zfmt
07-20-2006, 06:07 PM
After failing 5 bands... in 1 year... I thought I should share one of my favorite stories. I thought maybe someone might be able to learn something, or not.
I am a drummer. I live in a small town, there are only 4 or 5 drummers at my high school. I am a decent guy so people dont mind playing music with me. I guess I make good impressions that wear off very quickly. I will start with the most successful of the bands I failed.
Lonely City Dropoff
I began working at McDonalds to get money to buy cymbals and meet new prople (mainly buy cymbals). I was being trained by a person named Scott MacAlum (not sure how to spell it... but thats how it sounds). Durring a break he told me that he plays guitar for a band, Lonely City Dropoff. But, their drummer had recently quit. He was worried the band would fall apart soon I they could not replace him. I proposed the idea of myself and him jamming as maybe a tryout. He was unsure about the idea, he thought I wasn't going to be good. He didn't say that of course, but when you offer to save someone's band and they are not too sure about the idea you know that is what they are thinking.
About three months later Scott added me on msn and he gave me the emails of all the other members of his band. I thought great, I knew if I could just talk to them they would love for me to tryout. After about a week I talked to them and they were very excited to have me tryout, so I did.
I woke up early that do be well prepaired, both physically and mentally. I was ready to be rejected by them as I had not really compaired myself to other drummers before I joined them so I wasn't too sure of my... skills. I packed the drumset into the back of my father's van. All of it, i wanted to bring all of my drum equipement to impress them or something :confused: .
After arriving they we more than happy to help me set up in the practise room (the lead guitarist's basement). We played and they were shocked. They thought I was great. I didn't think so, I thought I was very nervous and shakey. Because after hearing them i thought WOW! these guys are great. but it was all bad from there.
Practising became increasingly frustrating. My views on music was very different from theirs. I thought we should act as if every practise was a show. I thought we should play hard every practise I thought we should accomplish something at a practise instead of simply bickering and nattering about nothing important.
We played two more shows before i was kicked out. the first of the two was acoustic it was very cool. we all played great. the next day we played another acoustic show. After our first two shows I was starting to feel like I belonged to that band. I started to talk a little bit more and share my opinions on lyrics. I thought instead of making up words that sound like words, but arent we should use really words with real meaning. They did not want to do that. I must say they did not make up words too often, only once or twice but i thought of words that would fit better then the made up words and the singer would not have it. the rest of the band loved my ideas, but not him, so they were never changed. I also thought that it would be nice to have some songs that were approprate to play anywhere. intead of sneaking in a dirty work every once in a while.
I was wanted to move forward as a band. But i was never invited to the practises where the writing of lyrics occured. I tried to write some of my own, the didn't want to use them. I knew then that I was not going to do anything with them.
We began to reccord a little demo to send... everywhere. i recorded the drums on the first try in less then 25 min. the other instruments were not getting done so I did not want to attend a practice that would make me very angry to be at. After hearing the guitars and the lead guitarist saying "They sound flat to me" i told the band it was because you guys went DI we should have used my SM57. I posted a thread on this site about it not to long ago.
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=460328
That was the last thing I ever did as a member of that band. But it is all good. I was getting upset because they liked to get totally naked at practises.
Their site is
http://myspace.com/lonelycitydropoff
After getting a new drummer, they kicked out their rythem guitarist and now their drummer plays rythem guitar and they have no drummer once again. I was way better then him at drums anyways.
Pretty sweet, eh? Now I think I'm just gonna get really killer at drums and start a band when I'm a little older. You guys have any fun stories like that?
I am a drummer. I live in a small town, there are only 4 or 5 drummers at my high school. I am a decent guy so people dont mind playing music with me. I guess I make good impressions that wear off very quickly. I will start with the most successful of the bands I failed.
Lonely City Dropoff
I began working at McDonalds to get money to buy cymbals and meet new prople (mainly buy cymbals). I was being trained by a person named Scott MacAlum (not sure how to spell it... but thats how it sounds). Durring a break he told me that he plays guitar for a band, Lonely City Dropoff. But, their drummer had recently quit. He was worried the band would fall apart soon I they could not replace him. I proposed the idea of myself and him jamming as maybe a tryout. He was unsure about the idea, he thought I wasn't going to be good. He didn't say that of course, but when you offer to save someone's band and they are not too sure about the idea you know that is what they are thinking.
About three months later Scott added me on msn and he gave me the emails of all the other members of his band. I thought great, I knew if I could just talk to them they would love for me to tryout. After about a week I talked to them and they were very excited to have me tryout, so I did.
I woke up early that do be well prepaired, both physically and mentally. I was ready to be rejected by them as I had not really compaired myself to other drummers before I joined them so I wasn't too sure of my... skills. I packed the drumset into the back of my father's van. All of it, i wanted to bring all of my drum equipement to impress them or something :confused: .
After arriving they we more than happy to help me set up in the practise room (the lead guitarist's basement). We played and they were shocked. They thought I was great. I didn't think so, I thought I was very nervous and shakey. Because after hearing them i thought WOW! these guys are great. but it was all bad from there.
Practising became increasingly frustrating. My views on music was very different from theirs. I thought we should act as if every practise was a show. I thought we should play hard every practise I thought we should accomplish something at a practise instead of simply bickering and nattering about nothing important.
We played two more shows before i was kicked out. the first of the two was acoustic it was very cool. we all played great. the next day we played another acoustic show. After our first two shows I was starting to feel like I belonged to that band. I started to talk a little bit more and share my opinions on lyrics. I thought instead of making up words that sound like words, but arent we should use really words with real meaning. They did not want to do that. I must say they did not make up words too often, only once or twice but i thought of words that would fit better then the made up words and the singer would not have it. the rest of the band loved my ideas, but not him, so they were never changed. I also thought that it would be nice to have some songs that were approprate to play anywhere. intead of sneaking in a dirty work every once in a while.
I was wanted to move forward as a band. But i was never invited to the practises where the writing of lyrics occured. I tried to write some of my own, the didn't want to use them. I knew then that I was not going to do anything with them.
We began to reccord a little demo to send... everywhere. i recorded the drums on the first try in less then 25 min. the other instruments were not getting done so I did not want to attend a practice that would make me very angry to be at. After hearing the guitars and the lead guitarist saying "They sound flat to me" i told the band it was because you guys went DI we should have used my SM57. I posted a thread on this site about it not to long ago.
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/forums/showthread.php?t=460328
That was the last thing I ever did as a member of that band. But it is all good. I was getting upset because they liked to get totally naked at practises.
Their site is
http://myspace.com/lonelycitydropoff
After getting a new drummer, they kicked out their rythem guitarist and now their drummer plays rythem guitar and they have no drummer once again. I was way better then him at drums anyways.
Pretty sweet, eh? Now I think I'm just gonna get really killer at drums and start a band when I'm a little older. You guys have any fun stories like that?