DRUMMER CAFE

I dont' care what I have on my feet.  I play mostly at church so I have dressy shoes on.  I practice in bare feet, socks, shoes, sandals, whatever I have on at that moment. 

Hahaha this is a good post, interesting to see what everyone does.  Mister is right.  Get to a point where it doesnt matter.  You never know what the dress code to a gig may be.  Also, have you seen some of the floors at clubs? hahaha When I do get to chose though, I prefer to use socks.  Mainly cause I am a Slide technique player, and its easier to get a solid "slide" with socks.    
Has anyone tried to practice with Steel Toes?  Maybe its like druming with corps sticks, and will strengthen your muscles.  Or maybe not.   lol

I've been looking for a shoe that "allows the toes to spread in the demi-pointe position" 

Seriously, barefoot feels the best to me on the kick (recent Speed King convert), but if I ever have to wear shoes (I.e., get asked to play in public) I'll wear black Chucks.

My work shoes are steel toes....I play gigs with them all the time. I had to buy steel toes for working in a warehouse with forklifts. So I found a pair that's both lightweight and flexible. The company paid the 1st $75 for new shoes every year. I have some others that are much heavier....It doesn't matter, I can play with any shoe. Matter of fact, I wonder if my kick hasn't gotten more solid with them....Plus, while on break I don't worry about drunks stepping on my toes. You know how bars are.... Well, some of us do.   

Hahaha YES steel toe shoe man.  Thats awesome, I bet the beater wouldnt hurt you if it came flying back.  I would like to try putting weights in my shoes to build muscle.  WOuld it work?

Shoes, yes, (tennis shoes, etc.) but boots (no flexibility) or heels, no!  I've stubbed my toe before while playing without shoes so shoes are definitely preferable for me.

Luckily I live in a very warm climate, so I can get away with flip flops most of the year. I prefer barefoot, so I just slip them off and on. Last Sat, however, I did make out past the drums to the bar before I realized I didn't have shoes on in the place we played. Yuck! Of couse the weekend before that we were all wearing dresses with matching chokers...so...don't know why I am being so picky.

Since most of my practice is done at home, I became very comfortable playing barefoot. I live in Florida, and most of the time it is just too hot to be wearing socks or shoes. Problem is, most of my playing is done at a church. While our church is not very formal, I don't think strolling around on the stage barefoot would be appreciated.

The problem for me was that wearing regular sneakers or loafers didn't have the same feel, especially since I was using their hardware instead of my own. What I did was buy a pair of really light running running shoes. They have a very snug fit.

Our church is casual enough that when it's the middle of summer, people wear shorts. When that happens, I'll come in the flip-flops (Don't laugh. I thought flip flops were absurd when I lived in NJ. Living here, I buy nice ones every summer). Since I'm a little hidden on the stage, I can slip them off, play barefoot and then slip them back on when I'm getting off the stage.

I can play any way I have too but I prefer my Rockport walking shoes.  When I play bare foot the balls of my feet are sore for a day or so. I guess I could get used to it but I like
my Rockports.
                                Nutty

I’ll check out the Durango’s.  I sometimes use black hybrid dress shoe/tennis shoe made by Sketchers that looks close enough to a dress shoe to work with a suit or tux.  My favorites are still Stacy Adams “Beatle boots.  Polished up they’re a great dress shoe but still rock and roll.  I use these for country bands as well because they look a little like a cowboy boot but are glove leather with a very flexible sole. I've got them in black, brown and white snakeskin.

I had a pair of purple and crome 6 inch platforms in the 70's but never could drum in them.