As a person who has been involved in music from a very young age, it was always so important to me to have music be in life for the rest of my life. I decided in 7th grade (about 14 years ago) that I wanted to be a band director when I grew up. Now, I know pretty much everyone reading this blog are either drummers or guitarists, but I promise this'll be worth your while. Honestly, this wasn't a very tough decision because I knew at that young of an age that I wasn't really very good at anything else. Playing trombone came naturally to me. I had just enough talent to get me by when I started. 

        That was my problem...

"Just enough talent" got me by, but the older I got the lower on the totem poll I went. I relied on talent, and not work ethic. I was told in 8th grade that I would be a Texas All-State musician... so I relied on that, and never actually worked to get there. Now that I've been teaching middle school, high school, and a little bit of elementary band for over 3 years now, I'm discovering that this is like a plague across our nation in our kids. Too many kids give up on something they once liked because they discover they have to work at it to be good at it. This year was a little bit of a disappointment during our summer marching band camp because a large portion of my middle school kids quit band before the high school year even started, all because they were lazy and didn't want to wake up in the early morning, or because the marching didn't come naturally to them in the beginning. Some of those students had potential to be GREAT musicians. This is happening more and more each year. 

If you love playing drums, or guitar, uke, or whatever it may be (maybe even playing football or public speaking), it's not always going to be easy, but the greatest reward in life is when you reach the end of that long tiring race. Ask Shane about his first race, I'm sure training wasn't easy, but the feeling when it was over was SO worth it! You're going to have fills or licks you want but can't play yet, or a gig you really hope to get, but if you push passed the hump and "just keep swimming", you will feel an unbelievable sense of accomplishment. I marched with the Bluecoats (Drum Corps International) for 3 summers, and those were the hardest summers of my life, and cost a LOT of money, but the feeling after that finals performance at World Championships and hearing the crowd yell "Bloooooo!!" (not to mention that each year I marched, our placement went up), was THE best feeling I've ever had as a musician.         

To bring this blog to an end, I want to just reinforce the idea that if you really love what you're doing, no matter what it is, or even if you're just getting started and you're not sure yet - KEEP TRYING. Keep practicing, keep working hard, and I promise you'll reap the benefits, and I promise in the tough times it will get fun again. And also remember, as another blogger said, it's not always about being the best at what you do... being good may get you A gig, but being a good and reliable person will help you KEEP gigs. Keep practicing, and when the going get tough, just keep swimming.
                               -cassie

If you want to improve as a musician, you need to listen to good musicians.  This is actually one of the easiest things we can do to grow, but it's often overlooked.  I play drums so I'm going to talk in terms of drums and drummers, but this principle is true for any musician.


As a drummer, I want to listen to the best drummers I can as much as I can.  By listening to top notch drummers, my musical imagination is stretched.  Now I can't always play what they play just by listening, but over time I start to think like them.  And with practice, eventually things start to show up in my playing that resemble things I've heard and seen them do.  

Now, if I only listen to one band, I will eventually sound like the drummer for that band.  If I listen to lots of drummers from lots of different bands and different genres, my imagination grows evenly and I become a much more well-rounded drummer that can play lots of different styles.  This will make you a better drummer overall and will give you a greater appreciation of all music.  Don't be narrow-minded and arrogant about your style of music.  No genre is all-encompassing and no style is a complete waste of time.  All have unique facets that are beneficial to a drummers well-rounded growth.  

You might be wondering how you can listen to great drummers without spending tons of money on expanding your music library?  Well, there are lots of ways, but my favorite resource is a website called Drummerworld.  It offers videos and recordings of the worlds top drummers as well as transcriptions, forums, and many other resources and is completely free.

So be diligent and consistent in your practice, but make sure to also listen to great musicians. You'll grow faster and be a better musician for it.
                                         -Jonathan

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay! Life has been kind of crazy this month. 

Originally I was going to title this blog, The Importance of Groove. Then, I got a call to go record so I was going to call it Preparing for the Studio. Later I got a call later that the recording session got postponed. The next week I found out that I was passed over for a gig by a good friend of mine who went with someone who had better "feel".  My ego was bruised and I was feeling much less confident in my ability to play so I was going to write about Attitude and again the Importance of Groove\Feel. THEN I got the call that the recording session was back on. It's funny how God works things out because  I swear the session was the perfect object lesson on ALL of the topics I wanted to cover...

I leave my house at 6 am on Saturday (yep, even musicians have to wake up early sometimes!), drive two hours to the studio, and get setup for an 8 am session. After waiting for more than an hour, the leader of the band finally finished laying scratch tracks [note: scratch tracks are tracks that provide the basic feel of the song for musicians to record to but are later replaced with 'real' tracks] and I was ready to go! (or so I thought). 

I got together with the bandleader last week to discuss the two songs we were going to record and practiced accordingly (Preparing for the Studio). The bandleader said that he wanted to make one song sound really "poppy". So, I put on my pop drummer hat and played a take...only to hear this from the control room, "Umm....That was good....could you play it again....but, this time without the fill......or..." I would do another take and change it up a bit just to hear the same thing about 15 times...which is both frustrating and makes you feel like you don't know what you're doing. 

I didn't complain and did my best to give the band leader what he wanted (Attitude). We finally got a solid take and it turned out great! I ended up playing solid quarter notes on the kick and crash to give the chorus a poppy kind of drive and it made the song feel really good (Importance of Groove). 

Now I tell you guys this because I want you to know that it was actually a GREAT learning experience. Even losing the gig with my friend turned out well because I now know that I need to work on my feel. Because I didn't complain in the studio, I will get called back for possible gigs with the engineer because he said that he couldn't tell me how many other drummers would get really upset if they were told to "not play that fill here". 

1. Keep practicing 

2. Be flexible (be a team player) 

3. Keep grooving (remember that playing simple and clean is ALWAYS better than playing your "hot new fill")

4. Play to the song

5. Even when you are feeling kinda down about your skills, Keep playing and Have fun with it!!



If you stick with it the gigs will come....that friend that went with someone else called me to play next week because his other guy couldn't make it....( I guess be reliable has some advantages too...)
                                                                                                                   - Justin

Hey guys! Before we get started, let me tell you a little about myself and where I'm coming from.

My Name is Justin Pohlmann. I've been playing drums for over 11 years and have had the honor of sharing the stage with some great musicians! I've had the opportunity to play hundreds of shows, open up for national acts, and record three different albums with my former band Considered Rubbish (you can download the last album for free here: www.consideredrubbish.bandcamp.com).

I currently play drums for a band called "The Trust Project", play at my church on Sunday mornings, and fill in with some different bands whenever they need me. 

These blogs will hopefully be able to shed some perspective on what it's like to be a gigging drummer (how to prepare for gigs, how to get gigs, etc...). I will also post lessons and things I've been working on from time to time and try to answer any questions you guys have about being a working drummer.

Ok, enough about me...on with the show...

So, you've been practicing your butt off, gotten your chops up, driven your parents and neighbors completely crazy practicing for hours on end, practiced your best rock-n-roll face in the mirror (you know you have!),  and maybe even gotten a band together. Now that you think your ready for the world of being a gigging drummer, let's take a look at what that looks like. It's going to sound scary so get ready.


 WE GET TO BE THE FIRST ONES TO PRACTICE\SHOWS

WE GET TO BE THE LAST ONES TO LEAVE PRACTICE\SHOWS

WE GET TO HAUL THE MOST GEAR AROUND

WE TAKE THE LONGEST TIME TO SET UP AND TEAR DOWN

WE GET TO CONSTANTLY BE THE BUTT OF DRUMMER "JOKES”

WE WILL GET ASKED "CAN'T YOU JUST PLAY SOFTER?" (My personal favorite)

OUR GEAR COSTS THE MOST TO UPKEEP (sticks and heads cost way more the guitar strings!)

AND WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH LEAD SINGERS AND GUITARISTS WHO THINK IT’S AWESOME TO JUST COME RIGHT UP, GRAB YOUR CRASH CYMBAL AND SPIN IT ON THE STAND!!! (that drives me nuts!!)

AND IF YOU EVER HAVE THE "PRIVILEGE" OF PLAYING IN A BAR, YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY GET DRUNKEN REQUESTS TO PLAY "WIPE-OUT"...ALOT...ALL NIGHT....

Add all of this together with hours of practice time, little to no pay, and constantly getting asked to learn new songs at the last minute and you've just about got the idea of what it's like to be a gigging drummer.

Then why do it?

Because we get to play drums!!!! Drumming is fun! When you lock into a groove, the band syncs up and everything is rocking you will know that, despite all of the hard work and long hours, it is totally worth it!!

This is just a sample of what you guys can expect while being a gigging drummer hope you guys found this helpful. Next time we start talking about the importance of groove!!
                                                                                                                                                     Thanks for reading!
                                                                                                                                                                    -Justin 

NOTE FROM SHANE.....
Justin and I have been friends for over twenty years. We met in kindergarten and became rock stars together before heading separate ways after high school. While I became a teacher and live a life in the suburbs, I secretly live out my rock star fantasies vicariously through him. I am glad to have him on board as a guest blogger at stickandstrum and know that he will teach and give insight into areas that I lack.  Feel free to post comments below and ask any questions that you have about gigging, recording, or life as a professional drummer. 

(the song playing is "With Me" by Considered Rubbish featuring Justin Pohlmann on drums. You can download the entire album for free here)