Drumming is a calling. ‘You don’t choose the drums, the drums choose you’! When this passion is in your heart and it wants to come out, I believe it’s our duty to explore this and do whatever it takes to make this happen.
It might not make sense. People may think you’re crazy. Sometimes it’s not logical to trust your intuition, to just do it and see where it takes you. You will feel the peace from fulfillment, along with the energy, joy, and passion that may be missing from your life.
LTR is ‘Life Through Rhythm’, an attitude and a way of life where we live confidence and we believe in ourselves in all we do on the drums and in life. Everybody talks about the notes, the rudiments, the techniques, and all that is fantastic. But it’s the qualities behind the drumming that actually make the drumming possible, that really make it shine through laser focus, undeniable confidence, and bold self expression.
Many of the so-called ruts in our way are actually obstacles can actually become the way forward. The obstacle becomes the way. They actually become FUEL for the fire to carry us forward where we learn and when we fail, so we actually have the courage to keep going, to persevere with humility.
This takes massive belief in our vision of who we are and what we have to say. Humility is knowing that we don’t know it all. So many people can do things better than us, but that never takes away what we have to say and our unique voice. With courage and humility, I choose to learn from these people that are better than me. I take this attitude in my band modus factor, where I feel like the worst in the band! That might sound crazy, but the attitude is I want to surround myself with people that are better than me, that bring out something and take me to a level that I couldn’t have got to on my own.
So if you have an audition coming up or just something you’re nervous about that you have to face, watch Mike Mangini telling the story about how he auditioned for Dream Theater. Everybody thinks it must be his amazing drumming that got him the gig, but he points out that the other people auditioning could do so many things better than he could. He used the secret weapons of HUMILITY and COURAGE, with an ironclad self belief that no one could say it quite like he could. He thought, ‘I’m going to go in there and be the best ME that I can.’ That’s why we say, ‘Don’t Compete, CREATE.’ This way he was at peace with how only he could enhance the music to elevate the world.
The QUESTIONS we ask ourself define our lives. It takes courage to ask: ‘What if? Why not?’ Why not explore this new adventure? What would happen if I gave it all I had? This is what it means to explore our possibility and potential through drumming.
If you’re asking the right questions that bring out the best in you, YOU WIN. You’ll never feel the pain of regret that so many experience that never take action on their dreams. Find your best self through drumming with your humility and courage!
