Larry
"Uncle Larry"
I wanted to gather consensus opinion here...this is aimed at anyone in a band. Do you find that there is a pecking order? I definitely do, and drummers are at the bottom. I freely accept this, have no animosity towards it, but do recognize it. Somebody has to be at the top and somebody has to be at the bottom, I suppose.
The open mic blues jam I am part of every week...there is this new kid there, he's like 16 YO, very green, a drummer....He has taken it upon himself to email the leader of the band (an extremely accomplished no BS musician) with kinda dumb drummer questions (in your opinion, would you say the drummer and the bass player are the engine of the band, and many other questions of a analogous nature). Like at least 6 emails with multiple ambiguous questions, many the same question but phrased differently...
Now I know the guitarist well enough and he definitely practices the pecking order. I'm pretty sure that in his mind, this kid was "stepping outside" his pecking order by "bothering" him with questions that should be handled between drummers or alone. The leader emailed me apprising of the situation, he wants this kid to give the emails a rest. So I emailed this kid. One of his questions are what makes a good drummer. I told him if he wants to get on with the other guys to basically keep your mouth shut and play great drums. Don't ask anyone for anything, instead give. Give them a great solid beat to work around. Give them the gift of knowing your instrument and your role in the band without fanfare. Then I told him to cut the emails, he needs to learn his craft on his own time. I don't mind him asking me questions, but he is shooting himself in the foot if he continues to "bug" the leader with stuff that the leader really shouldn't be bothered with.
Now this leader freely acknowledges that the drummer is the most important guy in the band in that if his time doesn't feel good, the band doesn't feel good. But I definitely get the feeling that there is a heirarchy with him. Which is fine with me. As long as he keeps asking me to play, I will stay in my "place" lol.
So this kid has no idea that there's more to it than playing drums. The social aspect of it is important. I've gotten fired in the past because I was too uppity, too opinionated and didn't understand my "place". Does this ring true for any others here?
I am also interested in hearing the opinions of the pros here, Matt, Bermuda, Joe Morris. I wonder if the pecking order happens on the higher levels.
The open mic blues jam I am part of every week...there is this new kid there, he's like 16 YO, very green, a drummer....He has taken it upon himself to email the leader of the band (an extremely accomplished no BS musician) with kinda dumb drummer questions (in your opinion, would you say the drummer and the bass player are the engine of the band, and many other questions of a analogous nature). Like at least 6 emails with multiple ambiguous questions, many the same question but phrased differently...
Now I know the guitarist well enough and he definitely practices the pecking order. I'm pretty sure that in his mind, this kid was "stepping outside" his pecking order by "bothering" him with questions that should be handled between drummers or alone. The leader emailed me apprising of the situation, he wants this kid to give the emails a rest. So I emailed this kid. One of his questions are what makes a good drummer. I told him if he wants to get on with the other guys to basically keep your mouth shut and play great drums. Don't ask anyone for anything, instead give. Give them a great solid beat to work around. Give them the gift of knowing your instrument and your role in the band without fanfare. Then I told him to cut the emails, he needs to learn his craft on his own time. I don't mind him asking me questions, but he is shooting himself in the foot if he continues to "bug" the leader with stuff that the leader really shouldn't be bothered with.
Now this leader freely acknowledges that the drummer is the most important guy in the band in that if his time doesn't feel good, the band doesn't feel good. But I definitely get the feeling that there is a heirarchy with him. Which is fine with me. As long as he keeps asking me to play, I will stay in my "place" lol.
So this kid has no idea that there's more to it than playing drums. The social aspect of it is important. I've gotten fired in the past because I was too uppity, too opinionated and didn't understand my "place". Does this ring true for any others here?
I am also interested in hearing the opinions of the pros here, Matt, Bermuda, Joe Morris. I wonder if the pecking order happens on the higher levels.