Get more gigs!

This post is inspired by an email from a friend asking what he can do to get more gigs. We're all in the same boat, for sure. Thanks, JC!

Last year I lost two very important (to me, at least) recording gigs to another local drummer. It wasn't underhanded or dirty, just an ease-of-use type decision in each case. He's a great player, and it wasn't the end of the world for me, but it really got me thinking.

How do I become 'the guy?' What can I do to get those calls and more of them?


Coincidentally, I had the opportunity to meet and hang with Tim Fagan at a Soundcheck Series event a couple of months later, and I asked him what he thought. Honestly, I was expecting, "Sorry, man. That's really too bad." I couldn't have been more wrong.

I'm paraphrasing here, but it went roughly like this:

Tim: "How many guys are there that are trying to get studio drummer work around here?"

Me: "I dunno, twenty, maybe?"

Tim: "And how many studio engineers and producers are there that hire drummers?"

Me: "At least twenty."

Tim: "And how many of those guys do you know personally?"

Me: *Gulp* "Three or four."

Tim: "Okay, so what are you doing to let the other guys know that you exist and that you're qualified to play in their studios?"

Me: *Double gulp* "I'm not really doing anything. I guess I'm just sitting around waiting for my reputation to generate phone calls."

He had made his point, and went on to tell me that in LA (where he lives and works) there are literally hundreds of studios and drummers, and that the guys who get calls are involved in the music ecosystem, are around a lot, and have reputations for being professional and reliable.

The best thing this discussion with Mr. Fagan did for me was get me to stop feeling sorry for myself. Beyond that, it's gotten me working on ways I can expand my reach and "visibility" in the music ecosystem in my area.

Here's my short list of ideas:

• First and foremost: BE A SOLID PLAYER. Anytime you do have a gig, absolutely nail it. Consider that every time you play, you're "auditioning" for somebody who is hearing you. I've played literally hundreds of gigs for a band that saw me play with another band when I was having a particularly good night. 
• BE A PRO. Develop a reputation for being on time, easygoing, professional and having decent gear. Let your behavior speak for itself, and let it tell people that you know what you're doing, and they're going to be happy they worked with you. I've heard it said that it's 20% how you play, and 80% how you act.
• BE AVAILABLE. I'm not saying you should just sit by the phone every night, but when the right opportunity comes up, make sure you can take it. That being said....
• KNOW THE LANDSCAPE. You should have a pretty good idea of the major players, bands, producers, engineers, etc. so that when you do get a call, you'll know if it's a good opportunity or not. 
• KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. Even if it's a great (or well-paying) gig, it may not be the next step for you. For example, if you want to be a studio player and a touring band calls, you may need to decline. Being on the road for the next nine months won't exactly leave you available for sessions.
• REACH OUT. Be extremely careful and thoughtful in this area, because nothing is worse than the 'music stalker.' But there are appropriate ways to make connections in person and online that can lead to playing and development opportunities. If you're doing all of the stuff above, it won't take long before the right people start to hear your name and your work. Get out and listen to other players and bands, go to workshops or clinics, volunteer (you heard me!) and be willing to make a sacrifice here and there to make a legitimate connection turn into a friendship. More than once I've gained opportunities by "saving" a project for cheap or free. 
• BE PERSISTENT. In a lot of ways, too. Keep development your craft and refining your gear. Keep being involved. Keep playing. Keep up on music and technology trends. Keep yourself in good shape by eating right, sleeping enough and exercising. (Sounds weird, I know, but it's a critical piece.)

At the end of the day, we all want to make music. And we want to do it a lot, with great people and have it be profitable. Most importantly, we want music to be an honest expression of ourselves.

So, what did I leave off my list? Help us all out by leaving a comment below.

As always, happy drumming!

Deliberate practice: The difference between good and great

Just in case you're not following on Facebook or Twitter:


Maybe the most valuable thing I've read recently about being a better musician - and maybe a better human being!

"The best (musicians), they determined, addressed their mistakes immediately. They identified the precise location and source of each error, then rehearsed that part again and again until it was corrected. Only then would the best students proceed to the rest of the piece."

Read more here.

You absolutely need to read the entire article, but it basically puts forth the idea that if you're not practicing deliberately, you may as well not practice at all!

The recipe is not the cookie!

Today I worked with some AWESOME junior high percussionists. They worked hard, and we had a lot of fun. They also put up with my crazy analogies and stories really well. (Thanks, guys!)

Along the way we discovered another great way to think about sheet music, or what we sometimes call, "the chart." Whatever you call it, it's the paper with ink on it that tells you what to play, be it tabs, standard notation, a lead sheet or head chart.

This comparison is really simple: the written music is the recipe, as if you were making a batch of cookies. The recipe may call for flour, sugar, eggs, chocolate chips, etc, just like the music calls for rhythm, pitch, dynamics, phrasing, etc.

Ultimately, the addition of the ingredients, the mixing, the tweaking and the baking? All up to you. That's why my version of cookies is very different from my mom's, even though we follow the exact same recipe. And that's why your version of a song may be very different from somebody else's.

One more thing: It's been said that you can tell when food is cooked with love, and the same can be said for music. When following the "recipe" for your next performance, cook it up with love and both you and your audience will appreciate it.

And remember, just like the recipe is not the cookie, the sheet of paper with all the ink on it is not the music.

Happy drumming!

The Gig Log: Salt Lake Chamber's 125th Gala

I've always wondered what it would be like to play in a house band for Letterman or Leno, and the other night I got a taste of it. One of the bands I play with, Lokalgrown, was hired to sit in as the house band for a talk show themed gala for the Salt Lake Chamber's 125th Anniversary celebration.

As the drummer, I literally became a cast member. I was asked to "kick" jokes and generally respond appropriately to the conversation and banter between the host (Curt Doussett) and his guests.

As a band, we were about as well-choreographed as you can get. Tunes were started and stopped on a dime, commercial "bumps" and "fades" were timed exactly, and every song clip was specifically chosen for its mood, tempo, tonality and overall effect.

It was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding. I say this to my students all the time, but the harder you work for it, the better it feels when you perform it well.

And for all you drummers playing live TV, you have my respect.

Happy drumming!

"Spirit Houses"

Just a warning. I know I've written some pretty whack stuff before, but this might be the most whacked out yet. So, read with a grain of salt handy. 

Several years ago I attended a workshop by Wally "Gator" Watson. There's much more to it than this, but he talked about how all of our instruments - especially drums - were once living things. Since he's a drummer, he talked especially about drums being made from trees.

Wally believed strongly that all living things have spirits, trees included. And since they were once living, they retain the ability to "house" a spirit. Specifically, yours when you play. Wally talked about playing with your whole heart and soul, putting your spirit into the drums when you play them. He called his drums, "Spirit Houses."


Beyond the instrument, too, Wally talked a lot about putting your soul into your music. As an example, he brought a teenage girl up in front of the group and asked her to do a little singing. He quieted the audience while he spoke to the girl, and she sheepishly began to sing, "Happy Birthday" to the audience.

Honestly, it was pretty embarrassing for all of us. She turned red, giggled her way through it, and looked around awkwardly the entire time. The audience didn't do much better. It couldn't get over fast enough! Wally smiled kindly, quieted the audience again, and whispered something quickly in the girl's ear.

She closed her eyes and began to sing the same song again, but in a completely different way. As the first notes poured out, the entire room changed. The air itself seemed to be made of a heavier substance. The once giggling teenager stood calmly, eyes closed, beautiful voice clear and true. As she got to the third line of the tune (sing along, everybody), she choked slightly as she sang, "Happy birthday, dear Mom, happy birthday to you." It was breathtakingly beautiful, and I was completely stunned.

The young woman finished the song and opened her eyes, and the audience applauded, almost in awe. As she stood there, Wally asked her to repeat what he had asked her to do. The first time, she said, he just asked her to, "Sing 'Happy Birthday.'" The second time? "He told me to sing it to somebody that I love, so I sang to my mom. She died of cancer a few years ago."

I don't exactly know how to put into words just how much that experience changed me, but it did change me. Since then, no matter what I play, be it complex and crazy or simple backbeats, I try to play it with every ounce of my soul. I try to fill my drums with as much of my soul as I can.

Not gonna lie. It takes a great deal of effort to play like that, but it's immensely rewarding. It's that whole, "What can I give to my music, the other musicians and the audience?" mentality, and I've come to love it, depend on it, and expect it of myself.

And if that's not weird enough for you, I've got one more. One night after a particularly amazing and enjoyable gig, I started doing something I've made a habit of - I put my hand on one of my drums and just said, "Thank you." I know it sounds really crazy, but I thank my instruments for allowing me to make music with them. It's humbling, and it reminds me that playing is a privilege, a team effort, and that I should never take it for granted.

Weirder yet? About a week ago, walking out of the gym, I looked up at the basketball hoop and softly said, "Thank you," and hoped nobody heard me. Because without the hoop, you can't, you know, uh.......never mind.

Happy drumming!

Lyric Translation: Fun's "We Are Young"

As promised, here's my take on a current pop hit.

Unless you have literally been living under a rock (or listening exclusively to NPR) you've heard the song, "We Are Young," by the band Fun. It is super catchy, and I caught myself singing the chorus at full voice the very first time I heard it.

I didn't give the song much thought until I was at a family event a few weeks ago and somebody had put "We Are Young" on repeat. (Crazy thing is that I didn't notice it was repeating until at least the fourth time through.) It wasn't until a 14-year-old girl was singing the lyrics that I actually listened to what I was hearing.

Yes, I realize that I'm about to offend some of you. And I'm not sorry about it.

We won't look at all of the lyrics, but I've taken the liberty of interpreting the first few lines of the song below. You're welcome to disagree!

Give me a second, I need to get my story straight.

Translation: I'm lying. And I haven't quite figured out what I'm going to tell you yet, so chill.

My friends are in the bathroom getting higher than the Empire State.

Translation: The people that I associate with, whom I'm like and whose behavior I emulate, are in the back doing illegal drugs. And not a little. They're doing a lot of them. They're getting absolutely, completely wasted. Did I mention that I'm like them, and that I like them?

My lover, she's waiting for me just across the bar.

Translation: I've abandoned the person I came here with, presumably my, um....date, to talk to you.

My seat's been taken by some sunglasses asking about a scar.

Translation: Presumably, you won't let me sit by you, and you're making reference to an injury that you received.

And I know I gave it to you months ago, I know you're trying to forget.

Translation: I'm the one who caused your injury. I might have abused you, or caused an accident or something, and now you're trying not to let it bother you.

But between the drinks and subtle things - the holes in my apologies - you know I'm trying hard to take it back.

Translation: We're drinking alcohol, and I'm hoping that my behavior and the environment will distract you, because I'm not really sincere about apologizing to you, but I really want you to tell me that it's okay and that you forgive me.

So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I'll carry you home. Tonight...

Translation: We're going to be here all night because we have nothing better to do than sit in a bar and drink, and you're going to drink so much that you pass out. Then I'll literally pick you up and take you home, presumably my home, and then we'll, um......talk some more. Right....

Do we need to go on? I'd rather not, because this is just too much "Fun" for me.

Again, I don't care what you're listening to, but you have a responsibility to yourself to know what your music is saying, and what you're saying when you sing along.

Happy listening!

Music: The Language of Expression

From my earliest memories, I've been totally drawn in by music. There was always a lot of music around my house, from my mother singing church hymns to my older brother practicing with his metal band in the basement, and everything in between, and I took it all in.

The thing I have always loved most about music is the way it makes me feel, from happy to sad, and from excited to relaxed. I think most of us have favorite tunes we listen to when we're in a certain mood, either to enhance the mood or to change it. And music has always been used to accompany messages of religious belief, patriotism, politics, advertising, and good old fashioned love. In short, music is powerful.

But why is it so powerful? In my view, it's because it communicates to us on more levels - and in a totally different way - than the spoken or written word alone. Music entertains, expresses emotion, tells stories, persuades and enhances all kinds of communication.

So, from the time I began to play, as an ambitious 11-year-old, not only have I wanted to be an expressive musician, I've wanted to play with and listen to musicians who could get me to feel, not just hear.

It's easy to tell when a musician (or almost anybody, for that matter) is just doing something to get a paycheck, or because they feel like they have to for some reason other than the "love of the game." You can just as easily tell when someone is sincere and doing things because their heart is truly in it.

You can find passionate musicians in every genre, but I have a special respect for those who are using their music to try and make the world a better place. And while there are many mainstream examples of this, I've been noticing more of the religious/spiritual genres lately. There really is something special about this type of worship/expression, even if you don't share their beliefs.

But no matter what you play, you'll find that real musicians respect you if you play it sincerely, from the heart, and with passion.

Happy drumming!