# Some drummers are nuts!



## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

I played a gig a month ago with a pick-up band. We'd all jammed together on occasion but never gigged as a group. 

Anyways, we had a very narrow stage area to play in, about 12' wide (4 meters to you young'uns). I just automatically set up stage right, bass player was stage left, drums took up the rest of the width. So I put the other guitarist/frontman's amp (a DRRI) in front of the drum kit. On the ground. Hardly intrusive.

The drummer snapped. Went postal. Came unglued (I think you get the point). 

He could not believe how disrespectful it was to put something, anything in front of his drum kit. Said people would never hear the kick drum. Mess up his tom sound. Nobody's ever done this before, in the history of music. Yada. Yada. Eventually, we had to put the DRRI on the bass rig just to be able to get the drummer reined in. Not ideal, he was overly loud to bass player (physics is a be-atch, but she must be obeyed). But that was the only thing the drummer would accept. So OK to screw up our stage mix, as long as his drums were not visual or sonically impaired in any way.

The funny part was the front man also played keys. Sat on a regular padded-back chair. But when he stood to play guitar, he pushed that chair up against the drums. All night long. And ya know what, the audience still heard the kickdrum. 

How much is a good drum machine?


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

It's stories like that that make me appreciate my basement. 

I'd a broke my guitar over his head.


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## dtsaudio (Apr 15, 2009)

Have you ever noticed that a drummer cannot sit at his drums without banging on them for more than about 15 seconds. It always makes conversation difficult during rehearsal.
Drummers are a rare breed.


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## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

I was pretty lucky when it came to drummers. Mine was a friend I'd known since high school in the 60's. Rock solid and the best drummer I have ever played with. Only issue I ever had with him was a disagreement about time signatures. I should have known better than to take on a drummer about that topic. You just got a bad one.


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## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

[video=youtube_share;ZHs1EZO4sV0]http://youtu.be/ZHs1EZO4sV0[/video]


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I'd look for another drummer. Drummers like guitar players are a dime a dozen. Who is the band leader? Coz if I was, I would've told him to shut his pie up and play.


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## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

Fire the S.O.B. !!! Dont need the agravation.


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

Yea, this was just a one-time, throw-together for a party. Not much money, casual affair. And it was the frontguy's gig. 

But I've known the drummer for years and years. Just jammed with him last weekend - and gave him a hard time about his 'eccentricity'. Like I said elsewhere, show me a button and I'll repeatedly push it.




dtsaudio said:


> Have you ever noticed that a drummer cannot sit at his drums without banging on them for more than about 15 seconds. It always makes conversation difficult during rehearsal.
> Drummers are a rare breed.


My current drummer only has an electronic kit at his place, so when he gets to my place, with my acoustic drums, he spends the first 15 minutes just pounding the $hit outa them. Says he's got some venting to do. But after that, its all good. I just keep pushing dynamics - maybe electronic drums don't translate those as well as acoustic drums do (like the keys on an old synth). 

Rare breed, in deed.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

dtsaudio said:


> Have you ever noticed that a drummer cannot sit at his drums without banging on them for more than about 15 seconds. It always makes conversation difficult during rehearsal.
> Drummers are a rare breed.


IEMs provide relief in that dept.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

When he said his kick drum would not be able to be heard, you should have said let's test it. What could he say after he was proved wrong? If he didn't shut up after that I would asked him to leave. We'll play without a drummer. Your caustic attitude isn't wanted or needed.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

well if it was me i would have stabbed him and then choked him, then electrocuted him, then i'd hag him, then i'd kill him. but first i would kidnap his loved ones and make him watch me do bad stuff of some unknown sort. then i would do the same to his relatives and friends. and his pets too. i woulda did kung fu on him like i see in all those jackie chan movies. or not. i mighta did something else entirely. _ it could go either way_.....


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Was this the guy? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DVbt5W-DNc

Should have told him that drummers aren't musicians, just people banging on shit. (Which of course is not true...I cannot work a drum kit...my hand wants to do what my foot is doing)


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## djmarcelca (Aug 2, 2012)

This is nothing to get upset about, and the answer is simple.
Unless this drummer is your childhood bestie.....simply, do not invite him to jam/gig anymore.

Life's too short to worry about bitchy band members or grown men who act like diva's
(Which is what your drummer was doing)

I always keep this thought in my mind..........
Any band member can be replaced, either with another warm human body, or with a pre-recorded MP3

And I actually do have my Cover band's setlist pre-loaded on an ipod, 4x once for each instrument.
1) just drums
2) just bass
3) just vocals
4) just guitars. 

This way if one of the guys gets sick or too drunk to play, the rest of us can tell him to relax/go away and the gig can be completed. 
If I were performing originals I'd do the exact same. 
Promoters/Bar owners are too notorious for not wanting to pay up if the performance is cut short for any reason.


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## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Some drummers ?

I thought it was a prerequisite !


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## High/Deaf (Aug 19, 2009)

djmarcelca said:


> This is nothing to get upset about, and the answer is simple.
> Unless this drummer is your childhood bestie.....simply, do not invite him to jam/gig anymore.
> 
> Life's too short to worry about bitchy band members or grown men who act like diva's
> ...


Sorry if I came off as upset or perturbed. I wasn't. The gig went great. We still get along. Jammed a week ago. 

I just thought it was peculiar. I've never heard of a drummer upset by this. And he seemed to think it was common knowledge that no thinking person would ever do this. I've put lots of amps in front of lots of drum kits. And will again on Jan 30th. His explanation had next to no basis in physics. 

That's a cool idea about having isolated tracks for each player. Have you ever had to use it? I used to work for a big outdoor stageshow (10 nights in July in a certain cowtown) and we always had backing tracks, at least for the local cast performances. The pro's were another matter, but they were just about always pro's.


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