My cover band sounds better without a drummer?

[Rim]

My cover band just did a charity gig last night and since our drummer quit and we haven't found a replacement, we played without one. A few people commented that we actually sounded better than with a drummer! We play your typical rock stuff from 60's to present (though we focus on newer stuff), many of which is drum-driven. I've always felt our ex-drummer was very talented but one person said he wasn't "all that". Besides not having a drummer, I didn't use distortion so I didn't bring my amp. I used a Boss Acoustic Simulator pedal (very cool, BTW) to make my electric gtr sound like a modern acoustic gtr straight into the PA. The bass player brought his small Crate (I think) bass amp and plugged the direct out to the PA, too. We've done a charity gig with a drummer last year in the same bar - same PA, mics, etc. I'm still trying to figure out why some people would say we sounded better without drums? I started wondering maybe people didn't like my distorted gtr sound either? Dunno. I mean we played stuff like "I'm Just a Girl" (No Doubt), "All the Small Things" (Eve6), "Welcome to Paradise" (Green Day) which I figure are very drum dependent. We did rehearse our set list with our "unplugged" setup and we were pleasantly surprised that most of the songs we do sounded passable to perform publicly. But better than with a drummer? :confused: Anyone else run into this or have any explanation/insight? Thanks, Rim

[Gus Lozada]

I don't know if all that people were musicians... ... maybe what they really noticed is that it sounded "different" in a nice way (not being really capable of telling the difference among your different guitar sounds, for example), so they did think you did not really needed the drummer. ... or maybe your drummer just sucks and none missed him :D

[Botch.]

[quote]Originally posted by Rim: [b]We did rehearse our set list with our "unplugged" setup and we were pleasantly surprised that most of the songs we do sounded passable to perform publicly. But better than with a drummer? :confused: Anyone else run into this or have any explanation/insight? Thanks, Rim[/b][/quote]It may just be the "unplugged" phenomenon. In fact, it might be fun to have an "unplugged" portion in your live show, four or five songs, send the drummer out to the van for a doobie and see how it goes over. But play ALL night without a drummer? Nyet!

[Gtoledo3]

I think that a lot of people like that- especially when the band isn't the "focus" of the night. By the way, I was really amazed at the BeeGee's story tellers (semi-acoustic/no drums) for that same reason. So many of their songs were drum based- esp. the disco stuff, but it never sounded empty.

[Lee Flier]

That's bullshit. People just want musical wallpaper. Drums apparently just intrude on their safe little bubble. Fuck 'em. Or maybe the antichrist was working in your audience that night. :D

[Gtoledo3]

[quote]Originally posted by Lee Flier: [b]That's bullshit. People just want musical wallpaper. Drums apparently just intrude on their safe little bubble. Fuck 'em. Or maybe the antichrist was working in your audience that night. :D [/b][/quote]Lee's back. :p

[Rim]

Yeah, I'd agree if people just wanted background music, but most of the people (unfortunately, not many showed up - maybe 50?) were hanging near the stage and it seemed we had their attention. Some folks even came up front and danced to some of the songs, believe it or not. I mean dancing without drums? OK, we did have a tambourine just to have added rhythmic element, but still. Maybe the bartenders were mixing the drinks extra strong last night! :p Our band's built up a small following of really cool people - you know - not really friends per se because you don't really hang out with them and the only times you see them is during one of your shows. They make it totally worthwhile and I love playing for them. We are always well-received by them. It probably doesn't hurt that we are also very willing to play with no pay for charity which have been our gigs recently. :) And yes, welcome back, Lee! :thu: I figured this might get your attention. :D

[Jotown]

That's wierd. I have the opposite problem. My drummer sounds better without a cover band. :p

[Rim]

[quote]Originally posted by Botch.: [b]In fact, it might be fun to have an "unplugged" portion in your live show, four or five songs, send the drummer out to the van for a doobie and see how it goes over. But play ALL night without a drummer? Nyet! [/b][/quote]Interesting idea, Botch, of adding some "unplugged" stuff and I agree - I still want a drummer. Hahaha - what if the drummer doesn't come back from a doobie break? :D

[Super 8]

I find this REALLY interesting. You mentioned that not having a drummer allowed you to play your guitar differently. I think you and your audience experienced the music from a scaled down perspective, and heard things 'differently'. It's actually REALLY good to do this from time to time. It's like the 'More Me in the monitor syndrome'; where everything starts out good, but then over time everyone gradually turns themselves up in the mix, and you later find that you can turn your mains off and barely hear a difference in the sound! Meanwhile your FOH is sounding muddy and too damn loud. It's important to scale EVERYTHING back from time to time and start to LISTEN to how it all sounds with fresh ears. Last night, I played a set which I normally would do with a regular drumset type O' thang -but I did the whole thing with a shaker, cabasa, djembe, and a microphone. People just LOVED IT! It was DIFFERENT. It altered the way the guitarist played the material, to some degree. People really got into the 'feel' of what was going on. I would not want to do that on a regular basis, but it was fun to do on occasion. It adds new dimensions to the music, and gives people something different from what they've come to expect. I think it's great that you guys played without a drummer, and that it came off so well. I wouldn't take that as a sign that you shouldn't seek a new drummer, but I DO think that you should use this time to explore your sound and take advantage of the new possibilities that this opens up. This way, when you audition new drummers you can fine someone who really sits in well with what the rest of you are doing rather than just filling the shoes of the old drummer. By grateful! You have a new sound! I've know bands that have been playing the same tired sets for more than twenty years, and would'nt know what to do with a new sound if it bit 'em in the ass!

[Lee Flier]

Yeah, I agree with Super 8 that it's good to strip down your sound and really listen to each other. Even if you just do that at practice sometimes. We do some gigs at coffeehouses and places where a full drum kit wouldn't be possible. Our drummer just uses a kick, snare and cymbal, I play through a smaller amp, and our bass player switches off between bass and acoustic guitar. It's definitely a different sound and we focus a lot on the singing. Since our drummer sings he has a lot of fun doing that, it's kind of a shift in focus. But there are still drums. :D And it's nice to have a drummer who is able to play at low volume like that and still have it sound driving and interesting. There are definitely a lot of "basher" type drummers who couldn't pull that off. So maybe that was a sign that you should look for a drummer who has great dynamics and the ability to be subtle as well as rock out.

[Rim]

Good points, Super8. And you know, I did end up playing guitar differently, especially on the solos. Much of my soloing are single note lines but in the unplugged setting, the overall sound just dropped too much. I ended up doing a lot of diads and triads and lots of ringing open notes on solos to keep it sounding full. Lee, I really feel our last drummer had the subtle touch. I've definitely had other drummers who couldn't play anything but loud. I actually had a friend over during our practice who was in a band (they almost made it big :cry: ) and he was impressed we could practice without being loud. Heck, I never wore ear plugs at our shows or practices because we just don't crank it to 11. Yes, we definitely want to find another drummer but it's nice to know we can still play out without one if needed. Actually, someone at the show who we played a charity gig for last year (with drummer) asked us to play the charity gig again this March or April. I told her that most likely, we still we wouldn't have a drummer by then but she said we sounded good as is.

[Dave Pierce]

Well, a lot of good ideas were tossed around here. But before I read any of them, I had this thought: "Sounds like you played with a lower stage volume, and people liked it". It's also possible that I'm completely full of crap. :D :rolleyes: --Dave

[Rim]

That's always possible, Dave. :) Actually, I don't know if that is the case with the two gigs we played at the same bar. The first time around, with a drummer, there were people in the back of the bar complaining that they couldn't hear us well. The bar's PA might be underpowered - or we don't know what we're doing because if we turned up louder, we'd got feedback. The second time around, we were still having problems with feedback so I don't think we were that loud either. But because there were less people last night, the folks in the back were able to hear us. Maybe the drummer really didn't gel with us. Either that, now that I think about it, or the drummer's girlfriend who was doing our sound was not doing a good job. She went to school as a sound major (or whatever) and wanted to be an audio engineer and used to do it in her spare time. She did confess that she hadn't done it in a while. I guess I was a bit skeptical myself when I was showing her what the buttons did on the mixer. I know it may have been a while since she did it, but she's in her mid-20's so it couldn't have been that long. Hmmm...

[Jode]

Maybe it's not that you sound better without a drummer, but you sound better without YOUR drummer.

[Master Zap]

ALL bans sound better without a drummer. Judging from the mixfest done here thats more true than ever. To quote the illustrious Agent Smith: "Never send a man to do a machines job". :) (with tounge firmly planted in butt-cheek) /Z

[Bunny Knutson]

[quote]Originally posted by Master Zap: [b]ALL bans sound better without a drummer. Judging from the mixfest done here thats more true than ever. [/b][/quote]Ouch. ;)

[Jedi]

Hey Rim, Is your former drummer really loud? If so, that's why he wasn't missed.

[Gtoledo3]

[quote]Originally posted by Master Zap: [b]ALL bans sound better without a drummer. Judging from the mixfest done here thats more true than ever. To quote the illustrious Agent Smith: "Never send a man to do a machines job". :) (with tounge firmly planted in butt-cheek) /Z[/b][/quote];) :)