How to become a 'local' drummer

Craigslist ;)

Just find like minded friends/associates and put together a little jam, having a few covers lined up and planned out. Then just let things work naturally and youll know if you should start somethin with them or not. And if not wantin to start a band, like I said, Craigslist has plenty of ads like 'Drummer wanted for Rock band' and just contact and tryout to meet their specifications if it suits you!
 
Craigslist ;)

Just find like minded friends/associates and put together a little jam, having a few covers lined up and planned out. Then just let things work naturally and youll know if you should start somethin with them or not. And if not wantin to start a band, like I said, Craigslist has plenty of ads like 'Drummer wanted for Rock band' and just contact and tryout to meet their specifications if it suits you!

...in Portland, craigslist is the place you go to find hobbyist musicians. When they say "serious band" or "working band" in their ads, it usually means they're just lying and trying to hook up with band members who are more dependable than their last member. It's a great resource if you want to get a bunch of experience playing with a bunch of different bands, but if you are serious about making it into the "scene", you HAVE to go out and meet people.

What are the venues YOU want to play? Go and check them out and talk to the bands that play there. Meet the people that work there and inquire about booking there.

What are the bands you want to play with? Go see them, and meet them. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!!! Meet people, exchange cards (you DO have cards, right?), keep in contact, go see them perform once in a while, keep in touch, stay on their radar. Let people know you're looking to play--don't beg, but make it known. Looking on craigslist for a serious working band is like playing Russian roulette with no empty chambers while your car is stuck in the mud, but with more spinning of wheels...
 
All that has been said here is great advice. I want to echo one thing below:
People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

Put yourself in the other fella's shoes for a second. If you were a guitar player, bassist, singer, or whatever and you needed a drummer for a gig or upcoming project, would you rather hire and play with someone you 1) knew well and knew could play the material, 2) liked, and 3) could trust to do a good job, no matter what and remain professional?

Or would you rather hire someone who you didn't know and didn't know if they could play what you needed, didn't like because you simply didn't know anything about them, and therefore, couldn't trust them because you didn't know them?

Get to know as many people in the local music scene as you can, anywhere from your friends in band who you attend school with, on up to the professionals who play in clubs, teach, play in orchestras, etc. The more folks you can network with - at any age - the better off you'll be and the more chances you'll have.

One of the easiest ways for you at a young age to network is to go to your school's music director or directors and let them know you play drums and ask if they know of any places you can go to listen and meet other like minded musicians. If you have a college or univeristy near you, go ask to meet with the music professors and tell them who you are and what you play and ask them if they can recommend places for you to go and meet other musicians. Tell them of your plans. At such a young age they will probably be delighted to help you and you may even find a mentor to help you along. Teachers and professors love to be asked questions in their specialty and enjoy having students ask for advice and help. They love to teach and help and pass along their knowledge. Else they wouldn't be in a teaching profession, right?

If you have a particular teacher you like a lot - doesn't matter what subject - ask them to offer suggetions and see if they can help.

Remember, network, network, network and meet as many people as you can. It doesn't matter who they are or how much they know. You don't know who THEY know.

For example - your science teacher may not know jack about drums, but if he or she is involved with or knows someone looking for a drummer and THEY know you play drums, hopefully they can recommend you or give you name to whoever is looking.

Just be patient, easy to work with, and know your stuff inside and out. Nobody likes to work with a jerk, egomaniac, or someone who doesn't know what he is doing.

Good luck!!
 
If you want to be known as a drummer just be a drummer! Talk about drums all day long to anybody who cares. Wear drum shirts. Talk about drums on your facebook/twitter etc. Put up some videos on youtube and promote them and try to get views. Talk to other musicians. You would be surprised were some gigs come from just because somebody knew that you play drums. I would just try to get any gig I could.

The best thing probably at your age is to start your own band. Just bring in as many people as you can that play instruments and eventually the cream will rise to the top and you will have a band. I started my first band the day I got my first drumset (well actually we had a band before we had instruments) but on my birthday I had 2 bass players, an acoustic guitar, and 2 singers. Pretty much anybody I knew that had a guitar came over to my house to play at some point. Don't set your goals to high at first or your standards to high you need experience of any kind. It doesn't really matter if the other guys you play with aren't into the exact same music as you are either. It can be a jumping off point to making your own music that is fresh and new. I learn a lot from playing with weaker musicians sometimes more than playing with experienced players.

I would introduce myself to the other local musicians too drummers/and non-drummers. I get asked ALL the time for recommendations of drummers in my area and I usually recommend the guy who is freshest on my mind.


good luck!

I also did the school band thing and it helped me find musicians to play with.
 
Well as a student in high school you are pretty much limited to the students in your town and neighbouring towns. But try and get involved with as many projects bands as you can and just do some friendly networking. Once you meet people and play around more, your name will spread, and eventually once you acquire said name, it will grow into a reputation that will help you out with other local acts.
 
How to Become a Local Professional Drummer

Hello friends and people I don't really know!

I have a dilemma that seems to grind up against my goal for my drumming. In the grand scheme of things, I just want to be acclaimed in one way or another as a good drummer, and to be known as such in a way that gigs, either paid or unpaid, aren't exactly a rarity for me.

Now, I know that I'm only sixteen. That's a very young age, and I should learn to be patient with myself and just work my way up, like a lot of you and other drummers did. But I'm hard on myself, and I'd like to try anyway, so what the hey, I'll be ambitious.

Here's the problem: I'm not really known within my community(school, local, facebook network, etc.) that I'm a drummer, or a drummer of any skill at that. None of the acts within my age group have music that is technically demanding- a judgement made after seeing many of them live -and I'm sure that at the very least I could act as a fill in.

So, my question is: how do I fix this? How do I become 'known' locally as a drummer who can take whatever anyone dishes out? I want to become well-rounded and make a name for myself. Where do I start?

Any tips or advice?

Here are two great books that helped me become a professional drummer and make more money at it:

How to Be a Working Musician: A Practical Guide to Earning Money in the Music Business by Mike Levine.

The Working Drummer by Rick Van Horn

In addition, you might want to check out this 6 part series: How to Make Money as a Professional Drummer and Find Jobs.
 
There are some fantastic recommendations on here. I am fairly new to drumming but have been in sales and marketing for 20 plus years. To the original poster, I respectfully say, "welcome to the real world". Your question is answered by MARKETING, you have to sell yourself. A great salesperson genuinely believes in their product, you are your product!

There are so many marketing ideas, social events, social networking sites, etc. that you can do to brand yourself as a drummer...be a part of them all! Your school may not have a talent show but they probably do have pep rally's before a football game, offer to play something as they walk in, play at halftime, play at lunch on a drum machine or practice pad. Film a video your proud of and text it around. The way kids are today, that alone should help you spread the word about you being a drummer.

Maybe you could write a letter to your local news station/paper and tell them who you are and what you do and the importance of music in your life and how it has benefitted you in a positive way. Reach out to other kids... theres so many ways to get yourself out there.

Good luck to you. Welcome to your first sales job!
 
Southern St. Mary's County. It's like a cultural wasteland down here, no bars, no venues, no real places for music to thrive, at the very least for pay.

I feel your pain. I grew up in Charles County. I keep tabs enough on SoMD still to know that performing arts are even worse than they used to be.

Check out My Brothers Place and HotLicks (both in Waldorf). They usually do regular open jams - or at least they used to...

This doesn't help much yet, but once you graduate you want to either get into college or you want to travel. These will get you both more exposed to other scenes and get you more exposure. You're at a good point in time though.. you've got time to make sure your chops are ready to go for when you really need them.

Also, this is easier said than done.. but do your own thing. Don't wait around for spots to open up for drums/percussion, start things up yourself. One of the best ways for people to learn your name is for you to tell them rather than waiting for them to ask.

What I did: I got good. I got into the music program at UMBC and [because I was good] it got me into music programs at Peabody (most of UMBCs staff moonlights from P) which got me into as many local gigs as I could juggle. Things went from there

The biggest thing you really need to know tho.. set reasonable goals based on both what you know you are capable of and what the rest of the world wants.
 
Re: How to Become a Local Professional Drummer


I've read this book a couple times as well. It didn't help me make more money directly, but it does go into a lot of the "what it takes to be a drummer that makes it" details. Another book that I've read that actually helped me figure out the financial aspects of being a full-time musician is "Making Money Making Music". Yes, it's a little outdated (how to find gigs--thumb through the phonebook!), but the section on how to negotiate wages with a potential employer is worth it's weight in gold...er, um...gigs! :D

Good luck!
 
There are some fantastic recommendations on here. I am fairly new to drumming but have been in sales and marketing for 20 plus years. To the original poster, I respectfully say, "welcome to the real world". Your question is answered by MARKETING, you have to sell yourself. A great salesperson genuinely believes in their product, you are your product!

There are so many marketing ideas, social events, social networking sites, etc. that you can do to brand yourself as a drummer...be a part of them all! Your school may not have a talent show but they probably do have pep rally's before a football game, offer to play something as they walk in, play at halftime, play at lunch on a drum machine or practice pad. Film a video your proud of and text it around. The way kids are today, that alone should help you spread the word about you being a drummer.

Maybe you could write a letter to your local news station/paper and tell them who you are and what you do and the importance of music in your life and how it has benefitted you in a positive way. Reach out to other kids... theres so many ways to get yourself out there.

Good luck to you. Welcome to your first sales job!

Listen to BigBelly's advice. Hang out in the "Business" section of your local bookstore.
 
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