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Same drummer problem....need a solution.


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Some of you might remember but for those who don't.....a while back our original band lost it's drummer so we got a friend, who IS a good drummer, to start playing with us, writing original music. But it hasn't gone well. He's a good drummer for covers but it turns out that he's just not creative enough on the original music....he just follows what we're playing.....AND he pushes the beat, too, which makes the music seem too fast, even when it's not. Three of us have talked and decided to take a break and figure out how to get our old drummer back, hopefully without hurting the feelings of our current drummer who is, like I said, a friend. For me personally all of my creativity was gone, just zapped so, for me, it was a matter of either taking a break or just breaking up, and we think that what we had with the old drummer is/was too good to let go. Anyway, like I said we're on hiatus right now, trying to figure things out, and our bass player jas already talked to our old drummer and he wants back in......he misses it, too. He's super creative and a GREAT drummer, too, and we've got to figure out a way to get back to writing songs with him again, again, hopefully without hurting our friend's feelings. I'm sorry to bring this old story back but I'm kinda really at a loss as for what to do....I'm thinking of quitting instead of hurting his feelings but I don't really want to do that. Any ideas?

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To be honest if he is a solid cover band drummer ,, odds are its not going to break his heart to get loose from an original band. He will be up and gigging with a working band in no time. Get your old drummer back and move on.

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Yeah... there's nothing you can do but be honest. Although, being honest doesn't mean you have to intentionally hurt his feelings. You don't have to tell him why he isn't working out as much is why the other guy is the right fit. No need to castrate him when you can just leave it as, "I think our old guy's going to work out better for this gig. We love what you do, but there is such a history with our other guy that we're very sorry but we're going to have to let you go. And we do love what you do." So, honesty, with some caring white lies.

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honesty.....from a drummers perspective, he may realize the same things you all do. Not grooving like it should. Many different types of drummers out there...some fit some dont. Many things I would not fit in good as a drummer. Good fit is hard to find. Id also re think the old drummer getting back in.......if he left with drama last time, its probably gonna happen again. Auditions are good to find a good fit......audition many...pick two or three and jam a few times to see how the fit goes....good luck.

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' date=',,,, Id also re think the old drummer getting back in.......if he left with drama last time, its probably gonna happen again. Auditions are good to find a good fit......audition many...pick two or three and jam a few times to see how the fit goes....good luck.[/quote']

 

No, the only reason we would make a change is to get the old drummer back. There was a chemistry there musically and personally that was unique. He was a really creative drummer, and not just for drum parts, but for arrangements as well. There probably WILL be drama but I think we have figured out that learning how to deal with it is worth it for what he contributes.

 

 

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My experience is most drummers are terrible, you see very few good ones. Most of the time it's because they don't have the rudimentary skills or a good sense of time but somewhere along the way someone convinced them they were great. I see it all the time and I have quit bands because of bad drummers. The skill level needed to be good at an entry level to play out even is huge compared to other instruments.

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My experience is most drummers are terrible' date=' you see very few good ones. Most of the time it's because they don't have the rudimentary skills or a good sense of time but somewhere along the way someone convinced them they were great. I see it all the time and I have quit bands because of bad drummers. The skill level needed to be good at an entry level to play out even is huge compared to other instruments.[/quote']

 

I am a drummer and I mostly agree although I wouldn't set the levels at most/terrible, few/good. Drummers are an odd lot. They can get by knowing only the metric proportions of their material and unfortunately often do. If they copy well, then cover bands covet them. I think difficulty arises when they are required to make musical contributions. The verts may be at a very sophisticated performance awareness - blends, timbres, articulation of note tails -basic concepts to them but often Greek to the percussion section. A typical example is when the band is required to play unplugged, the drummer will play in the same manner as the loud version only as quietly as possible. But there's no end to this.

To be fair, good, expert musicians in the commercial world are the exception and they cost like it too.

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A typical example is when the band is required to play unplugged, the drummer will play in the same manner as the loud version only as quietly as possible.

 

That is a very, very astute statement right there. Very well done.

 

 

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You guys are talking about dynamics. I play the instrument myself and I still stand that most of them are not any good.

 

Maybe generally in that one example but even there, unplugged is right off the bat, a whole nuther interpretation, and the drummer's abilities should include developing a part that reflects this.

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Yes, a good drummer is hard to find, that's why we want our GREAT drummer back, UPDATE: We've decided to have a meeting, the other four of us without either drummer, to discuss how to proceed. Three of us have discussed this already and we all want to make a change, but we don't know how our keyboard player feels. I hope one of the, or all of us together, can figure out what to do, because I can't.

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He left to go on the road with an "up and coming" Nashville singer. The "tour" flopped and he came home, and then went back out with her, at which time we replaced him because we had a festival gig coming up. We should have just cancelled the gig.

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Honestly, I am hearing a different element in this that is just hard to overlook.

Being in Nashville, I get to play or hear many hit songs before they get recorded by the artist that will eventually "wear" the song as a hit.

Often times, I did the original version WAY more than the Artist version that you will eventually know.

 

I think the key element here is the original chemistry ... NOT the playing styles or differences.

 

And there are really two ways you could look at this:

1) Replacing a drummer can be like replacing a great girlfriend. The next one NEVER is like the first one.

 

2) You can acknowledge that this is a chemistry thing ... and either work it out, or forget it and drive on ... embracing the new guy knowing he can't fill the shoes of the original guy (simply due to your expectations).

 

Just my thoughts ...

D

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We recently fired a drummer that didn't go too well. He was an overreactive individual to begin with so I knew it was going to be bad. He threw a fit, said that we betrayed him, and we were "dead to him". Even though it was awful and sometimes I feel bad because I feel like the band was all he had going for him... you get over it fairly quickly when you have great, productive practices that sound better. I hope your friend is a little more mature.

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