Our drummer listens to my basslines! I KNOW !
then he comes up with different beats til he is happy with it, and then I change or adapt my bassline to fit with what he is doing. He will always be on the beat, comes out of rolls in time, if he drops a stick, he comes right back in time, no guesswork on my part.
I never ever need to look at him to get him to speed up or slow down, in fact I never have to look at him, he is always on time and on beat.
he is 65, no, you can't have him