When we play live, I always bring 3 extra pieces of equipment that I consider could be a show stopper. An extra bass drum head, a backup bass drum pedal, and an extra snare drum (a throne has often crossed my mind too). I am amazed that I see drummers carry none of this when they play. I ask them, "What happens if your bass drum head breaks or your pedal breaks during a song and you have no spares?" I get "I dunno, I guess I am screwed" or "I never thought of that". I'm thinking, (besides my throne collapsing and me falling on my backside), that is my worst nightmare and yes, you are indeed screwed!

I just keep them in the car. My wife asked me once why I had all this extra stuff with me. I gave her those exact reasons why. She said i prepair better for playing out than our marriage.
I used to have the kick pedal attached to the front of the bass drum and just said it was my trubute to the late Randy Costio.
But I had other reasons

Ok so now I have to ask, if something busts while you are in the middle of playing a song, do you run out the door to your car during your set? I can't imagine you park it next to your kit!

What studio are you recording at? I may be looking at some options.

we recorded at Rob Erb's place out in Holcomb. It was a blast a great deal for 5hrs. Just have to mix it down now.

Aside from the obligatory spare sticks in the stick bag, I occasionally bring a spare snare. I also keep spare kick pedal springs in there.
I try to keep regular maintainence on my kit to ensure no surprises of this kind at gigs.
When I'm on the road it's a different story. I keep a full set of heads in the trailor. Additional felts, sleeves and wing nuts. small set of tools. As well as a spare pedal and hihat clutch. It pays to be prepared!!!

Last night I had my main pedal on my right kick (DW5000AD3) bust in a funny spot. The beater snapped and went flying leaving a small portion of the stem in the part where you tighten it with your drum key. So a quick switch and body shift to the other bass drum to finish the song did the trick. All I had to do was replace the beater with one on my 2 spare pedals. Fortunatly the song I was playing had no more dual bass left in it so "I did not miss a beat"! ( I know that was lame). Just glad it did not happen during the midst of relentlessness though...

I have an old back stage pass video from Scott Travis from like 88'. Hespoke of tis same issue and said something about a heat treated stem.
Your more than welcome to borrow it if you want. He has an extensive portion on dbl bass tricks and tech.

Well, I guess i'm screwed most of the time because I don't carry any of that stuff with me. I do go over everything before I load up and replace anything that looks flaky if need be. If anything happens during a gig, I either fix it there or find another way to do what I need. If the kick head breaks, I just switch the kick around or just use my second floor tom. Snare head breaks, take a bottom off a tom, etc......

I've never had to do thid before because I've never had anything break on me. However, I did an entire outdoor, 3-set gig with just my snare and hats.

The only "in case of breakage" spares I carry to gigs are just extra sticks. I've never broken equipment on a gig while playing.
Other than that, the spares I do carry are snares and ride cymbals. Depending on the room acoustics, miked or unmiked, low volume requirements, etc... I'll put up the right snare/ride for the situation.
For example, on an outside gig like Lilac Festival with big PA, I'll put up a heavier ride and a metal snare (usually my '68 Ludwig Supra) so I'm sure to cut through the wall of sound.
Or, for a quiet show in a smaller room, I'll put up a wood snare and my light K Constantinople ride.

Whoops! I posted that one as a guest. That was me, in case anybody cares.

Played a show recently and this guy drops and bends the crap out of his snare popping the head completely out of the rim before he was to go on. I never seen anything like it from just a drop. I asked him what he was going to do. He says, I'm screwed (ya think?!). Being the gentleman, scholar and jerk that I am, I let him use mine. You will never catch me without an extra bass drum head (I actually bring 2), a backup bass drum pedal (again with 2), or an extra snare drum (just 1). You completly bust one of these things while playing and you are hosed period. I can live with a busted cymbal or mangled up tom head (but would be deeply saddened) but not one of the aforemetioned. And as far as using the the floor tom for a bass drum...yeah right, not in my neck of the woods. Ooops almost forgot, have to have at least a few pair of my Neil Peart 747 30th Anniversaries too! Be prepared...have the lifeboat ready in case the ship meets the iceberg.

You won't believe this. I fell down twice while playing. My drum seat leg broke at the rivet and I fell to the side against my floor toms. I had to finish the song standing up. The second time,I was playing at a high school in the gym when the leg on my seat slipped in to the crack between two sections of stage. I fell back and did a complete backwards flip off the stage. The song stopped and oh well, I guess it was just part of the show but boy, was I in shock. As for me, seats were a problem. But I get annoyed with the small stuff like forgetting a drum key or not bringing a towel. But beyond all, don't ever forget the duct tape. Joe Ulisano in Orlando.

I know its been said.... but I always bring to snares... a wood one and a metal. I do this for 2 reason. The first is as stated before, if I break a head(unusual, I usually wear them out with brushes), the second is so I have an option.. if a room is real dead I use the metal snare. I have a real problem playing a snare if it sounds like its a empty cardboard box. It totally throws my ears.. so then the metal snare compensates. and the same follows for a metal, if the room is harsh, you can use the warmer wood snare. To me its worth carring an extra snare just for sound choices. I also carry a stick bag full of sticks, and a couple of varies heads get left in the van. The other thing I do is leave a ludwig speed king in my trap case... I do this because a speed king can be broken down into 2 pieces and takes up little space. That way I always have a back up and its not bulky. I have had my trusty DW5000 double chain pedal crap out on in the middle of shows... and its great to know that in 2 seconds after the song is over I can be up and playing again with a new pedal.

We played The Montage last Saturday and the place is in great shape. With the red curtains draped all over the place and the way it is configured, is a real distinct venue and a great place to play. Anyway, I load in and run (drive) home and right before I leave to go back and catch the opening band is when I get the phone call. "Uh- TK, do you have an extra bass drum head? They just busted theirs and go on in 15 minutes". It was a single bass drum setup with a double pedal. Good thing it was a 22" bass drum as I always bring 2 extras in that size (1 spare for each of my best friends!). Again...extra bass drum head, extra snare, and extra bass drum pedal!