I've been listening to some old Doobie Brothers (the early stuff before McDonald). Specifically two albums - "The Captain and Me" and "Toulouse Street".  I used to love the group (they were a local band) and saw them sometime around 73.  They combined a great mix of styles and I always liked their harmonies better than the Eagles and others known for the vocals...   But to the point. I was always amazed at how well they pulled off the two drummer thing (John Hartman & Michael Hossack) - them and Allman Bro's.  They played very clean and simple but threw in just enough funky groove and licks to make the songs come alive.  I also love the mix with each drummer having their own place (need the headphones to appreciate).  I haven't listened to them for a very long time so listening again I'm even more impressed (or just impressed all over again with a more mature appreciation). 

I'm curious how many if any of you have played in bands with two drummers, not just jammed but actually had a band with two drummers.  What kind of challenges did you find?  What do/did you like/dislike..... 

Hmmm, boy this takes me way back to my early years of playing.  Had a friend, Kelly, who I played in a garage band with (we never ended up playing out anywhere).  He's a much more accomplished drummer, from a drumming family and all that- had some pretty cool old marchng snares in the garage, etc. 
Since I was pretty much just beginning he definatly took the lead.  It was a lot of fun as he'd come up with these parts that were very simple (keeping my limitations well in mind), mostly ostinato type things.  I recall one song (name???) where to the listener you heard the same thing being played (minus fills he usually took- he was the lead drummer and I was the rhythm drummer I guess you'd say ...).  It had a basic 1/8 note beat bass on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4.  then just underneath that was a 1/8, 1/16 note tom ostinato.  If we'd had the same equipment tuned exactly the same you'd have to look to notice that what we were doing was alternating patterns every other measure.  1 measure of rhythm then one of ostinato while the other played 1 of ostinato and then the next was rhythm.

Not exactly the Greatful Dead or the Doobies but hey- it was a great experience for a beginning drummer to get some experience while having another of many years experience to carry you along. 

I recall seeing one group on the Today Show but don't recall who it was.  Both drummers played those Arbiter kits however- I just can't get over how "wrong" those kits look without the lugs.  Engineering marvel they are, they just look naked all stripped of your "normal" hardware.    But like anything- what matters most is who's sittin behind 'em at the helm- those drums sounded sweet

Doren, the band you're thinking of is 'And you will know us by the trail of dead'

I don't know how you could forget a name like that

I think it's since been abbreviated to trail of dead or something.

I just joined a 3 piece group. The bass player plays drums and the guitarist/singer plays drums. I will be the main drummer, but we have talked about having times of multiple drummers, especially for drum breaks/solo type things. I am really excited about it.

I was reading the Russ Miller interview in the latest Modern Drummer. His latest solo cd has many tracks with him drumming with other drummers. I had to order that cd, so it is on it's way.

Heh. I always wondered how Grady Tate felt playing with Steve Gadd in Stuff! I know how I would feel.

One of my fondest memories of living in New Orleans was boarding the River Boat "The President", a real stern wheeler, for a night cruise on the great Mississippi River. Diner was served on board in the main ball room. The ship was built in the early 1900's and had all the rustic opulence of the era. The entertainment that night was Paul Davis and his band. This group of home grown musicians included 2 drummers. I don't remember their names but I DO remember watching in awe as they kept perfect timing and the sound on that ole boat was fantastic. I think that had to be one of the most perfect nights I can remember in New Orleans! The ONLY thing that scars the memory is the fact that my "THEN" wife, now EX-WIFE who was pregnant with my youngest son got drunk and made an ASS of her self! Other than that, it was GREAT! 


After a quick search, I found out the two drummers were Benny Rappa (passed away in 2004) and Frankie Robins. These guys were worth the search as they were AWESOME players.

We tried it and mostly liked it - I joined our band as a backup drummer and we eventually began to play some songs together and split the set list for others.  Ultimately, we just decided as a group that it was just too much to deal with.  I'm not sure whether we really worked hard enough at it to know if it really would work for us, but the rest of the band asked me to play utility percussion and sing backup vocals, & I'm having a ball with congas & other assorted noisemakers now. We still swap it up now & then, & I play the kit if the regular guy can't be there, but mostly the percussion thing is my role now.  We are most fortunate to have a group of middle-aged personalities that are in it because they love the music, not for ego or money - the things that cause problems for groups like ours.

Yes, In 1978 my band had two drummers for about one year.  We learned from each other and became great friends but like someone said earlier,  Many stages were not big enough for two drummers. I finally went on to play with a different band and every once and awhile I would do a gig with my old band and just singing lead vocals.
                     Nutty

I'm a tad lazy, so would love to play simple time while the other drummer took care of the difficult bits.
I like the idea of sharing the metronomic duties too. I have a tendency to speed up (slightly  ). So it would be good to share duties with a solid timekeeper.

I thought its something I'd definitely like to try when I saw Prefuse 73 with two drummers on stage at Fuji Rock. Infinite possibilities... x 2.

http://www2.fujirockexpress.com/05/report/report.php?id=444&
page=8&sword=&swhen=3&swhere=&swho=&sgenre=&swrittenby=

I'm pretty sure the DJ was mixing between them live, as either drummer would seem to stop and start playing something else, which didn't match what was coming out of the PA, before easing into the next track. Thats what I THINK was happening anyway, in between brief glances and dancing my azz off. Really powerful beats that had the whole crowd moving.