getting back on track.
Entry posted by mark555
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This entry the story continues of our band trying to consolidate with a new drummer, Allen, an old hand enjoying retirement from work. You can see pictures on the thread I started entitled Band Practice.
We very sadly had to let our last drummer go. We liked him very much as a person, who ticked the essential box as being a nice guy. He could play well and we all liked him. However, he was the weak link in the chain and was the reason we were not going forward. Alongside a lack of communication from him, Shaun, Pete and I had a three hour meeting at my house to decide what we were going to do and we came to the conclusion that as three nice guys, it was against our nature to want to throw some one out. But we came to the conclusion that if we kept our drummer, we would be no further down the line in six months time.
So, off I went and did the rounds of the notice boards looking for drummers who wanted to play with a band. I phoned Allen, who had put an ad on one of the notice boards looking for a band. I invited him for an audition, and he duly accepted.
The audition was not as we anticipated because we had not played together for a while and we did make the fatal mistake of letting the drummer audition us. We offered him the job of drummer in the band and he was a bit none committal, so we pushed him to give us a yes or no and he said he would turn up at the next practice, the rest of us thought he was going to see how it went and make his mind up after the rehearsal. So, we decided on four numbers to rehearse and went our way. Pete (our other guitarist of the yellow telecaster fame) and I felt very strongly that we would find out at the practice if Allen was in or out, and we said we would have none of this 'you practice and I'll turn up and drum' business. If we got any of that we decided that we would shake hands with him and wish him well, we want a band member with full commitment. At this rehearsal we really took charge and showed our new member what we expected of him and that we were not push overs desperate for a drummer.
The practice went really well and we nailed four new numbers, one of them being one of my favourites, Whiskey in the jar. At the end of the evening we planned four more numbers for next week, one of which is Bad Compnay's 'I can't get enough' which is another one of those songs I just love to play. I really like Mick Ralphs guitar style and I can get into it without any problems. We always sit round the table for fifteen minutes at the end of rehearsal and plan our next practice so that there is no wasted time, we are very business like at rehearsal, although we have a good time and we enjoy one another's company very much, in this band there are no ego's and no arguments, just a good work ethic.
So, for now we have a full line up and and we are gelling well and getting things together. We aim to learn four numbers each week and get on the road in the new year. One thing we have learned from this experience in changing drummers is that if we need to, from now on we will be ruthless in getting rid of the drummer if he does not give us the commitment he has promised us. Three us go back twenty years, and we are aware that it can be hard as an outsider to come into such an established trio of friends, but we do make a great effort to welcome the newcomer and it is up to them to make that commitment.
But here's the question I want to finish this entry on: Why do drummers think that every one else should rehearse and they should just turn up occasionally and take the money, without putting in the rehearsal hours with every one else?
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