Bumbershoot: America’s Next Long Winters Drummer

A touring band on the lookout for a new member has to reckon with the fact that an unknowable percentage of applicants only want to tour once in their lives, and then want to go home. Trying to weed out the homebodies can be brutal, not just because you're going to disappoint people, but also because the musician you like best might end up in that category.

What do you do when the nicest person, the one who plays with the best feel and has the right energy, is also suspiciously attached to his own pillow? You have to pass on them, and that can be hard.

In our case we ended up with something I never expected: three drummers who made the grade. I've been agonizing over the decision for a couple of weeks, setting up increasingly difficult initiations to try to wear them down, but all three are stalwart. Meantime, Nabil will fly out to play one last show with us at Bumbershoot, and we'll choose a new drummer after the break.

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