Drummer Sweat

A

aydee

Platinum Member
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I'm actually a very controlled, wristy player who doesnt thrash around much on the kit. My techinque is decent & my playing style looks pretty effortless on the outside..

but..

man, do I sweat like a pig in a sauna. Summer, winter, indoors, outdoors, air cons or not..

I am so drenched at the end of some gigs, and sometimes even in during the latter half, I have the hardest time having keeping the sweat out of my eyes.

It is sometimes also very embarrassing to walk off stage with my shirt sticking to my 'man boobs' ( thanks Jay ), me being the only one in the crowd who looks like he's stepped out of a boxing ring. Everyone else is so darn smooth, dry and sweet smelling.

A towel and an extra shirt are now a part of my gear, but the day isnt far when I will succumb to the ridiculous idea of carry an exta pair of Jockeys too.

Do any other instrumentalists sweat the way we do? Cant think of any...

Anyone else have a rant about drummer sweat?

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Lucky I got to this after my breakfast Abe!

Strangely, I sweat very little compared to the rest of the band, yet I'm by far the most physically active. We don't get the temperatures here that you guys get over the pond, but the venues can still get pretty uncomfortable. Aircon here is rare. For smaller gigs (when we're using our own show gear) we have all LED lighting. That really cuts down on stage heat compared to the old PAR 64's.
 
A friend of mine who plays guitar sweats a lot (not just on stage, generally), it just seems to be his natural condition. He is however fairly overweight and doesn't look after himself very well, and maybe has too much salt on his food. I've heard excessive salt can make you sweat more.

At a gig on Friday night the stage was pretty hot both from lighting and the muggy weather, so I too had the sweat in the eyes problem a bit, and also my hands so the sticks started getting a little slippery! But nothing too bad.

This might sound over the top, but have you seen a doctor? There might be some reason you sweat more than others.

You could wear something like a sweat band around your head to stop the sweat running down into your eyes - it might not be a very good look though ;-)
 
I'm a sweater from way back. I remember one gig where I sweated so much that I played most of the encore song without being able to open my eyes. I always sweated more than the other musicians although there was one vocalist who was pretty active and worked up a fair sweat.

That's one thing I love about my current band. If it's warm I sweat a bit, if it's cool then not a drop.
 
I carry a small fan with me to gigs, especially during the summer, which I set up behind me and have on while I'm playing.
 
aydee said:
..and a singlet ? .. with track pants tucked into basketball sneakers?.. no thanks ; )
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That seems like a familiar look but has anyone ever done it? I mean the works ... the mullet, the headband, the singlet and the trackies tucked into basketball sneakers?

Anyone with that look is very ... practical ...
 
aydee said:
I am so drenched at the end of some gigs, and sometimes even in during the latter half, I have the hardest time having keeping the sweat out of my eyes.

Anyone else have a rant about drummer sweat?

..
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Yes, yes, yes!! I can totally relate to this.....especially sweat in the eyes.....long the bain of my existence. I'm not an excessive 'sweater' by nature...but under lights....

A towel, change of clothes and a fan have been normal gig requirements for me for many years.

So far I've managed to stave off the man boobs (yes, I know what I said about them in a previous thread)...though I'm bordering on letting myself go, so I've gotta be careful from here on in. :)
 
If entry to this club is a quart of sweat a gig, then I'm in baby. I get wet yes I do. It's embarrassing. I wish I had clothes with refrigeration lines sewn in.
 
First off, some men just sweat a lot. it is not that big of a deal. Secondly, drummers are working the hardest, for the most part, and getting hot anyway. Add that to the hot lights that stages normally tend to use, and you are gonna be getting pretty damn sweaty. What I normally do is wear athletic shorts and a t shirt on stage, and then bring a change of clothes in a bag and hit the bathroom after the show. I played in a metal band though, so being a sweaty dude was accepted more. But, you can also bring a small fan to clip on somewhere as well, that makes a big difference!
 
You betcha! I sweat something awful just a couple songs into a set. By the end of the set, drenched! The funny thing is, on a 90 degree day, after packing in all the PA equipment, several totes, mixer/rack gear, amps etc, then setup, i barely sweat at all. As soon as the tunes begin rolling out, the flood gates open! It just doesn't make sense.
 
I sweat a ton. I need to at least change clothes if not take a shower after only about 20 minutes on the drums.
 
PacifRick said:
The funny thing is, on a 90 degree day, after packing in all the PA equipment, several totes, mixer/rack gear, amps etc, then setup, i barely sweat at all. As soon as the tunes begin rolling out, the flood gates open! It just doesn't make sense.
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Ha! There you go, I knew it! .... Drumming sweat is different than regular sweat. Something about churning all 4 limbs at the same time, maybe ?

Sonor & Ludwig should think about making gym equipment on the side..

...
 
Pollyanna said:
That seems like a familiar look but has anyone ever done it? I mean the works ... the mullet, the headband, the singlet and the trackies tucked into basketball sneakers?
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Not sure but Weckl, Steve Smith ( Journey days ) and Greg Bissonette have come awfully close. Eww...

...
 
aydee said:
Something about churning all 4 limbs at the same time, maybe ?

... gym equipment ....
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Bingo .... by the end of the first song .... you've basically gone aerobic (which is why lot's of drummers tend to start the second song "faster" than it should be) ... and then you stay aerobic ... for a whole hour ....​
 
I read a thread a while back concerning getting a cardio workout while drumming. The general consensus was "no way", not even close. I didn't respond in that thread thinking I would be alone, but I believe there is a substantial cardio gain via drumming. I play 4 hour gigs, giving it all I have all 4 hours, sure feels to me like more work than 1 hour of aerobics.
 
PacifRick said:
I play 4 hour gigs, giving it all I have all 4 hours, sure feels to me like more work than 1 hour of aerobics.
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Sure ... a 4 hour gig ... with breaks in between ... would be like doing 4 one hour aerobic sessions .... back to back to back to back ....​
Since the OP didn't specify length of gig ... I just arbitrarily assigned 1 hour, as the gig (session) length ....​
 
harryconway said:
Sure ... a 4 hour gig ... with breaks in between ... would be like doing 4 one hour aerobic sessions .... back to back to back to back ....​
Since the OP didn't specify length of gig ... I just arbitrarily assigned 1 hour, as the gig (session) length ....​
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Ha Ha, misunderstandings all over....I was really just estimating that typical aerobics classes were 1 hour (irregardless of gig durations), seemed safe anyways. My comparison is that whether a gig is 2 hours or 4 hours, etc., still seems like more work done than a typical aerobics session. Not arguing, just clarifying my thoughts!
 
If I'm playing in a really hot room or outside, I might go the looking dorky route. Headband and sweatbands on my wrists.
 
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