I don't know whether to take this tour or not

matthew

Senior Member
Hey folks,

I'm very lucky in that my career is at a point where I can even have such a problem, but one of the exciting and challenging things about being at a new point in your musical career is that you have no precedents to guide your decisions.

I have been asked to do a 3 week tour around about 10-13 countries in Europe, with all expenses paid (but no luxuries), and a fee for performing. Usually this is a no-brainer. Go Go Go! but I am already going to be touring immediately afterwards and this opportunity has some unexpected cons.

cons
miss 2-3 gigs in my home town with my actual band. (replacement drummer available for me)
miss rehearsals leading up to my bands tour of Europe
extra 3 weeks away from my girlfriend (I'll be away for 9 weeks total if I go)
extra 3 weeks away from earning (but loss of income is about the same as performance fee offered)
more songs to learn (I'm already doing my band, and two others on this other tour; and now another?! I like to be professional and know the songs, but I ain't Kenny Aronoff)
would it piss off some of the other bands who skimped and saved to get my tickets to Europe and back for me to play with them, only to say,"it wasn't needed in the end any way"?
I'd miss my girlfriends birthday :(

pros
playing music around the world like a boss :D
travelling to place I'll probably never get to see (but who knows!)
the promoter is a very established promoter who promotes/tours some bigger bands, and this could mean he now knows of a drummer in Australia if ever he should need one... exposure!

so to summarize... I'm already confirmed and going to Europe for 6 weeks, first I'm session drumming at a festival for two bands, then after about ten days, my band starts its three week tour. What I've been asked is if I'll go immediately prior to all this and do an extra three week tour, playing every night.

There's obviously pros and cons, and I am leaning towards saying it's not doable, but I though the folks around this forum would have interesting perspective/experience where I yet do not.

I gotta get back to the guy tonight
 
Do it.

Don't regret the things you do, only the things you don't do.

Post plenty of pics in this thread.
 
Are you trying to make playing drums your career? If so then you should do it. The connections you will make could make all the difference, and an opportunity like that doesn't come around for most of us.

A successful career is about 30% hard work and 70% luck. By doing the tour you are increasing the luck factor by leaps and bounds. Like the lottery, you have to be in it to win it.
 
Well, I suppose you could look at it like we do here in L.A.: you could be really busy for the next few months, and then next year the phone stops ringing and you're working at the 7-11. If you're able to do it, do it. Even the best players have to grapple with the realities of being unemployed this same time next year.

You said it was a no-brainer. Why are you thinking?
 
I think it's one of the biggest lessons you have to learn as a gigging musician, involved in multiple projects, is how to find balance between music and the rest of your life. The lines get pretty blurred when something you're so passionate about becomes a kind of work, but the trick is finding the balance that keeps it fun and making you want to keep doing it.

I know that when I get so busy with gigs that I have no time for myself (or my girlfriend) then my music tends to suffer by the end of that period. I come through a few weeks or months of hard gigging and don't feel like a human haha.

You're the only one who can decide if this is too much for you right now. It seems like you know the answer already. Good luck, and if you decide not to do the tour I trust that an equally good opportunity will come along for you.
 
Ok, having played Australia for 30+ years and witnessing that all those who stayed, Angels, Chissels etc amount to nothing, and those who got the hell out, Little river band, INXS, Savage garden, Air supply etc etc did way better, I feel comfortable in saying the following.

Go forth young man.

Australia is the pimple next to the freckle (NZ) on the arse of the world.


Hey folks,

I'm very lucky in that my career is at a point where I can even have such a problem, but one of the exciting and challenging things about being at a new point in your musical career is that you have no precedents to guide your decisions.

I have been asked to do a 3 week tour around about 10-13 countries in Europe, with all expenses paid (but no luxuries), and a fee for performing. Usually this is a no-brainer. Go Go Go! but I am already going to be touring immediately afterwards and this opportunity has some unexpected cons.

cons
miss 2-3 gigs in my home town with my actual band. (replacement drummer available for me)
miss rehearsals leading up to my bands tour of Europe
extra 3 weeks away from my girlfriend (I'll be away for 9 weeks total if I go)
extra 3 weeks away from earning (but loss of income is about the same as performance fee offered)
more songs to learn (I'm already doing my band, and two others on this other tour; and now another?! I like to be professional and know the songs, but I ain't Kenny Aronoff)
would it piss off some of the other bands who skimped and saved to get my tickets to Europe and back for me to play with them, only to say,"it wasn't needed in the end any way"?
I'd miss my girlfriends birthday :(

pros
playing music around the world like a boss :D
travelling to place I'll probably never get to see (but who knows!)
the promoter is a very established promoter who promotes/tours some bigger bands, and this could mean he now knows of a drummer in Australia if ever he should need one... exposure!

so to summarize... I'm already confirmed and going to Europe for 6 weeks, first I'm session drumming at a festival for two bands, then after about ten days, my band starts its three week tour. What I've been asked is if I'll go immediately prior to all this and do an extra three week tour, playing every night.

There's obviously pros and cons, and I am leaning towards saying it's not doable, but I though the folks around this forum would have interesting perspective/experience where I yet do not.

I gotta get back to the guy tonight
 
Well, nothing better to add. You've got your answer. However, since you mentioned Kenny, he sometimes has 3+ projects going off almost simultaneously. As Nike says - Just Do It.
 
Wow, such patriotism. Perhaps you should move to a more acne free region?


" Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel "
Samuel Johnson.

By the way, I did not put the continent there. Or that other bit over to the right. :)
 
If drumming professionally has been your goal, i don't think there is any way you can put a value on the new contacts, more eyes on your playing and the diversification.

the gfriend will have to understand or she is not the right girlfriend...don't ever let a non-committed or non marital relationship get in the way of reaching out into the world and breathing in all of the life you can while you are alive.

if you were married, that would be a different story and far more sensitive an issue and decision; my wife would buy the ticket and pack my tour bag for me :)

plenty of time down the road to be be tied down and have to worry about birthdays and such. .
 
If drumming professionally has been your goal, i don't think there is any way you can put a value on the new contacts, more eyes on your playing and the diversification.

the gfriend will have to understand or she is not the right girlfriend...don't ever let a non-committed or non marital relationship get in the way of reaching out into the world and breathing in all of the life you can while you are alive.

if you were married, that would be a different story and far more sensitive an issue and decision; my wife would buy the ticket and pack my tour bag for me :)

plenty of time down the road to be be tied down and have to worry about birthdays and such. .

Great words of wisdom Shemp.
 
Do it.

It's possible that you might not get this opportunity again, at least not soon.

I understand leaving your girlfriend behind is difficult but sometimes you just need to further your career. I suspect you may regret it in the future if you don't take this opportunity now.

Do it.

Do it.

Do it.
 
I'm not a pro drummer and have to work for a living outside of music.. I have been laid off for 3 months now, 1st time in 25 years. I just got 2 job offers today! each has pros and cons company car with one $400 more a week with the other ect. I have been racking my brain all day on which one to take and I got the best advise from my father in-law
GO WITH WHAT YOUR GUT IS TELLING YOU TO DO!!! It worked for me.
 
Matthew...you are not going to get one person to say to take a pass....on a drum forum. Including me. Brass ring and all.
 
Matthew...you are not going to get one person to say to take a pass....on a drum forum. Including me. Brass ring and all.

OK. I'll be that guy. Don't take it. It's just another tour that gets in the way of what you really want to do, which is another tour. And the girlfriend won't be around. So who needs the extra work? I say take it easy and say 'no' for once. There'll be more tours to do soon anyway, because, there are ALWAYS more tours to do. You can afford to wait. You're a good player, I'm sure the calls will keep coming in. You have more work than you need - I'm sure any one of us here could do what you're doing, so spread the wealth a little and get a sub. You'll be OK!
 
my advice would be to turn it down and focus on YOUR main gig

its of a longer duration, and more important to your bandmates because it represents ALL of you

the idea of an exotic tour as a hired gun is fascinating, but if you've never done it before, there's a TON of waiting around (with associates), and three weeks can put you on the threshold of exhaustion/burnout just as your MAIN gig is getting ready to roll (with friends)

i say you owe it to your bandmates to be there to help them prepare and be ready for their best work... missing out on a tour kinda sucks, but if you already have one anyway (and longer), what are you missing?

besides Europe : |

if it were AFTER your main gig, that would be different
 
One time I had to decide whether I should take a job in Indiana. I just couldn't decide. I needed to make more money, and at the time my wages were so low that I had to do something drastic.

So I flipped a coin and let fate decide. I figured once in my life, I'll just let fate decide. I ended up going to Indiana. The company was crap, but Indiana wasn't bad. I got fired seven months later, but made enough to pay down a lot of debt and it put me in the top bracket for unemployment benefits back in California when I was unemployed a year later. After Indiana, I went straight back to my old job. Then I got laid-off a few months later. Ironically, I made more money on unemployment than my $14 an hour job at the time. haha!
 
Thanks every one for chiming in. I thought I'd just give some resolution to this post.

I didn't take the tour.

Mainly for the reasons that Bo and Davezedlee articulated.

While every one made valid points, what I probably didn't emphasise or make clear was the importance of my main band and the belief we all have in that project.

I signed up for my bands tour. Also took a one week tour prior to that. but to take on the other tours (meaning I'd be away for five weeks prior to my band bands tour)... well that would effectively mean I'm not doing my job. And that means it's more than just playing well on tour. The band need me here to keep doing regular gigs and building our vibe with the new bassist etc. Essentially it's about focus and 110% in one project not 50% in each (one of which is just a one off tour!)

I also probably over stated the importance of one birthday! My girlf riend would support me on that, and if she didn't she'd have to deal with it... But in an ideal world I'd bring her with me, anyway...

Thanks

I don't regret my decision... yet... and the other band leader respected my decision and I believe he will call me again!

win win
 
Back
Top