Quote Originally Posted by hubberjub
Drummers are an odd breed. They must be forced into adapting to a stage environment. If they do not adapt they must be taken behind the venue and put to rest. It's the humane thing to do. Playing in a band is a very egocentric venture. If you can't hear yourself, your first thought is to turn up your amp instead of conferring with the other members and asking how the sound mix is. What I have found to work best is during a sound check, each band member sets up their amp and gets their "tone" to where it sounds good. Do not confuse tone with volume. This must be done without the rest of the band noodling on their instruments. Go through each person until everyone is accounted for. Then, do a sound check with the whole band. Don't just listen for yourself, listen for everyone. Have the sound person adjust the monitor mix accordingly. When done properly, the end result is fantastic. You can hear everyone without the fatigue associated with having to crank your amp. I find it's more about listening to the other people than to yourself.
So...to my question, you just yell at the drummer until they play softer? That seems to work OK with the two drummers I play with -- if everyone else is trying to work together, it makes the drummer look like a retard if they continue to play super-loud. Is that what you're getting at?