Postby patdrums » Sat May 14, 2011 11:15 am
I don't think there's any reason to make things black and white and give too much consideration to this stuff if you're trying to decide on making a big move to any of the major music towns. The work situation in Nashville HAS changed alot but people are still working here. If you like what you have and are doing well then THAT should be a consideration for sure. But alot of people come here and end up working steadily even if things don't pan out like they thought they might. I moved here in '97 after a few years as a "big fish in a small pond" in a small market. I just packed up and went for it. I was young, single, had no concrete ties to anywhere and I was ready to see how I'd fare in a big pond. It worked out really good for me and all happened surprisingly fast. I ended up on a gig that I had never even considered as a possibility and it's turned out to be steady employment for 12 years now. I got lucky, sure....but I know piles of guys who came here at the same time and we've ALL been really lucky. Our paths have differed but we're all still working. Jim Riley, Rich Redmond, myself, David Northrup and others all came here in the same position and we've all done just fine. (As a matter of fact, I met Jim on my first day here and he had been here exactly one week longer than me. He was working at a drum shop downtown and was sleeping on a cot in the storage room because he hadn't even found a place to live yet!)
We all used to do the same crap club gigs that you HAVE to do to make the connections. We subbed each other's gigs alot and we threw work at each other when we couldn't do it ourselves. It has worked out pretty good for all of us.
One thing I realized after getting here is that the level of players is WAY higher than I thought at first and I've seen alot of guys come and go who weren't able to be objective about their own abilities BEFORE they arrived. And nowadays there are ALOT of serious world class players here. Alot more than there were when I got here. You have to be honest with yourself and KNOW that you have the skills to compete, the humility to keep slogging ahead when the times get tight and most of all, the right personality and attitude to make people want to call you again and again. Alot of guys come here and find it's a tough climb and even TOUGHER if you aren't able to be cool and maintain the "hang". I know alot of guys here who have great gigs who may not be the greatest players in the world but they are just such damn nice guys to be around that they work constantly. THAT part of it is the single biggest factor here. Plain and simple. Nashville is a relaxed, friendly, southern town and those values are super important in making it here. If you're cool to be around, don't have a bad attitude, can play solid and confident, can keep your world on an even keel and be a pro at all times and can be humble and grateful to be able to play drums for a living-no matter WHAT the gig, you'll be fine. It's as simple as that.
I tell anyone interested in coming here the same thing. There is work to be had. It may not pay much at first but if you keep at it, bigger things will come. And most everyone I know working here will tell you the same thing. You may get lucky like I did and get a decent gig really fast. Or you may have to slog it out for a LONG time before it happens. But if you are ready to tough it out no matter what, it will happen.