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Look, I didn't want to be there either. But come on...
I recently got called by a friend of mine for a gig. It was a Tuesday night, so there was absolutely nothing I was doing. It was decent money, so I said yes. The gig? Oh just your standard, run of the mill elementary school choir concert.
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As far as gigs go, this is probably the bottom of the barrel. It's not glamorous, and it’s not good music. Even the X Pro 2 filter on Instagram can't make it look good. But it was decent money and I wasn't doing anything. Two days before I received an email with a PDF. It was 120 pages of choral score. I wasn't going to have time to read through the whole thing, so I would have to sightread the score at the concert. The day of the concert I got an email with YouTube links. Of course I didn't have time to listen to them much, plus the audio quality was terrible.
Look, this was kind of a whatever gig, but after looking over the music, marking repeats, and making sure the pages were in order, I was ready to go. I brought my amp in my car (though I wasn't sure I'd need it) as well as my bass and iPad. This is an elementary school concert. It literally doesn't get any easier. The bar is pretty low.
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In fact, considering the age of the students, I think the bar is set pretty much right at 42"
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When I arrived and met the drummer, I was shocked. He brought sticks. Just sticks. Nothing else. After meeting the choir director and asking where we should sit, the drummer asked "is there a drum set I can use?" To which the director answered unsurprisingly, “no.”
His response? "Oh I didn't know. The guy didn't tell me I needed to bring one."
HOLD UP
ARE YOU FOR REAL?
You "didn't know you needed to bring one?"
“Fortunately” he lives "only 20 mins away" so he immediately left to go get his "drum set.” While he was gone, I touched base with the choir director and got some additional edits. There were a few repeats we weren’t taking, and a couple of additional cuts, so I marked them on my iPad.
A little while later, the drummer returned, asked 4 people to help him load his drums in, and finally got set up. Just before we were going to start I said “Hey there a few changes to the charts, pull yours out and I'll give them to you."
"Oh, I don't have music" he said.
WHAAAA??!?!
"No I didn't print it. I have it on my phone, but I feel like that would be hard to read"
“Fortunately" he “listened" to the terrible sounding YouTube links, but that only goes so far.
So the performance started, and it went exactly as you'd expect: terribly. As the drummer, you're the one setting up transitions, hits, and endings. It was a mess. And that's an understatement.
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Basically, the audio equivalent of this.
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The moral of the story? Don’t forget to put the Professional in Professional Musician. You should always bring everything you could ever need. It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Don't assume anything, ever. Don't rely on anyone to bring anything for you. If you need a keyboard stand, bring a keyboard stand. If you need a 1/4 in cable to play, bring a 1/4 in cable. And if you need a "drum set," bring a furreaggin drum set.
Here's another story of a contrasting drummer who I also just recently played with. The call time was 3:30pm in Huntington Beach. I got a call at 3 while I was still on my way there. It was the drummer, asking about load in. The drummer was a half hour before call time, and was by far the first one there. Mind you, I'm the Musical Director of this band. This dude was already there a half hour before he had to be. He was the first one setup and then helped set up the sound equipment even though that's not his job. Then he played the gig and nailed it. Every song that I called that was on the set list he knew, and knew it well. He had done his homework. Oh, and he brought a drum set.
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And a First Act drum set is still better than no drum set.
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Oh, and by “in Huntington Beach” I actually mean “ON Huntington Beach." The load in was rough. It was over about 1/4 mile of sand, which gear carts can't roll over. So we had to carry everything. This dude was there til the very end with everyone else helping load sound equipment off the sand. Even though that's not his job. I eventually had to force him to leave because it was late and I knew he had an early call time the next morning.
Look, I get it, we were playing for an elementary school choir, and it was last minute. But because of how unprepared that drummer was, now I can’t ever call him for anything. If you can’t be trusted with an elementary school choir gig, how can you ever be trusted for anything else?
Being a great musician is crucial to making a living at this. But so is being a professional. Be a good musician, but don’t forget about all the extra stuff that makes you easy to work with. Bring everything you need, do your homework, and most of all, be ridiculously prepared.
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You guys, I'm getting really excited about the book. I know I've been talking about it for a long time, but I'm nearing the end and it's all starting to come together. I can't wait to get it in your hands!
This week I'm excited to tell you about Erik Hughes. He's a trombone player who has worked with artists such as Michael Bublé, Kanye West, and Kurt Elling, to name a few. I was specifically excited to talk to Erik because he's a horn player. I live in the world of the rhythm section, so it was great to hear his experience as trombone player and how that looks different in terms of practice, the amount of work available, and making a career as a performer.
If you're a horn player, you'll love getting to hear insights from someone who is making a living playing a non-rhythm section instrument. And even if you're not a horn player, Erik has lots of great stuff to say. So stay on the lookout! This book is coming soon!
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The Best Stuff From The Internet
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Have you heard the news about Instagram? No, not about their new icon (which I think we can all agree is ugly). About their new business tools.
Instagram just announced new business tools, which will be coming soon. These include the ability to make business profiles, view insights on which posts are performing best, and the ability to boost your best posts for even more exposure.
If you're an instagrammer, take note. They'll be rolling it out in the next few months.
Read This Article
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So you may have seen this video before, but I just ran across it this week, and holy crap I wish I was a keyboard player!
So basically, as shown in this video, there's this software called Whoop Triggerz, and it allows you to play behind a preacher by yourself, but sounding like an entire band. I was skeptical at first, but it's pretty awesome sounding.
You're just going to have to watch the video for the full effect, but it gets especially good right around the 3:30 mark. If you're a keyboard player, this is something you should add to your arsenal, just in case.
Watch This Video
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It's June! This means 3 things:
- Summer is just around the corner
- I have to start wearing shorts soon (shield your eyes)
- It's Songs of Summer month!
From now on, every month will have a theme and include free charts for songs within that theme. For the month of June it's the Songs of Summer. These are all songs that tend to be summer jams, or somehow have to do with summer. It's gonna be a fun month!
First up is the song you thought you forgot... Happy by Pharrell! Now THIS is a song of the summer if I've ever heard one. I know, I know, it's Happy, but you really need to know how to play this. Grab the chart and get to work.
Click here to download your free chart
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