I have been reading this thread and there is not one mention of this guy:
Zoro
www.zorothedrummer.com
I don’t know that he’s a millionaire, but he’s doing just fine! And the bulk of his playing, as said by Bermuda, is the 2 & 4 variety. In a lesson with him, he told me that Lenny was going to use drummer X and everyone in LA knew it was a done deal…..until Lenny went out to jam with drummer X, when drummer X started showing off all of his Jazz chops. Lenny called Zoro the next day and offered Z the gig. When asked, Lenny said that drummer X couldn’t play simple enough! One of the things that I remember hearing Zoro say at one of his clinics was that he only works on what puts money in his pocket. So it isn’t necessarily about having mondo chops!
Sega, I am the one person who is going to run against the grain and decry everything almost everyone here has said. It can be done and you can have both; do what you love, with people you love and the money will follow. Keep your thoughts positive and strive for your goals, however big or small. Write them down! Post them on your bathroom mirror where you will see them every day!
However, you must realize you time in history to understand what many musicians don’t; it isn’t the 1960s or 1970s anymore so you are going to have to think outside the box! Keep your attitude good and learn to bounce back.
An example is the click track. Many drummers’ fear of the click track eliminates them from many gigs, even on a Rock tour level! There many well-known bands touring right now, which use sequences during a show.
I saw that Vinnie Colauita was mentioned here somewhere. You have to know where you are in the timeline of history. What I mean here is that we aren’t in the past. LA isn’t the same as it was in the 1960s or 1970s. No town is for that matter! Vinnie came up in the time known as the Golden Age of recording in LA as did guys like Russ Kunkel, John Guerin, Jim Keltner, Hal Blaine. Having a drummer on a recording session was a necessity. Now many people use loops. They may vary in degree of quality but it is way of you getting replaced. Forget the much romanticized image of the rock band making it big!
However, with this technology, comes recording over the internet which means you can record with anyone in the world who has the same technology you have! However, some of the studios have remained for on reason which is the great sounding room they have! These are expensive to replicate!
It is just like the progress cars have made from 1961 to 2009.
Can you write songs? Can you think of something new that a drummer needs? What else besides just playing the drums can you bring to the table? How do you promote yourself? How many languages can you speak? There are musicians and techs who get a gig because they can speak Spanish or Chinese! It is a numbers game; the more you can do, the more chances you have of being a success! And yes, you will need to know about money in order to keep it! That is why so many people fail in finances; they haven’t learned about money – time value, return on investment, what is an acceptable risk and so on. Look for things which will still be paying you 20 years from now, not just this evening! And if you can think of something which everyone can use, not just drummers, you are way ahead of the game because the percentages are in your favor at that point!
Take a class on marketing. Garth Brooks admitted in print that there were better singers in Nashville than he was. But he said that he was a far better businessman and a better marketer than they were! And something else, he had to have the audacity to claim what would eventually become his! There is a fine line between arrogance and audacity btw!
Remember what I said about doing what you love with people you love…..one of the problems with bands is that a band is a marriage of convenience for most of the time. One person can’t stand another person but copes because ”the money will make it all worthwhile.”
We live in an era where music isn’t important to the masses. It is hard pill for those of us to swallow because music is our childhood sweetheart, our drug.
So back to Zoro….I gave Zoro $100 and he sent me five or six books to read. I know that one of them was the Cycle of Self-Empowerment by Dom Famularo (which I saved for last because I saw that it was some heavy reading). Ever since then, I look for books that are pertinent to my business of music. The latest I have found is Tour Smart and Break the Band. It is the music business 101. It is every mistake I have ever made or seen someone else make. Another book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad which has nothing to do with drumming unlocked the door to my imagination and drive!
And who says you can’t have both or that having money is wrong?
Mike
http://www.mikemccraw.com
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