The Future State of the Art Brendan Buckley
“The music industry as a business model has been changing rapidly over the past ten years,” says longtime Shakira drummer Brendan Buckley, who has also recently performed with pop singer Daniel Powter, Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos, contemporary country singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne, Asian pop star Leehom Wang, R&B producer Dallas Austin, and Singaporean pop star JJ Lin, among others. “It kept ramping
up, but since 2000 the whole business has been shrinking. Studios go out of business, because not everyone is recording albums in big, fancy studios. Tours are shorter—people go out for three months instead of two years and hit the major cities. Instead of recording an album over two weeks they do it in two days. Instead of recording in a studio, you’re in a glorifi ed garage. Everywhere, from top to bottom, everything is switching and shrinking.
“I don’t think it’s a sinking ship, though,” Buckley continues. “I think of it as evolving. So making
money as a drummer is getting more diffi cult. You have to hustle. You have to negotiate. If you have your hourly rate, people are always asking you to give them the ‘bro discount.’ “In my position I feel that I don’t have to make myself more attractive. In L.A. I’m surrounded by
fantastic drummers who have great time; they can all tour, they can all record. You’re not trying to be better than your friend; you’re trying to be good at what you do. If you’re the right guy for a project, maybe your style or touch or signature is what they want. Perhaps you’ll get the job. If you have a generous circle, everyone helps each other. “An upcoming drummer will need to have his or her playing together, which sounds simple,
but it’s a lifetime of work. A good Facebook page is important, but can you play your drums well enough to be paid? Can you groove and understand arrangements? Can you give options? Are you on time? Can you memorize two hours’ worth of music without messing up? Can an artist take you on the road for six months without you getting arrested? These are simple concepts, but this is what all drummers have to focus on if they want to work now or in the future.”
Tyler Ritter
“I’ve noticed this resurgence in ’70s-style dance grooves,” says Tyler Ritter of Moon Taxi, a popular Nashville-based band that recently released its third studio album, Daybreaker. “But I love how some groups are fusing those feels with more contemporary electronic sounds. I really like that approach; it’s an interesting mix of the classic and contemporary. In the long run, it’s all about making people dance.”
60 Modern Drummer January 2016
Ronn Dunnett
Joey Verzilli
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