Why do blues bands want "rock & roll" drummers?

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Blueskitten

Junior Member
In my short drumming experience (5 yrs) and living in a town that is referred to as "Ground Zero for the Blues" I get very frustrated with the blues bands here. I have been taking private lessons & lessons at a local blues museum for 5 yrs. I wish I had been around earlier - I would have been a great drummer for the old Delta blues musicians! I know my drumming strengths & weaknesses. I am great at keeping a beat but simplistic in my fills but the fills I do are appropriate to the songs. I am often asked to sit in for jams or to do some drumming with bands ("guest drummer") but I always refuse due to the intimidation I feel about drummers who are all over the drums. Is this common to feel or is my lack of confidence holding me back? I don't want to be a rock & roll drummer - I prefer the Ola Dixon philosophy: "I may not be fancy but boy can I keep the beat".
 
Your lack of confidence.

You've been asked to sit in, and you refuse? That's on you.

Most blues bands, and heck, even most rock bands I've played with just want someone to keep the beat with occasional fill that is appropriate for the music.

Unless you're auditioning for a prog or fusion band, most bands don't want a drummer who is all over the place.
 
Stage fright, self consciousness, intimidation.... Conquering all of those is what separates a guy on stage from a guy at the bar, and a source of great personal gratification.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with it, because everyone suffers a bit differently. For me, I just figure, "Why bother playing if you're never going to perform?". Then I suck it up and get on stage with as much confidence and ability that I can muster. It gets much easier once you're four bars in and you realize it was all in your head.

So find your courage, and get it on.
 
Blueskitten said:
I am often asked to sit in for jams or to do some drumming with bands ("guest drummer") but I always refuse due to the intimidation I feel about drummers who are all over the drums. Is this common to feel or is my lack of confidence holding me back? I don't want to be a rock & roll drummer - I prefer the Ola Dixon philosophy: "I may not be fancy but boy can I keep the beat".
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Ha! I sure knew that feeling at the London Drum Show a couple of years ago. You wouldn't want to get up there because there was a bunch of people around you ripping around the kit as though their lives depended on it. It was pretty intimidating.

But ... and it's a big "but", most of them sounded horrible! They were impressive but most sounded cacophonous and ugly. It wasn't music, it was mostly just a bunch of people waggling their dicks, to be frank.

You, my fine feline friend, appear not to be a wang waggler by nature, but someone who just wants to play music. More power to you.

Don't be fooled by musicians giving good feedback to drummers when they flash around. It's true that many other musicians get a kick out of a drummer letting rip. However, most get even more of a kick out of playing with a drummer who is listening intently and making the whole band sound and feel good.
 
Max Roach told a story of a Gretsch Drum Night the company did eons ago when he and other drum luminaries were there to play and demonstrate. Everyone, including him played all their best licks and demonstrated their athletic capabilities on the drums.

Then Gene Krupa arrived and played his famous "Sing Sing Sing" solo which is really all just 8th notes.

The crowd went crazy.

Max said that was best drum lesson he ever got!

You do your thing and don't worry about others. Get out there and play when asked to. That's how you get to play for others. Have fun!
 
I see this all the time at the local blues jam. The shredders or the inexperienced get up there, and it doesn't fit the music. Most blues involve solid time, transparent structures, and a very good ear. You can't have that if you're only interested in you.

Don't get intimidated. Get confident. You might be the only authentic blues drummer in the house!
 
I play drums at a lot of different open mic jams. Once or twice a week.

During songs everyone gets a solo. Always Guitars and Harps, always Keyboards and Bass Players. Always Brass instruments and always Sax Players.
Solos, solos, solos, all night long. Everybody takes a solo.

Almost never do they point to the drummer for a drum solo.

Why is that?

.
 
As the man said, just play your thing. Dont knock the others for the way they play, and hope they treat you with the same respect.
 
I struggle with this too because I'm not a fancy drummer that hits everything real fast all the time.
 
Hollywood Jim said:
I play drums at a lot of different open mic jams. Once or twice a week.

During songs everyone gets a solo. Always Guitars and Harps, always Keyboards and Bass Players. Always Brass instruments and always Sax Players.
Solos, solos, solos, all night long. Everybody takes a solo.

Almost never do they point to the drummer for a drum solo.

Why is that?

.
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...and then if they point to the drummer to solo the rest of the band goes to grab a beer.

I preferred a drum solo taken with the rest of the band just like any other instrument.
 
Blueskitten said:
I am often asked to sit in for jams or to do some drumming with bands ("guest drummer") but I always refuse due to the intimidation I feel about drummers who are all over the drums. Is this common to feel or is my lack of confidence holding me back?
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It sounds like it's your lack of confidence holding you back. Most blues bands would love a drummer who takes your approach. Wouldn't it be funny if not sounding like those other drummers is the very thing that would set you apart and make you a drummer they'd rather play with?
 
8Mile said:
It sounds like it's your lack of confidence holding you back. Most blues bands would love a drummer who takes your approach. Wouldn't it be funny if not sounding like those other drummers is the very thing that would set you apart and make you a drummer they'd rather play with?
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Spot on, Larry. Perception is reality.
 
Enter Ringo. Just play for the music. Fancy never got anyone anywhere
 
Open jams are not the real world. Usually, drummers that indulge in flashy playing at the jams are not the ones that actually get the gigs with the working bands -- especially where the blues is concerned. Play 'em the way they're supposed to be, and the other players will want to work with you more. Overplay and you'll have your fifteen minutes of fame, but not much else.

As the saying goes, you get paid for the two and the four.
 
motleyh said:
Open jams are not the real world. Usually, drummers that indulge in flashy playing at the jams are not the ones that actually get the gigs with the working bands -- especially where the blues is concerned. Play 'em the way they're supposed to be, and the other players will want to work with you more. Overplay and you'll have your fifteen minutes of fame, but not much else.

As the saying goes, you get paid for the two and the four.[/QUOTE]

Not necesarily. Perhaps the jam night he attends is a "Lets see what you can do" night. Just cos you "can" play 2 and 4 all night does not mean you have too, or indeed that it is all a band wants. There are lots of drummers out there, with rock solid timing, that can bring much more to the party, If that is what the band wants. Different strokes, etc.
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From my experience, the thread title is off. If there are blues bands in your world and every drummer in your world seems like a rock drummer, it sounds like an assumption is being made that blues bands want rock drummers. Real blues bands don't want rock drummers. Now a blues-rock band might want a rock drummer. There's a big difference in attitude between those 2 types of bands.

It sounds like you're selling yourself way short in your situation. The way I'm reading it is....they are dying for an actual blues drummer like you to play. Believe me, (in my world anyway) guitarists don't normally go out of their way to ask drummers to sit in, so that alone speaks volumes. It sounds like your reputation precedes you. That's a good thing in this case. If you are being asked....by guitarists? Yes, don't refuse, don't try and be like the other drummers, just do what you do as easy and naturally as you can. Just know that everything you do is fine and NEVER question yourself. You are NEVER boring by laying a beat down with little embellishment. That's what blues is screaming out for, a drummer who won't screw with the music. It's supposed to be simple and rootsier by nature, that's the beauty of it.

Really, they are asking you. The least you could do is oblige them. F the other drummers, are they being asked? It sounds more like they are being tolerated.

It sounds like you are on the verge of getting asked to be a full time drummer if you are being asked by guitarists to sit it. I'd consider that a big deal and a testament to your playing. Just never doubt yourself, you're great exactly like you are. In fact your humble attitude is a big part of that. Don't lose that, but stop denying them your abilities.
 
Great replies from the Larrys.

OP, heed the advice, for it is amongst the best given
 
Thanks to all for your advice, opinions,etc. I will take it seriously. I also thank you for giving me a little more self-confidence!
 
Blueskitten said:
I know my drumming strengths & weaknesses. I am great at keeping a beat but simplistic in my fills but the fills I do are appropriate to the songs. .
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Just do what you do.

Generally, there will be more demand for a simplistic drummer.

I know my strengths and weaknesses also and I'm not at all shy about them. I was working on a song this morning that was a perfect example. At 175 BPM, I realized right away that I wasn't able to comfortably play the 16th note on the hats for the duration of the song.
...
Am I going to practice and try and improve my skills so I can play like Carmine...whoops, Cozy..... played It? Hell no, I'm going to play 1/8 notes and let the vocals, guitar, bass and keys pick up the slack while I enjoy the hell out of the song :)
 
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Blues Musicians are a strange sort, if you can't carry the show by yourself they don't want you, if you can do it yourself they don't want. If you can't keep a beat they don't want you if you do keep a beat they don't want cause make everyone sound bad. If you play the perfect sick beat they'll think you're a pansy... Anyway, I get tired of this belly-achin, and change the station.
 
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