Oompah band with no drummer, what can I do?

[Philip Jensen]

It looks like our 8 piece oompah band is going to lose our drummer to an out-of-town move. First off, can we get by without a drummer? Drummers for this style are pretty scarce around here. I'm thinking we might be able to get away with it. We might drop a few songs from the play list.

As the only member of the rhythmn section, what can I do stylistically to compensate for the loss of the drummer?

I've been playing in the group for 2 yrs now, and pretty much play off the charts. I haven't wanted to rock the boat too much yet. We don't gig a whole lot, especially since the bar the group regularly played at in the fall season burned down. I also play in a 15-25 piece oompah band (recently joined also) that plays more often. This is usually with 1-2 tuba players (of the old coot variety) so I hold back on diverging from the charts. The small group is very laid back and a lot of fun to play with. Most of us also play in the larger group. I like to say, we are made up of the best musicians and the biggest jokers from the other group.

I took over as manager of the 8 piece group as the old leader was stepping down and no one came forward to replace him and the group was on the verge of folding. The tuba player was also getting on in years so I took over his playing spot. So, I'm in charge of the band so I can do what I want (within reason) and if we can get by without a drummer I'd like to. I wouldn't mind getting down to 2 Cl, 1 tpt( maybe 2), 1 bone and tuba if it would still sound OK. This could open up some new gigs for us at smaller venues (stages).

Thanks for your input

[ArnoldGottlieb]

I have a bass drum pedal with a clamp that I can change between tambourine and cowbell. Kind of fun. Or you could go "Stanley Banks" (bass for George Benson), and just put the tambourine on the floor.
Good Luck.
Peace.
ASG

[Chuck(G)]

[tubatooter1940]

Hi Philip Jensen,
Your post brought me back to my old days. Many's the time personnel changes forced the rest of us left to change our role and instrumentation.
Sometimes a short-handed band forces us to overplay. Could you stomp a bass drum foot pedal and play tuba at the same time? If not, play more tuba and harder.
A fine young sax player, who played in a trio with guitar and bass, attended a summer sax camp for high schoolers. He told me they resented his playing at the camp and gave him a hard time. I suggested that after filling up the gaps in a trio, he may have overplayed in a larger group-causing resentment from fellow players. "Ah-ha",said he, "They were mad because I must have been stepping on them."
I face a problem opposite of yours. Our trio of tuba, guitar and harmonica is adding many of our musician friends for our next in-studio album. I have to simplify all my bass lines to let the newcomers in.
Dennis Gray
tubatooter1940
www.johnreno.com/

[windshieldbug]

He just HAD to ruin it with that saxophone...

[Wyvern]

Have a listen to this CD - a 'real' German band with no drummer (samples to listen on website).

http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/SESSIONID/eec6b ... sk/hitlist

From the insert photo in the CD booklet it appears a 10 piece group.

Jonathan "who likes it without drummer!"

[lgb&dtuba]

As the only member of the rhythmn section, what can I do stylistically to compensate for the loss of the drummer?

I took over as manager of the 8 piece group as the old leader was stepping down and no one came forward to replace him and the group was on the verge of folding. The tuba player was also getting on in years so I took over his playing spot. So, I'm in charge of the band so I can do what I want (within reason) and if we can get by without a drummer I'd like to. I wouldn't mind getting down to 2 Cl, 1 tpt( maybe 2), 1 bone and tuba if it would still sound OK. This could open up some new gigs for us at smaller venues (stages).

Thanks for your input

Well, in Oberkrainer bands it's pretty common to not have a drummer. As long as you have a tuba for the oom and a trombone player who can handle a steady diet of pahs you should be fine. Find a decent accordion player to add to your proposed mix and that would help a lot. Switch the tuba to a euph and would be pretty much an Oberkrainer band.

[Naptown Tuba]

You're tapping your foot any way. Just put that to use and do the bass drum pedal on the down beats and the hi hat on the up beats. That's all you need. I've done it many times and it works very well, not to mention the attention it draws.

[Chuck(G)]

(Ducking the brickbats)

[lgb&dtuba]

(Ducking the brickbats)

I was at a place called the Six-String Cafe a few years back listening to a folk group of 3 people. A guitar, mandolin and banjo. I kept hearing a string bass. No string bass on stage. The group was tight and I was beginning to look for maybe a midi-bass triggered by the guitar. Not enough electronics in view, though.

During a break between sets I chatted with the guitar player and asked him how he was doing it.

Turns out they had recently lost their bass player and hadn't yet replaced him. They recorded the bass part on cd and were playing it behind the group through the sound system. To make it seamless they all had in ear monitors and the recorded bass player was counting them off. The bass part wasn't loud enough to really stand out, but it was there supporting the instruments.

No one else in the audience even noticed that the bass was recorded, they did it so well.

The point is that if you expend enough effort with something like that, or even a drum machine like Chuck suggested, it can work very well.

Do it badly, though, and it will suck big time.

[windshieldbug]

(Ducking the brickbats)

Turns out they had recently lost their bass player and hadn't yet replaced him. They recorded the bass part on cd and were playing it behind the group through the sound system. To make it seamless they all had in ear monitors and the recorded bass player was counting them off. The bass part wasn't loud enough to really stand out, but it was there supporting the instruments.

No one else in the audience even noticed that the bass was recorded, they did it so well.

The point is that if you expend enough effort with something like that, or even a drum machine like Chuck suggested, it can work very well.

Do it badly, though, and it will suck big time.

If that happens, just dance a hoe-down.

Can you say "Saturday Night Live, Jessica Simpson"?

[tubatooter1940]

Electric drummers and tracks of any kind can deliver a big sound but rob you of your spontenaety.
In the 70's I wanted our bass guitarist and drummer of our four piece band to get out front and play shots on trumpet and trombone. We were a dance band and to pull it off I had to sit behind the drums, do the sock cymbal with my left foot, the bass drum with my right foot-boom crash boom crash, while playing guitar and singing "Song Sung Blue" by Neal Diamond. I hope the audience liked it as much as we did. Those two blew their hearts out on their one and only horn tooting opportunity.

[Biggs]

Oompah band with no drummer, what can I do?

Uh, celebrate?

[Dan Schultz]

.... Drummers for this style are pretty scarce around here. ....

I'll put a couple of them on a Greyhound in the morning! We also have PLENTY of trumpet players. Want some of them, too? Maybe Greyhound will give me a group rate and we can get a bunch of 'em out of town!

[Art Hovey]

"So many drummers...so little time!"

[Carroll]

(Ducking the brickbats)

The group was tight and I was beginning to look for maybe a midi-bass triggered by the guitar. Not enough electronics in view, though...


No one else in the audience even noticed that the bass was recorded, they did it so well....

The point is that if you expend enough effort with something like that, or even a drum machine like Chuck suggested, it can work very well.

The four horn combo I play with has evolved (devolved?) into four horns and one guy on keyboards covering the rhythm section. Only once in ten years has anyone asked where the drum sound was coming from, and he was a drummer. I am not saying it is the best solution... but we know the drummer will show up and not be drunk.

[windshieldbug]

I am not saying it is the best solution... but we know the drummer will show up and not be drunk.

If it doesn't have a "drunk" setting, how realistic can it sound!?

[TubaRay]

I notice the number of posts about drunk drummers. My experience with drummers has not often been tarnished with drunken players. It is, however, quite littered with those whose sense of time is severely questionable.

[windshieldbug]

... those whose sense of time is severely questionable

Why do you think they had to become drummers!?

[windshieldbug]

must not be In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, then...