My Drummer dilema.....need advice

[puppyonacid]

So, I'm in a new band that i started with a friend who plays bass and a drummer I met. We've been rehersing for around 10 months. The drummer i met we really get on with. And we are totally into the same stuff and on the same wavelength.
We've done a few jam nights to cut our teeth and the response has been wild.

The way I see it, as a guitar player, if you're in a band you're quite lucky. If that band does satisfying stuff that you love to play you're even more lucky. If that same band then gets offers of paid gigs, doing the stuff you love to do then you're very lucky. There are so many guitar players out there that even the good ones will do anything just to get out and play. Where as, a good drummer can be a bit more choosy. Just my opinion.

So, we do Dream Theater stuff, Extreme stuff. We do Damage Control by JP and the response has been amazing. We've started writing and the stuff we're doing doesn't sound half bad. This guy offers us a paid gig. He has loads of contacts around Manchester and has even put bands on at the Academy. Dream Theater have played there. So this gig is on the 1st of October. And I'm seeing it as not just a paid gig, but as an oppurtunity. This guy loves us. He even wants to play keys with us and had said he'd consider quiting the 4 other bands he's in to come jam with us.

So, our first paid gig. I'm not the worlds worst guitar player. Our bassist is good and has good feel, good technique. And our drummer is brilliant.

So what's the problem? Our drummer (he is a busy guy) has turned around and said he can't do the gig (our first proper gig!). And why? Because he has a gig with a Tina Turner tribute band!!!??!!

What the hell do I do? It's hard enough finding good musicians on the same wavelength. But I really get the feeling that we'll be bottom of the pile behind his more lucrative gigs.

Help!!! I feel like I could cry. I might never get another oppurtunity like this and he just doesn't see that. Last thing I wanna do is sound like a nagging girlfriend to him. But I also don't want to be in a band where I'm always getting let down and pushed aside for the sake of something else. Id' rather just go hungry than have to chase a carrot if you know what I mean.

Whinge over!

 

[brentrocks]

And why? Because he has a gig with a Tina Turner tribute band!!!??!!

You are kidding, right?

That's a tuffy....he doesnt sound committed to me! If the chemistry is good, i guess i might give him another chance to make it up!?

 

[Jimi D]

ah, drummers... can't live with 'em, can't explode 'em...

I don't know what to tell you... You can start looking for another drummer, but it's a bitch finding a good one... you could luck into a multi-instrumentalist who's good enough to substitute on drums in a pinch when the main drummer won't or can't show and bring them into the band (don't laugh, this is what we've done in my current gig!)... or, you could take up the accordian... band politics is a bitch...

 

[puppyonacid]

..

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Get a dep in for the gig. Any musician who is good will play with lots of other bands, its just the way it works. All the bands I play with use deps from time to time. One of my bands is starting a new acoustic duo jam night in a few months and I cannot make the first 2 gigs due to alreday being booked. They are getting a dep in and then after I will carry on doing the rest of the gigs.

Unless you are all signed and doing it for a living people will blow gigs out on occasion if they get a better offer. Its just one of those things.

 

[Bungo]

Very old gag alert!

..or you could get a drum machine? The advantage over a real drummer? You only need to punch the information in once!!!

Seriously though, Tim's right, our drummer who is a right clever dick is all over the place all the time so we just roll with it.

It's worth it because he's the only one in the band who can work out all the harmony parts (Dr Bob, am I right?)

 

[dannymusic]

that's why the drum machine was invented.
Drummers are unstable.

 

[puppyonacid]

any musician who is good will play with lots of other band. Maybe, but i don't so I'm bad? I've known lots of muso's who brag about how many gigs they play but can't actually play for jack. And I've known the opposite. Getting someone to dep for a run of the mill covers band would be easy. I've done it and read charts. But do you think you could step and play the stuff we play at a moments notice?

I've never baought into that whole "if you're good you'll be doing something"

It's mroe about oppurtunity. And everything I have done I've had to grind out. Some people get it fall in their lap and other dnt. Just the way life is. But that is no reflection on my ability as a player.

 

[Warg Master]

Kick him in the nuts!

 

[Quarter]

That is a tough one.
Can you find someone to take his place with the TT Tribute gig?
A TT sit in should be easer to find than teaching a new guy your sets.
Would $$ sway his choice?

 

[Bungo]

any musician who is good will play with lots of other band. Maybe, but i don't so I'm bad?

Well that doesn't necessarily follow. It depends how much you put yourself about and how much you decide to take on. I think Tim meant that if you are good and you want to do lots then you will have more opportunities to do so. Good reliable drummers IMHO will usually have the most opportunities as they can by and large step into most gigs relatively easily.

BTW, I've only just thought, a Tina Turner tribute? Is there really a demand out there for that?

 

[Spudmurphy]

I went to see a local band in Cardiff on Saturday called the Navigators.
They have a guy who plays guitar and sings Zepplin / ac dc /eagles songs - he has a great voice.

He is also a fantastic bass player (and sings at the same time)
He is also a fantastic drummer (.............ditto.......................).

If only he lived in your neck of the woods- he would be perfect.

PS he has his own (big) van and PA too!!

 

[Lucidology]

[QUOTE Puppydogonacid=I've never bought into that whole "if you're good you'll be doing something"[/QUOTE

That's very true... I've meet many incredible players who never gig at all. Gigging full time doesn't mean you're the best musician around, but it does prove you're doing something right with your skills in order to get gigs. That is to say; if it's your job or your 9-5 way of earning a living, then you are following protocol.

Sounds like it's an investment for your drummer to take the Tina Turner Tribute band gig over your upcoming gig. You're genre is a specific one that will only gig on occasion (unless you make it big time of course...) This Tina Turner gig will most likely lead to many more gigs in the future for him. So it's important to put yourself in his shoes for a moment, because tribute bands are getting a lot of work these days... they do high-paying shows for corporate events and such. As well as being a big draw in certain clubs and extremely popular at Festivals & Fairs.

 

[Sub1 Zero]

i know your pain man. i once had a drummer who just flat out didn't practice, at all. the rest of us busted our asses to learn our parts and get the right balance and to make everything blend, and this guy just flat out couldn't give a rats @$$. he was one of those guys who when you explained something to him, he would stare blankly, nod his head, and say "ok got it". then low and behold he would make the exact same mistake, and you could tell he had absolutely no clue. even had to cancel a pretty sweet prom gig because of his lack of motivation. but, he sure loved to talk about how he was in a band... luckily, i found a jazz drummer who has a fullride college scholarship and is a music major. he is a VERY talented guy with an awesome work ethic, and hes an all around good, fun guy. i guess my advice is to scout out the schools around there

now, i hope you dont mind the fact that i am laughing right now.... Tina Turner tribute band?!

 

[SteveB]

See if you can reschedule the gig... it's far enough in the future..

about a week ago my band had to reschedule an Oct 7th gig. Now we're playing on the 21st.

 

[beej]

Bummer. Drummers ... sheesh!

Pretty important for everyone in the band to have clear expectations. We're actually trying out a few drummers right now (just had a whole bunch come by on Saturday to try out ... love being able to put them on the spot for a change!) and I'm being pretty upfront about expectations. We love writing and playing, but we've got day jobs so it's important that anyone joining won't get in the situation of having to pass on our gigs for the paying wedding gig, etc.

Ah nuts. Good luck!