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Our drummer got arrested today.

H

hbar

Member
I normally keep my mustang forum posts mustang-related only, but I need to vent about this dude somewhere where I don't have any internet/real life crossover. I hope this is the right place for a rant.

So I'm in a band. Basically, our drummer is an idiot. Between the baby at age 18, the baby at 21 (which was in April) which he claims is not his yet birthed by his estranged wife, to the girl he knocked up in July (and then subsequently..ahem...well let's just say she's not pregnant any longer, but we'll try to stay away from that particular topic), to the fact that he's pretty much a typical drummer in every sense of the word. He doesn't keep very good time, and he doesn't even have a kit at the moment, since his was "stolen" (by which I mean sold off for pot money). The bassist and I have been done with the guy for months. But the singer sees him as a project, and is not willing to cut ties.

Today he gets arrested for having $2300 in outstanding speeding tickets. Nobody will post bail because they know he's not good for the balance. So he's stuck in the slammer for 15 days, while he burns off the debt to Garland. Then he's off to Hurst, Bedford, and then Dallas.

Oh, did I mention we have a show tomorrow night, and 3 others scheduled this month? Looks like I finally get to fire my drummer. I already have two lined up. If I have to find a new singer too, so be it. I'm done with the drama.

Life is good. Thanks for listening. Go Rangers.

:fbomb
 
Perfect place for a rant. What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians? A drummer. I spent years in bands and I can tell you that a new drummer is always better than a bad unreliable drummer. The Dallas jail is a pretty nice place if you don't drop the soap. Others will chime in to comment on how I know.
 
No need for us to comment, I think you made it crystal clear that you enjoyed the time in the klink.


and by "enjoy", I meant there was no END to your fun.
 
"silverblueBP" said:
No need for us to comment, I think you made it crystal clear that you enjoyed the time in the klink.


and by "enjoy", I meant there was no END to your fun.
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....but it sounds like there was "fun in his end".....
 
"ko67" said:
Perfect place for a rant. What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians? A drummer. I spent years in bands and I can tell you that a new drummer is always better than a bad unreliable drummer. The Dallas jail is a pretty nice place if you don't drop the soap. Others will chime in to comment on how I know.
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Kev, you're a drummer...no?

Hbar, if you guys are successful as a band then you need to help the singer see the light. Having an unreliable (M.I.A.)drummer can't have a positive effect on your reputation. Put the boot to his ass.
 
"Fast68back" said:
What's the name of the band, maybe I've heard or seen you..
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I put a ninja link in my original post, so I didn't seem like I was blatantly trying to pimp my band. But since you asked, we are the circle. If you're bored, come out to Deep Ellum Thursday night, we're on at 9. It's a rare mid-week show for us, but I had some friends who complained they couldn't ever get out on the weekends, so I booked us in an early slot on a weeknight. We have a fill in drummer, who might end up being permanent...we'll just see.

For the truly bored:
Skeptical 03/19/2010 @ Curtain Club


Had a band meeting tonight, w/o the drummer (obv) & singer. I believe we've come to a resolution. How it plays out remains to be seen.


Q: How do you know if there's a drummer at your door?

A: The knocking gets faster.
 
Here is a good one hbar. What is the difference between a large pizza and a professional musician? A large pizza can feed a family of four.
 
A person who continually makes bad decisions and has enablers will eventually bring everyone else down too. Good idea to cut ties with the drummer and singer. Drummer boy sounds pretty immature, irresponsible, and unreliable. 3 strikes.

It's just another chapter in the business that is show. I'm sure your next project will be a success too.

I play a little myself so I'm familiar with the dynamics of a band.
 
"ko67" said:
Here is a good one hbar. What is the difference between a large pizza and a professional musician? A large pizza can feed a family of four.
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Ah ha, but what do they have in common?


Both are delivered to their destination by a drummer.
 
Hey, I hear Ringo's available these days.

Buuut seriousllyyy...best of luck getting things sorted out. I had a frustrated possible musical career myself, mostly killed by flakey bandmates. Seems to be par for the course. :craz
 
To provide some measure of closure to this chapter, we had a fill-in for the show last night. He was one of our loyal fans, and he agreed to attempt to learn our CD overnight (since we really only had about 24 hrs to rectify the situation), and then practice with us about 4 hrs before the show. What I didn't know at the time is that he hadn't played drums in 3 years.
:scar

The first 30 minutes of practice where wheels-off. But then he hit his stride, and was hitting the fills better than the incarcerated drummer by the end of practice. The show was pretty much flawless, which is just incredible, all things considered. Plus we had a great time afterward, primarily because for the first time in months we were actually a band....we'd been 2 guys who hate the drummer, one guy on the fence, and one guy who loves the drummer. Last night we all loved the drummer, and good times abounded. Now to find out if he wants the full time gig.

The real question is should we tell the current guy he's out in person, or just put it on his facebook wall and cut ties? =)
 
Congrats on the new addition to the band. It is always better going to "work" with people you like and respect. I say let the old drummer know his is gone in person. It is the respectful thing to do. Take the high road.
 
"Mustangfeverrr" said:
Pulling an FB or text firing is stooping to his level. Show you're better than that.
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I guess it wasn't obvious that I was kidding about that. It will be done in person. He's not the first guy we've had to fire for being a d-bag. Hopefully he'll be the last. We made the singer fire the first drummer and the original rhythm guitarist. Looks like the singer is on board with this decision too, which we weren't certain about. Our temp drummer is also just that; a temp. He can't commit to the "full time" gig. We have a kid lined up to try out next week. With any luck, we'll have the replacement already locked in before knucklehead gets out of the slammer.

The only downside is that he works at a CD duplication house, so he got our CD printed in full color & shrinkwrapped for free. We unloaded the last copies from that run last night. Bad timing...we could've had him do another 500 and then cut him lose, lol.
 
"nymustang" said:
In my experience 90% of musicians are flakes...... and watch the drummer comments! :2guns
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I dunno....I've been in bands for a long time now, and drummers are far and away the flakiest bunch. I've only had two flaky bassists, one flaky singer, and one flaky guitarist. But 5 flaky drummers...one of whom bailed on me in two different bands (maybe it was me??). Trying out a kid this week or next. Only time will tell.

This dude getting arrested is such a blessing though. The rest of us are more energized about stuff than we have been in months. You can't let yourself underestimate the ability of one person to power down a group of people. Each of us had been doing that, to varying extents. But no more. I applied for SXSW 2011 yesterday. =)

(thanks for the spike in hits on our website this week)
 
For those outside of Texas, SXSW is the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, one of the premier live music festivals in the world. It is a MAJOR deal. Let's hope you get accepted for 2011. Promise to remember us when you are famous...
 
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