Hey guys, i'm a bassist (soon switching to rhythm guitar) and lead singer for a rock/punk band. Our current drummer is exceptionally talented, but he is very defensive and difficult when it comes to music as a whole. He crafts massive parts for himself, to the point of totally overshadowing the other instruments. He says he does this because we sound empty as a 3 piece, which is why we are searching for a new bassist/backup singer.

Me and Mike, the guitar player, have attmepted to tell him to try and tone down and not be afraid of being a little bit simple, but he becomes very defensive and automatically assumes we hate everything about his playing, which is not at all the case. Our producer says the source of this is that he placed second in a state drum competition prior to joining the band, and now feels his music has to reflect that he is actually the second-best drummer in Ohio.

That was a lotta typing, now, can anyone give me some advice with this?

Thanks,

LANE

The vote is 2 to 1.

Defensive musician syndrome is usually incurable. You will probably need to either deal with it, or switch drummers, thereby confirming that no one likes his playing