What do you do on a bad day? (in order to play a big show)

[john lamb]

This is mostly a question for the pros around here... What do you do on a bad day, when you just don't feel like playing . are having a hard time connecting to the music? How do you find your way back in?

I've had a hobby of asking people this for years, and have spotted a few patterns. It never occurred to me to ask on the forums before, though!

[Tom Reschke]

The main thing I do when I'm not into playing a gig (whether it's from the beginning, middle, or between sets) is to remind myself that playing drums is what I have loved to do since I was a kid, and still love to do, and that I've practiced and gigged countless hours to be able to get payed to play music. That's my go to thought. It usually works for me. Or, perhaps I'll concentrate on the one guy (or many guys) in the audience who ain't into it and make it my goal to groove hard enough to make him (them) move, or smile, or show some positive emotion. That transfers the apathetic energy I have toward being on stage to an enemy in the crowd that I must defeat with my rocking! Aside from that, maybe I'll "practice" while I'm playing the gig (throw in licks or grooves that I'm not really comfortable executing yet), although that rarely leads to smiles from the other band members, especially the singer, and why would it? Sometimes I'll booze it a little, and that can work, but can also backfire just as well. It's an interesting question, as I'm sure we've all felt (or, in this case, not felt) it at one time or another. It's just a part of playing, unfortunately, but I am curious as to what others have to say.

[gretsch-o-rama]

I don't have an answer...thank you!

[langmick]

Who controls your mind?

You do.

[cjbdrm]

Sounds like you need some perspective.

How about striking up a conversation with someone confined to a wheelchair? How about a trip to the local homeless shelter? How about a trip to downtown Joplin? In the spirit of Memorial Day, take a trip to the closest War memorial and pay your respects to the good men and women who died for your country so you could whine about "not feeling the music" and have that as your biggest problem?

[bensdrums]

Sounds like you need some perspective.

How about striking up a conversation with someone confined to a wheelchair? How about a trip to the local homeless shelter? How about a trip to downtown Joplin? In the spirit of Memorial Day, take a trip to the closest War memorial and pay your respects to the good men and women who died for your country so you could whine about "not feeling the music" and have that as your biggest problem?

I don't think he was posing the question in the 'whining' sense. Based on a lot of John's other posts I think it has more to do with his interest in how we think about drumming. I have to say his question is far more intriguing to me than who we think would have made a better Dream Theater drummer (ahem... 30 pages... really?).

[patdrums]

I agree that it didn't sound like John's intent was to sound like he was complaining. I didn't get that at all. Possibly because I know exactly what he's feeling, as I'm sure many others do here. There are nights where I just feel disconnected and can't seem to fall into ANYTHING that resembles a groove, a pocket, a positive vibe....

I can't say that I have a foolproof solution because sometimes I just have to accept the fact that it's gonna be a long night. Luckily, over the course of 100+ shows in a year, it might happen to me once or twice. I can usually salvage a marginally bad night into SOMETHING decent. But sometimes there is just no hope and I just have to plow ahead and get it over with. I've had alot of shows where physical problems hold me back--flu, lack of sleep, food poisoning, migraines etc. There's not much I can do on those but just man up and get thru them and get to my bunk. But I definitely know the feeling when things just aren't clicking and no matter what I do, it just feels like crap. Those are the nights I just simplify the hell out of everything and go back to the fundamentals----think time, groove, pocket---and try to keep that part of things solid. I don't go for crazy stuff or worry about trying to be really "drummy". Oddly enough, those are sometimes shows that turn out to be better shows all around! (Imagine that!)

On the flipside, there are also nights where I feel really good but the REST of the guys onstage are just fumbling their way thru the show and I feel like I'm dragging a jungle gym around all night. They're no fun either.

And there are also nights that, before a single note is played, I can just feel it's gonna suck. And suddenly, I end up playing better than I ever imagined I would. It's weird. That's what makes playing music such a mind fuck sometimes. When it's good, it's magic. But when it's bad, you just have to hang on and get through it. If there was a foolproof way of us all hitting it at the apex every night, we'd all be doing it. But it doesn't work that way. Sometimes you can fudge things and salvage a decent show out of it. But sometimes there's just no hope! Funny thing is, most of the perception of that stuff happens between your own ears. And 99 percent of the people listening never know you're struggling. It's hard to get out of your own head.

[janne jansson]

We are all humans, feelings like that is part of being human....
I just walk up to the drums and do what i do, and most times i am there again connecting if the
environment (the people and music) is ok
I try to spread positive energy around me as a person and with my playing.
That always helps, playing many blushdas don´t
Then again, if you are on stage doing music that you hate with people you don`t like...Then things get problematic....
The answer that works 100% then is: Think about all them bills

I have to ask you the same question then....What is the pattern you get from the answers?

[john lamb]

I'm doing this becuase I'm really interested in how people do things. I'm also working on a book, and use this stuff in my teaching. There are many ways to skin a cat, as they say. One of my fascinations is what i call "steering"... how do we direct oursleves into what we do. Sometimes road is straight and we end up exactly where we want to go, but sometimes the street signs are all in Greek. That's why I'm asking about it. Nobody has perfect days all the time. Like patdrums says, "I know exactly what he's feeling".

In general, here are there are 3 most common strategies I've heard.

(1) Gimme one reason. Recall a direct, personal experience that reminds yourself of how great it is to play music, stop whining, and the point is to have fun and groove, not to be perfect.
(2) Sensation. This one really surprised me in how common it is. Some guys like to put their attention into the feeling of their butts pushing against the seat. Some zone out into the sound of the snare, getting it to sound really consistent. Concert pianists often stare at a point inside the piano (it looks like their reading the music). Basketball players often put their attention to how the seams of the ball feel in their hands. I find great comfort in feeling the vibration of the stick as it rings out fully with every note.
(3) Triage! These aren't ways back into the music, but are ways to make performance suck less. This usually means simplify down to what *is* working / automatic, and stick with that. Sopme guys subdivide to hell and back.

How about striking up a conversation with someone confined to a wheelchair? How about a trip to the local homeless shelter? How about a trip to downtown Joplin? In the spirit of Memorial Day, take a trip to the closest War memorial and pay your respects to the good men and women who died for your country so you could whine about "not feeling the music" and have that as your biggest problem?

This is a standard answer. Not accusing me of whining, although it is a conclusion that is easy to jump to, but finding an appreciating for music, and putting things in perspective. It fits neatly into the first category. There are some other things, but those are the most common that I've heard from guys in clinics/lessons. Off the top of my head, Rodney Holmes says the only time he feels off is if something on his drum set is out of place. He'll search for it, move it, then everything will be fine.

Benny Greb told me this story in a clinic. This is abbreviated, and not nearly as entertaining as he told it (Dude is FUNNY). Whenever he feels anxious or a little off, he reminds himself of this story.
He was playing with a hip hop band, and spent a month getting the exact feel of the recordings down solid. They had a special swing and he got it exactly. So he's doing the tour, and things are great untill he gets very sick. He has to call a last minute sub, and the sub plays everything straight. Benny Greb is listening, horrified. The drummer he called isn't getting the feel right, and they are going to be angry at him for getting a sub who isn't doing it right. So he asks them.. "Sooooooo.... What did you think of my friend?" They say "Great! A little different, but he sounded great and we had fun." Benny Greb's moral of the story here is that they didn't even know the difference, and didn't really care, as long as it felt good. All the pressure he put on himself, and the anxiety that caused, was needless.

Also from a clinic: Steve Ferrone played the Superbowl a while back. He doesn't normally, well almost ever, get performance anxiety, but something about the look of the player's faces - how seriously they took the game, rubbed off on him. That, and one billion people would be watching him play, live. He started to get a bit worked up, so he called his wife. She said "what are you getting worked up for? It sounds like fun!" That hit home, and he started repeating it to himself. It is going to be fun. It's going to be fun. When showtime came around, he is still saying it to himself. He looks up and Tom Petty's hand is shaking so much he's having a hard time turning on his amp, so he says "TOM! This is going to be FUN!."

Billy Ward feels the touch of the sticks rubbing against his hands.

Esperanza Spaulding says that she tries to take energy from the air (this is a tangent, but that goes into sensation), I think she said that she has a story about playing music is great (don't remember!) and also that she asks her bandmates to help her out. She tells them that she's having a bad day / is tired whatever, and asks them to watch out for her, give her extra support.

[john lamb]

Who controls your mind?

You do.

Obviously. My question is how do you go about doing it? You can't simply will yourself to think what you want to think - you have to have a reason to do it.