What You NEED In Your Stick Bag
There are a few tools that the working drummer NEEDS in their arsenal. Whether it be a jazz gig or you’re playing a metal show, you’re going to need these items in your stick bag. Having these items will save you energy and stress, and help you look prepared and quite possibly help you score another gig.
Brushes
Brushes are very necessary. Depending on the size of the room you are playing, you might need to play quietly, and using brushes will give you that advantage. I have been in a few scenarios where I needed brushes because the band director wanted a change of sound with the drums, even though the sheet music said otherwise. Bringing brushes in your stick bag will help you nail the gig.
Two Pairs of Sticks
I bring multiple different pairs of drum sticks for every gig, but I think you should bring at least one pair of 7a’s and a pair of 5b’s. The different sized drum sticks will bring out various tones from the drum shells and cymbals. A 5b stick is great for playing louder rock music, it will make your ride cymbal sound louder and you will be able to get a greater volume out of your drums. The 7a is great for playing quieter music, you can control the volume of your cymbals much easier with a smaller diameter stick.
Mallets
I didn’t start carrying mallets in my stick bag until I started playing Worship music. Looking back, there were plenty of times I should of had mallets with me. I use felt mallets, the butt end of the stick has an acorn tip on it, so you are able to flip the mallet around and use it as a stick. They are made by Wincent drum stick company. Having mallets in my stick bag has been a great choice, now I am able to perform beautiful cymbal swells.
Drum Key(s)
You need to carry drum keys in your stick bag, and bring plenty of them! You WILL lose them. Attach some to your car keys, put one in a drum carrying bag, put another in your back pack. Drums go out of tune easily during travel, due to being banged around in a car, differences in temperature, humidity, etc. Just be sure to bring multiple drum keys.
Moon Gels
I think bringing a pack of moon gels is very important. Each room will sound different from your typical practice room. The tuning of your drums may sound good in your practice room but they may not sound very good in the room that you are gigging in. By bringing moon gels with you, you will be able to control the ring of your drums. I find that I typically lose the moon gels that are on my kit when I travel, so I like having a pack of fresh new gels with me.
In Ear Monitors
If you don’t already own a pair of IEM’s make sure you grab some. There are a lot of great options out there, some are cheap and custom pairs can be very costly. I use the BASN IEM’s, they average about $100 and they sound great. As a drummer I don’t usually have many sounds running into my in ear mix, maybe some guitar, vocal and click track. I own two pairs of IEM’s because there is a high probability of me losing one pair. I may set them down in a dumb spot and forget them, stepped on, or they could be possibly stolen. So that’s why I carry two pairs with me at shows. There are a lot of gigs I have played where the band doesn’t use a click track, but I will still where my IEM’s because they work great as ear protection.
