my drummer's got a mental block

[phlemmy]

my drummer is a beast on the kit. rock solid at practice and live. we've been in the studio for about 2 weeks (6 actual days) and only have one good drum take. he's experienced with playing with a click track and with recording but i think he's trying to hard...thinking about the upcoming break or fill and then tanks it. it's killing me as we have a long way to go before i even start adding my basslines, much less doug's endless guitar tracks. of course we're doing scratch tracks under the click for him. i'm hoping that he'll just hurdle the block soon as we have 8 more songs to do. we're not on a tight schedule but we don't want to be in there trying to get good drum takes for a month.

thanks for letting me vent.

[alanz]

Are you planning on sequencing anything with these songs?

If not, then why not just go completely "organic" slash "old school" and let him go for it? Forget what the producer/engineer says, let it roll!

[phlemmy]

drums in 7 of the 9 songs will be recorded using a click, the other 2 have to be natural. he can play fine with the click, groove, feel, the whole 9 yards...he is just thinking too much.

by the way, the engineer/producer is also the guitarist and it's his studio.

[steverok]

If it's taking too long for perfection, you can always punch in and out (at points in the song where cymbals aren't lingering, usually before snare hits), to sort of "build" the drum track. Once it's recorded that way, he'll be able to play it, since it will be commited to memory. I know it's cheating, but time and money are involved. It's like a vocal or anything else, it needs to be crafted into a fully digestable and pleasing form.

[phlemmy]

We thought about the punch in, but he won't hear of it, nor will the boss. Fortunately the studio isn't costing us money, just time. We have no deadline per se, but we'd like this done sooner than later. I spoke with the drumemr today and his attitude towards it has changed, I feel a productive weekend coming.

[steverok]

We thought about the punch in, but he won't hear of it, nor will the boss.

That's ridiculous. Playing in the studio is not a natural setting for most musicians. Who wants to sit there doing the same thing over and over until it's perfect? Get your parts done with whatever means necessary and move on with your life is what I say, but hey, that's just me.

[phlemmy]

It is what it is.

[qwezirider]

EZDrummer.

[phlemmy]

He knocked out 4 tracks today like they were nothing. I am happy again.

[steverok]

That's more like it. Most music listeners don't realize it, but getting a great drum track is often the most work and the most important part of making a great recording !

[shinynewtoy]

Speaking from personal experience...

He's a drummer. Give the man a beer, show him some boobs, and he's 98% likely to stop thinking and just do.

[steverok]

I resent that comment ! In fact, I take more to the Phil Collins attitude that "being drummer is the most respectable gig in a band, you're sort of the goalie, it could be a bad band with a good drummer and it still sounds good".

[phlemmy]

I resent that comment ! In fact, I take more to the Phil Collins attitude that "being drummer is the most respectable gig in a band, you're sort of the goalie, it could be a bad band with a good drummer and it still sounds good".

As a guy who was a drummer for 16 years, I agree.

[shinynewtoy]

Just throwin' some fun at ya, guys. Meant no harm.

But then, if you met some of the guys I played with.... let's just say the stereotype doesn't fall far from the cowbell.

[phlemmy]

After converting to bass, I realized why many drummers got bad reputations...because they deserved them!