You’re ten years old. You just picked up your first pair of drumsticks. The instant you strike the practice pad a new and unexplainable feeling takes over. “I was meant to do this. I want to do this forever!” Almost twenty years have gone by and that exact feeling hasn’t faded one bit. With age, however, came new responsibilities and priorities, which in turn changed the way I looked at my future as a drummer.
It’s one thing to have a dream while you’re young, specifically as to what it is you want to do when you’re older. It’s another to truly excel at something and see it as a possible reality, so long as you put in the time and dedication. When it came to drumming or anything as far as music, I always took my hobby seriously and with a passion like none of my peers possessed. As time went by and my skills progressed, I truly started to believe that this hobby of mine could possibly turn into a professional career in the near future. Whether I was going to play on Broadway with an orchestra, become a music teacher at some school, or become famous in a touring band, I felt like I was destined to accomplish at least one of these things within my lifetime.
Life isn’t so easy and glamorous, though, and it had other plans for my musical career. Faced with the dilemma of choosing college or the touring life, I picked what I thought was the safer route, unfortunately. As a result, I was forced to quit the band I was in at that time, bringing any and all momentum that we built over the years to a screeching halt. To this day, I somewhat regret having gone away to college, as I believe I wasted four years in which I could have been touring, recording and doing something I actually loved to do. After I finished college, I found a new hope in making my childhood dream a reality. I felt like I was still young enough at the time that I could put together a collective group of musicians to finally do what I always wanted to do.
Prematurely, I jumped into an already “established” band that a close friend of mine asked me to play drums for. The level of skill between the four of us was seriously unbalanced, as I was the most experienced musician within the band. After many auditions, additions and member changes, inevitably the band never worked out. Growing increasingly irritable and depressed, I now seriously started to think, “maybe this will never happen." Feeling the door closing and more years wasting away, I eventually found another outlet and lifeline to keep my dream alive. I was now going to be the lead singer of a band.
In order to help out the guitarist of my most recent band, who teamed up with two older band members from high school, I decided to put the sticks aside and pick up a microphone. Singing was my second musical love in my life. As I was well versed in song structure and was able to carry a tune, I thought I was up for the challenge. At first, things seemed to be going as planned. We were writing songs and eventually recorded an EP that was distributed across all the major Internet streaming platforms. After playing a few shows and continually fighting about anything and everything, this band failed as well.
It was soon after leaving this band that I came to a real crossroads in my life. One that many musicians have had to face once they’ve reached a certain age in their life. I acquired a position at a great company where I quickly became comfortable at and saw it as a real “career type job”. I also was in a serious relationship and knew the person I was with would hopefully be the person I started a family with. In spite of all this, my drive and passion didn’t subside. I knew there was still a way that I could pursue my music career and still balance out the other aspects of my life.
And so this is where the story lies; pushing thirty and yet still trying to fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming famous. My dreams have not fallen to the perils of time, nor should they for anyone else who has read this story and can relate. Never give up on your dreams, as there are always ways for you to achieve your goals. Sometimes it’s as simple as adapting to change and deviating from your original plan.
It’s okay if your plans change over time. What’s most important is that you never allow yourself to lose that passion you feel every time you play your heart out!
