Don’t play bored! 1

Here comes this player. He’s a guy. It’s always a man. The male hormone. It’s strong. It’s unstoppable. And there he goes. He sits down at the kit. He grabs the sticks. Give him a few notes of bass or guitar or whatever and he’s going to throw the world off its axis. He’s going to ravage that land, end all drummings, say the last word about it. He’s going to go KABLOEY!.

As the music goes, he plays a groove with ghost notes, tap toes, Moeller grip and all sorts of very technical term concepts. One can barely distinguish his sticks flying above the skins. He feels the music coming to him like an army trying to invade his territory. And he will answer the call, he will complete his mission, he will stand his ground! Should the music get louder and more powerful, he will fight to dominate, to stay on top, to rule. Should someone in the band take a solo, he will stay close to them, matching every mood, every crescendo, every nuance of the phrasing. That soloist will not have to cross the street on his own: the drummer will carry him in his arms. And the drum part has toms and crashes and accents and rolls and double bass and more crashes and more toms and snare galore. Kaba-boom!

That guy has studied his butt off! He has at least 30 drum books, a collection of YouTube videos on all possible concepts and a subscription to 3 drum magazines. He knows all about the modern drumming heroes of our days. He has seen a ton of clinics and demonstrations, has taken a 1000 lessons (Not with me!)! Drums have no secrets to him. None at all.

Yet, he can’t find a lot of people to play with him. His gigs are few and far between. His income from music is almost nil. And he’s about to hit 30 years old. His job is starting to take up more of his time. And Mary wants a kid. He can’t match his passion to his life. Music eludes him. Even if he’s got drumming in his gut, it’s not reflected in his income.

You know what I’m talking about? Yo! People of the world! Are you familiar with this situation? Do you or someone you know…

Yes. I understand. It is difficult. No need to cry.