Wednesday, November 7, 2012

November Update!

What an incredible year this has been at my new studio!  I can't believe how fast this year has flown by!  Things are still going incredibly well (knock on wood!)  I consider myself so blessed to be able to teach and play drums for a living.

The subject of this month's blog post has to do with playing the drums rather than teaching them.  I know the focus of my blog is usually about teaching but I was inspired to post about playing/performing this month.

I play in a cover band that plays most weekends.  I've been playing in this band for almost 9 years.  It has gone through many personnel changes.  We play for a variety of clients from small clubs to large corporate parties.  With the current economy, we've not had quite the amount of corporate work we used to enjoy, but we are still getting enough.  The band is pretty much a dream situation.  No rehearsals.  All the guys in the band are A level players that can bring it.  The band turns down work if the money isn't right.  So there should be no reason to complain, right?

Wrong.  Just because I get paid to play my drums in a band doesn't mean it's all roses and sunshine.  There are the usual issues of egos, differences of opinion, etc...  but the thing most of my family, friends and others don't realize is that week after week I'm playing songs I don't like.  How do I motivate myself to play these songs that I normally wouldn't even listen to for enjoyment purposes?

My normal way of dealing with this is to resort to the old bumper sticker philosophy of:  "The worst day of fishing is better than the best day at my day job."  For years I changed it to "The worst day of gigging is better than the best day of ALL those old day jobs I used to suffer through."  This attitude has gotten me through many a gig.  It reminds me that although I'm not playing anything that feeds my soul, I'm very blessed to be able to play and earn remuneration for it!

But is that how it should be?  Suffering through gigs with that attitude and a forced smile?  The past few weeks have shown me another way!  I was fortunate enough to be able to do some field research at a couple of gigs and the discovery I made was the antithesis of what had been drilled into me by all my good drum teachers and my own type A personality demands!

I was taught that in order to get work and get asked back, I needed to play "for the song," be versatile, use dynamics, play for the room, be prepared, be on time, and be professional.  All of these tips have helped me throughout my career but what I learned over the past few weeks has to do with "playing for the room."  What does that mean exactly?  I thought it meant not playing too loud for the venue.  While that's true, I discovered there is more to it than that.

I learned that playing for the room also means I need to consider the crowd as well as the venue.  Case in point:  For the last 9 years, I've tried my best to play the cover songs as accurately as I can.  I have many songs transcribed note for note as well as charts in my book.  I would sight-read down my charts placing every beat, fill and note right where it should be.  Going through the motions.  Mechanical.  Emotionless.  What I discovered over the course of the last three weeks is that if I'm playing a bar or a club, the people I'm playing for don't care if I catch the 6 Stroke Roll Motown fill every time in "My Girl."  They want to drink and dance.  Period.  They want to be entertained!  

So... I'm drawing on one of my earliest drum influences (Stewart Copeland) for inspiration. Stewart is known for playing with abandon and playing busy.  His energy is undeniable.  His flourish and swagger are predominant.  From this point on, when I'm playing the songs I hate at a club full of revelers, I'm going to do my best to focus on being an entertainer.  I'm going to go against my nature and play with more abandon.  My field research has shown that's what the people want.  Who am I to disappoint?  Of course if I'm using brushes during a jazzy dinner set at a swanky hotel in Vegas, I'll immediately go back to using my biggest drumming influence (Steve Gadd)!