Jan 11 2013 - Pushing and Pulling

in life it's inevitable, regardless of profession, that people are going to push personal beliefs and opinions on you. co-workers and ever more frequently superiors, will use their opinions and positions to influence you. sometimes this may be as simple as which tie, or in my case pants, to wear. after all, looking the part and looking professional is important. however, sometimes we have people pushing much more serious issues on us. people forcing us to do things that misrepresent who "we" are as individuals. keeping this relative to my life as a musician, i am told to "play ball" more than one could possibly imagine. i don't consider myself a rebel or a trouble-maker, so if it's best for the band, the guys or myself, i'll undoubtably "play ball". sometimes though, we're asked, or TOLD, to do things that i consider fake. untrue. misleading. and while they might not physically hurt anybody, they hurt my soul as a person. they damage what i stand for and believe in. i'm in a profession of art, isn't it supposed to be entirely based around my thoughts, beliefs and stances...? i'm not here to please EVERYONE, i'm here to express myself.
for the past 10 days we've been working diligently on our newest album. this album also happens to be my debut album with the band. this means a lot of things... it's a HUGE opportunity and moment for me to show the world who "i am" via drumming. this is what I** sound like. however, i am constantly forced to take in opinions from producers, band mates and management as to what THEIR opinions are on drums. (keep in mind they're not drummers.) i'm not writing this to complain, possibly vent for myself, but truthfully to shed light on what MY world is like. people not in bands don't know what our lives and profession entails. well i'll share. i'll share it all. gladly.
we face many of the same problems. we're not out here just partying and living it up. we have real responsibilities and real problems. daily. the studio thus far has been an amazing experience. i've been broken down and called out. told i'm not good enough. i need to do better. i'm not cutting it. i was given a choice. get better, or quit (recording the album and get a studio drummer). i could have easily said, yeah you're right, and given up. instead, i work every day for hours to get better. to be as good as i can possibly be. since then, i've tracked 9 songs. giving up will never get you anywhere in life. running away from problems isn't a solution. i realize there are times where walking away is your ONLY option, but that's your LAST option. this life is short, and if you continue to give up and run away, you'll never finish anything. unfinished business and loose ends is not a road to happiness or success. work hard and believe in you and what you love. i'll keep working to get better, i'll keep fighting with management and others everyday with what THEY think i should do haha, but realistically, we're going to meet in the middle and do what's best for everyone. that's how you succeed. lifting up the people around you. don't take on the world alone. love and support each other. work hard. laugh. learn. love. live.