Double drummers.

[MntnMan62]

King Crimson has three drummers right now.

Seems like a bit of overkill if you ask me. I was a big fan of Bruford on Discipline so I'm a Crimson fan. But three drummers? Two is tough enough to pull off. You can still hear what each drummer is doing with two. With three it seems you wouldn't be able to decipher what each one is doing. Anyone actually seen them live to know what 3 is like?

 

[roncadillac]

Seems like a bit of overkill if you ask me. I was a big fan of Bruford on Discipline so I'm a Crimson fan. But three drummers? Two is tough enough to pull off. You can still hear what each drummer is doing with two. With three it seems you wouldn't be able to decipher what each one is doing. Anyone actually seen them live to know what 3 is like?

Oh yeah, I agree. I'm not saying I'm into it, just that they do it. Bruford on Discipline is a favorite of mine.

I jammed with two drummers (me and one other guy) one time... I had to just hold a simple beat to keep everyone together while he went full blown Travis Barker on his kit lol. Never again.

 

[Paul Blood]

I've done it a couple of times back in the 80's. For a short time I was in a Grateful Dead tribute band, it worked fine, but was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. It was fun though....

Also around that time I was also playing in high school/ fraternity party band that did 60's-80's hit songs. The band leader said he wanted to do some gigs with the double drumming format, and he brought in a guy that couldn't play very well.
I felt like I was giving him lessons. Eventually they stopped calling me, and at our 25th high school reunion I found out why. The other drummer had drug connections..... Even back then I stayed sober. No great loss, but it's kind of funny the band leader and drummer I had taught felt bad, apologized about the situation after so many years had passed.

 

[roncadillac]

I've done it a couple of times back in the 80's. For a short time I was in a Grateful Dead tribute band, it worked fine, but was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. It was fun though....

Also around that time I was also playing in high school/ fraternity party band that did 60's-80's hit songs. The band leader said he wanted to do some gigs with the double drumming format, and he brought in a guy that couldn't play very well.
I felt like I was giving him lessons. Eventually they stopped calling me, and at our 25th high school reunion I found out why. The other drummer had drug connections..... Even back then I stayed sober. No great loss, but it's kind of funny the band leader and drummer I had taught felt bad, apologized about the situation after so many years had passed.

"Why would anyone do drugs when they can just mow a lawn?"

Best Hank quote lol

 

[MntnMan62]

Oh yeah, I agree. I'm not saying I'm into it, just that they do it. Bruford on Discipline is a favorite of mine.

I jammed with two drummers (me and one other guy) one time... I had to just hold a simple beat to keep everyone together while he went full blown Travis Barker on his kit lol. Never again.

Yeah. That doesn't sound fun to me. Frankly, if you listen to anything Chester Thompson did with either Phil Collins or Ralph Humphrey, none of them went full blown at any point. It was always tasteful and in good taste so they each complimented one another. If one drummer goes ballistic he's just hogging the spotlight from the other guy. That's not cool. And definitely no fun.

 

[IBitePrettyHard]

Whenever I see a band with 2 drummers...

Maybe it's just me? I find it impossible to enjoy the drumming when two people are playing over each other.

The Drumbassadors are a rare exception.

 

[roncadillac]

Now playing with a percussionist is a totally different story and something I really enjoy! I was in a band where our bass player was primarily a drummer and percussionist. I would bring my drums and he would bring his bass gear and a percussion rig. He would set bass loops and jam percussion, some times we even swapped and I would play percussion and he would jump on my kit. That was a lot of fun and very easy to keep 'tasteful'.

 

[ConvertedLudwigPlayer]

I've done it with a friend a few times for our Driveway Jams. It has worked well for us. One of us is on hi-hats, while the other is on the ride. We would both do fills and would take turns mostly, although we both did them at the same time sometimes. It was fun for both of us. And, the other members seemed to enjoy it. So, did the 100+ people at each event. YMMV.

 

[Al Strange]

@Mick_Link how about some Doobie Brothers?

 

[PorkPieGuy]

I've done the whole 1 drummer and 1 percussionist thing. However, I've never played music that required 2 kit drummers at the same time.

 

[Mick_Link]

@Mick_Link how about some Doobie Brothers?

Yeah! I like the Doobie Brothers!
And we play a cover version of „Long train runnin“ with our band!

BTW, Michael McDonalds voice is amazing!
And I love the song of Patrick Simmons solo lp:
„So wrong“

 

[Janet Tambour]

You rarely read about this on forums. No one here has done it?..thought about it?. It doesn't have to be Allman brothers type music. Ringo/Bissonette..etc. I've wanted to try this..two drummers working well together is just a band on nitrous. I've seen it (once) in a club 20 years ago but it's rare.

I've often wondered about this. Is it like two electric guitar players, one plays lead and the other rhythm?

 

[SVBJECT]

 

[madjack956]

Did it once when I was a kid. We were doing a birthday party and birthday boy had a set of drums. I wanted no part of it, but was overruled.
It almost turned into a birthday bash when he started to dictate what songs were to be played.
I hated it then, and I cringe now when I see it done.

 

[Icetech]

I just ran into this band recently and find them fun to play.. 2 drummers, no real hard parts and probably no need for 2 but they make it work well

 

[Cmdr. Ross]

Didn't the Grateful Dead have 2?

 

[Otto]

I have yet to see a project that was truly enhanced musically by having more than one drum set player...and i even feel blechy about a set player and an aux percussionist.

They feel cacophonous and unneeded.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

I have yet to see a project that was truly enhanced musically by having more than one drum set player...and i even feel blechy about a set player and an aux percussionist.

They feel cacophonous and unneeded.

in that situation, it is only not blechy when each one is doing it's own role

soooo many times I see bands with drum set and aux, and the aux person is just playing drum set beats on the aux stuff...and often times this happening in "Latin" bands...

 

[A J]

I'm in two bands. In one band, I'm a dedicated percussionist. So far, it's been a lot of fun.

The drummer and I get along very well. At first, I detected a bit of tension on his part, so did my best to communicate that I have no interest in taking his job.

I'm very careful to stay out of his lane. I never touch his kit, ask to play a song or offer any drum advice. I stick to my djembe, shakers, jingle sticks, claves and cowbells.

 

[s1212z]