July 29, 2013 • Curriculum
What an incredible evening I had at The Collective last month, where I led a master class on Arts & Numbers for musicians, mostly drummers. I spoke amid drum sets, keyboards, and production equipment and answered questions from the 30 or so drummers (and a couple of other musicians) in attendance.
This group was sharp. Really sharp. They were pragmatic, analytical, and approached the topics with the same steady rhythm they use to corral lead singers and wayward guitarists on stage. Their questions were insightful (not to mention challenging), and it was a true pleasure to spend an evening with them.
The event’s origin lay with Mason Ingram, a friend from eons ago who started a rock band with my younger brother when they were in middle school. He was a great drummer then; he’s considerably better now. Mason put me in touch with Anthony and Tony, the duo behind The Collective, and we orchestrated a master class on financial topics. I spoke about the four biggest financial challenges facing musicians (treadmill, budgeting, cash, and fulfillment) and discussed tangible ways and methods of embracing (and sometimes combating) each.
My friend Lori was there as well, and she remarked afterwards about the rapt attention of the audience and her perception that lives had been changed during the course of the evening. I loved her perspective on the group, and it reminded me how lucky I am to be doing what I do. I’m surrounded by these incredible artists at every event, and I sometimes forget how special what we are doing truly is. Lori isn’t spoiled by my familiarity. She is a colleague from my prior life, a life full of long hours and take-out dinners, where the beneficiaries of our work were companies and shareholders. The long hours haven’t changed, nor have the take-out dinners, but the beneficiaries of my work now sit directly in front of me and engage me in active discussion on the merits of my points.
It was a pleasure to be introduced and welcomed by Mason, not to mention the Collective’s team overall, and I’m already looking forward to doing it again soon as we continue to change the world. One beat at a time.
Share:
