0 Skype Lessons
0 Cut From The Same Cloth!
4 Interview Questions
I will be doing a video interview for my publisher in a few days. They asked me to ask you (my online Friends) if you have any questions for me that you would want included in the interview. Send any questions to me at Drummrfav@aol.com. They can be about drumming or anything really..
0 Cut From The Same Cloth!
0 Just play the drums already!
0 Elements Intro Voice Over
0 Cut From The Same Cloth!
I recently was asked “You have played with some pretty major artists – did any of them surprise you by being quite different than you might have imagined?”.
I have definitely had some surprises when playing with as many artists as I have. The first time I toured Europe was when I was 26 years old with Laco Deczi . Laco is very famous over in Europe and he was the first artist to tour Dave Weckl in Europe. So I took this gig very seriously but soon found out that Laco was so much more relaxed then many of the band leaders I was working with at the time! Laco said not to never worry at all and that I should just go out every night and have fun. His attitude was so relaxed that it surprised me, but it helped the whole band to be quite amazing. At the end of our 2 month tour the band was really on fire…
These days most of the players I work with take things very seriously. When I first started to work with Chieli Minucci, I was very impressed with his work ethic. He was also one of the most professional musicians I had ever worked with. Everything is done at the highest level and always on time! When I call him for a gig he checks in a week in advance to ask for the set list and any new charts for the upcoming gig. I cannot say enough good things about Chieli! I have been working as a pro player for many years and have been lucky enough to meet and become friends with a lot of the best players on the planet. One thing I have noticed is that most of us feel the same way about a lot things. It’s amazing how we are all cut from the same cloth. It seems to me that we are all working on the same goals and we all have the same feelings on what we do. When I talk with all the artists I work with as well as all my musician friends we are all going through the same stuff. We all want to improve no matter how high our level may be already. We all want to keep touring. We all want to spend time at home. We all want the next level in our career. If we did two tours this year we want three the next! We all want things to look forward to and we want to keep pushing the limits in everything we do. Oh, I almost forgot, Did I mention we all want to make more money! HA!!
So, Looking back on all the Artists I have played with and I must mention that I am lucky enough to have played with a lot of amazing artists. For a small list click here. I would say most of us are cut from the same cloth!!
1 Just play the drums already!
This is my very first blog post and I am writing it because I wanted to share what I do on a daily basis with all of you, my friends. These days there is so much to do!!. Between Producing videos, teaching drum lessons, video blogs, Editing Videos, writing a new drum method book, Learning WordPress, updating websites, Facebook, Twitter, responding to e-mails, text messages, ALL social media, booking tours, working an instructional DVD,working on an APP, writing articles for drum publications. When do I get to just play the drums? I mean, I have to stay in shape and practice don’t I? I am going to have to put some time management techniques in place for sure. I have been reading a lot of books on the subject and one has many techniques on taking control of your work flow. It seems these days in 2013 professional musicians have to take on a lot just to keep himself/herself afloat in this crazy business.
It’s funny how many times I hear from citizens (AKA- any person that is not a musician,just joking.) “Man I wish I had your life, you just sit around and play drums all day”. Ha! So far from the truth. But actually, when I have a tour coming up or even before some local gigs in NYC you will find me in my practice room for many hours a day. These are days I love, and when I am playing with a band or doing a drum clinic I always know that everything I do off the drums is well worth it!!
If you are at all like me and feel you need to put some steps in place for time management check out this amazing Blog by Tim Ferriss. This guy is amazing. I recommend you check him out fully.
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed this Blog and hope to hear some feedback from you!
John
JohnFavicchia 