making faces when playing

sketchtrack · #1 08-20-2010, 12:06 AM

I don't really tend to make faces that much, but notice that I flex a muscle near the back of the scull by the ears when really immersed and feeling it. My ears and eyebrows lift up.

How many of you make faces while playing?

madgolfer · #2 08-20-2010, 02:03 AM

I am told I scowl when I play, despite the fact that I'm having a really good time. Check out some of the video footage with Elvin Jones. He's looks insane sometimes.

MikeM · #3 08-20-2010, 02:12 AM

I get the scowling thing too - and the occasional snot bubble...

conchrandy · #4 08-20-2010, 02:15 AM

Me since 8 yrs old and my parents used to ridicule me.

Homeularis · #5 08-20-2010, 02:35 AM

Yeah...lol... Its hekka funny. These crazy faces seem to only happen when your playing or when your gettin buzy.

Pocket-full-of-gold · #6 08-20-2010, 02:40 AM

Guilty.

I'm not really aware of it, but there's photos and a couple of vids floating around that don't lie.

Adam B · #7 08-20-2010, 03:38 AM

Max Sansalone makes the best faces when he plays.

Funky Crêpe · #8 08-20-2010, 03:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam B

Max Sansalone makes the best faces when he plays.

If this was facebook....serious like!

utdrummer · #9 08-20-2010, 04:57 AM

My wife always tells me "you're making that face again!" I tell her "I'm concentrating" or "I'm listening intently!" I'm sure it's not pretty from an audience members perspective. At least I've never been told I'm a mouthbreather. Ha! Even Buddy used to look like he was loading up a perfectly good pair of shorts. But I'd look like that every night if I could play like that.

yesdog · #10 08-20-2010, 05:43 AM

If any of you had seen me play on the your playing thread, you can see I make no facial expression what so ever.

Joe Morris · #11 08-20-2010, 07:05 AM

I'm well known for my faces and I'm proud of it. lol

Pocket-full-of-gold · #12 08-20-2010, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Morris

I'm well known for my faces and I'm proud of it. lol

To others, perhaps you are Joe.......to me, you'll always be known as "the bloke with the bent hat stand". :-)

And for the record, I LOVE this....."Even Buddy used to look like he was loading up a perfectly good pair of shorts" Can I steal it?

utdrummer · #13 08-20-2010, 02:27 PM

Pocket---Hahaha! Finally, some acceptance on this forum! Yay! Yeah, lines like that come to me all the time but it's a dry sense of humor and most don't care for it. But yeahs, drop that line anytime you can get a laugh out of it. Laughter can diffuse a lot of bad situations...

Pocket-full-of-gold · #14 08-20-2010, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by utdrummer

Yeah, lines like that come to me all the time but it's a dry sense of humor and most don't care for it.

I'm easily entertained mate......keep 'em coming. :-)

beastdrummagirl · #15 08-20-2010, 03:46 PM

i normally stick my tounge out but my normal look is focused

#16 08-20-2010, 10:05 PM

I make all kinds of screwed up faces when I play. Whatever mind I would use to keep my face straight gets lost in the aether when I am shaking the sticks around.

Stupid drummer faces make the world go 'round!

BrewBillfold · #17 08-20-2010, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sketchtrack

I don't really tend to make faces that much, but notice that I flex a muscle near the back of the scull by the ears when really immersed and feeling it. My ears and eyebrows lift up.

How many of you make faces while playing?

I don't know if I make any goofier faces when I play than when I'm just putzin' around town.

Riot · #18 08-21-2010, 12:45 PM

my old bass player said i looked high whenever i played...

but now ive had the habbit of gripping the inside of my cheeks with my teeth and end up having a very gaunt face when i play...

gbftats · #19 08-22-2010, 06:17 AM

I make faces, everyone i know makes faces.. except for garabaldi, wtf? How does he do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us7yp...feature=search

Evilbagua · #20 08-22-2010, 11:38 AM

This is pretty bad, and from around 2007. I have a beard now, so I look weird in it.

Homeularis · #21 08-22-2010, 08:13 PM

Wow, yeah...Thats a good example. Great crazy drum face. You look horrified. Looks like someone is sneaking in on you during practice with a shotgun...lol.

spides666 · #22 08-23-2010, 05:03 AM

I wanted to be like Larry Mullen on Under A Blood Red Sky way back in like 1983 and some 25 plus years later I'm still doing his faces ha ha............

Homeularis · #23 08-23-2010, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evilbagua

This is pretty bad, and from around 2007. I have a beard now, so I look weird in it.

You should use that pic for your Avatar...Seriously, you should.
That would be suuuuper funny!.

Joe Morris · #24 08-23-2010, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pocket-full-of-gold

To others, perhaps you are Joe.......to me, you'll always be known as "the bloke with the bent hat stand". :-)

And for the record, I LOVE this....."Even Buddy used to look like he was loading up a perfectly good pair of shorts" Can I steal it?

You know whats funny. Everytime I play now and i look at my hi hat stand I think about you. ha!!! I am certainly not loading up a pair of shorts. ha!!! but that cracked me up. I don't know why I make faces. I just do!! Maybe its because i put so much emotion into it I would like to think so anyway oh yes and of course steal away. !!!

jim_gregory · #25 08-23-2010, 10:45 AM

I'd accept this face if I could have his skills. Abe makes the best faces! People tell me I look angry when I play. But they also tell me I always look angry, so I guess I don't make faces?

mickeylcsw · #26 08-24-2010, 04:47 AM

Hysterical and relevant. My wife was convinced I was ticked off most of the time. Now, she tells other people who make the same comment - He is having a blast, watch when the song ends. Then I smile (usually). She turns to them and says - See, he's having a blast! This past weekend someone said, "You look bored." I took that as a compliment mentioning how complex I find the songs. I usually just tell them it's all concentration. I tend to play with my head focused on the high hat for some reason. I've tried looking up, but I find it too distracting.

Love this forum...

drummerdude9610 · #27 08-24-2010, 04:50 AM

Watch this guy he twitches like crazy when he plays-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOHyvuC59A

Malti · #28 08-24-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drummerdude9610

Watch this guy he twitches like crazy when he plays-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VOHyvuC59A

He twitches a bit when he's talking too!

Snare · #29 08-30-2010, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickeylcsw

Hysterical and relevant. My wife was convinced I was ticked off most of the time. Now, she tells other people who make the same comment - He is having a blast, watch when the song ends. Then I smile (usually). She turns to them and says - See, he's having a blast! This past weekend someone said, "You look bored." I took that as a compliment mentioning how complex I find the songs. I usually just tell them it's all concentration. I tend to play with my head focused on the high hat for some reason. I've tried looking up, but I find it too distracting.

Love this forum...

Yeah, I get the,"You look bored when you play" comment a lot when I play everything except for a drumset. Luckily, the worse my faces gets is just my lips curling in, and that's only when I'm playing something I just learned. Any other time, I'm pretty sure that I'm... "faceless". But I think that I prefer no expression compared to something like a Buddy Rich grin. lol

Schism21 · #30 08-31-2010, 12:42 AM

I played a gig one time. My entire attitude when playing changed. At home, I tend to focus more on getting technique right, so I don't think about what face I'm making. But, put an audience in front of me, and I'll make eye contact, faces, and smile at people I know. It just comes naturally to me!

Red Menace · #31 09-01-2010, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evilbagua

This is pretty bad, and from around 2007. I have a beard now, so I look weird in it.

I think I played guitar for that gig...

My turn. Here's one from one of my first gigs with my last band. I look like I'm being tazed.

Concrete Pete · #32 09-03-2010, 07:58 AM

What the hell,

Make all the faces you need to- 2 of my bands get absolutely paranoid when I close my eyes (when getting into a groove) because they think I'm "tuning out" the rest of the band, or won't be "awake" to watch for the visual cues from the other band mates.

My band mates in "The long Road" band always damn near panic when I do a "stand-up" solo or fill, yet are always calm afterwards......go figger.

Cheers,
C. P.

Zalloy · #33 09-03-2010, 08:33 AM

I make all kinds of faces when playing. I do a bit of headbanging too...

but when I'm really into it, if it's grooving, I play with my eyes closed.
my guitarist always tells me that's when he knows we, the band, are on... :)

Naigewron · #34 09-03-2010, 11:19 AM

Whatcha talkin' about "drummer faces"?

I'll make the weirdest faces while playing. Sometimes I look strained, sometimes goofy, sometimes constipated, sometimes angry, sometimes... well, I really don't know what I look like most of the time, and that's probably for the best.

A couple of selections of my drummer faces over the years:

Spence · #35 09-03-2010, 02:07 PM

I've been told the face I pull when playing is basically the same as when one is doing the no pants dance.

Unfortunately, this appears to be true and I assume it is the case for other drummers. Part of me wishes I'd never been told this but I'll share it with you all anyway.

GretschGuy52 · #36 09-03-2010, 04:08 PM

Sounds kinda simmilar to how Michael Jordan used to stick his tounge out when playing basketball.

cnw60 · #37 09-03-2010, 04:10 PM

You can put me down as another bored (almost catatonic) looking drummer. I try to think about enlivening my appearance: smiling and moving around a little, but I tend to lock in my gaze on either the hi-hat or the ride cymbal.

SergiuM · #38 05-09-2011, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cnw60

You can put me down as another bored (almost catatonic) looking drummer. I try to think about enlivening my appearance: smiling and moving around a little, but I tend to lock in my gaze on either the hi-hat or the ride cymbal.

haha, i've caught myself looking at my hi-hat and even behind my shoulders! It's definitely weird.

vorsybl · #39 05-09-2011, 06:45 AM

Yeah I make faces sometimes I think when getting into the music but it's not as extreme as some of the videos like people looking like they're maimed or something

Davo-London · #40 05-09-2011, 10:04 AM

I close my eyes a lot too and it isn't good in a band situation. However, it does help my concentration.

I wonder whether the better you get and the easier some songs become, the more you're able to focus on other aspects of your playing such as performance and how you look.

I know Mike Johnson says that some simple repetitive body movement is good as it helps your band mates keep time (if there's a lot of competing sound) and shows you're into the song.

I try to remember to smile. But it's often only when I get something wrong.

Davo