Colin’s blog, Friday 1st August 2008

As a drummer I have often had people say ‘Let’s ’ave a go on your drums, mate, I’m a really good drummer.’ So, as I’m in the public eye I let them. They then prove that they have absolutely no idea what they’re about and use the sticks to try and poke holes in my precious Evans EQ snare batter and Remo Ebony pinstripes and then do their very best to crack my cymbals. I have to stand by, quivering with barely controlled rage, whilst they make the most awful mess of everything and then sit there smiling, saying ‘I dunno what all the fuss is about. You’ve just got to twat it with the sticks...’

And another thing! The venues that insist that you use their ‘house kit’.

There it sits, a scuffed, battered, 20-year-old, unloved, untunable monster. Some of the tuning rods are missing; the snare batter has a split covered over with gaffer tape; the cymbal stands can barely take their own weight, let alone the weight of the cracked, bent biscuit tin lids that pass for cymbals; and the stool!..........AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!

So I guess what I’m trying to say is this; a drummer is as much of a musician as the rest of the band. He or she has studied and practiced long and hard to understand their chosen instrument. They have bought, at considerable expense, a set of drums and cymbals that they cherish, nay, love. So please, please please, treat the guy or girl at the back with a little respect and understanding.

There, rant over. Matron! Matron! Time for my cocoa and mogadon, I believe.