, it is incredible. I remember being pissed about that missing hi-hat clutch at our first gig, but then after delving into the gigging scene and seeing how much actual crap drummers have to make sure they remember, it is amazing catastrophies don't happen more often. Anytime a friend offers to help me with my bass gear I always send them to my buddy. I have it easy compared to what drummers go through each and every gig.
Hey Bass Master 'K" - it's nice to hear that there are some other musicians who actually have an understanding of what it takes to get a drum kit to the gig and ready to go.
I always show up 1 1/2 hours before the gig - my bass player shows up 20 minutes before the gig. I don't begrudge him that - it has been my choice to be a drummer.
I don't really mind hauling all the gear - it's those damn drummer jokes that wear me out
I always show up 1 1/2 hours before the gig - my bass player shows up 20 minutes before the gig. I don't begrudge him that - it has been my choice to be a drummer.
I don't really mind hauling all the gear - it's those damn drummer jokes that wear me out
Executivos
New member
i was going to ask this question on it's own thread, but this is somewhat of a gripe about my drummer and his gear.
He owns ludwig vista lites...he bought them at a garage sale all messed up for nothing, and spent like 3 years cleaning them up...the scratches are all gone, everything is redone....it's like car show room quality now....
aside from the fact that they look cool and are translucent, they are made of plastic and thats how they sound. For a while he used my set (mapex v series....sounds good....made of wood) but then brought his back. They sound like crap and he can't play on them...his timing is all over the place etc etc.
The whole band wants him to switch back but like....if he told me to use a diff guitar, i'd laugh at him. So my question is:
What do i do? is it not my place to tell him his drums suck?
anyone want to buy some vintage ludwig vistalites?
BTW, he's very anal too. He'll ONLY buy tama hardware. He'll ONLY buy paiste cymbals. His guitar gear: EVERYTHING is danelectro....pedals, amp, guitar, accessories.
He owns ludwig vista lites...he bought them at a garage sale all messed up for nothing, and spent like 3 years cleaning them up...the scratches are all gone, everything is redone....it's like car show room quality now....
aside from the fact that they look cool and are translucent, they are made of plastic and thats how they sound. For a while he used my set (mapex v series....sounds good....made of wood) but then brought his back. They sound like crap and he can't play on them...his timing is all over the place etc etc.
The whole band wants him to switch back but like....if he told me to use a diff guitar, i'd laugh at him. So my question is:
What do i do? is it not my place to tell him his drums suck?
anyone want to buy some vintage ludwig vistalites?
BTW, he's very anal too. He'll ONLY buy tama hardware. He'll ONLY buy paiste cymbals. His guitar gear: EVERYTHING is danelectro....pedals, amp, guitar, accessories.
See if you can find an old Blondie or Flock of Seagulls video and there's a good chance they will have a drummer with a plastic, translucent drum set. That was a popular design during the disco era as well. If that doesn't work see if he will go for putting neon inside the toms and bass, put a bottom on the toms and snare, fill them with water and fish and he will go down in history. Just an idea.
Executivos
New member
yeah i think sometime in the disco era they figured out that plastic drums sound bad. i guess for a while the ludwig vistalites were the kit that jon bonham used, so a lot of people think they are cool. Weezer actually used them in in the hash pipe VIDEO. Yeah im sure thats the set they used on the record....oh wait yeah right.
Bass Master "K"
New member
The proof is in the pudding so to speak. See if you can get even a garage recording of you guys practicing with him on those drums, and then another one with him playing a real kit. It's hard to argue when you hear sound quality is better with one kit over another.