Making Ends Meet Between Tours?

Hey Devin,

You can increase your odds of being selected by getting some form of recognition.

Competitions can be a good form of recognition if you win.

Check out the various national ones...like Musicians Friend and Guitar Center...nice to be able to list on an application...

As far as making $...its no different than any other small business venture...I suggest treating it as such and getting educated re: running your own small business.

As far as alternate flexible employment, depends on your skills...and is highly competitive...usually going to those with a relevant College Degree AND experience....and often a helping of nepotism...tech skills are a good telecommuting possibility and from what I understand there are well known drummers who moon-light as computer technical skill providers by telecommuting while on the road.

Running another small business(or a few) besides your drumming performance business can work...

In the end, there are no cookie cutter solutions...as I am sure you are aware....but I hope these ideas help.

Luck out there...
 
Pool cleaner, irrigation installer, pizza delivery dude, dishwasher, line cook, illustrator, waiter, lawn care, website builder, food prep, barback, construction worker, grease trap cleaner (it only sounds glamorous), storyboard artist, magazine layout, bouncer, and courier.

Just a partial list of the things I've done to support myself in between tours. Short answer to your question: anything and everything.

Musicians have been asking the same question since the days of Jericho, and they'll still be asking it generations from now.
 
Guitar Center now has a program where sales staff can leave for a tour and not lose their job.

Of course, working at GC isn't a great paying job, nor an easy job, and I imagine it would be difficult to build up a client roster if you're gone a lot. But it is an option. And if nothing else, working at GC is a great way to network.
 
Competitions can be a good form of recognition if you win.

Check out the various national ones...like Musicians Friend and Guitar Center...nice to be able to list on an application...

Not in Nashville you don't! The last thing they want there is a drummer who won - or even entered - the chopfest known as the Drum Off! In fact, there are very few realistic opportunities for such winners. Yeah, a few got noticed and got gigs, but most didn't.

Bermuda
 
Hey Devin,

You can increase your odds of being selected by getting some form of recognition.

Competitions can be a good form of recognition if you win.

please do not take this advice for it is among the worst given

even if you arrived in Nashville as a landslide drum off winner not one person would give a rip .... and it would probably hurt more than help and be a complete waste of time

study someone like Paul Leim and Chris McHugh and do what your heart desires

there is no substitute for lifes experience and taking chances because your heart feels it is right

side jobs will come and go .... don't worry about that ... we've all done crazy things to make ends meet.... it doesn't matter... 10 years from now you probably won't even remember half the jobs you had.

what is important is that you have no regrets when you are old and gray sitting under the tree with a glass of lemonade saying .... I should have and I could have

even if you don't becomes as successful as you envisioned in your wildest dreams.... the experiences you will have will be absolutely priceless and fulfilling

wise words here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PdjNJz7B1Q

I moved to LA in the mid 90s with no money knowing noone.... and it changed my life forever in so many ways

best of luck to you
 
It really is surprising to me that there are so many musicians/bands that think moving to another town or city is going to make something happen that hasn't happened where they currently are.

If it's one thing I've learned over the years it's.....if you're not loved, liked, or can't work in your home town (no matter the size) you won't be able to do it anywhere else.

Most of the musicians that have gone on to places such as Nashville, LA, etc...are there because they had the things that the people hiring want long.... before they ever made it to 'Nashville".

That's the biggest difference in what you're trying to do.....and, how it works.

D
 
It really is surprising to me that there are so many musicians/bands that think moving to another town or city is going to make something happen that hasn't happened where they currently are.

If it's one thing I've learned over the years it's.....if you're not loved, liked, or can't work in your home town (no matter the size) you won't be able to do it anywhere else.

Most of the musicians that have gone on to places such as Nashville, LA, etc...are there because they had the things that the people hiring want long.... before they ever made it to 'Nashville".

That's the biggest difference in what you're trying to do.....and, how it works.

D

with all due respect Derek I have to politely disagree with some of this

I moved to LA with very little money and knowing no one in the 90s and within a few months I was working for David Benveniste at Velvet Hammer Management that eventually got me working for System Of Down, which turned into working briefly for KISS, which led to me meeting a guy named Carl who was Perry Farrels assistant and got me working for Perry doing some web stuff ... all of which got me introduced to tons of musicians and got me countless gigs.
I also by chance met Elvin Jones and that turned into a 8 year friendship until he sadly passed
and every bit of that aided in the living I make today as a player and is 100% the reason I know the people I know in the industry and the relationships I was able to maintain and as a result am able to get work when traveling to multiple cities

none of that would have happened had I not left Berkeley Heights NJ

a wise man once told me .

a fisherman goes where the water is
a lumberjack goes to the trees
a musician goes where the music is
for sweet honey that comes from the bees

in other works go to where the work is to eat and make a living

99 people out of 100 will tell you not to do something and give a thousand reasons why.... but until one tries for themselves there is no answer..... none of those advice givers know the outcome of someones journey

you know how many artists whos art we would not enjoy had they not taken a leap of faith?
 
In any endeavor, especially artistic, the following is one of the commandments of work.
 

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a wise man once told me .

a fisherman goes where the water is
a lumberjack goes to the trees
a musician goes where the music is
for sweet honey that comes from the bees

in other works go to where the work is to eat and make a living

99 people out of 100 will tell you not to do something and give a thousand reasons why.... but until one tries for themselves there is no answer..... none of those advice givers know the outcome of someones journey

you know how many artists whos art we would not enjoy had they not taken a leap of faith?

I have to go with Tony here.

I grew up in San Francisco, who's music scene was certainly no slouch.
But despite the thriving music scene, it still didn't compare to the music scene in Los Angeles.

With-in a few months I went from playing in small bars in-front of just the local bar flys to playing clubs in front of record company reps. OK, so it didn't work out in the long run, but it was still the best decision.

And outside of the music itself, it was just time to be somewhere else. It was refreshing to just live somewhere else other than the city I had lived in for 24 years. Meeting new people, making new friends, having different experiences, all added up to meeting my wife.

what is important is that you have no regrets when you are old and gray sitting under the tree with a glass of lemonade saying .... I should have and I could have
That is exactly what I was thinking when I made the decision to move. Success or not, the idea was to not regret trying.
 
with all due respect Derek I have to politely disagree with some of this

I moved to LA with very little money and knowing no one in the 90s

But, that didn't mean that you didn't already have (or weren't already using) the skills to work in that field right? Or did you just go out there blind without already having a grasp on what it was that you were doing?

They let you learn along the way?

All I was pointing out (and without knowing what the op's experience is...because he didn't mention it....only that"he feels he could make it") was that, many musicians are under the mind set that going somewhere else, is going to magically throw them in the mix with "da big dogs"

I get that and, at one point....going where the music is was the best way for young aspiring players to get noticed.

But, then and now....completely different dynamic. All that changed with the internet.

I have 2 really good buddies working out of Nashville right now. Both of them were already involved in the scene in a big way in their home towns....here in Ft Lauderdale.

One of them moved to Nashville several years ago and struck out....moved back home and continued to do what he always did. Now works with a big up and comer there because he was a known and trusted guy already in the scene here.

All I'm saying is you can't just up and decide that you're going to go to said town and get involved if you're not already involved doing what you want to do in said town....be it big or small.

The world has been made very small with the internet. All any hiring musician has to do to find new talent is ask a few friends for recommendations and cruise the web.

See it all the time these days.

Again, not saying don't do it but, without experience doing said job, not knowing what said job entails, Not already having a great reputation someone can call on, etc.....good luck.

D
 
Plus, if there IS "all this talent" in Nashville....why are "Da big dogs" there hiring guys out of Ft Lauderdale?

Could it be that they're looking for more than "talent"?

D
 
But, that didn't mean that you didn't already have (or weren't already using) the skills to work in that field right? Or did you just go out there blind without already having a grasp on what it was that you were doing?


D

I see your point

yeah I had already been touring out of NJ/NY and doing a good amount of studio work
 
Not in Nashville you don't! The last thing they want there is a drummer who won - or even entered - the chopfest known as the Drum Off! In fact, there are very few realistic opportunities for such winners. Yeah, a few got noticed and got gigs, but most didn't.

Bermuda

ugh! That's truly sad!

No wonder things sound like they do coming out of that region....(sterile and non-descript - all the same)

One myth busted out of my thought clouds....

I certainly defer to Tony and Bermuda on this one...and am thankful for the clarity!

I guess there is such a thing as 'bad press'.

Personally, I wouldn't want to work for someone who's prejudice worked that way...signs of poor logic and dicey decision making.
 
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