so, finally got a minute before my next plane this afternoon to make a good reply to this post!
the first thing I look for in a drummer (and any musician for that matter) is someone I can get along with and someone who can hang out without pissing me or anyone else on the gig or session off.
then of course you have to look at the level of playing of the individual. I have a list of drummers and percussionists that I've worked with a lot before and wil always work down that list to see who I think would work for the type of session or gig. I'm always looking for good time, good sound, and a deep understanding of lots of different music across the board. knowing a lot of different styles helps for hiring someone for a session in the studio. But I will hire cats for doing one thing very well.
Time is the most important thing and of course the whole thing of being able to lock with the rest of the band, and adding something to a session or gig creatively. And also being able to keep their mouth shut in the right place and not getting in the way of a producer or musical director.
as you can tell from this reply, there are so many things that go into making a desicion about hiring someone to play drums for me.
these are some of my favorite drummers in the world to work with. Check out the depth each one of them has to their playing and you'll begin to understand what i'm looking for when I hire these cats for gigs.
www.bennosattler.com
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=49396555
Celso Alberti at
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=92159897
www.GaryHusband.com
www.JordanPerlson.com
deantoni parks at
http://www.kudu2u.com/
Kyle thompson (who's on my new album)
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=66643495
www.jojomayer.com who plays on my first record
you asked about tuning too..... man that's so important. I just cut my new record down in Austin, and not only did Kyle bring three different drum sets and 20 cymbals to the sessions, he also knew how to tune them all. It was so important when we were looking for the right sound for the album. And there are so many people who don't know anything about tuning, and I just can't hire them.
wow, I think that covered a lot of it! if it didn't, please ask some more questions and I'll get to it asap.
I'm leaving for europe in a couple of hours for 8 days, but will try and get online at least once a day to check in.
Easy,
Janek
