Witness Hilarity at the 3rd Annual Non-Drummer Drum Off at Harlow’s on Dec. 19, 2014

Drummers are arguably the most important members of any band. Think about it, if your drummer sucks and can’t play in time, you’re going to have a rough go of it trying to get people to come out to your shows. On the flipside, the 3rd Annual Non-Drummer Drum Off, going down on Friday, Dec. 19 at Harlow’s, actually thrives on bad drumming; in fact, that’s what it’s all about! Every year Bryan Nichols (from the local jam-band ZuhG) gathers a bunch of people from the Sacramento music community who are not percussionists and gets them to perform a drum solo in front of judges (actual drummers from local bands). The winner is the worst drummer. It’s always a lot of fun, the vibe is usually joke-y and lighthearted, nobody takes themselves too seriously. This year, just some of the non-drummers that will be banging the shit out of the kit are Clay Nutting (co-owner of LowBrau and co-organizer of TBD Fest), Xochitl Hermosillo (local singer/songwriter), Nick Miller (co-editor at SN&R), Kenny Buchanan (aka Kenny the Dancing Man), Joshua Dale Kräge (of local band The Pressure Lounge), Bob Poole (owner DOME Printing and bassist OH! THE BAND), Justin Butler (guitarist in local band Ideateam), and many others, including yours truly (this will be my second Non-Drummer Drum Off, and I don’t know how Nichols keeps talking me into this!). There will be a couple actual performances from locals as well: Joseph in the Well and Jeffry Valerio (of Riotmaker, who also will be playing in the drum-off), and then to top the night off, Nichols has booked an amazing soul/hip-hop/jazz band from Santa Cruz called Joomanji that will be taking the stage to back-up vocalist Salami Rose. Doors open at 9:30 p.m., 21-and-over only, and the cover is just $10.