It all started in elementary school. “Nick, stop tapping on your desk! Why don’t you join band?” To this day, I’m happy I took that teacher’s advice because it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I found something in life at a young age that I truly excelled in and gave me a feeling like no other while I performed. For others, though, this feeling was one of annoyance and not joy like I felt. It’s something that always somewhat bothered me but eventually accepted and learned to turn into a love-hate relationship with my talent.
The biggest problem most drummers have is the constant tapping we do on everything and anything we can get our hands on. Whether we’re practicing our rudiments or just trying to improve our chops, it never ends until someone yells at us usually. It’s almost like a beautiful curse or a creative disease that we carry and I love having it. We’re constantly trying to better our skills either for ourselves or for the people we might end up playing with. As unpleasant as it might sound sometimes, if it weren’t for some of our hard work and dedication there wouldn’t be any good music being made out there! So, keep tapping drummers, and to everyone else, suck it up!
Other than tapping, the one thing drummers usually want to do whenever it’s possible is to actually practice on their instrument. When you’re still living at home however with Mom and Dad, this can serve as a huge problem for some. Growing up, for the most part, my parents were encouraging and liked when I played but it also helped a lot that I was good and didn’t just bang away aimlessly. Finding time to practice though always was somewhat tedious, as my parents didn’t like when I played too late. So what do you do when you’re strapped for playing time? Break out the practice pad or practice during math class on your desk of course. At school, this usually resulted in my teacher yelling at me as usual to stop but who needs math anyway right?
Automatically the unluckiest band member by default, the biggest obstacle drummers’ run into is lugging their equipment to and from practice or shows. Arguably the most crucial band member because we keep everyone in time, its too often drummers are left alone to fend for themselves. You can usually find the singer, for instance, walking in with nothing but their microphone, while their drummer carries every piece of their set, hardware and cymbals into the venue. I personally go through this ordeal almost every time I play out and now make it a point to jokingly yell at my bandmates for a hand.
In a stroke of luck, though, the best is when a fan or friend asks if they can help bring some gear in for you. This is pretty much heaven sent when this happens and I relish in these moments as if they mattered more than the actual show itself. With all this hard work and dedication to the craft, it’s all worth it in the end, though. In the words of the great Travis Barker, all we ask for is to just “Give the Drummer Some”!
