A few years ago I played a gig that was really non glamorous. This also might be the strangest gig I’ve ever played, and it’s provided countless funny stories and inside jokes among those of us involved. Here’s what happened…

A friend and fellow musician in college called me one day and said “Hey, a friend of mine is playing a show of covers and a few originals at this charity event Saturday. Would you like to join us and play cajon?” I knew this gig wouldn’t pay (it was for charity), and I knew we’d be playing with someone I’d never met. But the event was happening in a nearby town I could get to within 20 minutes of where I was living at the time. So I said “sure,” not knowing at all what I was signing up for.

You know when you look up an address for somebody’s house and you have to keep zooming in and zooming in on Google Maps to see what the place actually is...and then sometimes you’re still lost...

I was on a gig not too long ago that I was super nervous about. I had reason to be worried, because I hadn’t played this type of gig in over 2 years. I felt like I was stepping into a different world, one where I was sure I’d loose my footing and fall flat on my face. First a little bit of backstory…

I majored in Percussion Performance in college. That degree entails all the usual music classes, with lots of lessons and ensemble performances on top of that. Throughout the 4 years I was in school, I performed on non-drumset percussion instruments who knows how many times. I played percussion with the wind ensemble, orchestra, brass ensemble, choir, musical theater, percussion ensemble, plus additional recitals and random concerts (and I’m probably leaving something out). I was blessed with LOADS of performance time during college, which was great because of the learning environment of a college music school. It’s essentially a “safe...

End of high school / beginning of college was when I first had the opportunity to start playing with professional musicians. This was an exciting leap for me, and I just knew I was going to meet someone who would connect me with such-and-such producer who would hook me up with so-and-so artist’s fall tour and I’d make it big. It’s cool to think back on that time, when it seemed like the future could hold ANYTHING. Well, here I am years later and I’ve never landed a major tour. What I’m doing now wasn’t my dream then, but I am “doing music” for a living now - even though it doesn’t look the way I thought it would.

Most of my work fits the bill for “non glamorous” drumming, which has allowed me to really live out something big that one of those pros told me early on…

We had just finished playing a set on this particular gig, and I was eager to ask the bass player for some advice and hopefully get a feel for...