........in arranger keyboard playing. I already mentioned I go to a lot of outdoor concerts in the summertime. More than a few times now, I've been studying both the audience AND the band dynamics and kind of ignoring the entertainment itself.

So what did I notice? The most important member of the band is not the lead guitarist, or the agile keyboard player. It's the drummer. He's what gives life and meaning to a song. If he played like a drum machine on an arranger keyboard, the other band members would probably go home along with the audience.

I'm thinking about why arranger keyboards are not that popular here in the US. It's because they're not played using all the options you have available to you that makes a song sound exciting. In this case, I'm talking about the rhythm section. If I hear one more demo of someone playing an arranger and not changing rhythms constantly (in addition to using fills and the pads), I'm going to scream. Recreating a song is NOT playing a melody along with a set rhythm pattern that never changes. Borrrr-ing! The constant rhythm variations a drummer uses becomes part of the arrangement of the song. I really noticed that watching the Chicago tribute group.

I don't understand how people can call themselves a one-man-band when, in actuality, they're really a OMB minus a thinking, creative drummer.

BTW, the 2nd most important person is the bass player. Try listening to a song without one. That's why free bass is so important if you want to make a song sound authentic.