rogue_drummer
Gold Member
Let me explain: a church band I'm subbing in until they find more permanent musicians had their teen-led worship service today. I was the only drummer in the place, so I was it, so to speak. The only other person on stage over the age of about 17 were me and the lead guitar player my same age who also volunteered to help out.
Our usual line-up of musicians were either on vacation in some exotic destination, flying back to Scotland for business, or packing up their home to move to another state.
So it was just us two old guys and a bunch of teens. Pretty much all teenage girls except for one 15 year old boy on acoustic guitar who was sticking close to us old guys.
To make a real long and funny story short, this morning's rehearsal was interesting to say the least. Since teenage girls were involved, the ideas flowing were non-stop going in 14 different directions at the same time. Fortunately the lead guitar player and one of the girls' dads were providing direction and trying to rally these kids to stay focused, without taking over. It was supposed to be their time, so it was a delicate balancing act trying to provide mentoring and direction without being overly "take charge". I was in the drum booth soaking it all in and laughing. To be honest, I was glad I was only a "sideman" in this instance!
After running through the songs a few times it was obvious to both the lead and me that a solid kick would be needed at all times to keep the beat since this group tended to rush and drag. One half would be rushing, one half dragging. This came in handy on The City Harmonic's "Manifesto" on one particular verse.
All in all the band played well and the singers were "tight" (read here: "adequate", as in it wasn't a "train wreck"), so all was good. The teens got the credit they deserved and us "old guys" felt appreciated by the younger generation. Grin.
Our usual line-up of musicians were either on vacation in some exotic destination, flying back to Scotland for business, or packing up their home to move to another state.
So it was just us two old guys and a bunch of teens. Pretty much all teenage girls except for one 15 year old boy on acoustic guitar who was sticking close to us old guys.
To make a real long and funny story short, this morning's rehearsal was interesting to say the least. Since teenage girls were involved, the ideas flowing were non-stop going in 14 different directions at the same time. Fortunately the lead guitar player and one of the girls' dads were providing direction and trying to rally these kids to stay focused, without taking over. It was supposed to be their time, so it was a delicate balancing act trying to provide mentoring and direction without being overly "take charge". I was in the drum booth soaking it all in and laughing. To be honest, I was glad I was only a "sideman" in this instance!
After running through the songs a few times it was obvious to both the lead and me that a solid kick would be needed at all times to keep the beat since this group tended to rush and drag. One half would be rushing, one half dragging. This came in handy on The City Harmonic's "Manifesto" on one particular verse.
All in all the band played well and the singers were "tight" (read here: "adequate", as in it wasn't a "train wreck"), so all was good. The teens got the credit they deserved and us "old guys" felt appreciated by the younger generation. Grin.
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