Michaels house
https://soundcloud.com/bats-brew/michaels-house
 
i'm beginning re-recording of this demo....
the original drum track is an old zoom 123 drum machine....
 
i will probably program something in superior,
but i need a riff that is equally as frenetic as the original,
any ideas?
 

What works for me is to invent the drum riffs in your head in advance then record it. Let your imagination help out! Not just one or two but each time you hit replay. Doing it will also develop working arrangements without the use of anything but your brain. Practicing/performing without an instrument. This takes consideration and isolation, for me. In other words no distractions. It pays dividends in other areas as well. 

That drum track is stock for you Gonzo. JMHO

thinking of a 'Bonham' style kit, with Michaels (kick, kick) House (snare flam) and then add hats or ride for the rest.
could listen to The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger 
 
 

What ever was originally used doesn't seem to lock with the guitars and bass at all. 
Myself I would build a kick track around the bass line and just add a little more than that to make it frantic. 
It calls out for something to follow the rhythm guitar part more closely. 

YES, FRANTIC...
is what i want.
 
not a laid back groove,
this thing has to push relentlessly.
relentlessly.
 
almost painfully.
 

An idea might be (assuming you have a constant tempo or a tempo map .mid) to post a version without any drums and see if you get any interesting audio ideas/examples from other posters here.  If you do that, I would leave a reference track for what you previously had just has a baseline.    
 
Regards

well, this is a demo off of a cassette,
 i made on a tascam 688 unit i no longer have.
 
all there is of the demo, is this stereo file.
 
i'll be doing this all over from scratch, rearrangement, new lyric, all that,
so i can start it anytime i want..
 
the thing i DON'T want,
is a standard rock groove, simply sped up...
 
 
i don't use 'tempo maps' when i record,
i write an 'arrangement', as i typically have it already complete in my head.
 
i then write a drum track complete, then start recording to it,
and edit it later, once everything has been written and recorded.
 
 
i could even do a fast paced latin percussion rhythm section, 
even THAT would work..
 
but it's gotta be this fast, this idea of pushing the beat relentlessly... that's key.
 
as far as using live drums, i don't have anyone local in mind,
that have the chops to do it.
 
it's hard to find folks with enough intensity to match this groove,
that's why i haven't just asked for collab interest....
 
but, 
if anyone was bold enough..............
 

just a suggestion ...
 
I would match the vocal phrasing with a crash on 1 and a crash on the and of 2 along with the bass drum every time it happened.  It sounds like you started to catch the phrasing with some accents at the very beginning but the fell back to the same driving 16th note groove throughout.
 
As per markno999 i'd be happy to throw a few ideas onto a drumless ... unfortunately ;) I only do live drums.

quantumeffect
I would match the vocal phrasing with a crash on 1 and a crash on the and of 2 along with the bass drum every time it happened.  It sounds like you started to catch the phrasing with some accents at the very beginning but the fell back to the same driving 16th note groove throughout.
 
As per markno999 i'd be happy to throw a few ideas onto a drumless ... unfortunately ;) I only do live drums.

 
you mean like, for example, on the 'michaels house.......'
accent on the M and the H?  with crash and kick?
 
hm....
that's a neat idea.
 
 
 
live drums WOULD be the best for this,
same BPM, same basic arrangement as the demo, but with more sections, and i have 3 key changes that are going to happen,
and one dead stop section i'm adding...
 
if you wanted to try your hand at it, come up with some unique beats, JUST TO SEE if it floats,
go for it grommit!!
heheh