How do you handle the physical side of drumming?
Gavin Says:
Well, it gets harder as you get older for sure.
Now I warm up before the show (I can remember a time when I never warmed up). At the moment I'm cycling everyday trying to work on stamina and general fitness. Of course it depends on the type of gig that you're playing. Some of the PT sets have been pretty tough in the past. I don't like to hold back or cruise when I play - I like to really go for it - but that's when I have to try and conserve energy in the slower songs and release it in the up tempo stuff. I guess it's learning about pacing yourself.
I get occasional aches and pains - and my hands get pretty beaten up during the tour. It's a battle with myself about wanting to hit hard - but hurting my hands if I go too far. I could of course play half the volume and let the sound engineer turn me up in the PA - but it just wouldn't feel the same to me. Posture, seat height, stick weight, skin tension, drum/cymbal setup and grip will all effect your physical stamina - and you just have to come to a compromise with yourself about it.