i'm trying to be a little more adventurous when responding musically during a gtr solo or vocal melody. most of the times, i try to 'frame' the music -- provide sort of an outline for what's going on, as oftentimes our tunes get a little whacked, and the guitar solos can be lengthy and 'busy.'  
also, since a lot [most] of our stuff is in odd-time, i sometimes find myself at a loss for what to do, since it can be harder to fit in notes then -- seems like since you've got more groupings in a measure, so to speak, it's hard to fill all that space in time.

what i've been doing lately is listening for the number and length of notes in, say the guitar solo, then trying to figure out what subdivisions fit against it, and which ones sound good against it [eg; if he's playing eighth notes, i'll see how 16ths or quarters fit against it, to get a little opposition going].

i think my method is a little too scientific, but right now it's the best i can do. it helps me to keep my place and understand what i'm really doing.  

there must be a better way to approach this, though. sometimes it's okay to restate little sections of the melody, but i'm trying to be more -- i guess precise and 'intellectual' [eg; intelligently creative] with my parts, and say something interesting during or right after an interesting solo.

at first i thought i should just lay back, but i was listening to a tape of narada michael walden with jeff beck, and thought he did some killer embellishments to the solos. only prob was, the fills were so fast, i couldn't really make out what he was doing [but it sounded really cool].

what's your strategy with this -- and also -- do you ever do a fill against the singer's melody? i've been wanting to do that at the bridge to one tune, but wasn't sure if that was a no-no, and couldn't really think of an example where drums do that. i usually look for 'open spaces' between what the singer sings.

any and all thoughts appreciated, and hope my question/examples made sense!

 

I like Mr. A's approach, and pretty much agree.

When playing jazz I like to listen to the soloist and try to hear the rhythms he's playing and hit the accents with him when possible.  This works pretty well in most rock settings, too, although it sometimes confuses guitar players who aren't used to someone actually listening to what they play.

With respect to playing fills behind the singer, it depends on the situation.  Sometimes you can start a really long fill quietly and build it along with the song without stepping on the singer or the melody.

Fills are generally a transitional thing, marking the change from one section to another, but can also reinforce a melody pattern or soloist.  You just have to feel the music and see what works.

No way do I want to steal the mans glory....Every musician has his place and I just lay back and sneak into his groove. If I can do something to "shape" the music, as Mister A said, then I will do so. I don't want to steal the show, just assist his trip to new highs. Little things can add up to a big sound. I agree with all you guys. Key word is once again "listen". The hardest thing for a drummer is to learn where "not" to play. As Chrisso said, "that comes with experience."  

that's a good point, and actually, there are many times when he'll deviate from a solo, so i definitely have to keep that in mind.

i might be overthinking this whole thing, coz historically, i've done what you folks have listed. i guess i was trying to 'come outta the closet' a bit and interact with the music more. i would like to contribute more to the music, not for the sake of glory, but for the sake of adding good stuff.

now thinking about it, i realize that when the music is crazier, it might behoove me to lay back, and when there's a little more air, i can jump in when there's more of an opportunity.

gracias for the suggestions.

and now, onto lunch...

in my band, our bassist is a little shaky so i'm absolutely needed to hold down the beat while the guitar player is solo-ing.  i do try to step it up a little fullness-wise, just to cover that gap.

It's purely a judgement call for me.  Depends on the music, and who is soloing.  I can interact like crazy with some people.  Others, particularly when they're stoned/drunk, demand simple beat keeping to keep the whole thing from falling apart.  I think it also might be a good idea to ask them if they want a lot of interaction.  I've played with people who hated anything but a basic beat, even though interacting worked fine with the music.  It just differs with the situation.

Just go ahead and step on 'em!