"Drum Sticks" by Red Herring
This month, for our debut issue, I decided to talk with rhythm guitarist Rob Wilcox, who also played all the drums on Take It Back, on what a band looks for in a drummer. Unable to play drums and guitar at the same time, Whiskey Rose is currently looking to hired a drummer for live situations.
What follows is my interview with Rob.
Roadkill: Rob, you play all the drums on Take It Back. Was it because you felt that only you knew what you wanted, or what?
Rob: No, definitely not. Brandi (Thomas, singer), Jason (Schuman, bass/keyboards), and I felt that our drummer at the time wasn't capable of performing to our satisfaction on tape. Tape is forever, so you don't want the wrong approach. We looked for other drummers, but pre-production was right around the corner. I did it to save time and money.
RK: Having a studio band and a live band must take some work. Do you tell your live band what to play?
RW: Yes and no. You obviously want to stay true to the original feel of the songs, but you don't want to stifle other players. If our live drummer has his own style, as long as key rolls like the intro to Reason are there, I don't mind if he plays his own thing.
RK: Right now you're looking for a live drummer. When you hire a drummer, what is it you are looking for?
RW: To this point, when we audition a drummer, he comes in and jams on a few songs for his try-outs. We play a couple of easier originals like Walk On Home, without too much prep time. I didn't want him to come in with a pre-conceived notion of what the song is. If someone can improv through a whole song and come out sounding like they more or less knew it all along, then they definitely have some natural talent.
RK: Things like tempo control and timing aside, what's the most important thing you look for?
RW: Groove. Jason and I played together for a few years prior to Whiskey Rose, when I was the drummer for Overload. Groove has always been the big thing on our list, and we always seemed to click, no matter what the song was. When we're hiring a drummer, that's what I'm looking for. No groove and you're just a loud, lousy bunch of people up there. No one will dance, no one will tap their feet, or what ever they do.
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- Red Herring
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