Members melvinspeed Posted October 29, 2009 Members Share Posted October 29, 2009 Current issue of MD (Dec '09) has an article about drumming on cruise ships. Check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wellhungarian Posted October 29, 2009 Members Share Posted October 29, 2009 Great to find this thread right now, I'm 23 and I've been playing music since I was 8. I play a few instruments but I only really have the drum kit up to an acceptable professional standard. I'm working a job that is not going anywhere, and today I've been thinking I really have to sort my life out and get to work doing the thing I really love. So I started looking for CRUISE SHIP work, anyone any advice or musical tales from the high C's? (sorry I couldn't help it ) Grab you a copy of the December Modern Drummer. There's a article on cruise ship gigs.Love won't hurt anymore.It's an open smile on a friendly shore.It's the LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE BOOOOOOOOAT!Repeat rinse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carminemw Posted October 29, 2009 Members Share Posted October 29, 2009 Great to find this thread right now, I'm 23 and I've been playing music since I was 8. I play a few instruments but I only really have the drum kit up to an acceptable professional standard. I'm working a job that is not going anywhere, and today I've been thinking I really have to sort my life out and get to work doing the thing I really love. So I started looking for CRUISE SHIP work, anyone any advice or musical tales from the high C's? (sorry I couldn't help it ) Sometimes cruise ship gigs can be quite taxing...depends on the gig...lot's of hours...sometimes makes the musicians work other jobs on board and then play (like Disney World gigs). And I don't even know how the current pay scale is...as I say...it depends on the particular gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Longfuse Posted October 29, 2009 Members Share Posted October 29, 2009 No direct experience, but a good friend of mine (drummer) went straight into doing cruises in the Caribbean after studying/qualifying. Did it for a few years, but wouldn't touch them after that. Good money, but it soon got boring seeing the same old faces/places. The music wasn't particularly inspiring, either - what I was talking about earlier: what pays can often be the stuff you can't stand (not conducive to a happy, creative life if you're really into jazz, for example). Highlights (for him): he bought a mountain bike and went cycling everyday on the islands to keep fit. Banged a few of the female crew. Took a cheap flight to New York and saw some amazing jazz gigs. Lowlights: had his cabin broken into and a had his drum machine (expensive model) and other valuables stolen. Nearly got mugged in New York by some oddball. The guy in question was constantly in work as a gigging musician, when younger. He still gigs, but closer to home and is hooked up with his local education authority: he goes into (state-run) schools, at all levels, and runs 'African Drumming' workshops. He also teaches a day or two at a prestigious music school. If he wanted to, he could do the same amount of live work he used to, but as you get older your priorities change. Also knew a sax player (not that well, though) who was still doing cruises in his late 30s. When he had shore leave he'd just do a {censored} load of unpaid jazz gigs to get it out of his system/keep him sane. If your day job is totally crap, go for it. When you get bored, move on. One thing to bear in mind, though (my friend's experience), is that your pool of contacts soon diminishes to the people you work with on a daily basis. It means that getting work outside the cruise circuit can be a problem: you're not really networking, in a sense (well, not in the same way that you would be if on land). Can leave you in a rut. The jazz guitar virtuoso Martin Taylor used to do cruises in his 20s. He said it was a good way to get his playing together: lots of downtime, bored in his cabin. Chr*st, his wank-sock must have been crusty... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theDan Posted October 29, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2009 I have to agree with those who are saying that you need to play more than one instrument to make a living playing music. Locally, a vast majority of the acts playing around town are the solo or duo acts. A lot of the venues here don't pay a whole lot, so keeping the act small helps to make it viable to do it full time.That's the hardest part about being a full time drummer. It's not a solo instrument, and most any gig you're gonna get is gonna be a larger band situation, so your pay is going to be much less at any given venue. If you can play acoustic guitar and sing fairly well, you will have a lot more opportunity to work.Just another point of view. That's a good point I forgot about that aspect that really does cut a big hole in pay per night. Does anyone know how studio work works? Like who's the employer in a typical studio drumming gig? My friend's dad's friend was a studio drummer (don't know the details) but he said he got fairly consistent work just going in there and quickly improving a song after a couple takes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nickg Posted October 31, 2009 Members Share Posted October 31, 2009 i made a darn good living doing nothing but playing drums as a pro for a long time. not too many drummers get to say that, that's for darn sure!! i was one of the lucky ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the DW Posted October 31, 2009 Members Share Posted October 31, 2009 i made a darn good living doing nothing but playing drums as a pro for a long time. not too many drummers get to say that, that's for darn sure!! i was one of the lucky ones. Yes, I'd have to agree that you are indeed fortunate that you have the skills, the connections and the work ethic that probably made you successful! A lot of us lack in one or more of those areas......like me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carminemw Posted October 31, 2009 Members Share Posted October 31, 2009 If you're a union musician, you'll probably earn union scale per hour. You'd be surprised. I was a union player for years, and all they ever did was take my dues. They never guaranteed pay, gigs or promotions. When I worked in the studio, all they did was not bitch about it...I played with a fee. The union in most areas is good if you work in the movie business or TV. In my area in the day, the union sucked. The only thing they helped me with was health insurance and even then the rtes were outrageous.At one time, union officials even used to come to the nightclubs I played at to check my union card to see if we were all paid carrying members. If we had any non union guys playing with us, WE would be fined. It was a real big joke! I got out and felt no difference... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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