Pop Rock...Not So Hard

Been absentmindedly learning some covers for a "maybe but probably not" project the Craig's List gods have thrown me. The list so far:

Drive, Incubus (2000)
Dissident, Pearl Jam (1993)
Slither, Velvet Revolver (2004)
Tush and LaGrange, ZZ Top
East Jesus Nowhere and 21 Guns, Green Day (2009)
Plush and Interstate Love Song, Stone Temple Pilots (2003)

With the exception of the ZZ Top stuff (guess LaGrange is going to be required learning as it seems to be on everyone's list), this stuff all feels like the same genre. Oddly, the band was originally billed as "classic rock." If 1993 is classic rock we're all in alot of trouble...never mind 2009. Oh well, labels are bullshit.

I didn't know any of these songs, though I'd heard a few on the radio. I was shocked by how similiar the drum beats are. They feel pretty boilerplate.

Don't know if this group is going to pan out or not, but I'm not feeling too worried about getting this stuff down. It's not fast and it's not loud and it's not intricate. If this is pop music I'm not sure why I'm not a millionaire.

It will be interesting to see what the ages and attitudes of these guys end up being. I've got a long way to go on the drums, but I'm starting to feel like I can handle myself in these situations. I can foresee a time in the future...perhaps not so distant...where my experience will surpass most. In five years, if I keep up the hard work, I'll be a "veteran". It will be hard to put up with bullshit once that time comes (not that it isn't already hard).

I'm not sure how good drummers who have been playing for 30 years but are still not making a living off music put up with "it" ("it" being people with big egos, those who don't practice, those who are late or no shows, those who noodle between songs, those who want to show off their playing, those who don't listen to the drummer, those who don't play musically). Beginners don't bother me...it's the people who think they are hot shit (but aren't) who are trouble. But then again, I guess that, after 30 years you know who around town you are willing to play with...and you don't troll Craig's List so much any more.

Bands, like most relationships, are really built on communication, humility, mutual-respect, and empathy. And on being prepared...both with your general skills and on the songs at hand. These things are so simple, and yet so few people get them right.