Look at me or Listen to me drummer?

[leedybdp]

This would be an interesting question to pose. Are you more of a "look at me" drummer or a "listen to me" drummer? I like odd ball wraps on my drums just as much as I like the old standby wraps and Duco paint jobs. But, I think that I'm much more of a drummer who wants to be heard as part of the ensemble rather than the flashy drummer who wants to draw a lot of attention to himself. I was always much more comfortable set up behind the guitar and bass players than up front with them. I especially was not in a comfort zone up on a drum riser.

[caddywumpus]

Definitely more of a “listen to me” drummer. There was a thread on another forum that asked how many drummers buy lights to light up their part of the stage. A surprisingly high number did. I had never even considered it.

[kdg]

"Listen to me" drummer. It's what the whole enchilata is about for me.
Although, in my experience, most of the unwashed masses listen with their eyes.

[Marty Black]

I'm with Leedybdp and the rest of you guys. I don't feel like I need the attention. I'm just there to have fun and (hopefully) be regarded as a good drummer. No glitter or flash, no lights, no twirling sticks, no bombast whatsoever. Not even any drum solos. I'm happy with the guitarists standing in front of me - on the floor, definitely not on a riser.

Enjoy! mb

[leedybdp]

I mentioned that drum risers were not in my comfort zone. In 1965, we opened for The Association. Playing on the rickety drum riser erected for this concert was not very pleasant to experience.

[DrumBob]

I want to be heard and seen, because putting on a show, even a mildly flashy one, is just something I have always done. I started twirling in high school and still do it at least a few times on every gig. Drummers who sit behind their sets looking inert, or act holier-then-thou are usually incapable of being showy, so they put it down. People listen with their eyes. If you're inclined to show off little, there's no harm in that.

[leedybdp]

Bob;

I learned some "tricks" that make very simply played chops seem flashy or much more difficult than they really are. In the 60s, our band worked a lot with the top radio DJs in Chicago because we were a damn good cover band and also incorporated a lot of humor in our performances. One of my best friends to this day was the lead guitarist/lead in our very successful band. He tells me all the time that, after I left the band, no other drummer was able to duplicate a few very specific fills I played in songs by The Rascals and Rolling Stones. Truth be told...my left-handedness on a righty drum set allowed me to reverse certain common fills so that they sounded very complex. Think of that transitional passage on "Good Lovin" when the sings "Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah..all I need is Good Lovin". Paradiddles with the left hand on the bell of the ride cymbal and right hand on the snare drum, and then reversed . I also copied the syncopated feel to leaving spaces in my fills a la Charlie Watts and Hal Blaine rather than playing a lot of notes in those spaces.

[leedybdp]

Originally Posted by Marty Black

I'm with Leedybdp and the rest of you guys. I don't feel like I need the attention. I'm just there to have fun and (hopefully) be regarded as a good drummer. No glitter or flash, no lights, no twirling sticks, no bombast whatsoever. Not even any drum solos. I'm happy with the guitarists standing in front of me - on the floor, definitely not on a riser.

Enjoy! mb

Marty...I can't get the messaging feature to work for me. You asked about working with The Association. We opened for them at a concert in the field house of a big Chicago suburban high school. The band members from The Association were all very friendly and fun to hang with. Here's a picture of our band, The Kritters, with The Association. I'm the guy who is fourth from the right with the largest forehead of any of us. A couple years after this gig, I was almost completely bald on top. What's that saying about he who laughs last? I have dealt with baldness and kidding about it from fellow band members since I was about 20 years of age. My two best friends--band mates from back then--now have very little hair. Neither of them had an easy time dealing with it.

[Marty Black]

Thanks much, Leedy! That's a great pic! You are next to Ted Bluechel, a drummer with superb taste in my opinion. Just the right amount of notes played. A really classy player!

I've read that Hal Blaine did most, if not all of their recordings, but I saw the Association live three times, and was very impressed with Ted's playing. Listen to his superb rolls on one of the best (unknown) anti-war songs ever done. "Requiem for the Masses."

As far as thinning/loss of hair on top, always remind others that it's a solar panel for a sex machine!

Regards, mb

[pgm554]

Originally Posted by leedybdp

Marty...I can't get the messaging feature to work for me. You asked about working with The Association. We opened for them at a concert in the field house of a big Chicago suburban high school. The band members from The Association were all very friendly and fun to hang with. Here's a picture of our band, The Kritters, with The Association. I'm the guy who is fourth from the right with the largest forehead of any of us. A couple years after this gig, I was almost completely bald on top. What's that saying about he who laughs last? I have dealt with baldness and kidding about it from fellow band members since I was about 20 years of age. My two best friends--band mates from back then--now have very little hair. Neither of them had an easy time dealing with it.

Had a brother in law that at 17 was pretty much losing his hair.
About 10 years ago after many years as a DJ ,he got a hair 'system".

If you never had it ,you don't miss it.

Look at Leif Garrett,Farrah Fawcett hair at 16 and a do rag at 20.