If you were me.... - MusicianWages.com

Tagged: drum covers, Drummer, need drummer

This topic has 5 voices, contains 6 replies, and was last updated by JoshuaLockridge 347 days ago.

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May 28, 2011 at 4:52 pm #6814
JoshuaLockridge	<p>Hey everyone! </p> <p>This is a part new member introduction/part question thread!</p> <p>First off. Hello everyone! My name is Joshua and I am a songwriter/percussionist. I have been playing for 14 years and it is my sole passion in life. I have been working really hard to constantly evolve and improve, while seeking out job opportunities that would allow me to travel/get paid while doing so.</p> <p>So what I wanted to ask is this. If you were me:<br /> I have held onto a certain kind of lifestyle to allow myself the chance to take a good opportunity when it comes. I have zero debt. I own my car fully. I have 3 high end drum kits (DW Collectors/Yamaha Maple Absolute/Pearl Masters) and the necessary cases to travel with them. Drums are my sole passion and the only thing I know I want to do for my life. I am essentially set up so I could, at the drop of a hat, leave for tour or move with zero issues.</p> <p>I am most certainly not in any way cocky, but I am confident I could earn any opportunity that comes my way. The issue is, I am in Indianapolis and have not been able to network/meet the kind of people that could help. Maybe they are here and I am not meeting them, but I have been doing sessions and shows in both Indianapolis and Nashville and just haven’t connected with someone who knows someone that could help find me a good opportunity.</p> <p>I am HUNGRY! This is what I want to do with my life. I know there are tons of people going down this same path.</p> <p>You can check out what I am up to and my playing in general here: http://www.youtube.com/JoshuaLockridge.</p>; <p>In fact.. it would truly make my day if you would take the time to look through the videos I have, find one that is of your interest and let me know what you think. </p> <p>So if you were me.. move to Nashville? Move to LA? I just don’t know where to go to move myself further towards my goal.. which is to work as a touring drummer/session drummer and make a ‘good enough’ living. </p>
May 28, 2011 at 6:51 pm #7647
Andree-Ann	Hi Joshua! Welcome to the forums – i love how we’re having new members these days! If I were you…don’t move to LA or Nashville. It’s a funny thing to say since I just moved in the LA area, sort of. Let me explain my philosophy. In LA and Nashville, there are already a ton of musicians. Some of them extremely good, some of them probably really bad too. The point is, you’d be just another fish in the sea. By being a town that may not have a really blooming music scene (I don’t know anything about your city so maybe I’m wrong here) I think you probably have more opportunities – how many excellent drummer/singer-songwriters are there in your area? If there are only a few, chances are that you have more chances of getting any opportunity that may arise. Once you have more contacts, established yourself, etc, maybe then it’d be great to move to Nashville or LA. I think that’s what Dave did – he was working in Chicago for years before finally moving to New York…he could probably help you a lot on that. This is just my opinion – I’m young and barely fresh out of school so I’m not the most knowledgeable person, but this is a tip I’ve heard many times from teachers and such. Maybe you should change your philosophy of ‘haven’t connected with someone who knows someone that could help find me a good opportunity’. I think you would benefit from thinking about meeting other musicians just for the sake of it rather than thinking immediately at what kind of help they can provide you. Dave once mentioned something about befriending people first, then try and use them as connections later on. Indianapolis is a big city, I’m sure there are opportunities out there – I know a lot of musicians from my tiny hometown in Canada who make good money without ever going out of town – even the smallest places have opportunities. Look at churches, weddings, funeral homes (these pay really well from where I’m from….), restaurants, join a band…I came up with the conclusion that even if it doesn’t pay too much, it’s a gig, exposure and opportunity. So even if it’s not a world tour with your favorite band, the small gig you found in the classifieds can be a great start! This will also help with your networking problem you mentioned.
May 28, 2011 at 7:06 pm #7648
JoshuaLockridge	Thank you for the warm welcome! Yeah I completely agree with what you are saying. I can understand how my networking comments could have come off that way. I definitely agree with that approach. My girlfriend is in the process of possibly moving to Las Vegas. I was reading up on opportunities there. Any input on Las Vegas? Where I am at right now.. I am in a band touring nationally and doing sessions when they come up. This isn’t providing a living fully though, and I think I am at the level where I could compete with other more well known drummers for good gigs. That is why I was thinking LA or Nashville. I say this with confidence and not arrogance. I have worked to get where I am. If I feel like I could compete in a bigger pond, would your advice be the same? I really just need to find those kinds of opportunities, and I don’t feel like they are around me currently. I could just be looking in the wrong places though.
May 29, 2011 at 3:26 am #7652
Cameron Mizell	Hi Joshua, Thanks for coming to the site, and welcome! If you want to find work, the best thing to do is just get out and meet other musicians that are doing what you want to be doing. Host jam sessions, hang out after their gigs, and just get to be friends with other musicians. I’m sure that’s what you do now, and honestly, that’s what works in any other town. LA, Nashville, Las Vegas, and New York, are all big cities with a lot of musicians because there are a lot of opportunities to work. Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, Asheville, all have opportunities as well–I know musicians that make a living in those cities. But, I know more musicians making a living in the larger cities just because there’s more work in those places. If you haven’t already read it, check out this article by [url=http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/job-profile-guitarist-matt-baldoni-on-working-in-las-vegas/]Las Vegas guitarist Matt Baldoni on Working in Las Vegas[/url]. Glad to have you on the site!
May 30, 2011 at 3:46 am #7655
David J. Hahn	Hi Joshua – Welcome to the site, man. Glad to have you here. Andree-Ann makes some great points, as always. There is work everywhere if you look long enough. But actually – my advice is this a little different. When I think about cities and their music scenes I think of it like ladders – you know, like “climbing the ladder of success.” Each city has it’s own ladder, but they are all different heights. Indianapolis has a shorter ladder than Chicago. I mean that there are just fewer opportunities in Indianapolis as compared to Chicago. But as Cam points out – you can definitely make a living in Indianapolis. The height of the ladder is, maybe, less about money and more about ambition. My advice is this: find the city with the right-sized ladder for you and start climbing. I actually left Chicago very early in my career. I discovered very quickly that the ladder just wasn’t tall enough what I wanted. So I left and started climbing the New York ladder. (It’s confusing though, because I actually had to leave Chicago and New York and do some regional work elsewhere before I could make a play for New York – but all along I had my sights on the New York scene.) You’re hungry, so I say get out there. Move somewhere challenging and start working. I wouldn’t shy away from places with lots of musicians that are hard to break into. Eventually you’ll break in if you play well, work hard, make friends and keep at it.
June 8, 2011 at 8:39 pm #7673
funkyguitar	Joshua, I think your second post may indicate more clearly where you’re coming from. If you’re touring nationally, perhaps it’s tough to legitimately stay in touch with your connections back home. It’s a fine line between staying in touch and coming across as too needy. I’m trying to think through the details about how this would play out in real life (First email: Hey John, it’s Joshua! What’s good bro? We met at the Blue Diamond last month, I’m on tour at the moment. Keep rockin’!. Second email, a few weeks later: Yo John, it’s Joshua, still on tour, in Miami now. BTW, you need a drummer sometime next month? I’ll be back in town then). And so on. What may pay greater dividends is actually starting something, being a bandleader for example. This way you can take more action to promote and book your own group, rather than hoping a connection happens to have an opportunity available for you. It would be a change of pace and utilize some different skills, but it may be something you have greater control over. Lance [url=http://www.lancevallis.com]www.lancevallis.com[/url]
June 9, 2011 at 2:20 pm #7675
JoshuaLockridge	Hey guys! Thank you so much for the input. Every single post in this thread has been helpful. Using the ladder analogy, I feel like Indy is a short ladder. I am heavily debating on moving to Nashville or Las Vegas. The move would happen September 1st 2011. Nashville is close and I have friends that are already working their foot in the door. Las Vegas is an entertainment juggernaut and my girlfriend has a house in her name there ready for us. If my main goal is to be a session drummer/eventually international touring drummer.. would you guys suggest one over the other? I have only seen Vegas on tour, and never got to really see what the city’s music scene was about. The article on this site about being a musician in Vegas was very interesting!! Anyway, thank you all again for your time and input! I appreciate it very much.