music

Ups, Downs and Pushing Buttons

August 4, 2010

Ups and downs. We all have ‘em. And for creative types, it’s not at all uncommon to be emotionally affected by the public’s response to our work. You’re flying high off the mad success of your previous CD sales and the reviews that came with it. Suddenly, the follow-up album tanks, you’re sitting on a [...]

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How Long Until I’m Good?

July 28, 2010

Last week I talked about one of the most common questions I’m asked as a drum instructor, “How long does he/she (or, do I) need to take lessons?” Today, I wanted to tackle another similar question I often get. Like the first, this one also relates to many endeavors in life outside of music lessons. [...]

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Never. Stop. Learning.

July 21, 2010

I’m currently in the Atlanta airport, en route to Puerto Rico. This is the third annual trip I’ve made to the island, to attend La Fiesta de Santiago Apostol in the town of Loiza, and to learn more about the traditional percussion rhythms of Bomba and Plena. Before I get to the point of this [...]

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Dressing the Part

July 14, 2010

We’ve all heard the timeless advice “dress for success.” And most of us probably agree on the importance of wearing the appropriate attire for a given job. Well, in my line of work, ‘dressing the part’ could mean just about ANYTHING! I’ve got to admit it, I’m a fan of costumes. Playing gigs in them [...]

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The First Questions for Career Creatives

June 30, 2010

Want to make a full-time career out of your music, art or other creative interests? Part of my reason for blogging is to encourage you to do so, and show you how! But first, let me try to talk you out of it. Before stepping out on that long, difficult road, seriously consider the following: [...]

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My List

June 23, 2010

As I mentioned in the Fearless . . . Ruthless post, “I have a list of life goals that I say I’m going to accomplish . . . a neverending bucket list of places to see, percussion instruments to study, educational materials to produce, languages to be at least passable in.” Inspired by similar lists [...]

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Top 4 Internet Tips for Musicians

June 2, 2010

As musicians and citizens of this Digital Age, we all know that the World Wide Web can be a valuable resource and tool. But that web is endless. It’s so easy to get completely lost in the number of music webpages vying for our attention, waste time on the wrong ones, and get overextended trying [...]

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Benjamin Franklin’s Advice for Drumming and Life!

May 19, 2010

What? Benjamin Franklin? He was a drummer? Well . . . no. But he did utter some words that can really benefit those of us who ARE! The following is a collection of valuable quotes from Franklin on the topic of time. I’m not the one to say how you should interpret and apply these. [...]

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Hey fancypants, got FancyHands?

May 2, 2010

First there were personal assistants . . . Then along came the idea of hiring an online virtual assistant . . . But NOW, there’s FancyHands- a virtual personal assistant, at your fingertips, 24 hours a day! I recently caught up with Ted Roden, founder of the coolest new service I’ve seen in a while. [...]

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Tuning and Calibration: for music and life

April 25, 2010

Read (even if you aren’t a musician) and retweet! It was a Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis. Charlie Waymire and I were in a studio at college, tuning up his monster double-bass drumset for his band’s recording session later that day. Or maybe should I say trying to tune his drumset. Taking turns wielding the drumkey [...]

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