I have figured out that being a perfectionist and being over confident are two conflicting qualities that I seem to possess. This has hurt me in the past and is not helping me out right now.
What I have come to realize is that playing drums is not as easy as it feels for me. I forget that I have over 16 years of experience. Things that I take for granted as "easy" or "simple" really are not that simple and I figure that out when I have to apply certain things to songs I am not used to playing.
Things like changing from a regular beat to a drag beat (sorry if you are not familiar with drum terminology), something that I have done many, many different times for many, many different songs is a perfect example of something that is "simple" and "easy."
When I hear a new song I am going to learn that does just that, I tend to blow it off and think "I can do that, no problem."
That mentality leads me to believe that I can learn a song that is "simple" in a day or less. So, I gave myself two days to learn three songs.
That was a mistake.
Not because I can't play anything on these songs. But because I am a perfectionist. I can play all three songs, just not good enough.
Now I am trying to spend all of my time getting the "feel" right on these songs and playing each lick exactly as it feels like it should be played.
Why did I give myself only two days for this? Why didn't I at least say it would take a week?
Why have I not yet learned that it is better to be over prepared than under prepared?
Maybe I have finally figured that out. Maybe this band will not think to poorly of me for moving my audition back a few days....
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Now that I am through with school for the semester and have almost a month off before my summer class starts, I am in what I think of as "summer mode."
I will start working out in the mornings again next week, which will kill part of the summer mode but it will also keep me in shape, and with the way I have been eating over the last week or two, I need it!
Just in case anyone is curious, I did well this past semester but not as well as I could have. I ended up with a 3.2 for the semester which left me with a 3.1 overall. Not horrible but not great either.
Now that school is over with for a while, I will focus on doing what I really love to do, and that is play drums. I have been able to set up my drums in my house and will start practicing to prepare for a couple of auditions and start working on the music for this show I am playing in less than a month.
I do have to admit that being without a band and going to auditions is a bit scary. The unknown part is what scares me the most, not knowing which band, if any, I will end up in. Not knowing if this summer will be focused on trying to help bring a band further in their career or if I will instead be focused on making myself better so that when the next opportunity comes around, I will be ready.
Either way I guess I am also a bit excited because regardless of which way it happens, I will be playing drums a lot over the summer and by the end of the summer I expect to be a much better drummer than I am now.
I hope that one of these auditions works out and I hope I am back on stage doing what I love to do soon. Until then, I am about to go lock myself in the drum room and start working!
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I am going crazy trying to figure out why my "band equity" keeps dropping while my page visits, song plays and video plays keeps going up. This is causing my rank to drop. I was ranked number two and am now down to number four.
I don't mean this to sound like I am whining about being ranked number four, after all, this page is not even for a band it is just my personal page. The response I have gotten with this so far has been very humbling. I never expected the response to be half this good, so anything that happens from this is amazing and I am very grateful for everyone who has viewed my page, listened to the songs I have played on and reads this blog.
I keep trying to come up with ways to get more people to view this site, not because I am not grateful for all of the support I already have, but because I want to get the word out about me to more people. I am trying different forms of social media to advertise but do not want to keep ramming this stuff down the throats of the people who already are fans.
I am setting up a sound dampened room in my house right now so that I can start playing my drums again. I hope to start the audition process as early as next weekend because I have gotten a couple of interesting offers. One of which I really hope works out.
I can not wait to get this process started. It was almost cruel to be on stage a few times over the last couple of months just to have that taken away from me. I swear, being on stage is like a drug, once you get it the first time you are addicted.
That is the way it was for me anyway. Every day that I am not playing a show I am "chasing the dragon" trying to find a way to get back on stage quick!
Having said that, I will be playing a show on June 11th with the band Fallen Angel. It should be fun, Nathan is an amazing guitarist and it will be fun, and an honor, to play with him.
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This is somewhat of a stressful time. Due to scheduling conflicts my former band, This Tragic Day, and I separated. While it was a bad thing to go through because I really love that band and love the guys in it, it was what was in the best interest of the band and that is what is important. I really do wish those guys the best of luck.
Even though I looked at that decision and realized it was the right one for them, it was still hard to go through. That band was like my baby, I spent about a year and a half living and breathing that band. TTD became my identity. I maintain a pretty busy schedule, I am a member of the Arkansas National Guard band, I an in the ROTC department at ASU which also means I am a student at ASU, I am in a great relationship and spend a lot of time at the house with my girlfriend and the kids. BUT, having said all of that, if you asked me "what do you do?" my answer was always "I play drums in the band This Tragic Day."
I can no longer say that. That is hard to deal with.
This week and part of next is finals,so I am stressed from those tests combined with the fact that I now find myself looking for a new band, and in a sense, a new identity.
I am trying to find new ways to market myself and get the word out to other musicians that I am looking for a new band and let them know what I have to offer and what I can bring to the table.
I am always open to suggestions and feedback. I just hope that I can put this site to use and find a new band soon, at which point this will just turn into a fan site for myself because I take drumming pretty serious and hope to get feedback on my playing even after I find a new band.
Reply
TJ Burgess / Blog
Overconfident?
I have figured out that being a perfectionist and being over confident are two conflicting qualities that I seem to possess. This has hurt me in the past and is not helping me out right now.
What I have come to realize is that playing drums is not as easy as it feels for me. I forget that I have over 16 years of experience. Things that I take for granted as "easy" or "simple" really are not that simple and I figure that out when I have to apply certain things to songs I am not used to playing.
Things like changing from a regular beat to a drag beat (sorry if you are not familiar with drum terminology), something that I have done many, many different times for many, many different songs is a perfect example of something that is "simple" and "easy."
When I hear a new song I am going to learn that does just that, I tend to blow it off and think "I can do that, no problem."
That mentality leads me to believe that I can learn a song that is "simple" in a day or less. So, I gave myself two days to learn three songs.
That was a mistake.
Not because I can't play anything on these songs. But because I am a perfectionist. I can play all three songs, just not good enough.
Now I am trying to spend all of my time getting the "feel" right on these songs and playing each lick exactly as it feels like it should be played.
Why did I give myself only two days for this? Why didn't I at least say it would take a week?
Why have I not yet learned that it is better to be over prepared than under prepared?
Maybe I have finally figured that out. Maybe this band will not think to poorly of me for moving my audition back a few days....
Reply
In summer mode
Now that I am through with school for the semester and have almost a month off before my summer class starts, I am in what I think of as "summer mode."
I will start working out in the mornings again next week, which will kill part of the summer mode but it will also keep me in shape, and with the way I have been eating over the last week or two, I need it!
Just in case anyone is curious, I did well this past semester but not as well as I could have. I ended up with a 3.2 for the semester which left me with a 3.1 overall. Not horrible but not great either.
Now that school is over with for a while, I will focus on doing what I really love to do, and that is play drums. I have been able to set up my drums in my house and will start practicing to prepare for a couple of auditions and start working on the music for this show I am playing in less than a month.
I do have to admit that being without a band and going to auditions is a bit scary. The unknown part is what scares me the most, not knowing which band, if any, I will end up in. Not knowing if this summer will be focused on trying to help bring a band further in their career or if I will instead be focused on making myself better so that when the next opportunity comes around, I will be ready.
Either way I guess I am also a bit excited because regardless of which way it happens, I will be playing drums a lot over the summer and by the end of the summer I expect to be a much better drummer than I am now.
I hope that one of these auditions works out and I hope I am back on stage doing what I love to do soon. Until then, I am about to go lock myself in the drum room and start working!
Reply
Another day.....
I am going crazy trying to figure out why my "band equity" keeps dropping while my page visits, song plays and video plays keeps going up. This is causing my rank to drop. I was ranked number two and am now down to number four.
I don't mean this to sound like I am whining about being ranked number four, after all, this page is not even for a band it is just my personal page. The response I have gotten with this so far has been very humbling. I never expected the response to be half this good, so anything that happens from this is amazing and I am very grateful for everyone who has viewed my page, listened to the songs I have played on and reads this blog.
I keep trying to come up with ways to get more people to view this site, not because I am not grateful for all of the support I already have, but because I want to get the word out about me to more people. I am trying different forms of social media to advertise but do not want to keep ramming this stuff down the throats of the people who already are fans.
I am setting up a sound dampened room in my house right now so that I can start playing my drums again. I hope to start the audition process as early as next weekend because I have gotten a couple of interesting offers. One of which I really hope works out.
I can not wait to get this process started. It was almost cruel to be on stage a few times over the last couple of months just to have that taken away from me. I swear, being on stage is like a drug, once you get it the first time you are addicted.
That is the way it was for me anyway. Every day that I am not playing a show I am "chasing the dragon" trying to find a way to get back on stage quick!
Having said that, I will be playing a show on June 11th with the band Fallen Angel. It should be fun, Nathan is an amazing guitarist and it will be fun, and an honor, to play with him.
Reply
What I am up to
This is somewhat of a stressful time. Due to scheduling conflicts my former band, This Tragic Day, and I separated. While it was a bad thing to go through because I really love that band and love the guys in it, it was what was in the best interest of the band and that is what is important. I really do wish those guys the best of luck.
Even though I looked at that decision and realized it was the right one for them, it was still hard to go through. That band was like my baby, I spent about a year and a half living and breathing that band. TTD became my identity. I maintain a pretty busy schedule, I am a member of the Arkansas National Guard band, I an in the ROTC department at ASU which also means I am a student at ASU, I am in a great relationship and spend a lot of time at the house with my girlfriend and the kids. BUT, having said all of that, if you asked me "what do you do?" my answer was always "I play drums in the band This Tragic Day."
I can no longer say that. That is hard to deal with.
This week and part of next is finals,so I am stressed from those tests combined with the fact that I now find myself looking for a new band, and in a sense, a new identity.
I am trying to find new ways to market myself and get the word out to other musicians that I am looking for a new band and let them know what I have to offer and what I can bring to the table.
I am always open to suggestions and feedback. I just hope that I can put this site to use and find a new band soon, at which point this will just turn into a fan site for myself because I take drumming pretty serious and hope to get feedback on my playing even after I find a new band.
Reply