YOUR favorite compliments over the years.

Bozozoid

Platinum Member
I almost put mine in the cool compliment thread but it would have been cheesy to do that. That thread reminded me of the things told to me that really gave me a boost. I've had two...one was some out of town band members were seated in a club I was gigging in and on break one motioned me over. He complimented my playing and said it sounded like I had been schooled which I hadn't..so i ....think..it was a compliment 😟. The other was an audience member (musician) told the keyboard player that your drummer sounds like he's from Nashville..which I'm not which I ..think..was another compliment. Any of you had something said that boosted the ego that has stayed with you?.
 
"Somehow I believe Larry..."
 
(Best sometimes found in "Looooo places : )
(in fact all are!!
 
Years ago, when I was in a dub/indie type band, we asked my mates Dad if he fancied a jam. I thought there was no chance as he was a jazz trumpeter! But he was into his weed and he was cool so he agreed.. We got baked then had an amazing couple of hours.. Unreal. He was so good.. Afterwards he thanked everyone and hugged us all then looked at me and pointed, great to play with you. Your a real player..
I’m smiling now as I type this, it still means so much to me.. Best ever!
 
Incidental approval along our drumming journey can be refreshing and helpful. I used to visit the downtown Guitar Center occasionally when I had to drive a relative to some appointments in the city. The older black players downtown liked to chill in there to re-up strings and picks and sticks and hang a little. Heavy keys players too, and the occasional drummer or bass guitar cat.
While doing some medium shedding in the drum room one day, I received from this group, a “Yo! who you wit?!” (Like which city band do you play for) I had to admit that I was from the valley and didn’t play in the city. He said “well anyways that’s what’s up.” So that was cool.

Another time, during the lockdowns, I recorded a scratch drum track for a local hiphop/soul songwriter who needed some drums to flesh out a song he recorded with just acoustic guitar and vocals.
I spent some time working with the song and sent him back a mix with a thoughtfully composed, but not-too-precious V-drum track.
The first thing he said when he replied was “thank you this is helpful”. The second thing he said was “where did you go to school?” I replied something like “home school”. Lol actually I told him the kinda cool story about how I was working in a kitchen 10 years ago (at the time) when suddenly inspired by a random YouTube drum battle video. I went straight to the music store after work and the rest is history.

The last one is kind of funny actually. Equal parts boosting and quirky. I went into the Guitar Center close to my house, probably to get sticks.
There were a lot of electronic drum kits set up in the drum room. At the time I walked in, the two available acoustic kits were being occupied by an older Japanese couple who were visiting the store with their kids and grandkids. They were just sitting at the thrones and chatting in fairly heavy accents, admiring all the bronze around them.

I decided to sit at the deluxe V-drum kit that was set up directly behind the kits where the couple was sitting. I was thinking I would get in some quiet warmups licks and I wouldn't bother them, since they were seated facing away from me. I noticed that there was a big set of headphones plugged into the module. For some reason I didn’t assume that the drum module would also be plugged into an amplifier. At Guitar Center they keep stuff in various states, depending on how it was left, or if the drum clerk doesn’t want a lot of noise.
Anyway I donned the headphones and began doing a few warm up fills on the big V-kit.
My headphones prevented me from hearing that the big amplifier next to me was indeed on, and also plugged into the kit I was playing.

The drum department was basically empty. Apart from myself, the couple, and maybe a clerk and another browsing customer. Apparently the couple sitting in front of me had been there awhile and did not expect to see or hear any “real drummers” while they were visiting Guitar Center that day. They had been sitting quietly and chatting up to the moment I came in.
So when they heard the big speaker next to them suddenly spring to life with some bubbly fusion licks, the change over their demeanor was priceless. They both froze, turned, looked at eachother simultaneously, mouthed something to eachother, then turned in unison to look at me. The swiftness with which their attention went from conversation to “watching drum show” was remarkable. I almost laughed at that moment. Feeling like I must be experiencing on a much smaller scale what Weckl felt like on his Japan tours way back in the day. Minus the fanny pack.

It seems like Japanese audiences have always been very appreciative and not cynical about enjoying drum set playing. The quirkiness of the scenario aside, I definitely felt like these two folks were happy to be unironically drum-dazzled for a moment. A treat for them on their visit to a West Coast music store.
 
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13 years old first gig ever at a huge venue that had Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Conway Twitty as usual performers but once a year they did local bands with 20 minute sets. Sunset Park in West Grove PA I was approached after our 20 minute set of John Denver and Jim Croce tunes and asked for my autograph. Been all downhill since playing metal and hard rock bars 😂
 
I was having a fit of the downers about my playing ability, whilst chatting with arguably the best drummer in our area. (Certainly the best that I've heard, at least in the rock genre. Doesn't play out as much lately, also teaches. He's also in demand as a studio guy, which is pretty cool in our little part of the world.)

So I was kind of moaning about not being able to get my stuff together enough to play at a higher level, or some foolishness, and his reply to me was something to the effect of "I may play more notes than you do, but the ones you are playing are the right ones." That has stuck with me in a big way, for a while now. I'm always grateful to chat with him about anything, especially drums, but that meant a whole lot to me.
 
My first gig with the 70s Glam Rock band I was in, the singer from the Classic Rock band I'm still in was there with her mother. In the break she told me I was playing well and I reminded her of Roger Taylor. No, I said, I'm nowhere near as good a drummer as he is I said. Of course you're not she replied, I meant your falsetto backing vocals are great 😁.

In a similar vein after playing alongside a guitarist in two bands over 7 years, those bands ended and I ended up in the Classic Rock band as mentioned above. He came to our debut gig and was with my wife at the bar. He turned to her part way through and said he'd been next to me or in front of me for years but had never actually watched me. He realised for the first time that I was really good. For the purpose of clarity I'm not "really good" but I appreciated his compliment.
 
Funny or favorites are: the girl who used to follow us at gigs who one time was wearing only a 1 piece dress and she took it off while we were playing, but my gf jumped in front of her so I couldn't really see, lol.

advanced drummers giving me advice, explanations, encouragement and instruction. It means they care. I'm thankful.

a girl we called Fozzy Bear trying to work out a way to offer me her special kneeling service right under the nose of the same gf from story #1. She looked at a friend I was talking to and said "I'm gonna be looking at you, but I'm really talking to him." while she was pointing at me with her thumb. He couldn't understand the situation and kept saying 'what? I don't know what you mean. Are you talking to me?' I just walked away laughing explaining that I'm not gonna get in trouble for her.

A fave memory was being a teen in about 1981 at a music store in a mall in a large city, asking to play a Les Paul and running thru the simple rhythm parts of songs my teachers showed me and then watching tons of teens collect inside and outside the store just to see any live music. They couldn't all fit in the store. That was a hungry crowd.

A long time friend of my sister watching us play and blurting out in front of a friend and me that she was ready to take me home, now. I pointed out that my same gf was right behind her. She looked at her then back at me like she was trying to figure out if we were into it anyway, lol.
 
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