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.

Settling In

i've always been the type to set goals and work hard to achieve them. i also have always prided myself on adapting to my surrounding environment. currently, these two traits has crossed paths in a very positive manner. being in the studio drastically limits my contact with outside influence. i'm locked into a room with a specific group, working at a specific task, with very specific goals. this makes it exceptionally easy to set and achieve other personal goals. specifically, my training and diet routine. i'm on a fixed, low income, which limits my eating out. buying my own groceries not only saves me money, but makes it much easier to eat clean and healthy. with such a strenuous schedule, i'm very limited on time spent outside the studio, luckily, there's a gym in our "living room", making it impossible to NOT work out. this overall makes for a very efficient, happy, and healthy lifestyle. achieving goals and success also, naturally encourage a happy, healthy lifestyle. this helps me stay optimistic, eager, energetic and happy.
to review, your surrounding have a GREAT effect on your life. happiness begins with your environment/home. positive vibes, less distractions, healthy/active lifestyle all result in achievement and success, which strongly reinforces HAPPINESS. so, if you're unhappy with yourself or your current state in life, i greatly encourage setting a couple goals, eliminating negative energy and surrounding yourself with a comfortable environment. happiness in many ways is the key to life. and life is so much better when you laugh, learn, love, and live.

How Bad Do You Want It

everyone has a dream, or had one. many have given up on them, let them go, or tried to bury/forget them. some, very few, however, chase their dreams. it's nearly always a long, devastating and brutal road. it never comes easy. sacrifices will be made. tears will be shed. relationships will be made, lost, strengthened and destroyed. it will NOT be easy. 

4 years ago, i was at a point in my life where i was contemplating what it was i "wanted to do with my life". did i want to finish school? work in the music industry? perform music? start a business? get a 9-5 and make some money... then i was asked a question. a very simple question. "what would you do in life, if you were guaranteed not to fail at it?" i immediately answered "play drums". this meant devoting my life to pursuing this dream. this meant skipping weekend parties, playing every chance i got, spending money on equipment instead of beers or cars or clothes, it meant missing time with family, leaving behind relationships and friends... this was it. i was going after it. this was 4 years ago. i now play drums full-time in a "successful" rock band. this, to many, would be a success. it's not good enough for me. there's still too much more to accomplish. so far up to still climb. this past week in the studio has taught me more about drumming than the past year. i've learned how far i am from where i need to be. from where i WANT to be. more practice. more studying, notes, practice, listening, learning, PRACTICE. i want to be the best. you never stop being a student. and as long as you remember that, you remain open, eager and driven, NOTHING can stop you. don't let anyone else tell you what you can and can't do. you can do whatever you set your mind to. but i warn you - it will be beyond "hard". it will seem impossible more times than not. you will shed tears and maybe even blood. others will hate you for your decision. people will think you're crazy and selfish. those people are jealous. they didn't achieve their dreams. they probably never even tried... be different. be better. be unique. be YOU. work hard and have fun, so that when you look back on your life, you'll know that you took every chance to laugh, learn, love and live.

Take the leap

i was told at a very young age how important it is to set goals for yourself. mentally, written out, however you prefer, but set goals and work for them. as i get older, i realize my dreams are based entirely around my goals.they're one in the same, and i can't help but notice how much and how often they change. as i grow and change and learn, life sends me spiraling down winding, infinite roads that seem to never end. i'm ok with this. i've accepted and even embraced that life is a journey and not a destination. that i should enjoy and learn from whatever life offers me. i've learned that if i'm ever unhappy with something in life, if there's a problem - it's me. i control your happiness, my success, my life.
in order to taste success, find happiness and experience true achievement, risks must be taken. risks and change are scary, but i thrive on this. everyone is different and everyone handles stresses differently. i thrive in high pressure scenarios. i perform best in times of dire need. when success is imperative. others may panic, back down, or never even take a risk. they just sit and wallow in their own sadness, filling their heads with "what-ifs" and "could be's"of negative outcomes that don't exist. if you think negatively, and dream negatively, then you live a negative life and you'll never do anything. you can't do if you don't try. i don't expect everyone to sell everything they own and leave tomorrow, but start small. take control of your life, of your own happiness. live life without regrets. take that leap. sit back, research, make a plan if you're a planner, but then - after all that, CHASE YOUR DREAMS. i can't emphasize enough how much happiness is internal. dream impossible. work hard to achieve those dreams. no matter what anyone else thinks. if that's what you want, then do it. it's the holidays. spread some love. and hold/call/visit your loved ones. a strong support group is key to chasing dreams, there will be lots of hard times. dig in and get ready. it's worth it in the end. take the leap, and during this journey of life, remember to laugh, learn, love and LIVE. 

Real People Problems

it's impossible to not let the happenings of yesterday effect my writing today. the massacre that took place in Newtown will forever be one of the darkest days of my life. the amount of opinions, press, coverage and social media postings is overwhelming. i'm trying to remain positive. it's hard to have faith in mankind at times like this. so many people use happening like this as a strength of agenda. to preach their opinions and their "answers". i think i'll do the same - gun control, school security, religion, video game restrictions... none of these are the answer. the inhuman, beasts who commit these crimes are the problems. they don't follow the rules/laws (gun control). they don't care about "the fear of god" or going to "hell", they don't care what's on TV. they have a mental disconnect from reality. i also don't think people are "born evil". something went wrong somewhere. maybe they weren't loved enough, they were never held, no one ever believed in them, no one ever told them "you can be whatever you want, if you just work hard for it". we as a race are to blame, not guns, religion, music, or TV. those are weak excuses to cope with reality. REAL LIFE. things that are happening in our day to day.
i'm not a father, so i have no way to even pretend i know how parents throughout the world feel today. i can only try to imagine how difficult coping with such an event must be. i wish there was any way i could help. that we could all get together and just talk about our problems. people need to vent. everyone has problems, and a lot of us aren't necessarily looking for a solution, we just want someone to listen to us. be there for each other. no matter how trivial it may seem to you, when someone needs a friend, be that friend. support each other. everyone's problems are different and cary a different amount of significance to each of us as individuals.
this is a sad day. i hope we all learn from this... remind yourselves and teach your kids how important is to take everyday to Laugh, Learn, Love and Live.

Rock n Roll

the music industry is forever changing. growing, evolving and becoming more and more competitive. but is that really a bad thing? and if not, why are so many musicians struggling? did iTunes ruin the industry... here's what i think about the new age of music, what might be to come and where rock and roll stands. 

today, more and more musician "complain" about how hard it is to survive playing music, especially signed bands. they say, "20 years ago, it would have been like this..." but the reality is, 20 years ago, there were a LOT fewer bands. signed and not. so yeah, the bands made more money, but you there were only 100 BIG bands. today, there's 10 BIG bands, 10,000 signed medium bands, and then even more "small, signed" bands. so it may be harder to get RICH and wealthy off music, but it's actually much easier to make "a living". with that said, we look at how this happened... equipment and technology started taking exponential leaps and bounds. now everyone can afford to make a "Decent" sounding demo or EP and that used to be something only "famous" bands could do. we're on a much more even playing field. which in a way, makes it harder for everyone. think of it compared to sports, the league itself now has 1,000 teams playing for the super bowl (or #1 single) versus the league when there was only 100 teams. it's much harder to "win" today. 

iTunes has had obvious effects on the business. it's allowed users to purchase singles. it may have decreased ALBUM sales, but i don't think IT has lowered "sales". in the past, you may not have purchased a bands album only knowing/liking one song, now, you can go buy that ONE song. that's a sale the band would have lost out on. so it's not all bad, labels and bands need to learn and adapt, like every other business. as far as illegal downloads - i'll save for another blog. 

now onto rock music... why is it struggling so much right now? well here's my take... 

rock has been an always changing, always evolving genre. beatles - zepplin - motley crue - stone temple pilots - nickelback... and now mumford and sons. this seems to have created a void in "active rock". but it's ACTIVE ROCK'S FAULT. rock* isn't dead. it's changing, just like it always had. active rock is a sub-genre that has excluded itself. alt rock bands (today) like mumford n sons, Fun., and gaslight anthem receive radio on multiple stations. top 40, alt rock, mainstream rock, active rock and hot a/c. (this may be complete news to some of the listeners, understand, these are different categories of stations found on the radio today). country artists have country and top 40 play. hip hop reieves hot a/c, top 40, hot 100, top 40, and so on... however, active rock bands have limited and pigeon holed themselves to JUST active rock. we need to diversify to survive. staying the same ensures extinction. think of evolution and darwin's theory. we as rock bands need to keep growing and changing, or just keep hoping and praying top 40 picks "us" back up. we haven't created a new "sound" or a new "look" in over a decade. we're boring people. and the one HUGE core that was always rock, partying and going crazy, has been squashed as the industry has become such a "business". that behavior is no longer tolerated or encouraged. it's a tough day for these rock bands... 

people playing music today, for the MOST part, make very little money, and do this strictly to play music, the love of art and travel, and the camaraderie of meeting new people. there's many lonely, BROKE, discouraging days we all have to remind ourselves and each other to Laugh, Learn, Love and Live. 

Fakers, Chasers and Facebook Haters

Everyday, someone, somewhere faces an extreme challange. i don't mean getting out of bed or forcing themselves to work out. i'm talking about real, true, challenges. some days, something might nip me in the butt, leave a bad taste in my mouth and i get a little upset. but i try to remind myself, if this is the WORST thing going on right now, if i can't find ANYthing else to bitch about, my life's pretty great. remind yourself of the things that you've accomplished. that you've done and of what you will do. relax and breathe.
i realize everyone out there has their little quirks that annoy people. i'm very aware that for everyone out there who doesn't like all the negative social media buzz, there's also people who hate "motivators". and i understand, it looks like so called "optimists" don't have bad days and honestly, we all know they do. the difference is, they don't post/share about it. i have bad days, i face trials EVERY day. something goes wrong nearly everyday in my life, it's true. most of these things are quickly pushed aside and i move on knowing, that little mishap, not going to effect my life. so move on. the most optimistic and positive thing about my life (aside from my AMAZING support group of my family and loved ones) is the fact that i'm chasing my dream. i haven't achieved it. but everyday i wake up knowing there's nothing else i'd rather be doing, and when you're in that position, not much else matters. there's a TON of info that the general public, friends, family, fans don't know about artists or musicians. just like i'm sure i don't know all about being an accountant or an actor. things are rough these days for musicians if you're after fame or fortune. i'm not famous. and i'm BEYOND poor. but, if as an artist, your goal is to be heard, to help people, to change peoples lives and believe in what you're doing - i'm lavishly rich.
realize what's important to you and chase that. identify dreams, and when you're chasing them, really going after what you want in life, little things won't matter. you have all you need - family, friends, loved ones, and your dreams. i'm thankful everyday for these things. sure things get my blood boiling, but get over it. relax. enjoy your life and let others enjoy theirs. little things i promised myself, no matter how poor i get, i'll always find a way to afford starbucks, music, and french macaroons. it sounds silly, but on days i can't afford other things, i remember, hey, i know i'm poor, and i can still afford coffee and kickass tunes. support the things you believe in and love or they won't be there. loosen up. and chase your dreams. always. chase your dreams.... chase and Laugh, Learn, Love and Live.