Cover Band Drummists - How accurate are you?

yakbutter

Senior Member
If you play in a cover or tribute band, how much effort do you put into playing accurate parts?

Do you diligently transcribe everything and play it note for note down to ghost notes?

Do you shoot for the general vibe of the song, play the main groove and important fills, and forget about the throw away licks?

Or are you the Eric Cartman of drums and do what you want?

For me, I fall mostly into the second category. The exceptions depend on how important the drums are to the song and how much I respect the original drummer. Don't Stop Believing and My Sharona are category 1 songs for me. Anything like Sweet Home Alabama or Talk Dirty to Me gets the Cartman treatment.
 
I'm a hack.

All I do is get the bass drum proper. Easy signature fills get played properly. Difficult ones come close enough (for me)

I realized a while back that I naturally tend to kick everything 1,2 & 5,6 and had to force myself to play 1 3 5 7 when necessary...which is a lot.
 
I listen to the song, write out anything that would be deemed "signature" (like the big tom fill in "I can feel it in the air tonight" by Phil Collins), write out the tempo and try and get the tune internalized before the gig. For me and learning a new tune, writing out a chart is essential. I've come to rely on it, even though mine look like hieroglyphs to most people. I do use standard notation though.

If you listen to the "hitch" in the vocal line that's the secret spot to attach yourself to a song.
 
We do some covers that i straight up don't like, so for those i just make up my own part so i don't have to sit around and listen to crappy songs i don't like to learn the drum part.
Oddly enough when i have gone back and listened to the original versions of some of the covers i don't like my drum parts are usually pretty close to what's on the original. Keepin' time baby.....
 
Every song is played like a samba.

Lets see.........

Yeah that would work great for Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
Or maybe Barracuda by Heart.

And just play it faster for some heavy metal stuff...................

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Lets see.........

Yeah that would work great for Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song.
Or maybe Barracuda by Heart.

And just play it faster for some heavy metal stuff...................

.

Heck yeah it works! Have you ever heard the Bernard Purdie half-time shuffle samba? That keeps folks on the dance floor for HOURS ;)
 
Unless I get paid a bunch of money to put in the time to learn, I just play what I want. I mean, I wouldn't (necessarily) play a disco beat on Moondance, but I'd just play around and make sure I hit enough 2&4s to not get thrown off the gig.

Last time I tried to play a part that sounded like the original, the guitar player turned around and said 'whatsa matter Mr. Professional Great Bermuda, ya can't think up a better drum part on your own??' How embarrassing for me. :(

Then again, if you check the existing threads on this topic, you might find I had a different perspective at the time.

Bermuda
 
Unless I get paid a bunch of money to put in the time to learn, I just play what I want. I mean, I wouldn't (necessarily) play a disco beat on Moondance, but I'd just play around and make sure I hit enough 2&4s to not get thrown off the gig.

Last time I tried to play a part that sounded like the original, the guitar player turned around and said 'whatsa matter Mr. Professional Great Bermuda, ya can't think up a better drum part on your own??' How embarrassing for me. :(

Then again, if you check the existing threads on this topic, you might find I had a different perspective at the time.

Bermuda

I did check out those threads. I'm glad someone does the cartman method. When I start playing in a band again, I'll likely do the same more often than I used to.
 
Unless I get paid a bunch of money to put in the time to learn, I just play what I want. I mean, I wouldn't (necessarily) play a disco beat on Moondance, but I'd just play around and make sure I hit enough 2&4s to not get thrown off the gig.

Last time I tried to play a part that sounded like the original, the guitar player turned around and said 'whatsa matter Mr. Professional Great Bermuda, ya can't think up a better drum part on your own??' How embarrassing for me. :(

Then again, if you check the existing threads on this topic, you might find I had a different perspective at the time.

Bermuda

What about for the Weird Al stuff? How do you approach not just the correct part but the correct sound as well? Or is that why you have an arsenal of snares and cymbals?

I have always been impressed at how accurate your parts are to the parody tunes. Many times, I've had one confused for the original until the vocals come in.
 
Clearly, the entirely facetious tone of my post was lost on some of you.

Yakbutter, I recommend a search for the many threads on this topic, and my responses regarding the importance of doing the original parts in most cases. I don't have anything new to add here.

Bermuda
 
Like Billy Ray mentioned I also keep the more recognizable fills and breaks but pull a Cartman most of the time. Sometimes I dislike the original part or sound so it gets changed.

/screw you guys...imma goin home
 
I'm in a 60s Stax covers band right now, and I try to get close, but don't worry if I can't do everything. But I do go by the "Bugs Bunny's ears" theory someone came out with on another thread. IE, if you're gonna draw a picture of Bugs Bunny you've gotta get the ears right but the rest can be there or thereabouts.
 
Clearly, the entirely facetious tone of my post was lost on some of you.

Yakbutter, I recommend a search for the many threads on this topic, and my responses regarding the importance of doing the original parts in most cases. I don't have anything new to add here.

Bermuda

Not lost, responded in kind :)
 
Depends on the level of familiarity I expect the audience to have for the drum part. Rock and Roll by Zep: I am striving to play it as near note for note as I can. If the song has a tom groove I certainly will play a tom groove and again close to the original. But take a song like Sweet Home Chicago and there is a lot of room to put some of my style into it.

I chart the song structure paying close attention to breaks.
Then I try to emulate or copy the groove.
Then signature grooves
and finally continue to play closer and closer to the original again depending on how iconic the drum part is.
 
Unless I get paid a bunch of money to put in the time to learn, I just play what I want. I mean, I wouldn't (necessarily) play a disco beat on Moondance, but I'd just play around and make sure I hit enough 2&4s to not get thrown off the gig.

Last time I tried to play a part that sounded like the original, the guitar player turned around and said 'whatsa matter Mr. Professional Great Bermuda, ya can't think up a better drum part on your own??' How embarrassing for me. :(
Bermuda
Obviously an impostor. Where is Bermuda & what have you done with him?
 
Hollywood Jim’s three rules for playing the drums:

Rule #1
If you do not provide written charts that show the exact drum part, I will play the drum part anyway I darn well please.

Rule #2
I will provide a solid 2 and 4 beat for the band members to follow and maintain an unyielding rhythm.

Rule #3
While providing the 2 and 4, the rest of the beats ie. quarter, eighth, sixteenth and thirty second notes are mine to do with as I please. This includes any fills at any point in the song.


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If you play in a cover or tribute band, how much effort do you put into playing accurate parts?

Apologies if this seems curt


Copy the vibe and feeling of the defining moments, but understand that you're a cover band. Your job is not to be a jukebox, it is to make people dance and buy drinks. This usually means overemphasizing the backbeat or accenting the kick on the one.

Accuracy is something that is typically left to tribute band drummers.
 
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