I'm glad it was your last band.
I'm not a fan of no shoes, for health and aesthetic reasons.
Healthwise, many of the stages I've played recently have been littered with old nails, tiny shards of glass, metal screws from drumkits and bits of old drumstick.

I like barefeet, but ....

Barrooms stages are filthy. all kinds of sticky stuff and dirt, I even knew a guy who would chew tobacco and spit on the carpet by his hihats.

Another thing is a lot of pedals are sharp or rough feeling. Pearl Eliminators are nice on barefeet, but forget DW or Iron Cobras.

If I was play fast doubles all the time with heel toe I'd use barefeet, but I don't so I'm sticking with my tennies.

Yeah, what Mr. A said. I much prefer bare feet, but I play most gigs with sneakers on (Converse All-Stars) and for a while I played in 4-inch platform shoes. That was in the 70s - I saw the drummer with Edgar Winter playing in platform shoes so I figured if he can do it, I can do it. And I did, until the night one of the platforms separated from the shoe as I was helping carry a Hammond B3 down a flight of steps. No more platforms.

I've only been playing drums for a couple of years, so I haven't played drums in a gig yet. Just recording. When I do play live though, I'm sure I'll wear some light soccer shoes for asthetic and health reasons...as said above, those are some nasty stages out there. At home, however, I usually play barefoot or socks. It's just more comfortable for me. I don't wear gloves when playing guitar or piano, so...*shrugs*

I've worn most everything from sneakers to western boots at one time or another, however I only played barefoot one time. That was enough for me to realize I couldn't play in comfort without a solid pair of shoes, boots,etc. In addition I don't think it would be exceptable to play barefooted in the clubs we play. Different generation for us. Mainly suits, ties, etc.

My thing about shoes is this - I don't wear gloves when I drum because I like the feel and the nuance of sticks in my bare hands. Same with my feet. I use a Speed King pedal, which is direct drive, so I want to have as much control and nuance as possible over that pedal. Shoes (even socks) get in my way, if only just a little. I can certainly play in socks and/or shoes - I'm sure I could hold the sticks while wearing hockey gloves, too - but I prefer my bare feet working those pedals, especially the bass pedal, so I can totally interact with that pedal.

Sounds stupid now that I write it, but that's my take on shoes.

I usually play with issues.




but seriously floks ...

barefoot when practicing, Chuck T's when gigging.

I've played with no shoes, combat boots, sneakers, etc....But it depends on the pedal. Played my DW 9000 just last week in my socks. Wore holes in them in 1 hour.... Sure am glad I wasn't barefoot. The blisters would have been awefull.... Most of the time I prefer light weight, very flexible shoes. But it doesn't matter, I'll play on just about any pedal with whatever is on my feet at the time. The stages I've been on have been horrible. I wouldn't think of being barefoot on them.   

I prefer playing with shoes on, and I very much prefer that look, but...

I melt in the heat.  Someone on this board suggested I try playing bare foot and doing so has made a world of difference.

I once had to go buy a pair of WalMart black dress shoes at the last minute because the hoighty toighty club I was playing my casual wasn't very casual. They're the only ones who noticed I was wearing black K-Swiss and not wingtips (or whatever).

K-Swiss and canvass Converse make for great drumming shoes. Neither don't fair as well as tennis shoes, IMO. One of my favorite jazz drummers, Rob Schuh, will only play with his black canvas Converse high tops, and he didn't bother to wear anything else for his trio's DVD!

I agree with Keith. In the end, it should never matter what you're wearing. Although, shoes that are too big take some getting used to (as I discovered on my casual).

People who practice bare-footed are really asking for trouble when they get a gig where it won't be very cool to take off the shoes. You might think it'll never happen ... until it does. You never know when you're little hippy jam band will be playing the Grammys!

If I can get past my own heterosexual pride, I might try some of these.