Paul_C Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) . . but in my case the decision has already been made I've been gigging in a band for a number of years off and on. I'm one of the four original members, though only myself and the singer/guitarist/songwriter/bandleader are left, and we've so far had 24 people (including the two of us) who have gigged with the band at one time or another ! The lineup can include up to three backing singers, two horn players, percussion etc. so it's not quite as bad as it looks. . Anyway, recently we've taken on a new drummer, and whilst he is a perfectly competent player, he: 1 ) hits everything too hard - the snare sound was making me feel a little queasy the other night, and I have to resort to earplugs or lose my hearing, and: b ) never stops hitting things, even if the singer calls for quiet, with maybe some bass drum, he's hitting wood blocks and chimes and god knows what else (which really gets on my nerves) and as a consequence there no longer seems any groove to work with. I pointed this out to the singer, but he "really likes what he's doing" and as he does all the decision making, I'm doing two more gigs and then I'm gone - I'm going to do some acoustic guitar playing for a year or two and enjoy some quite music-making for a change Edited March 22, 2012 by Paul_C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 [quote name='Paul_C' timestamp='1332426301' post='1588179'] ...never stops hitting things, even if the singer calls for quiet, with maybe some bass drum, he's hitting wood blocks and chimes and god knows what else (which really gets on my nerves) and as a consequence there no longer seems any groove to work with... [/quote] This is unprofessional and really intensely annoying. Makes you want to throw something heavy at his head! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 sounds like your drummer needs to learn some 'bandcraft'. a musician in a band needs to know when to shut up and when to play, when to play hard and when to play softly. one thing i can't abide is people who make noise at a practice when it's not time to do so. get him a tshirt that says 'STOP ! - EVERYONE LOOK AT ME !"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 this is not at rehearsal, this is all through the gig . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 The hitting the skins hard has probably been drummed into him through two things... the need to be consistant with your snare sound..which generally means hard or precise, and he has played in very loud bands and doesn't realise that there is room in the mix for him with out fighting for it. We tamed one by playing extended songs/sets until he admitted he was tired after gigs etc...so we told him he didn't need to dig a trench every track.. he got the message and plays much lighter... The trick or skill is to retain the energy and feel/grooves.....which sorts the men from the boys, IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 [quote name='Paul_C' timestamp='1332428784' post='1588250'] this is not at rehearsal, this is all through the gig . . [/quote] /faceslap/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 [quote name='Paul_C' timestamp='1332428784' post='1588250'] this is not at rehearsal, this is all through the gig . . [/quote] Id be having serious words. To me, that is not on. Complete and utter unprofessionalism. Slap or sack him. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 I've played drums in bands, and been guilty of hitting things hard myself and I'd be happy to spend time sorting things out, but if the band leader thinks there's nothing wrong then I'm not going to start "having words" with the drummer, I'd rather move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_C Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Just to be clear, this isn't playing between songs, it's more over-embellishing everything. We play mostly originals in a style somewhere between ska and reggae, and there are little off-beat snare hits and fills, and cymbals, and all sorts, all over the place - sometimes the singer will call for us to quieten down, which he does with no problem, but still puts in little bits all over it. There's nothing necessarily "wrong" in what he's doing, it just annoys me We've had drummers who are more restrained, and it leaves space for the rest of the band to work in, and more of a groove (IMHO) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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