Drummer Drama

[Mikes87]

Hi there!

I'm a 17 year old alto player and I've been fortunate enough to be involved in a quartet (alto sax, bari sax, drums, piano) with a few of my peers. We've been a group for about a month now and have been basking in the joy that comes out of playing music for people!

However one problem keeps coming up- the drummer. He consistently disrupts the rest of us during practice as we're trying to get work done, takes it as an insult if we tell him to play a little quieter (only to reply that "drums are meant to be loud"), refuses to gig at venues that don't pay, and his lack of maturity causes an unecessary amount of drama for us all.

We would hate to kick him out of the band- as he's a talented drummer and a friend of our pianist, but we can't take any more of this and are not sure what to do!

Thanks,
Mike

[dirty]

Have you talked to him about this? If so, if may be time to look for a new drummer. If you have a local community music center, that may be a good place to start. Don't kick him out until you find another drummer, cause if he's good, not just anyone will be able to cover for him. Ask around, most people have a friend or a friend of a friend who plays drums.

[AbrahamFackle]

Why not try it without a drummer? Two saxes and piano would work fine. It'd probably be good for you in the long run, because you're suddenly forced to convey the style and feel of the tune without a drummer laying down the feel.

[tbone]

At least a drum machine doesn't talk back! :D

If he's the pianist's friend then voice your concerns to the pianist first and see what he thinks. If they're friends then the complaints might carry more weight coming from him. Who knows the pianist may well be irritated with him too! :x

A good band requires chemistry. If you can't get along with each other then change your lineup. I'd rather find a decent drummer that I can get along with than a great drummer that's a real butt hole. ;)

[Jan]

We had about the same problem with our band (bass/electric guitar, keyboard, alto sax, drum). The drummer was always carping at the music we played, the venues at which we played etc. I could actually agree with some of his complaints, but the alternatives he proposed were totally unfeasible.

One day, he informed me he was looking for a bass guitarist (we were indeed looking for one, so that our guitar player could focus on electric guitar rather than bass), but he contacted those people under false pretences: he said he worked for a record company and that the group the bass guitarist would play in was fully backed by that company.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back: I immediately phoned the guitar player and the piano player and each of them agreed to give the drummer the sack - although he was the best drummer I had the opportunity to play with.

[Mikes87]

We're preparing to talk to him sometime this week, but we don't think it will be too hard, as he's been expressing how he doesn't want to play jazz...

EVEN THOUGH OUR BAND NAME HAS "JAZZ" IN IT! We're most likely going drummerless...and it will be nice, I have to admit.

Thanks for the advice!

[Chris S]

A good band requires chemistry. If you can't get along with each other then change your lineup. I'd rather find a decent drummer that I can get along with than a great drummer that's a real butt hole. ;)

I agree wholeheartedly. With my band, I'll take good chemistry over good players any day. (Though having both is VERY nice.)

Chris S

[brutlix]

heh, i guess all drummers are the same ;). we had the exact same problem. He was banging so hard in the practice room, we couldnt hear each other to decide which tune to play.We were screaming at each other, but the drummer just didn get it..After seven minutes of kaos, the guitarist just snapped, and shouted at him with a barbarian voice.The drummer just looked at him and replied:'I came here to practice.'

[Hotspur]

Man drummers are replaceable. YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!