*Be sure to read post "REGRESSSION TO THE MEAN"-MY SHRINK HELPED ME SEE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS after reading this post, for closure
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Artistic Influence
Shoot The Moon (Amateurs vs. Professionals)
Band Allies
A summation-
Anxiety- Crazy Is Doing Same The Same Thing Over.....We All Know It
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ARTISTIC INFLUENCE-
Some drummers only drum in a band. In fact, I would say that's the majority of drummers. But then there are other drummers, who want to be much more involved. Perhaps some roll their eyes and say, "Those I wanna be super involved drummer types, yea, I don't like those types of drummers." LOL
Some examples-
Lars Ulrich of Metallica- He was a founding member. He really hustled the band and made connections, especially in the early days. He also is a contributor to songwriting.
Bill Stevens of The Descendants- He's much like Lars of Metallica. He's also talented in the studio, a great recording engineer.
Neal Peart of Rush- Though he was not an original member of Rush, he became "THE" drummer for Rush, much like Ringo is "THE" drummer for The Beatles. Neal Peart was also the lyricist for Rush. He was a talented writer and veracious reader.
Me-
When I'm in a band, I work hard to create tasteful unique creative drum parts. I also enjoy writing lyrics. I also enjoy tapping out progressions on the piano, even "drummer chords" as I call them i.e. I go all over until something sounds good, putting my fingers in random arrangements, and then for the next chord, I do the same, and eventually I get some unique chord progression, and then I ask my bass or guitar player "What is this?"
If I start a band, or become an integral part of a band, and don't have artistic influence beyond drumming, be it lyrical, be it choosing covers, be it implementing a chord progression somehow, I become really frustrated, and I eventually have some type of blow up. So, I need to start leading out with this, letting people know I want my ideas to be taken seriously, and considered. If they are not up to par, can we tweak it so it is up to par? If it completely sucks, that's fine, but why does it suck? I want to learn and get better at writing.
SHOOT THE MOON (AMATEURS VS. PROFESSIONALS)-
Amateurs vs. Professionals is about mind set. A talented musician is a talented musician, never mind the title. But here is the big difference. For an amateur, music is "something" they do. For a professional, music is "what" they do. Are there hobby musicians out there more skilled than some working musicians? Of course. But the mind set is what matters.
Because of anxiety, I can't just sit in anywhere, especially if its a session with pros I don't know. If you read my post "OCD- The Brutal Truth", you will see why.
Since early childhood, if I feel a loss of control of my environment i.e. I'm accountable to what I perceive to be an authority figure, and my performance is under scrutiny, my anxiety erupts and I burn up inside. It sucks! Its been a millstone in life, in developing a career, but its the cross I have to carry, we all got something.
That being said, I always tend to form projects with talented amateurs. The result, every time, is frustration, because I want to Shoot The Moon (Really Go For It), and they don't.
But why would they? If a band mate has an established career, and makes a good wage, why would they jeopardize that for something as unsure as a band? For the professional, music is the bridge to success. For the amateur, music is a rest stop, a diversion, a side hustle at best, along the way to success, but in no way the avenue that will get them there.
This has been a hard one for me. Faith over fear, that's the key. There are good professional bandmates out there, that will understand my plight. I didn't ask for OCD, and the intense anxiety that comes with it, but it's not ever going to go away in this life, it can only be managed, and there are pro musicians who will understand that, will work with me, but I have to have the faith to find them.
Its also difficult because I lead a very sober lifestyle, in a very non-sober industry. I don't sleep around, I don't drink, and I don't do drugs. I've played plenty of gigs with people who do, and some are even what I would call friends. But the environment started to get to me, and I made some really bad decisions. So I realized I needed to change the people in my circle.
The truth is, I can't be on the road, day after day with these types, because as a single guy, or for any guy, married or not, that environment will start to get to you. Then again for some, maybe it won't, but it will get to me. Apart from drumming, I honestly bring so much to the table within a band. I'm a natural born networker.
BAND ALLIES-
Band allies simply means if bandmates agree with you, they'll support you. Obviously all members of a band don't always see eye to eye. In my experience, there is a singers opinion which seems to hold the most weight, but obviously there are disagreements. Some agree with a the singer, and some don't.
If bandmates, or really anyone support you in private, but hold their tongue publicly, or back peddle when conflict arises, then you're on your own.
In reality, issues only matter if bandmates even care enough to make a fuss. If a band is just a casual hobby, anything but a road to success, then in honesty, the band isn't going to be worth stressing over. I understand that.
An example-
Lets say you start a city league basketball team. There might be one teammate that is overly intense (ME). They might take issue with another teammate because they're lazy about playing defense. A couple fellow team mates might agree, but to them what's the point of making a fuss. This is just casual basketball, it doesn't mean enough to cause any drama, so though they agree with you, why would they take issue with this lazy defender. Other teammates might even say "Bro, this isn't the NBA, chill out."
The overly intense teammate (ME) might say "I know, sorry guys, I'm just gonna chill out." But inside they're thinking, "I have these bad anxiety issues, so I'm trying to make professionals out of amateurs, because amateurs don't trigger my anxiety, I don't feel intimidated. Maybe if I play hard enough, they'll catch the vision and think we all could actually make it to the NBA, and this city league basketball team could become an expansion team in the NBA. We would start out as a small market team, somewhere like Omaha, Nebraska. We would be called "The Omaha, Flyovers," because Omaha isn't a destination for anything but cattle and corn seed. Then we would enter into a bigger market, like San Diego, yea, San Diego, bring the NBA back to San Diego!" This is a metaphor for an anxious drummers delusional day dream about his bandmates.
In reality, the other teammates attitude is, "Bro, we all have careers, we're all just relaxing here. Deal with your anxiety and go try out for the NBA, and if you can't do that, don't expect us to, no matter how hard you try."
Band allies is honestly an extension of being in a band with amateurs vs. professionals. If its a casual band, with a casual focus, and no real vision outside of just rocking out, among people whose lively hood is not tied to music, it doesn't make sense to make a fuss about anything.
Crazy Is Doing Same The Same Thing Over.....We All Know It-
Crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If I play with amateurs, because it calms my anxiety, but expect a professional mind set, then I'm letting anxiety make my decisions, and it will end in frustration.
If I continue to NOT lead out with the expectations I personally have in a band, but just think the band will catch the vision, and show appreciation for my efforts through throwing me some artistic influence (i.e. the singer giving my artistic influence a chance), then I'm crazy to think my band experiences will ever change.
Its about managing my anxiety, that's at the core of all my issues. Non the less, I still ask myself, "What's the deal with singers?"
My next post will dive more into anxiety, past bands, and singers.
*Be sure to read post "REGRESSSION TO THE MEAN"-MY SHRINK HELPED ME SEE THE ERROR OF MY WAYS after reading this post for closure.
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