Singing drummers

The Eagles
Lightning Bolt
The Romantics
The Carpenters
Husker Du

The question is : does the singing drummer go at the front of the stage or stay at the back? And if they stay at the back, then who is the official frontperson?

ok here is a question about singing drummers ?

which is cooler , headset mic or just mic on a gooseneck stand ?

discuss...

And that little dude who sang Mmmmbop.

RINGO! (sang while playing, at the back, everything...)
Keith Moon! (barbara ann)

Moe Tucker (Granted, would leave the drum stool for her bit, then return and resume drumming...)

that SO TOTALLY does not count

But it was Dave Clarkes stuff, therefore he was boss.

Elvin Jones grunts a lot.

Mel Torme was a great fucking drummer, but I don't think he ever did it at the same time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qobJdLPUSw

This isn't going to be anyone's cup of tea around here, but Landis Expandis of the All Mighty Senators is one of my favorite frontmen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UANtfg_TULk

Don Brewer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMsIrKjSM6Y

I might have thought Blyth Power would have been mentioned first time round.

Haha I have checked the thread linked to in the second post and Blyth Power are mentioned there. By me. Complaining nobody else has suggested them. It's nice to know I've moved on in 11 years.

Good recent band using this strategy - and stand-up drumming for extra points - are Table Scraps.

des dyer from jigsaw! (bonus points because he was the band's second singing drummer, the original having left shortly after the band formed.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_LcZhmkg88

That's the second time someone's posted that song in a week. Jigsaw revival in full effect.

Killing Joke!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVz0mQvi-KA

blank realm
cold pumas

I think Human Instinct had a singing drummer for at least part of their career.

billy tk era (not sure about earlier incarnations)

http://www.wordworx.co.nz/images/Instinctweb.jpg

also twink with the pink fairies, i think.

MOULTY!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25x3aIWs76E

I saw a My Dad is Dead show once that was just Mark Edwards on drums/vocals with backing tracks for guitar/bass.

Jigsaw revival in full effect.

about time!

Hilarie Sidney of Apples in Stereo (et al.)

I started singing and playing drums at the same time live a couple years ago, after thinking I'd never be capable of it. It takes a fair amount of coordination, but so does drumming to begin with, and obviously you can lose a little quality or attention to detail in both endeavors by doing them simultaneously, but it surprised me how quickly it started to feel relatively natural and easy.

Charles Hayward

Me too some dude. It's not really as difficult as I thought it would be.

Oh except I've never played/sung in front of ppl but I don't think that would make much of a difference in the ease of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nf5VyHEB6k

Milford Graves:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV5SE8XCISk

Jan Errico of The Vejtables

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdToSxH1KtY

band of gypsies (at least on 'who knows')

Marcus Binder of Attwenger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buRtnOiOSno

Buddy Miles though I've read certain people he was doing it with weren't overly pleased. Apparently Band of Gypsies had to be heavily edited because of it, or so I read.

Jigsaw revival in full effect.

about time!

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, November 3, 2015 3:36 PM (4 months ago)

But I guess I can contribute: Grady Tate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_nWaV8G8Sw

the dude from no age

I thought this thread said Sting Drummers
Copeland, Hakim, Katche, Cailuta, Carlock ... Simply the best!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDbeopynlrE

Doesn't quite count but Jon Hendricks first instrument was drums, which may explain why he is able to do what he does.

Come to think of it, this cat is great but probably not on the radar of this borad: http://www.tonyjeffersonmusic.com/tonyjeffersonmusic/Vocals_Bio.html

Triumph!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZW14xgMoHI

Christian Vander
Tatsuya Yoshida

come on people

The guy out of The Display Team

Sarah Hennies does backing vocals for most of her bands (Weird Weeds, Eamonn's Daemons, Obody).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGRYgZswqrg

I don't suppose anyone remembers Blair Mailer, but their track on the Yo Yo a Go Go compilation from '96 starts with a voice saying:

"Who was the band with the drummer that sang just one song?"
"...it was us."

so

Mimi Parker from Low

Fyfe Ewing ex of Therapy?.

The Jellyfish dude. Had a good voice!

wow i've never seen any Jellyfish performances/videos so i didn't realize Sturmer was the drummer

Terry Bozzio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT1m4ud5LRM

Carla Azar of Autolux: Soft Scene, Brainwasher

Maya Tuttle of The Colourist: We Won't Go Home, Little Games

Florrie (Florence Ellen Arnold): Live a Little, Shot You Down

Also, if timbale drummers are considered, its bewildering that Sheila E hasn't been mentioned in 12 years.

My favorite singing drummer, non-Levon Helm division, is Katherina Bornefeld of Dutch art-punk institution The Ex.

Saw this band, Sirsy, a few months ago. They're from upstate NY. The singer plays drums -- standing up, which is tricky -- and she's good, too. She also triggers bass parts on a pad attached to the drumset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7oum6H-9RE

Slint

See that Mel Torme has already been mentioned, didn't even think about Sheila E. but yeah of course D'oh! Have been wondering if Morris Day should count.

Birth Control (terrible band)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qev6mjO1sjE

^ BERND NOSKE dr, voc

King Fowley of Deceased:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neaE17-V8aI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8Wf1ZJER1Q

Panda Bear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71PA3l0SeY

I don't see anybody playing drums there. Or singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh7zM3L3uj4

Uncalled for tbh.

Georgia Hubley from Yo La Tengo (the band was mentioned upthread), one of my favourite female voices in rock music, one example with Tortoise:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6tpg_FmsiU

When I think of singing drummers I first think of Gil Moore of Triumph
But apparently I am the only one.

Jen Twynn Payne is lead vocalist and drummer for The Courtneys, a Vancouver band.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM_ekGGg6f0

are there any drummers who also play bass at the same time

Dave Grohl does this on Nirvana Unplugged, iirc.

When I think of singing drummers I first think of Gil Moore of Triumph
But apparently I am the only one.

Au contraire, there's a youtube clip upthread.

I posted about the 24th Street Wailers in a rockabilly thread and got no response, but this gal plays drums AND sings like early Etta James.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJh3d6BLFY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6srcWeDh_o

are there any drummers who also play bass at the same time

Yeppers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dyVEBOFxHg

^ Thanks for posting this, I've got a new favourite band.

that band Cowboy Mouth I saw on Ellen 11 or 12 years ago

Kurt Reil of The Grip Weeds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRl878m9mzE

Grant Hart, Levon Helm, Don Henley, Stewart Copeland, Phil Collins are all fine by me. It's probably no one's first choice but sometimes it happens.

Gooseneck stand is goofy, particularly if it goes over your head in a dramatic arc. No thank you. If you're even remotely clever you can get a normal boom stand to serve adequately. I do this pretty frequently.

A headset seems nice in theory but doesn't let you cough or belch or anything (unless you have like a mute pedal but that's probably even more distracting).

See I feel like the above band (Grip Weeds) would be much better with a front person vocalist, I don't feel like singing drummer works with their style at all.

John Cowsill

I saw an interesting 2-piece band open for Neil Hagerty at the Casbah in San Diego, in the early 2000s, and wish I could remember their name. It was a guy with glasses on a drum kit, singing, and another guy playing guitar (I think). Their songs were mesmerizing.

I’ve always remembered (sort of) the closing lyric to one of them:

“And the thing I most regret / Is that I ever, ever had / Just one cigarette”

are there any drummers who also play bass at the same time

Yeppers

― MaresNest, Saturday, July 8, 2017 10:21 AM (one year ago)

Also -- this video is all kinds of awesome

Giorgio Tuma
Phil Wright from Paper Lace

are there any drummers who also play bass at the same time

Oh yeah, a friend of mine does this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y9xWFRGnW8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBC4SGe9kyQ

Don't actually know if that is worth watching sorry.

dean fucking spunt

dean fucking spunt is possibly the only good singing drummer (source: the heart)

my heart reminds me that yukihiro fucking takahashi is also in the god tier of singing drummers

John Cowsill

Ok, now this is just getting ridiculous (singing-bass playing-synth playing-drummers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yWdsmKDfsM

wtf haha

reminds me of the 'one-man bands' you used to see on the metro...except this is a full rock band

lol at Bruce Johnston occasionally remembering to pretend to play the keyboard in that Cowsill clip

Surprised that John Garner of Sir Lord Baltimore isn't on here. SLB's 1971 Kingdom Come is what would now be called proto-metal I guess---tagged as heavy metal when that was still a new, esoteric rock critic category---real good, and the follow-up was okay; way later when they were mentioned in CREEM again, somebody wrote in to say that Garner had become a Christian EMT and wedding singer. Then about 12 years ago the third album was finally released, earlier sessions re-worked with Christian-themed lyrics (considering the title of the debut, maybe this was always in there, but originally over my head if so). Kingdom Come's re-reissue on CD is prob OOP by now but worth looking for.

Listening again---if you want visionary caveman vocals x drums for the wedding, Garner is your guy! Or was (RIP).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6srcWeDh_o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ3Mns6NmHY

ctrl+f "Anderson Paak" 0/0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRWgtYtrrj8

https://i.imgur.com/zD6FF57.jpg

SLB update from Rolling Reissues 2020:
Sir Lord Baltimore finally getting an official reissue of their lps as a 3cd on April 24th. Through Cherry Red .
That includes a 2006 reunion lp.

I think all cd releases to now have been bootlegs.

― Stevolende, Wednesday, March 11, 2020 2:31 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTIHKcEM7sY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Un0xRjGlk

Cool. She never got mentioned or just further evidence?

Oh I don't know, didn't check.

... she did 16 years ago but good to see some proof.

Albert Bouchard and what's his face from Times New Viking

^ Adam Elliott. And does Dennis Wilson count?

Adris hoyos from Harry pussy

How have we not acknowledged Neil Peart? Karen Carpenter was more the (on-stage) drumming-singer, though Midler's show used to incl. a parody of that.

Meg Baird in Heron Oblivion

Did Neil sing?

drumming singer vs singing drummer hmmmmm

Why did I incl. Peart? Sorry, Geddy Lee!
Karen Carpenter the singer who sometimes drums (or "drums," as Midler would put it). Carpenters' main drummer, at least on tours, was Cubby O'Brien, ex-Mouseketeer. Also sang the Mickey Mouse Club theme song with his comrades as child, though don't know if he was already drumming then.

Loukas Sideras, Aphrodite's Child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwYmE7cqvRI

limpe fuchs

"Moulty," by the Barbarians, is thee autobio of their drummer, who lost a hand, but gained a hook. "Now all I need is a girl." Other Barbarians: "Moulty!" (That's the chorus.) Prob on the 'Tube, but I no longer trust ilx to let me post it.

That was actually a session gig where Moulty was backed by members of The Band (when they were still the Hawks), not the Barbarians. He reportedly was mortified by that track.

Mike Browning, in early incarnations of Morbid Angel, his own band Nocturnus, and spinoff band Nocturnus AD

xp Oh yeah, forgot about that, sorry. It was released as by the Barbarians, and incl. on Lenny Kaye's 70s-refreshing comp, Nuggets, which is where I heard it--wiki sez:

Originally, the song was only intended to be released under the consent of Moulton, who was opposed to its distribution. However, Laurie Records released "Moulty" along with "I'll Keep On Seeing You" in February 1966 as a single. Upon discovering the distribution of the song, Moulton was infuriated with president of Laurie Records, Robert Schwartz, reportedly quarreling with him, and destroying some copies of the single.[6] Regardless, "Moulty" managed to peak at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining on the charts for four weeks.[7] The song became somewhat of an inspiration to the band's younger followers, insisting them to "never give up no matter what the odds". However, The Barbarians were so disgruntled with management for releasing the song, despite Moulton's insistence against it, that the band soon ceased relations with the company.[6] "Moulty" was later immortalized in the compilation album, Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968,[8] and included as a bonus track in the 2000 Sundazed Records reissue of the group's debut album.[9]

Astonished that this thread is 17 years old and no-one has mentioned Kevin Godley yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thqPrIR2W8M

Oh mang thanx for the reminder! Is this the version on Life & Death On The New York Dance Floor 1980-1983 (listening companion to amazing book of same title)?? That track blows my my mynnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndah.
Did not realize he was the drummer, or surely would have cited.

Proscriptor formerly of Absu, fuck that garbage asshole forever though

Hey Neanderthal! What garbage asshole info do you have on Proscriptor? I just wonder because I'm not very plugged into the metal scene, but when I tried getting into it I loved Absu. Then searching for interviews, I found one that had an extremely racist remark from him, which put me off the whole project frankly, but it seemed out-of-character because I had never seen anything else like that from him.

most recently, he fired a transgender member of the band for being transgender - that's the one that put me off of him forever.

which sucks as I loved Absu.

https://loudwire.com/absu-melissa-moore-kicked-out-transgender/

On a more positive note, Max Klebanoff from Tomb Mold

Danielle Haim!

https://youtu.be/NCWSSTQb3qw

Tomb Mold are such good guys. I hung with their guitarist a bit at Psycho Vegas, caught Carcass w/ him

BRUTUS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxzLSswIOds

Wow, that Absu situation is absolute garbage. Like, goddamn. What kind of asshole writes this shit:

https://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/melissa_text-563x1000.png

Not gonna look for it now, but in the racist situation I mentioned above, he tried to recruit people to join his reformed Absu with one of the requirements being "Scotch, Irish, or German descent to bloodline."

Went and had a listen to Melissa Moore's new project Sonja, and it's more along the lines of what I'm interested in these days anyway. Here's hoping there's more to come.

https://sonjaband.bandcamp.com/album/nylon-nights-wanting-me-dead

brutus is unreal, i can't imagine drumming like that and singing like that at the same time

Astonished that this thread is 17 years old and no-one has mentioned Kevin Godley Hamilton Bohannon yet.

Larry Blackmon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWBD9c7AEm0

Honey Lantree

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqjALaD7Y4o

Surely she has been on the thread before.

I don't think she sang very often.

... so, no, I don't think so.

Oh yeah, okay

i can't imagine drumming like that and singing like that at the same time

― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, October 26, 2020 8:34 PM (two months ago) bookmarkflaglink

This comment reminded me of Sam Chown aka Shmu, singer/drummer for Zorch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvTqqVPiYs0

Buddy Miles is on here somewhere, surely---

birdistheword's ace revive of RIP Grant Hart me to it for the first time (he links a live set)

*led* me to it

Taylor Hawkins

xp thanks dow! Now that this thread's come up, after Hüsker Dü broke up, did Grant ever sing and play drums on stage again? Unless he was sitting in as a guest drummer, I can imagine him leaving the kit behind (at least on tour) which is a shame because he was a fantastic drummer.

I've never seen Karen Carpenter play drums before:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHyzGXAJPg

And another!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9TmMfnZyY4

Rick Brown:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6TD1PX22c

Earlier (’68) Karen Carpenter

19 years too late...

Was the dude from Spiderbait ever really 'fat' or an 'idiot' though? Geez.

A+ Carpenter content itt. Thanks. :)

Chris Curtis of the Searchers. Also note pre-Mo Tucker standing drummer style!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmmQdDjEAuI

I’d love to see another album from Heron Oblivion, which Meg Baird is the vocalist/drummer in

Rachel Horwood of Trash Kit

I don’t think anyone’s mentioned Reni from the Stone Roses. His harmony backup vocals reveal he’s probably the best singer in the group

Joel Amey from Wolf Alice, who in addition to harmonies, sings lead on one track, a duet on another, and I hope will sing on more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFGSt6Vb40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw-2MNBMvFc

Mani Neumeier of Guru Guru:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/061118-Guru-Guru-01.jpg

Dave Munden of the Tremeloes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I61yObjYC4A

... filmed in front of a collection of the most unlikely - and bored - people you'll ever see

Chris Mars from the 'Mats is a drummer who can sing, but whether he can sing while drumming remains to be seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGa1FF_2Gsw

Margo Price:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9iFlnDIcfM

Allegedly Billy Bob Thornton plays drums and sings with The Boxmasters. I have only heard one song of them and it sounded terrible, but I know he plays drums and sings via that amusing trainwreck of an interview on qtv.

RIP Hansi Behrendt, the singing drummer of Neue Deutsche Welle group Ideal:

https://www.radioeins.de/programm/sendungen/modo1619/_/ideal-schlagzeuger-hansi-behrendt-ist-gestorben.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrbhYiQ7ILk

Larry Evoy of Edward Bear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d2Vr3gSjJs

Cool!

Gotta admit for a second after I clicked on the video I thought it was Karen Carpenter.

Just posted some other Edward Bear-related trivia I came across a few minutes ago on another thread.

The drummer singer who introduced me to the idea was the fella from City Boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-7uHgqDmmA

Good one.

Grant Hart, already mentioned but here he is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Odqi72sbrY

Hamish Kilgour of The Clean et al.

The bloke from Triumph:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRwOtnl433s

Adris Hoyos of Harry Pussy

For some reason, Les McKeown is "playing" drums and singing here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BKKaKT_dtM