When Your Drummer Has Left You

The gig is booked, the stage is set, the board at the studio is fired up- whatever performance scenario you find yourself in, you hope and you pray that all of your players show up on time and ready to go. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Much to my own horror there have been a few occasions when a player has been missing in action. Missing in action and nowhere to be found. There are a number of reasons as to why this has occurred, but the number one reason, the predominant reason is: your lover gave you the boot and you are now homeless and destitute, you had to hock your axe to survive and you are holed up somewhere without any means of communication, embarrassed, dejected, and in a severe state of depression.

As embarrassing and depressing as this may be for your dejected player who went AWOL, it is even more embarrassing and humiliating for you because you are the leader and this reflects badly on your leadership skills and ability to meet your professional obligations. You don’t get a lot of chances in this business and you have to seize on every opportunity and shine, first impressions are everything. I know how it feels to have to improvise at a moment’s notice when you are left holding the bag, when a band member is missing, when your drummer has left you.

So what do you do when this happens?, what to do, what to do. This is where humor and elasticity really come in handy. You could try juggling, but that won’t cut it, will it? No, this is where you get to find out what you’re really made of, you get to bring out some of your very best stuff and realize that regardless of what happens, you can summon your best creative self at any given moment.

In live performance situations I’ve done a number of things such as altering arrangements, omitting and/or adding songs and pieces to my set list (some of these performances worked out better than what I had originally intended), playing solo, etc. In the studio you have a bit more flexibility. You can utilize equipment and technology to add instrumentation, create pads, effects, ear candy, etc. Today’s sampling is much improved and offers a wide array of good options. I do tend to prefer the natural acoustics, sonic elements and organic nature of actual instruments so if you’re not able to substitute the real thing you can always opt to hold off and schedule another session at a later date. You can use scheduled studio time productively and not waste it. You might be able to shift gears and track another part or do some editing or more pre-pro for another tune. I’ve even been lucky enough to find other musicians who were able to hop over to the studio within minutes and jump right into a session, excellent players who can read and play anything and truly saved the day for me.

It’s a bummer when your drummer leaves you, but it doesn’t have to spell disaster. You are a strong, creative entity who can easily improvise and weave a bit of magic out of any situation. Focus on the positives, and be grateful that you don’t have to hock your axe and hide away in some low-rent dump, mumbling to yourself in the middle of the night.