Record a few of your gigs.

Analyze them.

Tighten up any weak spots.

repeat

If you have a band "leader", then that's whose direction you follow.

NEVER listen to what a saxophone player says! lol! -j/k

Most people don't want to schedule any of their free time to rehearse these days -even though sometimes it's well-needed. If the "leader" is a good leader, then he should work out those logistics, in my opinion.

When you practice playing time, play along to CDs, etc. Learn the feel that different drummers apply to their bands and try to mimic them. If you're doing gigs, then take command of your facet of the music. Otherwise, some saxophonist is going to be all over you! ;)

The band leader might be asking you to play louder to solve some of the tempo issues that are happening across the band. Playing at the right volume behind the soloist is a fine tuning thing, but if the tempo isn't steady.. well, the foundation has to be laid first, and the band leader knows this. So everyone needs to follow the drums. Like an old band teacher of mine said (and I wasn't playing drums at the time) "the drummer gets to be right, even if he's wrong, he gets to be right." So everyone needs to play with you. Once the tempo issues start to resolve, then you can adjust your volume to best accompany the soloists/ensemble. And as always, lock in with the bass player.

As for the lack of practice time? No one gets better without more practice - that's a no brainer.

Always follow the band leaders direction. If you want to play louder without speeding up, snap your loose fingures down on stick just as you hit drum....it makes a loud staccato note! Anybody else has problems they should talk to the band leader too!

Thanks guys,... I appreciate that input.

Some things that were mentioned I had already assumed but wanted the input to see where I was in relation to those who have probably been playing for MUCH longer than I?

Again, and as always,.. a big Thank You!:D

[QUOTE=cn679;62451] And as always, lock in with the bass player.QUOTE]

Sometimes we have a tuba,..sometimes an upright bass,.. and more often than not a bass sax.

I heard the bass sax play off now and then, or hear him throw fill ins instead of playing tempo,... that's soemthing that's driving me nuts, especially when I'm being told, (and know) to lock in on the bass,... but when it happens I'm saying to myself, "maybe I should just disregard it all,...?"

I mean, its funny, when the tempo gets messed up, I find its right after I've noted a change in the bass's tempo, or the band leader starts to sing, (sometimes throwing the tempo off as the song is suddenly slowed by the singing, or sped up even on the other hand)....something changes up, I follow down that same path then find myself having to recover from something I should know better than to have followed in the first place....am I right in my thinking here with this??

Hell, I even start picking up on some other issues than my own after I know without a shadow of a doubt that my timing was spot on, after some one or two say the song was dragging or was getting pushed to hard?...the comments of "well, you're the drummer, its up to you,...?" I mean, come on,.. I'm not the guy on the strings or reeds,... its not always the drummer for God's sake.... you can hear it, but I find myself being the target regardless of my time, etc. Spot on or not...of course thi is not constant, but enough to make me post these questions on here!s HA!

So I've actually tried to play a little ahead of the beat as to not even get or give a chance for a lazy beat to crop up and content with....

QUOTE]

Sometimes we have a tuba,..sometimes an upright bass,.. and more often than not a bass sax.

I heard the bass sax play off now and then, or hear him throw fill ins instead of playing tempo,... that's soemthing that's driving me nuts, especially when I'm being told, (and know) to lock in on the bass,... but when it happens I'm saying to myself, "maybe I should just disregard it all,...?"

I mean, its funny, when the tempo gets messed up, I find its right after I've noted a change in the bass's tempo, or the band leader starts to sing, (sometimes throwing the tempo off as the song is suddenly slowed by the singing, or sped up even on the other hand)....something changes up, I follow down that same path then find myself having to recover from something I should know better than to have followed in the first place....am I right in my thinking here with this??

Hell, I even start picking up on some other issues than my own after I know without a shadow of a doubt that my timing was spot on, after some one or two say the song was dragging or was getting pushed to hard?...the comments of "well, you're the drummer, its up to you,...?" I mean, come on,.. I'm not the guy on the strings or reeds,... its not always the drummer for God's sake.... you can hear it, but I find myself being the target regardless of my time, etc. Spot on or not...of course this is not a constant issue (maybe one or two songs ina night?), but enough to make me post these questions on here! HA!

So I've actually tried to play a little ahead of the beat as to not even get or give a chance for a lazy beat to crop up and content with....

Hearing protection will help the sax flack. Basically, tell him to stick 'em in his ear.

Never play over the music. Your review of the filmed or audio source of your gigs will fix that.

Listen to the leader...period.

Never ever allow your time to vary in such a way that it disrupts the music. Stay focused on the groove. That's what you're there for.

I find that if I know the song and have it going in the back of my mind and listen to the band as a whole, actually immersing myself in the song and the sound of the band (myself included) then the song and the time hold together well.

What about trying a metronome or other timing device? Either with a recoding of the band and/or with the band live and also especially while you practice on your own. You can check the beats per minute for any particular song and practice playing at that tempo to develop a solid feel for the time of that particular song. Keep notes for playing live with the tempos. I think that there are also timing devices (don't know if there is a different name, I'll call them metronomes too) that emit a flashing light for the tempo so that you can see it while playing live. It will be hard for anyone to challenge your time if you've got that to back you up. You can adjust the dynamics on the fly if that is what the leader wants but the timing has to be correct and consistent each time and that lies with you. I had to work on not slowing the tempo when playing softly and not rushing when I'm really laying into it. If you're in the "pocket", the other musicians may fall right in because the song will just feel right. You sound like most of us drummers here, you obviously take a great deal of pride in your drumming. Even if the band doesn't want to practice together, that shouldn't stop you from practicing as much as you want. That will be reflected in your playing with the band too. As Emeril would say, "take it up another notch" brother and don't get frustrated. If the band sees that you are serious about your "pocket" and they feel the consistency, maybe they'll get a mental boost too and play better. Either way, it will help you knowing that you are in the pocket, right?