I’ll never forget the absolute disgust I felt while reading an interview with my idol, Jeff Porcaro. As a fellow drummer who had dreamed of recording as a career from the time I was 8 or 9, it seemed inconceivable that one of the greatest session drummers of all time was bemoaning the realities of his career. Yet here he was describing the fact that he was often hired to “sweeten” tracks on a regular basis. He told of being asked to merely add hi-hat or tom-tom overdubs to records and how completely boring and mechanical the whole process was.
At that point in time I should have realized that the vision I had of my career was flawed, but of course I didn’t. Instead, I thought that I would do things differently when and if the chances ever arrived.
Hey, don’t think I’m so stupid, you’re probably doing the same thing.
As the article “Digging Up a Career’s Downsides” suggests, “every career has downsides, and unearthing them early could save you from having to restart your career in a few years.”
I highly recommend you fully research the realities – good and BAD – of what you think you want to do for a living before dedicating the endless hours and resources it takes to succeed in music. Though the answers you find may disappoint you, it’s more likely they will focus you on exactly the right path.
