Things others drummers do that annoy you?

Cats with ubber expensive kits (including the folks with 25 Vault or Signature cymbals) who couldn't swing if you hung them in the wind.
Ok, that's me & Neil Peart off the Chrismas list then, lol. I can rock & funk, but I sure as hell can't swing. (but I only have 10 cymbals including effect cymbals, & I use them all. Does that get me some dispensation?)
 
i don't like the prevailing attitude that drums aren't a personal musical instrument/tool of the musician...not in the same way a guitar is to a guitarist or a keyboard is to a keyboard player.
you know the people coming up to ask if they can bang on your kit after a gig. or how you should let other drummers on the same bill play your kit, to speed up transitions between bands. wtf? how come no one is asking the guitar player to play the flying v after the show? or all the bands using that same flying v that night (to speed up transitions!), doesn't even get thought of! but when it comes to the drums?
this pet peeve isn't really limited to other drummers, but everyone in general, even own band members.

but i suppose everyone's using the same piano on a bill, but that's usually the house's and not the pianist's personal instrument!
 
Drum solos. I haven't seen one yet that didn't bore me to tears, and that's coming from a drummer, who loves the drums. Imagine how your average audience feels.
 
Live and let live were repealed by an Act of Congress, March 2, 2002.

Secretly, the Declaration of Independence was deballed as well, as well as important parts of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Right on the money, Larry.
We lost all of our rights with the "Patriot Act".
 
I agree with chathamight on some points.

As a full time player I instituted a new policy that no one plays my stuff (unless it's a pro colleague I know very well or if it's a deal breaker for a gig that pays a lot of money.....)

Gear is just too expensive and it’s my livelihood. If someone puts a dent in one of your heads or breaks a pair of sticks that's like $10 to $30 out the window and when some of these gigs only pay $100 that's really annoying. I can hit the drums pretty hard when it's on the appropriate gig but I have good technique so there's never a dent on my heads even after years of playing on the same heads. I had a guy come up and play my kit at a jam (I was playing in the hired house band) and within 3 songs there were dents in every single snare and tom and he broke one of my sticks. I think he even dented my 16" bass drum head. He didn't even bother to tell me. I had to walk up to him afterwards and ask him if we was going to tell me that he broke my stick.

One time the head caterer/chef at a wedding I was playing at wanted to play the drums and the bride was asking me if it was okay. With the client asking me (who also happended to be the bride) what could I say............ He played with the band for a couple of tunes or so in a pretty unmusical way and did the most obnoxious drum solo. He was playing so hard that my kit (which was on a carpet by the way) was moving all over the place. I had to put it back together afterwards. Of course everyone (including the band I think) seemed to think he was great. Not because of his musicallity, skill, technique or respect for the music but simply because of all the superficial aggression and effort he was putting into it and the fact that he was using the music as a vehicle to make a spectical of himself and show off how amazing he was. I wonder how they would feel if I treated their catering supplies with the same level of respect. I'm not sure why some people seem to think that it's okay to disrespect someone elses property in certain situations.

Anyways, I think that was last time I let anyone play my kit other then a pro colleague etc.. haha.
 
Stick tricks and twirling?Well if was good enough for Dino Danelli,Carmine Appice,Lionel Hampton,Johny Barbata,Papa Jo Jones,John Bonham,Dave Tough,Gene Krupa Roy Hanes,and Buddy Rich just to name a few great drummers who put a little show on,Its good enough for me..and yes I twirl once in a while.When the SHOW becomes the focus of your playing...better start practising.

Steve B
 
Every now and then I'll get the middle/high school kid: "Wow dude, you're crazy! What's the fastest song you can play?" I don't even know how to answer that.

It also annoys me when a drummer I've just met at a gig assumes they know more about drums than I do and starts telling me what to do when I'm working on something (especially if it's a backlined kit we're both sharing). Friendliness and politeness work so much better...

And regarding the drummers with bad, beat up gear, cracked cymbals, etc., don't be too hard on them if they're decent players. Not too long ago I was in that spot -- on the road nearly full time with little money and quickly degrading gear. It's a viscous cycle to be in if you don't have a steady job or aren't getting paid anything (needless to say I'm no longer a member of that group), not to mention embarrassing for the drummer if they know their gear is below their playing level. So don't hate too much, I'm sure if the drummer is halfway decent they know they need to get better gear.
 
Wow. This is a hard one, because it's really in our DNA as drummers to be the most annoying people on Earth. Still, I must...

Little drum solos in between songs on the gig.

I would rather listen to a recitation of the Chicago phone book, or see a brief re-enactment of a "Magic Bullet" infomercial. Nobody cares. Lay off the energy drinks if you're that fidgety.

Remember, this is coming from a guy who LIKES drums.
 
What annoys me is when drummers give drummers a bad name. Being insensitive to singers, soloists, and generally showing everyone how unthinking they can be while onstage pees me off. Playing drums...there's a huge social aspect of it that needs to be recognized. If you are stepping all over someone who is trying to sing, or playing so loud without regard for anyone else...that reflects badly on drummers. Conversely, in the right hands, a good drummer can elevate the show to amazing heights and really touch people in a positive way.

There's a few basic rules I try and follow that served me well.
Never be the loudest guy onstage. Listen listen listen. Eyes wide open. Always look at the soloist or singer you're supporting for visual cues as to where their solo is headed. I get many compliments from guitarists in the audience about how they appreciate the fact that I am transfixed on the soloist.

Drums are a supportive instrument, which means it aint about the drums, it's about everyone else first. You really have to know your role in an ensemble situation.

When I was first starting out, and the soloist would be soloing, I used to think, this is the part where I can play whatever I feel. So, so wrong. I didn't yet know how to be supportive. I didn't even know I was supposed to be supportive! I wasn't thinking at all about what the soloist needed me to play during their solo. You have to be musically very giving, to be a drummer that others will want to hire over and over again.
 
Back
Top