Why we don’t have a drummer

For one, a good, professional, drummer is hard to find.
Most drummers we have met are self taught. For many bands this isn’t a problem if he (or she) has good dynamic control. However, these musicians typically cant play through a song the same way every time. They are used to a more dynamic environment where the other musicians can follow their lead, they are “driving the bus” so to speak… If a fill runs a little longer, or the rhythm changes up a little from one session to the next its no big deal.

Why its different in our band:
Most self taught drummers do not practice to a metronome. They also aren’t used to hearing their drums through headphones or in-ear monitors. We use a click track to keep everyone together, and we sync some additional pre-recorded instruments in with this click in order to “fill out the sound”. This gives us a nice full sound, with additional instrument parts that we would normally have a hard time including live. It also provides a nice framework that keeps the music tight. However, everyone is following the click, and not the drummer. The rhythm is extremely tight and focused, and if the drummer fumbles on a fill, or forgets how part of a song goes, it becomes difficult to “wing it” without the entire song falling apart.

Many touring musicians are used to this sort of setup, and regularly play this way in the studio, but most of the time its not a required skill in smaller bands such as ours.

If you are a professional drummer and looking to be paid, don’t bother reading the rest of this. We are not paid musicians, and we have never charged when presented with an opportunity to play.

Here are the attributes we are looking for, it may seem like a lot, but we know God has one specific person in mind for us that meets all of this criteria:

1) Probably the most important; MUST have a heart for the Lord. Otherwise, your doing it for the wrong purposes.

2) Must have their life straight. We’re all sinners, and we all make mistakes, and we all have sin in our pasts, but we are a praise and worship band and we don’t want to be the target of scrutiny.  Its hard for someone to get past the fact that they saw one of the members of a “Christian” band out bar hopping over the weekend. Right or wrong, it is a stumbling block for some people and we try to avoid that at all costs. If you have been delivered from a sinful past no one can hold that against you, however an ACTIVE sinful lifestyle is another story.

3) This one is a little tricky. We play on Sunday mornings at our church. If God is calling you into our ministry, you are probably already seeking a Church to attend. We understand that you will probably need some time to attend our church to decide if this is where God is calling you. We are convinced that there is someone out there seeking a place to use their talents. You must be available on Tuesday nights, Thursday nights, and Sunday mornings. We practice on Tuesdays, we play at a program called Celebrate Recovery on Thursday nights, and during the worship service on Sunday Mornings.

4) SKILL. Although none of us are professional musicians, we strive for perfection. Mostly we miss the mark, but as a drummer, you are driving the bus with the assistance of the click, and must have the skill to keep the whole band on track. We aren’t looking for beginners.

5) TIMING: You MUST be able to play to a click track. This probably means that you practice with a metronome, which relates to the previous point. We use a click track which syncs us up with a few missing instruments, pads, filler sounds, etc… If you are a drummer and have never tried to play with a metronome this is probably the wrong band for you.

6) Must have your own equipment. This includes your instrument. This means acoustic or electric drums, (microphones if acoustic) and a quality set of headphones or in ear monitors.

7) Must be committed.

8 ) Must know how to play with control. Again, this goes back to point number 4. We usually run our levels anywhere from 75db to about 95db at the sound board, depending on the song, the service, the size of the building, and the crowd. This means you’ll get the opportunity to play hard sometimes, but you’ve gotta know how to use restraint when necessary.

If you meet these criteria, please give some time to pray about this before you contact us. We’ll arrange a time you can come to a practice and “try out”. There is much prayer and consideration before we invite someone to become part of the band. In the past, we have considered some amazing musicians, but after much thought and prayer we determined that they just weren’t a good fit. Its not always just about musical ability.