adam!
Senior Member
I play in an instrumental surf band. Every so often, we’ll throw in a cover and a friend of the guitarist will join us for a song. We had a guy sing “Return of the Fly” by the Misfits a few shows back, and everything was fine. At our last show, the guitarist had the same guy join us. Only this time, he thought it a good idea to use my bass drum as his personal foot stand while singing (I play a Yamaha Oak Custom kit with a nice finish. I really take care of my gear, so this foot-prop thing is a real insult).
Anyway, after jumping in the crowd between verse and chorus (during an otherwise sloppy performance), he returns his foot to my bass drum. And even though I’m playing through this song, the only thing I can think is “get your damn foot off my drum!”. I manage to effectively convey these thoughts with an intense glare. Unfortunately, it is not effective enough as he never looks up from his stare-at-foot-while-singing pose. So, I’m sitting there, all four limbs going and my mind is entirely somewhere else wondering if I should just stop playing and tell him to get off, or keep going. At any rate, I played through the song, the guy quickly exited the stage to blend back in with the crowd, and I never see him again that night. He must have left before our set was over.
In another group I play with, the guitarist started a habit of propping his foot on my bass drum while soloing. This was all during practice, but I respectfully suggested he take his foot off with a questionable/disappointed expression and a nod to his foot, afterwards joking that I wouldn’t stand on his guitar during a drum fill.
So.. Have you guys ever experienced a singer or other musician using your bass drum as a prop for their foot? If so, how did you handle it? Would you stop a song to give them the message? I don’t mind confrontation, just interested in what others have experienced.
/rant
Btw, I did manage to find a thread on the logistics of allowing a singer to stand on and/or jump off the bass drum. However, I am not requesting any of those things to happen to my poor drum...
Anyway, after jumping in the crowd between verse and chorus (during an otherwise sloppy performance), he returns his foot to my bass drum. And even though I’m playing through this song, the only thing I can think is “get your damn foot off my drum!”. I manage to effectively convey these thoughts with an intense glare. Unfortunately, it is not effective enough as he never looks up from his stare-at-foot-while-singing pose. So, I’m sitting there, all four limbs going and my mind is entirely somewhere else wondering if I should just stop playing and tell him to get off, or keep going. At any rate, I played through the song, the guy quickly exited the stage to blend back in with the crowd, and I never see him again that night. He must have left before our set was over.
In another group I play with, the guitarist started a habit of propping his foot on my bass drum while soloing. This was all during practice, but I respectfully suggested he take his foot off with a questionable/disappointed expression and a nod to his foot, afterwards joking that I wouldn’t stand on his guitar during a drum fill.
So.. Have you guys ever experienced a singer or other musician using your bass drum as a prop for their foot? If so, how did you handle it? Would you stop a song to give them the message? I don’t mind confrontation, just interested in what others have experienced.
/rant
Btw, I did manage to find a thread on the logistics of allowing a singer to stand on and/or jump off the bass drum. However, I am not requesting any of those things to happen to my poor drum...