Singing Drummers

[bob e michael]

i was the drummer and lead singer from 13 - 16 .... then we got 2 older guys in the band that sang really good
that was the end of my singing career .... i still sing .... maybe 3 tunes a night , and i'm good with that

 

[drums1225]

I begrudgingly began singing harmony after the singer/guitarist of my first really good cover band heard me singing along with the jukebox while we were setting up. "YOU SING??? I'm putting up a mic and monitor for you right now!" I just wanted to be a drummer, so never put myself forth as a singer, but that was the start of my "bonus" contribution. Little did I know that would become my meal ticket and my vocals became an integral part of almost every band since, and several of the best gigs I've ever landed would never have happened if I didn't sing. Now I love it.

At first, I definitely couldn't sing through fills or heavily syncopated beats, but from doing it more and thinking about it less, it became more "natural". Now I play and sing through Danny Seraphine's parts (which are basically drum solos) in songs like "Make Me Smile" and others. I also pitch in a few leads when we have a sub keyboardist.

 

[Pat A Flafla]

Everybody around here knows I sing, but I never get a mic because they know I'll tell people to stop bringing the singer shots.

 

[drummer5359]

I started singing backing vocals in the 80s when I was in a keyboard trio that played a lot of great rooms from the Keys to West Palm Beach. I sang lead on one or two songs a night, got pretty good at it.

In the 90s and early 2000s I played in an oldies band in Pittsburgh where I sang more lead as well as backing vocals on almost every tune. In the early 2000s I got a major promotion in my day job. I moved to Maryland and for five years and I only subbed in bands during this time. When I would travel to Pittsburgh on occasion to sub in my brother's band I'd sing, otherwise not so much.

On one of those trips in January of 2008 I had a major stroke. It affected my speech patterns to an extent that I retired in September of 2009, in 2010 I moved back to Pittsburgh. A major part of my job involved public speaking. My speech particularly deteriorates when I'm tired. I started gigging again in 2010, but my lead vocal days were over. I still contribute background vocals today.

 

[JohnnyVibesAZ]

I started singing backing vocals in the 80s when I was in a keyboard trio that played a lot of great rooms from the Keys to West Palm Beach. I sang lead on one or two songs a night, got pretty good at it.

In the 90s and early 2000s I played in an oldies band in Pittsburgh where I sang more lead as well as backing vocals on almost every tune. In the early 2000s I got a major promotion in my day job. I moved to Maryland and for five years and I only subbed in bands during this time. When I would travel to Pittsburgh on occasion to sub in my brother's band I'd sing, otherwise not so much.

On one of those trips in January of 2008 I had a major stroke. It affected my speech patterns to an extent that I retired in September of 2009, in 2010 I moved back to Pittsburgh. A major part of my job involved public speaking. My speech particularly deteriorates when I'm tired. I started gigging again in 2010, but my lead vocal days were over. I still contribute background vocals today.

Carry on, my friend! I've been a lead vocalist in very successful bands, and then "reduced" to a karaoke singer! What goes around, comes around, I guess. As long as you're singing, that's the main thing.

 

[thejohnlec]

I have a good ear for harmony and have done BGVs on a number of occasions, and even sang a few leads when we were doing a cruise ship gig. Don’t really do it anymore, which is cool with me. Content to just play.

 

[BennyK]

I sing in three different keys , all in the same verse .

 

[kadey]

I sing BVs and the occasional lead. Biggest challenge so far was playing the Bonham triplets in the chorus of The Middle by Jimmy Eat World.

 

[DamnSingerAlsoDrums]

The Middle by Jimmy Eat World.

Good song though... This is one of my guilty pleasures of a whole genre of Pop-punk that wasn't really my cup o'tea otherwise. But I won't skip this one and might even mumble the words and bob my head to it when it comes on...