yeah, pretty much listened to all of them. i'm listening to Joe Tomino now. every one of these interviews has something we all can learn from. a few things that i took away from pretty much all of them was that you don't necessarily have to be the BEST drummer in the world but if you serve the song, get along w/ others, prepare well, be diligent and be AVAILABLE, then you can make a living playing the drums, esp. in live settings.
I thought Mitch Marine's insight was pretty intriguing. he mentioned how there was a HUGE dropoff between live touring drummers in L.A. and those drummers that are in the studio scene. esp- the drummers in Nashville? they're even better than drummers in L.A.? pehaps i heard that wrong. it made me raise my eyebrow as in like whoa i had no idea.
my favorite was Mark Schulman's interview so far. he was such a force of positivity. i want to check his book out once it's finished. it was also encouraging to hear alot of these drummer being very open about the worries of the next gig as well as admitting how maybe doing a 'fusion-y' gig is not their bag. Schulman mentioned that he got the PINK gig BECAUSE he wasn't so gospel choppy but rather a bit more "rocker" in his approach to some of her music.
just goes to show everyone has something to offer in bringing something to the table. the hard part is being on the road and always hustling for work and dealing w/ some serous d-bags in the process. Jimmy Paxson (another fav) comes to mind w/ Sophie B. Hawkins.
and these guys are ALWAYS in the pursuit of learning. whether getting better at technique, reading, recording technology, spiritual health, they're ALWAYS trying to better themselves. it encouraged me to know that there is a threshold to where you can work professionally as a drummer without knowing how to read to the level of say a J.R. or have independance like Mike Mangini... BUT - it should incentivize you to be proactive in being the best you can be.
wow. that was - a mouth full.
thanks for the thread.