Downloads * Drummers Trivia * Drummers Chat Rooms * Rudiments *
Digital Music * Knowledge Assessments * TD Archives * Drum Set Buyers Guide *
Bass-Player Jokes * Assembling a Drum Set * Parts of a Drum Set * About HSID * Video Troubleshooter

Bill Powelson's School of Drums

 Back to the Tempo Dispatch Archives  

ISSUE #25 \__\__\___THE____/__/__/  Jan 5, 1999
_____________TEMPO DISPATCH _____________
Newsletter For Drummers and Drumming Enthusiasts

    Copyright Bill Powelson 1999 all rights reserved.

_____________________________________________

TABLE OF CONTENTS:  What is in this issue?
Contents:
      1. Feature Article: 
                       First Night On A New Gig!
                           (Calming the jitters!)
      2. Humor: (MORE . . . Dumb Bass Player jokes.)

______________________________________
|__________FEATURE ARTICLE___________|

                First Night On A New Gig!
                    (Calming the jitters!)

SCENARIO . . .

      It's 7:30 pm, the phone rings . . . It's your buddy
Fred the bass player . . .  and there's a problem.  His band is
playing tonight at the joint down the street from your house . . .
The old drummmer ran off with the guitar-players wife and they
desparately need your help!  Will you play?  It pays $125.00
and the gig is a little over 4 hours!
     Sure you'll play!  Who wouldn't help their buddies out and
make money too.  You've been waiting months for a chance
like this!

      Now what?  Can you cut it?  This gig is up for grabs
permanantly!  Can you snag it with all the grace of a true pro?

      Sure you can!  Just keep your cool and . . .

FOLLOW THESE TIPS . . .

      #1.    Hope that someone in the band knows a little about
beat structures.  I always try to train my bass player for a
few minutes before the gig starts . . . especially if we have
never worked together before . . .

       Make sure he (or someone in the group) knows what
16th rock, Blues, 8th rock and shuffle beats sound like.  Try
to make sure you are communicating using the same terminology.
That way . . . as the band kicks off a song you have never heard,
maybe you can get a clue as to the structure . . . before the song starts.

      #2.  If you can get a tape of some of their more complex tunes
and listen/play them before the gig . . . it will help a lot.

      #3.  Relax . . . :>)    As you crawl on stage . . . keep these points
in mind . . .

      *  Know in your heart that there isn't any way on earth that you
can get every lick in every song exactly right . . . I wouldn't be able
to do it either!  No drummer could . . . unless he had worked with them
before . . . 

      We are not mind readers!  We are only human!

      *  Listen intently to everything that is happening on stage.
When the band notices you doing that . . . it rings up BIG
points.    DON'T TRY TO LEAD THE BAND!  Follow as best
you can . . . Listen to the bass player and stick like glue . . . he is
your seeing-eye-dog!  I rag bass players a lot . . . but in reality,
my best friends are all bass players!  It's a 'team' thing that goes
down between the bass player and the drummer!  If you can get that to
happen . . . magic will follow!

       Every band is looking for personality traits that they can live with
over the long term.  Happy, compliant, humble, easy, flexible . . . If you
walk away leaving those impressions behind . . . your phone will
probably begin to ring off the hook . . . even if you don't snag this gig
permanently!! 
       And . . . stop flirting with the lead-singers girlfried . . . you'll wind up
on the run just like the last drummer, haha!

       *  THIS POINT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE FIRST: 

       Tempo . . . tempo . . . tempo! 

      No matter what happens in the music . . . hold that tempo SOLID!
Let them play the fancy stuff . . . hold the tempo 'in-check' at all times!
Blend with the bass guitar!  If only you do that . . . the gig will be yours!



NOTE:  Bass players usually have the most clout as to which
drummer gets the gig!  Play up to the bass player . . . let him/her
know that you will endeavor to 'click' with their creative ideas!  This
may make you more BIG points than you can imagine!
 
       Most pro musicians will realize that no-one in the World can replace
their old drummer on the first night.  It takes time!  A drummer must grow
with a band!  All PRO players know this and allow for it . . . some amateurs
haven't learned it yet . . .  Don't let the snide remarks of an amatuer
bring you down . . .  
    
       REMEMBER THIS TOO . . .

       Some amateur groups are the absolute hardest to work with . . .
If THEY don't know what they are doing, their next tactic is usually
to try and blame the drummer (or new guy) for everything that
goes wrong.  A good group of pro musicians will carry you through
with flying colors . . . even if you screw-up everything, BIG-TIME! 
Amateurs will tend to blame you for every mistake that they themselves
make.  It is a fact!  Take it from an old-timer! 

       The easiest gigs to play 'unrehearsed' are the gigs with solid
BIG time professional bands!  I've played both types and know this
as a fact! 
       The hardest gigs are when we sit-in with bands who expect
the drummer to pull them out of their own quagmires & mistakes . . . 
These are the amateurs!  If that happens . . . shoulder the blame with
inner-strength and knowledge . . . take solace in the wisdom that
you are dealing with dummies and green-horns . . . then shrug off

any feelings of failure! 
       When a band sounds bad . . . it is usually the fault of the
WHOLE band.  When a band sounds good . . . the 'STAR' takes all
the credit, haha  (So, maybe it's ok to flirt with his girl-friend for
revenge!)

STAGE FRIGHT:
      You will get over it!  Usually if you focus and concentrate on the
music itself . . . the shakes will dissipate after the first 2 or 3 songs.
As the night wears on . . . you will completely forget the crowd is
there.  By the time the last set rolls around, you'll probably
be wearing a monkey-mask and doing hand-stands on your
floor tom.  Attention and adulation are totally addictive, even to the
shyest of the shy!   You'll learn to love the crowds and the lights
once you relax a little. 

IF YOU ARE REALLY SPOOKED, AND . . .
       If the band uses spot-lights, you might ask if your 'spot' could
be aimed at someone else.  Tell them you play better when treated
like a mushroom. (ie; "Keep me in the dark and feed me B.S.".)  Haha,
This always gets a laugh and usually they will cut us some slack.
Most often there will be someone in the band who craves the extra
the light anyway!  Often . . . they will jump at the chance to take yours!
For now . . . encourage that!  The lights can burn you to the soul
when you are already nervous . . .

     Try to make eye contact with the crowd . . . and smile a lot!  99%
of the time, they will never know how bad you are playing!  Crowds
are visual!  They only pickup on what we show . . .   If we show
confidence and control . . . they'll usually chalk us up as ok. 
As the old saying goes . . . 'Never let them see you sweat"!

      Now go kick some butt!  :>)
______________________________________
|_________THOUGHTS & GRINS__________|
MORE . . . Dumb Bass Player Jokes . . .

Q:  What do you call a bass player with half a brain?
A:   Gifted.

Q:  Why do bands need Roadies?
A:  To translate what the bass player says.

Q. Why are bass players buried 12 feet underground?
A. Deep down, they're good.

If you laid all of the bass players in the world, end to end,
on the equator -- It would be a good idea to just leave them there.
______________________________________


Your drumming questions are always welcome at
E-MAIL:  drums01@worldnet.att.net

 What you don't know is a killer.  Take a minute to actually SEE your
future.    Reach DRUMMING GURU STATIS in under 2hours, here.


I LOVE E-MAIL!!!!

END OF TEMPO DISPATCH #25  Jan 5, 1999







 





Copyright Bill Powelson 1994 all rights reserved.