BillFitzmaurice.info

Chris_Allen wrote:I also like the humble cowbell, hate the tamborine (the instrument given to those without time) but also detest the bag pipes.

except for Norton Buffalo.....RIP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0mQ1ojc9PQ

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:

Tom Smit wrote:and I like the cow bell in songs. Am I alone in that?

They use them in Vermont to attract groupies.
They had to get rid of the grass on the football field at UVM, replacing it with astroturf, so that the cheerleaders wouldn't graze at halftime.

Made my morning, thank you. If I'd have had a hot drink, the paperwork would have got it.

#coffeespitter

P.s. I have to confess to liking well played ( I.e. in time) cow bell, and tambourine. Billy Preston, one of my musical heroes could play tambourine in tune and in time, and does so live, on some YouTube videos. But it is an 'instrument' that really cuts through when played badly.

Charles Jenkinson wrote: I have to confess to liking well played ( I.e. in time) cow bell, and tambourine. Billy Preston, one of my musical heroes could play tambourine in tune and in time, and does so live, on some YouTube videos. But it is an 'instrument' that really cuts through when played badly.

As a drummer. I don't mind playing cowbell in the songs (covers) that have it.
Honky Tonk Woman, All right Now, And She Was are all good songs that the cowbell makes IMHO.
Check out Daughters of Glory by the Black Sorrows as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrYldcj2m4

For me, playing cowbell and snare in that song was one of the more challenging things to do as a drummer.

Tambourine, yes, it has to be played in time...

Grant Bunter wrote: Check out Daughters of Glory by the Black Sorrows as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrYldcj2m4

For me, playing cowbell and snare in that song was one of the more challenging things to do as a drummer.

... needs way more cowbell !

Some nice examples there Grant. The snare/cowbell groove in Daughters of Glory is the shiz. The question is, have we won Bruce over yet?

I am in one band that has a singer that does nothing other than sing.

We have to hide the tambourine from him because he's rhythm challenged.

Right on top of my high hat stand.





He never thinks to look there.

commander_dan wrote:Some nice examples there Grant. The snare/cowbell groove in Daughters of Glory is the shiz. The question is, have we won Bruce over yet?

Percussion has its place and is really effective when used properly.......cowbell is just really annoying when not used right.....and yes, tambourines too.

The title cut on our CD had tambourine and triangle and sounded great. There was also some cowbell on one song.

The band I run sound for brings a cowbell for when they do Nazareth's Hair of the Dog. They always get some gal from the crowd to play it all the way through the song. Fortunately, I have enough PA to overcome and it sits in the mix quite well.....with no mic, of course.

I saw Slash with his band earlier this year (don't mock me for that!) and they play a lot of the Guns n' Roses songs. During the drum kit setup the drum tech was hitting the cow bell. My friend was surprised they had one, to which I replied "You can't play Night Train without one". Sure enough, the second song was Night Train!

I have no problem with cowbell used with restraint. Unfortunately restraint isn't a word that comes to mind when I think of most drummers. Except, perhaps, in the sense of what the nice young men in their clean white coats are going to do when they come to take him away.

Actually, though, the only truly aggregious use of cowbell I ever heard was when I saw BOC a few years after the More Cowbell sketch aired. When they played Don't Fear The Reaper, there was somebody (the drum tech I suppose) at the back of the stage banging on a cowbell. Had it been down at the level it is on the studio recording, it wouldn't have bothered me. Unfortunately, it was the loudest instrument in the mix.

I get how much it's gotta suck to have a song (any song) you basically have to play every single show for decades. Personally, I'd rather they skip the stuff they don't feel like playing because it's sure to bring the performance down, but I understand that most people don't get (or care about) that. I'm sure they're well past the point of keeping things interesting by changing up the arrangement, but even as a joke that got old almost immediately.

Fortunately, the rest of the show was every bit as good as that was annoying.

CoronaOperator wrote:

Grant Bunter wrote: Check out Daughters of Glory by the Black Sorrows as well:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwrYldcj2m4

For me, playing cowbell and snare in that song was one of the more challenging things to do as a drummer.

... needs way more cowbell !

And to annoy every drummer in here: I love the TR-808 cowbell in 80s and 90s electro & miami bass tracks. In combination with the E-Mu orchestral makes me wanna do the windmill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh1AypBaIEk

Proper use of a cowbell....

Bruce Weldy wrote:Proper use of a cowbell....

d1ff19dd63ba4ec6e829a75f38df56f8.jpg

HEY! I asked you not to share that picture of my ex!