So I listened to a band this weekend...

Jeremy Bender

Jeremy Bender

Platinum Member
I was a guest at a wedding a few days ago and they hired a really good dance/funk/wedding band. The floor was packed with approx. 160 guests.

The crowd loved the band, they kept the floor full with songs from the past 40 years. I asked one of the caterer's about the band and she told me she'd seen them before and they're popular. The bride and groom told me later that evening they were really happy with their choice and would gladly recommend the band.

So as I'm listening and watching the drummer who playing a simple Yamaha tour custom 4 pc. kit with 3 cymbals I thought for a minute about all the internet forum's obsession regarding gear. Whether it's shell plys, ugly lugs, cymbal logos, latest hero endorsement news and on and on, here's a guy in his early 30's laying it down getting paid to entertain and make people happy.


Thoughts on gear... Horses for courses.
 
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Sounds like many of the pro and working drummers I've seen. Solid and simple setup to get the job done. In most cases, a dance band doesn't
need 6 toms and 12 cymbals.
 
Just goes to show that, if you can get by with just the basics, you pretty much have it covered.

A similar story, but about 10 years ago or so, I was at a friend's wedding here in Toronto. They had a live band that were just killing it - styles, tempos, dynamics, they had it all. The drummer was incredibly tasteful and grooved with the best of them - all on a similar setup. Now, I recognized the singer, who I used to see play in a downtown Toronto funk band, so, during their break, I went up to say hi to him; he remembered me, and we had a drink together. We talked a bit about the funk band he used to play in, while catching up in general, and then I asked him about the drummer in his wedding band. He asked me, "you don't know who that is?". I answered, "I don't, but he's fantastic". He then turns to me and says, "that's Paul De Long".

Sometimes, you never know who you're watching.
 
I saw a guy with no toms and no ride or crash the other week. Kick, snare, hats.

He did have a woodblock, which I didn't understand. Who brings a woodblock but not a ride? This guy. Why not use a cross stick for that tone?

I don't know how someone doesn't bring a ride.

I'd like to say that the lack of essentials didn't matter to me, but I would be lying.

There was not enough tonal variety for me, and the playing was phoned in. The word lazy comes to mind, and it was boring watching him.
 
A four-piece with hats, a ride, and two crashes has been my standard gig/studio setup for ages now. I require nothing more. Unless you're playing a style of music that involves extended tom fills and double-bass runs, which I do not, a four-piece easily accommodates 99.9 percent of all scenarios. My chop/fill attitude can be encapsulated as follows: If I can't play it on a four-piece, I don't need to play it at all.

On the topic of gear preoccupation, there's no intricate mystery at work. Those who maintain five kits, ten snares, and four sets of cymbals do so because they want to, not because they have to. There's nothing wrong with wanting to, but pretending that anyone needs a warehouse of equipment to function as a drummer is a distortion of reality.
 
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Lars what a poser I thought he has mastered the Flogilator technique and his forehead was actually growing- but heck no just a receding hairline. ROFL that’s a joke.
 
Yamaha Tour Customs are really good drums. That's my perspective. I own the original 8000 series version. The Birch/Philippine Mahogany shells, with the Gretsch styled series split lugs (first used on the 9000 series). The Tour Custom filled the spot directly below the Recording Customs ...... and it wasn't until 1991, when the Maple Customs were introduced, that that order was disrupted.

As far as 3 cymbals and a 4 piece kit ...... I wouldn't expect a wedding band drummer to "have" more than a 5 piece kit ..... and maybe 2 crashes instead of just one. Seems pretty standard fair, to me.

As far as "what's in the guys drum room" ????? I have no idea. ;)
 
Damn Larry and a wood block rather than a cowbell. That just seems insane. When the crowd yells more cowbell you’ll be eating cow chips.
 
Always have what you need to serve the music.
A ride cymbal is just as important as a snare or pair of hi-hats.
Playing covers requires a modicum of sound sources.
 
So, that's just what he brought to this gig because it suited that band's needs.

It doesn't mean he also doesn't have an 11 pc drum kit at home with 20 cymbals.
Nor does it mean he doesn't also have 5 different drum kits at home.

Lots of people on this forum have a ton of gear at home but only bring what they really need to any one gig.
 
larryace said:
He did have a woodblock, which I didn't understand. Who brings a woodblock but not a ride? This guy. Why not use a cross stick for that.
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With such a scant setup, the inclusion of a woodblock is certainly a curious decision. Did he use it in a way that departed from traditional cross-sticking patterns? If not, maybe he just favors the sound of a woodblock. I've never come across a woodblock I've liked more than the cross-stick sound I can get from a snare hoop, so I've never bothered using a woodblock at all. Plus, a woodblock is just another piece to keep up with, and I'm all about avoiding parts I can forgo.
 
His kit did make sense both musically and logistically, the band had to schlep gear by hand quite a distance across a grass lawn after parking in a gravel drive.
 
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