Surging Through Rough Waters

Waves breaking over the bow, sailing into unknown waters.
Storm surges pass by where will we end up?

Knowing would not change our inevitable destiny.
Patience and consistency calm the waters to see the horizon.

As the sun rises so does our hope.
This endless journey may bring some happiness
in the process we find love.

We have fought through many rough waters and obstacles.
Failure is not an option, only misdirection.

The power from within fuels the engine
Speeding head on into the next surge

Soaking and bleeding, nothing will stop us.

Today's scribblings

People hanging in the streets, dying in their sleep
leaving before their time has come.

The horsemen take your life, sweeping every breath.
Trampling heads, legs, and chest
My heart will prevail, beating through the pain.

The time has come to pick a side;
Giving, taking, please don't stay.
Never going to realize
hiding, wasting your life away.

The line's been drawn in the sand,
with me or against me, I take a stand!

Dreams of Drums

職人 – Shokunin

Last night I watched “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” a documentary about a master sushi maker in Japan. It reminded me of a philosophy that I hold dear and true to my heart, mastering through repetition. Not mindless repetition, sitting in front of the television and practicing. Being mindful of every moment every nuance of what you are doing, fully aware and engaged. This repetition creates a baseline, a standard to which you can hold yourself. If everyday you get up and do something in the exact same way it would get boring, but if instead you were aware of your flaws and fixed/changed one thing that you did not like from the previous you would quickly master your art as well.

When I speak of art I do not always mean the traditional arts painting, music, sculpting, etc. I mean to speak of the art of your trade. In the documentary they talk about choosing this fish for the sushi and how each vendor they purchase from is the master in their field tuna, octopus, shrimp, etc. If Jiro chooses the best fish everyday then he holds himself to a higher standard of creating sushi thus progressing in his trade. The same goes for drums and percussion. The artisans that have crafted, more often than not by hand, the instruments you play on have spent their lives honing a skill that can only be learned by a hands-on approach usually apprenticing for many years. Don’t we, as crafters of music, owe it to these artisans to spend an equal amount of time or effort mastering our skills? Don’t we owe it to our students to teach in this way? Whatever skills you choose in life do it as well as you can and do it that way every time. 

Talent will get you only so far. For those who do not become shokunin (craftsman) of their trade, continually striving to better themselves and their art, will not truly become successful in any sense. I have heard so many people in my life tell me this and it has never resonated as clearly as it does now. Daily practice will unveil the cracks in your abilities. Find your flaws and, as Mike Johnston so kindly says, “embrace the suck.” Spend the time to fix them right so no time is wasted later. This will take time; we all walk our own paths at different paces, some walk slowly and others quickly. Take control of what you can. The sooner you learn to love the process and embrace fully the fact that learning is a lifetime process the sooner you will find happiness and with some luck success. Regardless of how much or how hard you practice success in the music business still largely relies on networking. Who you know is important, but more so who knows you.  Make sure that they person they know is the person you would hire.

There is no quick road through life. Each day will pass as fast as the previous. Take advantage of the time you have and immerse yourself in learning your art.

Let there be life, let there be love, let there be silence when there needs to be.

So much can happen in one year. A year ago today I was graduating from the University of Utah, a task that did not come lightly or without serious struggle. After a quick walk across the stage my girl, her family, and I all sped down to Disneyland. Because what else do you do once you’ve spent half of your adult life in school, you go to the happiest place on earth of course. A whirlwind of a trip, 3 days in SoCal, drive back, send my girl back to Florida to work at Disney World as I pack an apartment and prepare for 5 weeks in Italy.

Not without some serious detours, my study abroad in Siena, Italy was by far contained some of the most beautiful moments in my entire life. I feel lucky to have had my fair share of moments that are so beautiful they literally leave you speechless. After a few awkward bus rides and a 48 hour sleep deprived trip home it was time to get back to “reality” so to speak.

Back home in Utah, I stayed with my family while I found an apartment and looked for work in Salt Lake City. Months went by and hundreds upon hundreds of applications were submitted and hundreds of more calls made, there was no hope for finding work. Finally approaching places that said they were not hiring but walked in and gave them my information along with a few nods from friends whom I had worked with previously, I found a job (or a handful of jobs). Freelance work is tough to manage with many schedules conflicting, but I was happy to do it with the expectation of a paycheck. I was happy even to work 90+ hours in a single week to kick off the inaugural Salt Lake City Comicon.  But to what avail? My paycheck that had been promised every two weeks (one that I had needed for months) came late, not just a few days late but more than two weeks late. After more than a handful of late paychecks I was unable to continue working with such an inconsistent schedule.

After looking for more work with no success I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Just at the right moment I came across the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) internship, which happened to be a paid. Thank god for some sort of a paycheck. But like any good opportunity there was a catch. I would have to move to Indianapolis, IN with less than a month’s notice; which meant my truck and most of my drums had to go to pay for the relocation. Where would my career path take me? I had just given up 17 years of performing experience for a desk job, an internship with no promise of continued work after 6 months. But at least I had a paycheck for now. This opportunity proved wonderful as it gave me time to collect my thoughts, my finances, and prepare for the next major step of life. Regardless of what I choose to do from here one out I am grateful for this life-saving opportunity and will always be indebted to PAS and Rhythm! Discovery Center.

Although one year ago today I started on an unknown path, today my dreams are reaffirmed. There is much to be done before any celebration may take place. Let there be life, let there be love, let there be silence when there needs to be.

Contributing to the Arts and the World Around Us

I attended a workshop and lecture by Dr. Michael Bakan earlier this week where he talked about music, autism, and community. When he talked about his students in ARTISM, the story that stood out to me at first was during a rehearsal where he was trying to get a student to come play but she didn't want to. After talking to her mom, who attended classes with her, he realized that she didn't want to play. She was emotionally connecting to the music in a way that created a unique experience for her. Experience music in this way I have only known by performing it. But she insisted on not playing, so she would come to rehearsal and sit in the back and just soak in the music.

We all have a vital role in bringing music to life, composer, performer, and listener. Whether a songwriter writing pop chart hits, a composer writing a symphony or scoring a film, a hip-hop artist sampling other music to make something new, a drummer trying to create something out of nothing, or even just a passerby humming a tune. There are endless ways to make music. The creators of music are responsible for being true to the musings of the world around them, trying to express some range of human emotion or simply just reflecting their surroundings.

The performer has the task of bringing the ink on the page to life. Many times this is the same person that composed the tune, but in large orchestral settings or in studio songwriting sessions this is not the case. The performers are highly experienced in their craft, I have met many studio drummers that are great in the studio but are lacking in a live setting and vice versa. That is perfectly beautiful because we need musicians who can relate to a compositional idea and express it as the writer intended. They use various techniques to bring the appropriate textures to life. Performers breathe life into each piece they play.

The listener, in many ways has the most important role in the creation of music. Without someone to listen to and enjoy the music there would be less purpose for the creation of it. Listeners not only enjoy, or dislike both are important, music but in our current day and age they are patrons of the arts. They are the ones attending concerts, buying band merchandise, and supporting the further creation of more and hopefully better music.

I have maintained for a long time that we all have unique perceptions of life because no one can live the same life as another. No matter how similar, we all have influences that change our perception every moment of every day, whether we know it or not. Whatever your perception or path in life follow it and strive to be the best you can be. Even if you have no musical skill but enjoy listening, be a patron of the arts support in any way you can. I hope your weekend is filled with interesting, wonderful, and enjoyable music. I know mine will be as I continue work on a new record, new compositions, and just generally being creative. 

I never wanted to be a salesman.

Traditionally, salesmen are known as liars, deceptors, manipulators, and cheaters. All for the sole purpose of selling you something you probably don’t need. At an early age I saw that people disliked even hated salesmen. Who can blame them?

In this day and age we are forced to survive, to do anything necessary to put food on the table in the hopes to pursue some level of happiness or this “American dream” people talk so fondly of. Most do what they feel they have to, some do what they’re told to, but a few of us work hard and struggle through thicker forests to pursue a passion that is less of a choice and more of a necessity to find happiness. The job, whatever it may be, is simply a means to get to the real work.

I’ve worked many jobs, most of which did not require me to sell anything or at least not direct sales. Along the way I’ve learned many aspects to being a good salesman. In good business it’s important to have all of your employees really buy into your company. The more your workers feel good about their positions the more likely they are to sell your product with little assistance from cold call selling.

Currently I work at the Rhythm Discovery Center (R!DC) in Indianapolis, IN owned and operated by the Percussive Arts Society. To be honest, when I first accepted this internship I didn’t think I would be selling much. Tickets at the ticket counter and merchandise in the gift shop but not pushing people to buy things they don’t want. The best part about a company with a great product is that it tends to sell itself. Selling memberships, gift shop items, and tickets at the front desk is easy as pie because we have a great product here. Drums and percussion is something that everyone likes on some level harking back to a time when our primal selves wandered the earth. Most kids, of all ages, come out smiling from ear to ear and want to come back and are inspired to know more about our business. I find myself talking to people and selling the product of R!DC without even realizing it.

As a musician my job is no longer to just be creative and make the best music I can. My job is wrapped up in marketing, audio/video editing, promotion, networking, design, etc. with as much creativity as I can squeeze in. At the heart and soul of my music career I have to be a salesman, not necessarily to sell something people don’t want, but to convince people that I’m worth the risk they’re taking by spending $5 on a record. I noticed recently that the salesman tactics I use in my day-to-day work and career have begun to seep into my personal life and it’s ruining everything I work for.

The pendulum of life has started to swing toward happiness again. For there to be happiness we first have to wade through the trenches of the past and learn to forgive or at least purge the negativity to make room for enjoyment. Absolution is on the horizon, keeping the ship afloat just long enough to see the sunrise to see the sandy beach on which we can rebuild. May the salesman in all of us take a break, at least for a little while and remember that we are here to make magic.

Life Choices

Most people have a hard time with life choices such as, should I get married, have kids, or buy a house? These are, in their own right, very big tough decisions but at least they are accepted by the majority of society.

Every day of my life I make choices that are, in general, looked down upon by society. And no, being a musician is not a completely unacceptable lifestyle but truth be told most people don't agree with staying up until 5am working on music and going from job to job just to maintain a performance schedule. Even harder when it comes to maintaining any sort of relationship, including friends.

I know what you're thinking, "I chose this life." To be blatantly honest with you, I did choose to continue to pursue this life, but in the beginning this life chose me. I'm a complete addict. Going from playing 6-7 days every week to playing no more than twice in a week, I feel like a heroin addict. I can't get my fix fast enough or for long enough. Somedays I don't know what to do because it feels like this will be a life-long process that may never "pay off" in a monetary sense. Most days I find comfort in the process and continue to work my ass off finding and creating projects.

There's always another hurdle, always something new to learn.