...DRUMMER AVAILABLE for fill-ins.

[Chip Donaho]

That's been a normal part of my playing most of my musical life. I played in bands that hosted jams and played variety 5 nights a week as a house band. A couple of these bands knew 400 to 500 songs. It comes with experience. Playing anything and everything has given me the talent to step right in. Not perfect, but good enough to pull it off. Through the years I've filled in on the fly several times. A drummer gets sick, car breaks down, etc.....You paying money? I'll be going out the door as soon as the trucks loaded. Be there in an hour. Man I love it when that happens....Cold and new people is a blast.    ;D

[DoubleC]

I received a couple of call backs on some cold gigs.  I was told  it was because I was one of the few drummers that made eye contact with all the members of the band.  One of the bass players commented this made him feel secure that someone coming in cold cared enough to help make the band sound good.  

dc

[oxford]

so how do you guys handle those BIG stops like in, let's say, "Eye of the Tiger"? When you've never heard the song. Are there like forgiven train wrecks along the way?

[BigBillInBoston]

so how do you guys handle those BIG stops like in, let's say, "Eye of the Tiger"? When you've never heard the song. Are there like forgiven train wrecks along the way?

1) Anyone doing this should have heard "Eye of the Tiger" before  ;).

2) If this was a more obscure song with a BIG stop, the leader should tell the drummer before the song and also cue him when it comes. (Unless there are charts to read, then the drummer would know where the stops are).

3) Sometimes (not always) you can "hear" BIG stops coming by the building dynamics of the song or the chords leading up to them.

BigBill

[Mister Acrolite]

I echo what BigBill just said. For example, Eye of the Tiger. If you're a pro drummer who's likely to play a song like that, you should know those stops. That's part of having a "vocabulary." Some beats, licks, stops, etc. are part of a pro drummer's vocabulary. If you play classic rock, you should know the drum break in Born to Be Wild, and the cowbell intro to Honky Tonk Women. If you play blues you need to have some shuffles together, and be familiar with the sort of stops that are frequently thrown into blues tunes. If you play society clubdates, you need to know how to play with brushes, and be able to lay down a convincing cha-cha. It's all vocabulary.

Eye of the Tiger is a funny example. The reality is that for most songs, you can kind of plow through without inflicting too much damage on a song. But for "Eye" you'd really need to know the hits. So when a song with some unusual part like that becomes popular, it's smart for a pro drummer to take a moment to figure it out. So keep that radio on, and listen for unusual drum parts - things you wouldn't pick up instinctively. I actually never played Eye in a cover band, but I figured those hits out when the song first came out. Why? Because I though they were cool! I never dreamed that 20 years later I'd be playing that song with the singer from Survivor, but I did - glad I knew the stops!

Also, there's no harm in telling a bandleader you don't know a song. It's up to him to decide if he's confident enough in your abilities to take the risk of plunging into the tune. But again, if you play with eyes and ears wide open, you can probably follow the band through most songs.

[Steve Phelps (Shoeless)]

If it is a song with an unconventional part and the crowd expects it or its really popular, its not unheard of to have a "brief" tutorial before you start. While someone is talking to the crowd, someone else can sing or quietly play the part to you while stressing the feature they want you to get. Should take no more than 1-2 minutes (which could be an eternity between songs depending on the gig) but if you have an entertaining front man who can speak well the crowd probably won't even notice.

You might even blow that feature the first time around till you hear it in context once, but you can usually redeem yourself if it comes up again.

Which leads me to once again express my respect and appreciation for people who can effectively communicate to drummers. If you can offer intellegent, constructive suggestions in a language I can understand, I will bend over backwards to give you exactly what you ask for.

[Mister Acrolite]

Funny this topic came up - I've got a gig like this coming up tomorrow, playing with people I've never met, in a club I've never been to.

I'm helping out a drummer buddy of mine who needed a sub. It's a casual gig at a tiki bar, with a band that plays blues, r&b, and reggae.  Sounds like fun - put me in, coach!   8)

[LuvmyLeedy]

i've managed to do this kind of thing exactly twice. i'd do it again, without hesitation, as it's a great challenge and learning opportunity.

both times for me it was playing original material, that i didn't know. at least with the first band i had seen a previous gig a few months before. i volunteered to sit in at the 11th hour when i heard they were doing a gig but their current drummer was out of town with another band. i knew the principle members, and i really liked their tunes. they said "sure, come down and we'll get you playing on a few tunes" i came down with a 2 piece kit and ride and hats and ended up playing their whole set with them. the bass player and i quickly made friends and she would cue me for stops etc. fortunately most of the songs had rhythm guitar intros, so i could feel the groove before i had to come in. it was nerve-wracking but also a lot of fun. i ended up doing a bunch of gigs with that band for a while (with proper rehearsals).

the second time was when a band on the same bill as a regular band i play in was also missing their drummer due to him being on tour with someone else, and they asked me to sit in with them.

it's a fun challenge, that really makes you use your ears and keep your eyes open!

[vtdrums]

Hi All,

This is my ad.  Doing fill-ins doesn't require any skills that are superior to your typical gigging drummer.  Good meter and listening to what is going on in the music is most important.   Having a nice pro kit that is well tuned is also always appreciated.  I can't count the number of times I have played with a band and they comment on how good my kit sounds.  (Usually because their regular guy hardly ever tunes his kit. )  Over the years I played in over a dozen different bands playing pop and rock.  I have come to know hundreds of songs.  The arrangements stick in my head and I usually can recall them pretty well when I need to. ( Which is funny because I can never find my keys.)  I usually have at least a few days to a week before a fill-in gig so I will get the bands songlist up front and give some of the tunes a listen if they are not as familiar to me.  Then if neccessary I will spend an hour or two at my kit working out some parts and transitions if neccessary.  Most my fill-in gigs are classic rock or classic metal and that is the genre of music I grew up on.  In my experience playing in and watching these type of bands play I noticed that there are really only about 150 tunes that all these bands seem to have in common.   If you know these tunes then you can get a bit of work.  I have declined opportunities to play with other types of bands if their material is obscure to me.    A lot of fill in work is "seat of the pants" type stuff and I really enjoy it.  Certainly some mistakes are made, but hopefully nothing to noticable and there are usually just as many unexpected and really cool moments.   I usually don't charge too much because bands in my area playing this type of music don't get paid too well.  I mostly do it for the fun of playing with other accomplished players.  In case anyone is interested here is the link to my web-page.  It is pretty basic but gives most the neccessary info and I hope to add some video to it soon.

Val

[DRWM]

Bands I've played cold with, have made sure to give me huge cues for stops in tunes.  They don't want me to miss stops as much or more than I don't want to miss them.