Facing adversity from behind the kit.

MrPockets

Gold Member
You just doing your thing on the drums when suddenly you hear the worst solo you have ever heard in your life/A band member falls off the stage/Singer forgets the lyrics/The audience starts to riot/You smell something horrible/Your drums are knocked over/People telling you drummer jokes/Drunk people distracting you/Bras being thrown at you/etc

We all might not have experienced these. But how do you prepare yourself to keep your cool under adverse situations where you can play through? (ie You should probably stop playing if someone is having a heart attack and help them, but lesser scenarios like if someone drops their instrument, you could keep playing).

Should you practice these situations during rehearsals?

I find that I have a really hard time not making facial expressions when I can tell a solo is starting to become a train wreck. I need to work on my stoic drumming face.
 
Just smile as much as you can. And nobody will know if you're loving it or laughing at it.
 
I just play on. SNAFU.

Have to admit that in a Dixieland band practice many moons ago I LOLed badly when the trombonist's slide fell out and clanged on the concrete floor.
 
Bass player's strap came undone causing him to drop his bass on my ride cymbal.

Needless to say entire band cracked up and the groove went very wobbly for about 4 bars while I tried to keep a straight face.

Just make sure everyone keeps playing and you can get through anything!
 
You just doing your thing on the drums when suddenly you hear the worst solo you have ever heard in your life/A band member falls off the stage/Singer forgets the lyrics/The audience starts to riot/You smell something horrible/Your drums are knocked over/People telling you drummer jokes/Drunk people distracting you/Bras being thrown at you/

Should you practice these situations during rehearsals?
You obviously have some fun rehearsals : )
 
I just keep playing. In fact if I hear a train wreck coming, I try to concentrate on keeping it not only steady, but I'll play the beat as simple as I can so the rest of the band can gather themselves as easily as possible.
 
The bra toss should definitely be rehearsed as frequently as you can.

Other than that hey if it ain't on fire, keep playing. Do like AZslim says, keep your band together with clear beats.
 
Last thursday I had a gig with a prog. rock band and the lead guitar just went POOF in the first song just as the crazy noodly leads were about to start. I just kept playing the rest of the song while looking over at the guitarrist to make sure everything was ok, there really isn't that much you can do.
 
Always wear a grumpy face so no one will notice the difference, check my avatar. Sorted.
 
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