After spending almost three months auditioning potential new drummers, the Disco Biscuits gave a handful of prospects a trial run at Atlantic City’s Borgota this weekend. Billed at the Atlantic City Drum Off, the two-night stand featured six different drummers, whose styles were as varied as their resumes. Friday night Danny Carroll, who has already earned a New Groove of the Month nod for his work with Bockman’s, kicked off the weekend by running through ‘Floodlights,’ ‘Story Of The World,’ ‘Svenghali’ and ‘Helicopters.’ Sean Hennesey then took over for a pair of song debuts, including ‘Strawberry Girls,’ a number guitarist Jon Gutwillig offered a solo at the Live at the Palladium release party last fall. Brian Griffin, who is said to have a psychedelic touch, performed throughout the group’s second set, capped off with the encore of ‘House Dog Party Favor.’
Night two began with a familiar face behind the drum riser. Former Ally drummer Mike Greenfield, who has clocked in time in Bisco offshoots the JM2 and the Cookie Dusters in addition to countless guest full-band appearances, opened the evening with ‘Shem-Rah Boo.’ After numbers like ‘Astronaut,’ ‘Jigsaw Earth’ and ‘The Very Moon,’
Greenfield yielded to the Cosmos Sunshine Band’s Jim Riordan for prog-rock leaning versions of ‘Rock Candy’ and ‘42’ (played at ‘84’ speed). Skydog drummer Allen Aucoin finished out the group’s performance with techno-inspired versions of chestnuts like ‘Hot Air Balloon,’ ‘Save the Robots’ and ‘Munchkin Invasion.’