Bad night tonight :(

Bo Eder

Bo Eder

Platinum Member
So, I've prepped the Zep kit as best as I could, even lightened up my hardware load by eliminating all the heavy stands and getting some new Ludwig Atlas Classic straight cymbal stands and a cheaper through-bolt throne. Got them to my school gig, set-up, and then proceeded to have a rather mediocre performance night.

I'm not sure if it was me or if the band just wasn't jelling (I think more that) but I still feel responsible since I'm the glue holding it all together anyway.

It was even confirmed for me when the man in charge said I sounded like my predecessor - which I replaced because he didn't like the way he played. Needless to say I smiled outwardly but inside I was cringing. He wanted the 'vintage' me, and reminded me I used to do all these really way-out things dynamically and was just a better spark plug before than I was tonight.

I've taken it to heart and have another chance to up-it a few notches tomorrow. Although I take criticism well, and can even handle alot of good-natured ribbing, hearing those words from my employer now has me feeling a bit of anxiety. I practice on my own alot, and know the material fairly well, but in our 30 years together, he never criticized the way I play drums. He never criticized me for playing anything else - in years past I've played synthesizer, or congas, and he seemed to like my feeble attempts at those. Tonight he didn't like the drumming. I don't think I liked the drumming. It's just tough when it's the thing you pride yourself in and worked on the longest.

I post this to say, I hate having off nights.
 
Trying to find a reason is almost pointless, you'll just beat yourself up over it. The fact that it bothers you, displays ample pride in the execution of your craft. Just be content that it will be better next time. You know there's no fundamental issue, & it's possible your employer may have been having a bad day too.

Chin up, 1 finger up, & nail the vibe next time out :)
 
Oh man, I have a tendency to beat myself up when it all doesn't go according to plan.

I now try to look at it the way a major league baseball relief pitcher or NFL QB looks at it: Sometime you are going to get shelled or picked off because of some dumb move you made. The great ones forget about it and move on to the next play or game or whatever.

You're a pro, Bo, and and if a Mariano Rivera can blow game 7 of the World Series and recover from it then you can as well.

Now go kick the band's ass!
 
I'm sure you'll do better on the next gig. And think of it this way, I bet your boss has higher expectations for you because you always are so good. You're "bad" night was still probably better than most others good nights. He's just used to hearing such high quality from you!

Chin up!
 
Were you too much into the the drums, and not the drumming? New toys have a way of being distracting. Shake it off. You know you are better than the comments and one bad night does not a performer make.
 
GRUNTERSDAD said:
Were you too much into the the drums, and not the drumming? New toys have a way of being distracting. Shake it off. You know you are better than the comments and one bad night does not a performer make.
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Excellent point...I know this has been the issue with me when I am dwelling on new gear or just a different setup and i sometimes lose focus on the band as a whole.

Bo....I;ve seen you play in your vids and anyone those knows you would most likely guess you were just having a distracting off night? I work on my drumming because of guys like you that show me how much more I need and want to learn.

You seem to be bothered by being human...I get that too!

I'm sure you'll be back to normal tonight.
 
You would know more than anyone weather your playing was off or not but I have to ask, was this the first time you used the Zep kit and does it have a drastically different sound than other kits you have been using? Anything different about the snare, cymbals or room?
 
Did he wait until after the gig to mention this?
 
Sometimes I play poorly when I'm working on new licks - those learning curve moments can be deflating (the new gear theories sound pretty good in your context).

It's an inevitable cycle of performance in any field ... sometimes everything flows naturally and at other times there's more thinking going on - and less groove. Back and forth. That cycle never stops, it just changes degree as we progress.

Bo remember, it's all relative. I imagine that if I played the way you did on your off day I'd be thrilled!
 
Thanks. Yes, the man-in-charge wasn't involved the show (he's recovering from some injuries so his involvement is limited to watching while staff and band put the show on), but we spoke afterwards where he filled me in on what he heard. He wasn't angry, we have alot of other issues to deal with, and the drumming just being one of them, of course, amplified by me.

It could've been the way it felt behind the new kit - maybe being a bit tentative trying to keep everything from sliding away, or playing down so I can actually hear what's going on. I slept on it and realized up until this show, I've always been on the keyboard player's left side, which makes it easy for he and I to communicate. Switch me to the otherside and stick a guitarist and trumpet guy in between us (that were never there before) and there's a sudden feeling of disconnect. I need to fix that, but the way the show is staged with set pieces, that may be difficult and we'll have to tackle that issue before the next one.

I was generally happy with the way the kit sounds though. That 26" bass drum is total bottom end. I may need to go back to the 14" hi-hats too - there's a ton of spots where I'm playing blast-beat jazz stuff and the 17s proved to be a bit sluggish. But I think you guys are right - the playing was good, the communication and unity of the band was askew - which is just as bad as having guys together that can't play.

Yeah, we're humans, but when there's money involved I've never been one to come up with excuses and just try to do it right everytime.
 
GRUNTERSDAD said:
Were you too much into the the drums, and not the drumming? New toys have a way of being distracting. Shake it off. You know you are better than the comments and one bad night does not a performer make.
Click to expand...



I too thought that this may have been the problem. We are all probably guilty, at times, of focusing so much on the gear aspect, when really all the focus should be on the playing.

Hey Bo, are you satisfied with the sound of your drums? I know you said you were having trouble dialing in the 13" tom.
 
Mendozart said:
I too thought that this may have been the problem. We are all probably guilty, at times, of focusing so much on the gear aspect, when really all the focus should be on the playing.

Hey Bo, are you satisfied with the sound of your drums? I know you said you were having trouble dialing in the 13" tom.
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Yeah, the drums sound great. Once I got a good snare stand with rubber tips (I'm using a Yamaha 7-series now) the 13" tunes right up and sings. I said in my last post I may need to go back to the 14 hats though. I'm playing some fast stuff that the 17s are a bit sluggish on.
 
It happens Bo, Sometimes I am the best thing since bottled beer and sometimes I am a wet rag. The rest of the time I am somewhere in the middle of the above. It happens to everyone once in a while.
 
A really good drummer who's been giving me advice and kind of mentoring me keeps saying "It's not as hard as you think it is."
 
Chin up man! Remember who you are. I mean, Bermuda calls you to sub for him!

I had a bad night the other night too. Went in my garage this morning, cued up the music player and shredded through some stuff for an hour, worked on some stick control stuff, etc. It felt great.

You can do this!
 
I wonder if that particular vintage kit was less likely to yield to dynamic subtlety compared to your other kits. Maybe the drums were too dominant in the mix?

It seems unlikely that your drumming has really changed in a bad way.

Davo
 
"Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience"
 
That guy shouldn't have gone about it like that. We all have off nights or moments including BAND LEADERS.

If he knows you can play and is happy with it then he obviously would understand it's a fluke. First he should at the least give it another chance to see if it was a fluke and then if it occurs again back to back, maybe just ask if everything is ok with you personally first. Most musicians have off nights when personal stuff is heavy. Coming at you like he did, did no good and made you feel even more anxiety about the next time. I love band leaders that go with the flow. I know it seems unorthodox but if they are relaxed and understanding then it takes a tonnn of weight off of the guys who then can just relax and focus on the groove instead of worrying about getting stares, and dress downs.

Bo you are a superb drummer so it's a fluke for sure, You didn't forget 30 years of playing all of the sudden, it happens to all of us.

I saw a few videos of you playing and noticed you are a smaller guy. How does that affect your playing on a big bohnam set?
 
Davo-London said:
I wonder if that particular vintage kit was less likely to yield to dynamic subtlety compared to your other kits. Maybe the drums were too dominant in the mix?

It seems unlikely that your drumming has really changed in a bad way.

Davo
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Nah, the kit was fine. It's the 'musician interaction' within the group dynamic that was troubling. Probably brought on by nobody really being prepared. For the second show tonight, I took it up three notches and the man in charge was happy with that. His comment on the first night was that it didn't sound like anyone was in charge back there in the band. And he was right - we lacked a traffic cop and that's normally what I would be doing if everyone followed the dynamics of the drums. Tonight they got that and then some and everybody was happy.

Last night was like being in a philosophy class without a person in it who questioned everything - the result is no leadership and everyone just flubbing along getting through it. Tonight I drove them where we were going and they followed, resulting in a more aggressive sound and actual empathy ;)
 
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