a Drummer you can't hear

Bill Howard · Post by **Bill Howard** » 4 Aug 2010 8:38 am

As I get older I find Drums to be highly annoying.
Some of the worst I have ever seen are in Churches.
THey will put rolls in the middle of the Old Rugged Cross, "On hill hill far away. BANG CRASH BOOM BOOM CRASH SPLASH<BANG BOOM, My father died in 1996 he was a Bar room player in the 50's His group as most did not have drums,they were not allowed at the Opry until Ernest Tubb seems to be the first to bring them and even then they were not a dominant force in the music,they are SUPPOSED to keep time nothing more, Dad heard this drummer at a gospel concert and siad it sounds like some boxes falling down stairs,
a Good drummer to me is one like Marty Stuarts, he plays with brushes and never overides anyone
Here is Me my brother JAck and David Church at My house a few yrs ago,Steel Rhythm guitar and Bass nothing more 3 piece band NO DRUMS.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM-LbCNRu3g

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 4 Aug 2010 10:19 am

There are 4 drummers down here that are delightful to play with. They all have a light touch, when needed, and play with precision timing. All 4 are/were primarily jazz drummers, but have played with several country and rock & roll bands over the years.

Playing with a loud and/or sloppy drummer can make for a long, long gig.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 4 Aug 2010 10:25 am

A bad drummer, like any poor instrumentalist, is difficult and annoying to play with. A truly good drummer, however, is a joy, complimenting and underscoring the music and contributing greatly to the dynamic range that can make music so emotionally rewarding to play and listen to.
I feel truly blessed to have gotten to play with many very fine drummers. They've greatly enriched my musical life.

Chris Lang · Post by **Chris Lang** » 4 Aug 2010 12:05 pm

As I get older I find Drums to be highly annoying.
Some of the worst I have ever seen are in Churches.

That's the mentality that has resulted in taking the steel out of "country" music.

The "new country" crowd seems to find steel guitar annoying. That is why you are hearing less and less of it...............

Bill Howard · Post by **Bill Howard** » 4 Aug 2010 12:15 pm

Chris Lang wrote:
As I get older I find Drums to be highly annoying.
Some of the worst I have ever seen are in Churches.
That's the mentality that has resulted in taking the steel out of "country" music.

The "new country" crowd seems to find steel guitar annoying. That is why you are hearing less and less of it...............

first and FOREMOST there IS NO REAL COUNTRY MUSIC PERIOD!, the Mentality thats takenSteel Guitars is People buying Pop Music called Country,I bet you have plenty of Leann Rimes or Rascal Flatts recordings most young people do, Steel Guitars are not needed in Todays Quote 'COUNTRY MUSIC", People that BUY all of this new stuff trashville sells have eliminated Country Music and Steel Guitars along with it,I was raised on George Jones,Webb Pierce,My father played on local Tv and radio stations had one of the biggest bands in Indpls area NO DRUMS!.I been a Pedal Steel player for over 30 years I seen the steel going out about 25 years ago when Keyboard players got gigs over me so don't blame my dislike of Drums on doing away with Steel Guitar who ever buys the new stuff is sending a message LOUD and CLEAR to eliminate it.

Dick Wood · Post by **Dick Wood** » 4 Aug 2010 12:39 pm

Chris is a drummer Chris is a drummer.

David Mullis · Post by **David Mullis** » 4 Aug 2010 1:22 pm

You just never know who plays drums AND steel

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 4 Aug 2010 1:28 pm

David Mullis wrote:You just never know who plays drums AND steel

I know someone who does..and very well a too..

t

Bill Howard · Post by **Bill Howard** » 4 Aug 2010 1:57 pm

David Mullis wrote:You just never know who plays drums AND steel

first of all if you read what I said I like Marty Stuarts drummer,I don't like Drummers that think the whole show is about how many Rolls they can play in a slow song,or how big their Zildians are,I hear a LOT of recordings with drums and WAY to LOUD nothing worse than Drums that are too loud actuall any instrument can be too loud including Steel guitars heard them way to loud before

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 4 Aug 2010 1:57 pm

I played drums for 12 years before I started learning to play the steel guitar. I was a percussionist in school and also played drums in a couple of jazz bands, including our big "stage band" in college.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 4 Aug 2010 3:20 pm

Even in Nashville it's rare to find a drummer who'll play brush and stick, like Buddy Harman did on so many of those great country records. It's funny, we steel players listen to Buddy, Hal, Weldon, Lloyd etc. to learn how to play, but most drummers seem to have gotten their ideas from Ginger Baker and Keith Moon. I guess that's why there's so drummer jokes floating around town.

Maybe even more than banj0 jokes.

Chris Lang · Post by **Chris Lang** » 4 Aug 2010 3:29 pm

Bill says:

People that BUY all of this new stuff trashville sells have eliminated Country Music and Steel Guitars along with it,I was raised on George Jones,Webb Pierce,My father played on local Tv and radio stations had one of the biggest bands in Indpls area NO DRUMS!

I remember my dad talking to me like that about rock and roll.

I guess rock music "never" caught on!

"those darn hippies"

Bobby Hearn · Post by **Bobby Hearn** » 4 Aug 2010 5:12 pm

Yea but George Jones songs will still be standards in 20 yrs to real musicians unlike Tim Mccrawl. As Johnny Bush said, "THE DRUMS ARE TO BE FELT, NOT HEARD."

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 4 Aug 2010 5:35 pm

How would you like to play with this drummer?

Click Here and fast forward to 1:00 into the video.

David Mullis · Post by **David Mullis** » 4 Aug 2010 6:45 pm

Somehow I knew it was gonna be THAT guy LOL

Jim Hartley · Post by **Jim Hartley** » 4 Aug 2010 6:56 pm

Hey Cal,

Your post reminds me of my teenage years and how I learned to play drums. I've said many times that my dad taught me to play, but he didn't play drums. Yea, I played drums in school, learned to read a bit, but Dad would play all those old records that Buddy played on and say, "just listen to what he's playing, and play that." When people would find out I played drums they would always ask who my favorite drummer was, Gene Krupa? Buddy Rich? I still remember the looks when I'd tell them Buddy Harman, or Willie Cantu. Stick and a brush, I'd play like that all day.

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 4 Aug 2010 7:48 pm

Jim Hartley knows what he's talking about. Anyone that ever played with him knows that I'm right.

I played the ET Midnight Jamboree with Buddy Harman s couple of times and he was like Jim, he made it easy to play and not some kind of beat and bang contest.

Greg Wisecup · Post by **Greg Wisecup** » 5 Aug 2010 8:16 am

One of the best if not the best is playing in Nashville
regularly. He uses a high hat, snare, one symbol, one bass tom, one bass drum, brushes and sticks. Very tasteful, doesn't overplay, plays exactly what is needed. You may have heard of him. Willie Cantu!
More is not always better. I have 4 hours of The Honky Tonk Heroes recorded live in Nashville. His drumming stands out by what he's not playing...if that makes any sense. He's a true pro and a heck of a nice guy!

Bill Howard · Post by **Bill Howard** » 5 Aug 2010 8:30 am

Greg Wisecup wrote:One of the best if not the best is playing in Nashville
regularly. He uses a high hat, snare, one symbol, one bass tom, one bass drum, brushes and sticks. Very tasteful, doesn't overplay, plays exactly what is needed. You may have heard of him. Willie Cantu!
More is not always better. I have 4 hours of The Honky Tonk Heroes recorded live in Nashville. His drumming stands out by what he's not playing...if that makes any sense. He's a true pro and a heck of a nice guy!

Willie Cantu played with a Steel guitar a LOT
He was Buck Owens drummer and was on together again
Toms waltz,Apple jack, the man was a Buckaroo..... We know Buck wouldn't have put up with an overbearing drummer,I liked granpa jones remark, they ask him how he liked drums
"VERY LITTLE IF ANY:)"

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 5 Aug 2010 8:44 am

I like good drummers.
I can apreciate music without the drums, but they (and the bass) are like the salt in the soup. Sometimes when I listen to music, I pay more attention to them than to the other instruments.

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 5 Aug 2010 10:17 am

One of the best if not the best is playing in Nashville
regularly. He uses a high hat, snare, one symbol, one bass tom, one bass drum, brushes and sticks. Very tasteful, doesn't overplay, plays exactly what is needed. You may have heard of him. Willie Cantu!

Yeah, man, Willie's great. He subs with us once in a while. You can barely see him in this vid, on the other guy's drums, but you can hear him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqsr2g5HNhw

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 5 Aug 2010 10:55 am

I once watched Willie Cantu for an hour in Nshville and didn't know it was him. I told the people that I was with to keep an eye on the drummer. That I didn't know who he was, but he's an incredible country drummer. Two days later I found out that it was Willie Cantu. I was kicking myself for not having met him.

Jim Hartley · Post by **Jim Hartley** » 5 Aug 2010 6:30 pm

Hey Rick,

Thanks so much for the nice comments. To be mentioned in the same post with Buddy is a real thrill.

Over the years, I've known alot of really fine drummers who played country music, but admitted being bored to tears. I'm so glad that has never been the case for me. I swear, I could sit all day (and have) with just a snare and play nothing but Jones, Haggard, Vern etc. I just love it.

Cal, I'm gonna get by to see ya in Bon Aqua one of these Friday nights pretty soon. By the way, I think I've heard about all the drummer jokes but this was funny. At a show in Virginia I played a while back, the stage door had a sign: STAGE ENTRANCE- MUSICIANS AND DRUMMERS ONLY.

And Rick, sure would love to see ya in Saluda next week.

See ya soon,
Jim

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 5 Aug 2010 9:06 pm

Cal, I'm gonna get by to see ya in Bon Aqua one of these Friday nights pretty soon.

Jim, Bon Aqua's history. I'm at the Wild Country Jamboree on Fri and Sat now.
So... what did the drummer get on his IQ test?

Jim Hartley · Post by **Jim Hartley** » 6 Aug 2010 4:23 am

Hey Cal,

Thanks for the update. I think I knew that, but I clicked on the link to see Willie and that put Bon Aqua in my head. The name "Wild Country Band" reminds me. Right before I moved to Nashville, I had a shot at going to work for a band called "Wild Coutry". I didn't figure they'd ever do much, so I declined. I think they ended up doing OK though.

The IQ test...uh, I think it's just drool.

See ya soon,
Jim

The Steel Guitar Forum

a Drummer you can't hear

a Drummer you can't hear

My mentality?