Good:
Pays attention to the band in performance and when writing.
Knows how to read cues from the band
Knows how to give cues
Gives feedback on song structure
Has a strong start and strong stop.
Likes to figure out new beats and tricks.
Has a stage personality.
Keeps time no matter what.
Bad:
Tries to be too fancy.
Doesn't participate in songwriting.
Doesn't hit the drums hard enough.
Hits the cymbals too hard.
Requires an enormous kit.
I think, excepting the comment about not hitting the drums hard enough (I find most drummers do the opposite and hit way too hard) that her assessments are mostly on point. In part because she's not a drummer though, I think she missed a couple of key points...
- Has good limb independence
- Is familiar with a range of styles and knows the basics of most (unless you only need them to do something specific and narrow, in which case I'd still say knowing the other styles is good musical background)
- Practices on their own, both the songs your band plays and fundamentals
- Has enough experience (time spent learning and practicing) to do all the things above and is at least as experienced as the other members of the band (ideally more)
- As with all band mates...the person is easy to get along with
- As with all band mates...the person is reliable (on time, does what they say they will do & not always drunk/doped up)
