Perspective
Posted: Mon Oct 12, 2009 2:28 pmHere's an oldie, but a goodie:
There was a drummer in between gigs, who saw an opening in a major touring country band. He figured he could play that stuff as well as the next guy, worked on his chops and some tunes for a week, and headed in for an audition.
Surprisingly, the first thing the band leader said was, "can you play a 7/4 groove?" Taken aback but a moment, he laid down a solid beat. The band leader said, "now can you play a 20 over 14 clave across two measures on the bass drum?" Now sweating a bit, he seamlessly added the stuttering bass drum beat. Adding on, the leader shouted over the din "can you alternate between flamacues and paradiddles, up and down the toms?" Years of tireless training kicked in, somehow, dimly aware of the pulse of the original beat, his hands danced around the set flawlessly.
Finally, the bandleader called out "that will do." The smiling drummer asked "do I have the job?" The leader replied, "hell no, that's why we fired the last guy."
There was a drummer in between gigs, who saw an opening in a major touring country band. He figured he could play that stuff as well as the next guy, worked on his chops and some tunes for a week, and headed in for an audition.
Surprisingly, the first thing the band leader said was, "can you play a 7/4 groove?" Taken aback but a moment, he laid down a solid beat. The band leader said, "now can you play a 20 over 14 clave across two measures on the bass drum?" Now sweating a bit, he seamlessly added the stuttering bass drum beat. Adding on, the leader shouted over the din "can you alternate between flamacues and paradiddles, up and down the toms?" Years of tireless training kicked in, somehow, dimly aware of the pulse of the original beat, his hands danced around the set flawlessly.
Finally, the bandleader called out "that will do." The smiling drummer asked "do I have the job?" The leader replied, "hell no, that's why we fired the last guy."
