Fall back heroes.

The Scorpio

The Scorpio

Senior Member
We've had a ton of "who's your favorite drummer" or "who's your biggest influence" threads, and I like to think of this as an extension or addendum to those threads.

When you're in a clutch. When you are coming out of verse two and you know you want to play a fill but your mind and limbs unfortunately draw a blank, who do you fall back on? Not "what do fall back on."

What drummer has become so ingrained into your playing that in moments of doubt, they burst through your performance?

For me it's Ringo. It just happens naturally, but I find that it happens more in those moments of uncertainty.

I can't be the only one lol

-Kyle
 
Me too..Its Ringo or nothing.Well,maybe Simon Kirke but keeping it simple is the key to success in that situation. Unless success IS an option,and there's only two people left in the club.Then I say go for it and play that inapropriate Billy Cobham how many notes can I possibly play to the bar in this half time blues shuffle.:)

Steve B
 
No one for me. If I can't feel a fill, none gets played. Usually, in a space that needs a fill, there's only one choice for me, the thing I feel first. There is no decision. Everything I play is according what the person who is leading the song is doing at that particular time, or outlining the song structure. I hate the word should, but fills should be felt, not selected.
 
larryace said:
No one for me. If I can't feel a fill, none gets played. Usually, in a space that needs a fill, there's only one choice for me, the thing I feel first. There is no decision. Everything I play is according what the person who is leading the song is doing at that particular time, or outlining the song structure. I hate the word should, but fills should be felt, not selected.
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I wholeheartedly agree with you, Larry. The Ringo fills come out of me not as a choice, but as a natural reflex.
 
It's funny how Larry and I think alike. Actually, I'm a blank page when I'm playing music with a band, so I'm not even thinking in terms of 'fills' when I'm playing as much as I'm trying to groove and make everything feel good, so sometimes it's not intentional when I don't play a fill. But there have been other times when I'm so 'on' I can do the Cobham thing too. But I would think my fills if I had to fall back on any would be the common Motown fill played by Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones, or Pistol Allen. Maybe some Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks and Alan Jackson, Jr. Ringo only sounds good when you're playing Beatle tunes, I've discovered. If I ever get hired for being me, then who knows what I'd play ;)
 
larryace said:
No one for me. If I can't feel a fill, none gets played. Usually, in a space that needs a fill, there's only one choice for me, the thing I feel first. There is no decision. Everything I play is according what the person who is leading the song is doing at that particular time, or outlining the song structure. I hate the word should, but fills should be felt, not selected.
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I dunno, Larry. There are times when a fill seems right but for whatever reason, I freeze up. Muscle memory FTW in that case.
 
At gigs most times the arrangements are worked out. I don't get to jam nearly enough these days so when I do I'm flat out just trying to keep up.

Having said that, throwing in a bit of Bonzo is always fun. I especially enjoy adding lively Bonzoesque fills when playing lounge music ... it adds a refreshing zip to what might have been a rather soporific affair. Sadly, my band does not always feel similarly ;-)
 
Anon La Ply said:
At gigs most times the arrangements are worked out. I don't get to jam nearly enough these days so when I do I'm flat out just trying to keep up.
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I feel you on the jamming. Do you still leave some places open to inspiration, or do you stay pretty consistent? It depends who I'm playing with, but I read a Neil Peart interview (around Snakes and Arrows) where he mentioned keeping certain spots open for purposes of spontaneity and I figured, "Well, if the professors doing it, it can't be all that bad" haha.

Anon La Ply said:
Having said that, throwing in a bit of Bonzo is always fun. I especially enjoy adding lively Bonzoesque fills when playing lounge music ... it adds a refreshing zip to what might have been a rather soporific affair. Sadly, my band does not always feel similarly ;-)
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Ha! I'd be interested to hear that, sir.
 
8Mile said:
I dunno, Larry. There are times when a fill seems right but for whatever reason, I freeze up. Muscle memory FTW in that case.
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Sorry Lar, help me out here. Muscle memory of what? If you are froze then what are your muscles remembering? The fill you intended? How can you play the fill you intended if you freeze up? You mean you play a fill that you didn't intend? I'm not following. I mean I've stumbled on the execution, but I usually know what I want to do. I'm not picking between anything, that would ruin my commitment to what I am feeling, meaning what I am about to play. I have a hard time picturing you having to deal with momentarily freezing.
The closest I come to freezing is I don't launch into a fill, or a transition, with the proper energy level and it doesn't come out as crisp, or perhaps the dynamic didn't come out as optimal as I intended. But if I froze up I would be sunk, it's just not an option. I'm not following the freezing thing.
 
larryace said:
Sorry Lar, help me out here. Muscle memory of what? If you are froze then what are your muscles remembering? The fill you intended? How can you play the fill you intended if you freeze up? You mean you play a fill that you didn't intend? I'm not following. I mean I've stumbled on the execution, but I usually know what I want to do. I'm not picking between anything, that would ruin my commitment to what I am feeling, meaning what I am about to play. I have a hard time picturing you having to deal with momentarily freezing.
The closest I come to freezing is I don't launch into a fill, or a transition, with the proper energy level and it doesn't come out as crisp, or perhaps the dynamic didn't come out as optimal as I intended. But if I froze up I would be sunk, it's just not an option. I'm not following the freezing thing.
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I read it as wanting to put a fill in because it seemed appropriate but failing to do so because (the one he was thinking of) didn't flow because the muscle memory of it wasn't there. 8mile's post was a perfect description of what happens to me sometimes, at least
 
Anyway, 'fall-back heroes'? Lately I'm studying the s**t out of Mitch Mitchell and building up a stock of boogaloo grooves and single stroke fills. Sextuplet fills are on the way too
 
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