About rhythm sections.............

[Ray Montee (RIP)]

From earlier times, many c/w bands didn't have drums.

Then came the snare drummer with BRUSHES to merely augment the rhythm for the group.........

followed by drummers that used nothing but heavy sticks to pound away and then ELECTRIC Drums already.

Now, they seem to simply bang, bang away with rim shots throughout the entire song on the third beat or whatever..........having nothing to do with rhythm
or improving the sound of the song.

What's your take on this?

[Dustin Rhodes]

What's your take on this?

Generalizations are sometimes always correct. Maybe.

My non-smarta** answer would be that there are some great country bands out there who's drummer make up a huge part of their sound. Both back in the day and now.

[Chris Templeton]

Then came those ridiculous plexiglass cages that surround the drummer and allow him/her to beat as hard as they want.
Sure doesn't create a good atmosphere for playing together, as far as I am concerned.

[Tim Russell]

Then came those ridiculous plexiglass cages that surround the drummer and allow him/her to beat as hard as they want.
Sure doesn't create a good atmosphere for playing together, as far as I am concerned.

I thought those were for protection from beer bottles being thrown at the stage!

[b0b]

I feel sorry for people who have never played with a good drummer.

[Frank James Pracher]

The guy I'm playing with now does a great job. He never overplays, and can really control his volume. We've played restaurant gigs were we are right up next to folks, and we have played festival stages for 4 to 5 thousand. He moves between two seamlessly.
He really adds a lot to the band.

[Erv Niehaus]

A while back I bought a set of drums complete with brushes and now if I could only find someone to play them.

[Jack Aldrich]

I played in a great country band back in the 80's, and our drummer, George Filgate, was fantastic! He always played tastily, very much like Ringo. One time he told us that someone in the band was out of tune. We asked why, and he told us that his ride cymbal was not ringing properly. We checked, and, sure enough, we were not in tune. On the other hand, there are a lot of drummers who are NOT musicians. They don't listen to what is going on, and they just pound away.

[Bo Legg]

The only time I notice a country drummer is if they either drop a stick or do something wrong.
To me if I go the whole gig without noticing, then we have a good drummer. Think about it!!
The same principle goes for country rhythm and bass players as well!
To me the bass is a rhythm instrument not something you solo on while I'm soloing.
It's hard to adlib a solo when nobody is giving you a downbeat.

[Ray Harrison]

I have had the pleasure of working with some really good drummers and some not so good drummers and it does make a major difference in the night.

As Bo said, if you can go all night without noticing them they are great.
If the bass and drums are working together I don't care what the lead instruments are doing as long as we start together and end together.

So many people don't listen to what their part is suppose to be. If you pay attention to what is going on you can fit in and enhance rather than damage the song.

[Dave Grothusen]

What always gets me is why they need to put microphones on drums. Aren't they loud enough as is?

[Dustin Rhodes]

What always gets me is why they need to put microphones on drums. Aren't they loud enough as is?

Depends on the venue, the drummer, and the goals of the FOH engineer.

[Dave Grothusen]

FOH Engineer? Is that the "sound man" that always takes the steel out of the mix?

[Jon Light (deceased)]

Specific styles of music require specific styles of playing. If one does not comply with this demand, he/she is either failing in the mission or is forging a new direction that requires some time to evaluate. Obviously, if it does not suit the employer/bandleader, it does not cut the requirements. Duh.

If I lived on this planet in an era during which I was unfamiliar with the artistry of hundreds or thousands of great drummers across the planet because my life was spent in a style-ghetto restricted to a few decades in a limited area of a single nation, I would regard this as a pathetically wasted life as I lay counting the remaining hours of my life.

[Mike Neer]

Sometimes I wonder what these early c/w and western swing greats would have sounde like if they got a chance to play the music they really wanted to play, like those Benny Goodman recordings with Charlie Christian taking off on extended blues jams.

See, those guys would have loved to play with Art Blakey and Max Roach and guys who can play the hell out of drums and elevate the music to a higher level.

I don't know which drummers Ray is referring to, but I rarely ever hear horrible drummers at the professional level.

[chris ivey]

playing on professional concert stages with really good musicians, drummers and sound people can be a wonderful experience.
for me it's mostly been original opening acts and it can be very special. i've gotten to play in some good situations with really good players.. and you learn the importance of quality drummers, bass players, etc.
even in small clubs, good quality players make it happen.

i've played in some terrible situations also!

[Bill L. Wilson]

My good friend and drummer Steve Short,(former Reba McIntire and now Byron Berline Band member) is by far the best drummer I've ever worked with. Can play with a snare and brushes only, or a full kit. Steve and Richard Sharp(The BBB bass player), set in with our band occasionally and the difference in timing and tightness is amazing. And it's not that we sound bad with our usual players, but session players do sound better. I haven't worked with a lot of great musicians, but having shared the stage, and recorded with guys like Don Johnson(piano w/Emmy Lou Harris),Marty Shrabel(bass w/Bobby Vinton),Phil Driscoll(trumpet w/Joe Cocker and Blood Sweat&Tears), and of course Steve Short, can be a humbling experience.....Especially when you play like I do.

[Charlie McDonald]

I have the same feeling as Ray about it; it was a wonderful sound and a different time.
Guys like Eldon Shamblin--"The greatest living rhythm guitarist alive" (Steve Hikerson--supplied the beat for bands like the Texas Playboys.

That being said...

It's hard to adlib a solo when nobody is giving you a downbeat.

... in Tulsa, when it came my time for a bass solo (I never do it, never done it, so Gus Hardin stuck her mic into my amp)
I had to make sure the drummer would hang in there with me as the rest of the band just dropped out. Otherwise, I was about to find out what it is to be alone. Playing with a good drummer is one of the best experiences in the world, one that helps you for life.

Still, I miss the sound of the entire band being the rhythm section, and to this day I prefer brushes.

[Les Cargill]

Drums stop, veddy bad...

[Rick Schacter]

Sometimes I wonder what these early c/w and western swing greats would have sounde like if they got a chance to play the music they really wanted to play, like those Benny Goodman recordings with Charlie Christian taking off on extended blues jams.

See, those guys would have loved to play with Art Blakey and Max Roach and guys who can play the hell out of drums and elevate the music to a higher level.

I don't know which drummers Ray is referring to, but I rarely ever hear horrible drummers at the professional level.

Benny Goodman had Gene Krupa on drums...an excellent drummer.