Can someone pleas explain?

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jessejamietig
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Can someone pleas explain?

Post by jessejamietig » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:11 am

I've always wondered why certain bands, mostly southern rock bands, have two drummers. I watch VH1 Classic sometimes and I'll see live concert videos by 38 Special or the Doobie Brothers, and they'll have two drummers, who sound like they are playing the exact same beat. What gives? Is there a reason for this?

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Post by mjau » Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:31 am

I guess it's like why some bands have two guitarists that will play the same things sometimes.
One of the later Bright Eyes albums has a number of songs with two drummers on them, and it kills me everytime I hear it. Great stuff.

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Post by ckeene » Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:17 am

The Dead, dude!

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8th_note
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Post by 8th_note » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:40 am

There are several reasons why groups like the Allman Brothers and Doobie Brothers had two drummers.

1) The second drummer was often a percussionist. They wrote percussion parts into their songs which is kind of a lost art IMO in new music.

2) Two drummers were impressive on stage. At that time there was a trend toward bigger and louder as the live stage technology was changing rapidly. We now complain that many live shows are too loud but back then they actually had trouble getting the volume they wanted. The two drummer bands really focused on their live act and worked hard to make it bigger sounding and bigger looking.

3) It differentiated the bands who did it and put them in the big leagues for live shows. As they filled bigger venues it was something that set them apart.

4) There was sort of a genre of big rock bands at the time. Some had 2 drummers but all of these bands had a big stage presence. Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers, Santana, Doobie Brothers, and Big Brother & The Holding Company come to mind. They all jammed as part of their act. Nowdays most bands play their songs note-for-note to a click in a perfectly scripted stage show. Percussion played a big part in jamming.

Damn, I miss the old days......

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Post by Justin Foley » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:53 am

Sure.

Here's why.

= Justin

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I'm Painting Again
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Post by I'm Painting Again » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:00 am

haha! nice link Foley..

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JGriffin
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Post by JGriffin » Tue Oct 03, 2006 11:53 am

Sure.

Here's why.
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."

"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno

All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/

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Post by I'm Painting Again » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:05 pm

haha! nice link Dwlb..

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JGriffin
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Post by JGriffin » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:21 pm

I knew a couple of guys in college who had learned that and played it at their high school variety show. I think the version they learned was from an earlier tour though.
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."

"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno

All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/

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ledogboy
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Post by ledogboy » Tue Oct 03, 2006 12:25 pm

It seems to me that generally, the two drummer thing happened during the "everyting bigger" era and was generally pointless.

That said, one of the best shows I ever saw was NoMeansNo at Gilman St with two drummers. When they played "The River" off of the Mr Happy record, it was just about the hugest thing I had ever heard. How the hell they all fit on that stage is beyond me...
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Post by bluesman » Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:25 pm

Double Your Pleasure.......Double Your Drums!
"The digital future sucks the boils off my white ass." McHugh

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jv
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Post by jv » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:02 pm

Actually, Here's why.

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Post by Justin Foley » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:17 pm

So, if you click on the three links above, you'll find this technique used in three very different contexts. You don't have to like any single example to agree that it works well in one of the other ones.

= Justin

PS - You'll notice that I used restraint to not to talk about how much better my example was. This wasn't easy.

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Post by jayf » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:28 pm

Two drumers... whatever! When I saw the Boredoms, they had THREE drummers!

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jessejamietig
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Post by jessejamietig » Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:06 am

Thanks. All very good examples. I forgot about the percussion thing.

ledogboy, man I haven't been to The Gilman in a long time. That really brings back some good and bad memories.

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