The Sound & The Fury: a modern musician's journal

Our tour is drawing to a close…

I sit here on the night of our second to last show, in Sumter, South Carolina, with the lights dimmed in our silent hotel room, writing this. It’d be impossible to sum up the amount of experiences, thoughts and emotions that have taken my life by storm over the past four weeks in a single entry. The only thing I might be able to say with any certainty is that staying present, as I discussed in my last entry, has made this one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I’d like to say that I’ve matured throughout this entire experience, but I don’t think that would be a true assessment of the changes that have taken place in me. And changes have most definitely occurred.

One of the things I am most grateful for is the overwhelming amount of amazing people we have had the good fortune of coming in to contact with, over the course of our career as a band. Not just intelligent or talented, but good people. From producers, management, and tour-mates, to friends, family and fans that have shared the ride thus far and have avidly supported us. An important thing, I think, is to learn from these people.

What I have learned from this tour is to keep a youthful outlook; A sort of childlike perspective on things. Not one that is reckless or irresponsible, but rather, one that is enthusiastic, positive and unburdened by preconceptions, doubt and what most people term “realism” (a subjective term usually used to describe the negative attitude which has only undoubtedly brought more negativity in to one’s own reality). That sort of light-heartedness about living something you are passionate about, has helped stoke the flames of positivity and energized my whole approach on life, my career, and my playing. Now, I don’t mean to imply that we should wander whimsically, like a toddler left to explore a toy store, but we should avoid becoming jaded by a pretentious and needlessly intense demeanor. It’s as that old saying goes: “The tighter the grip, the more slips through your fingers.”

At the end of the this adventure-which I know is only a small taste of things to come- I feel all the more sure about what I want to do with my life and how best, personally, to do it. I feel empowered and strong enough to stay happy, confident and positive… come what may.

- P.K.

So I’ve been on the road now with my band for about a week and a half (10 days give or take), and I’ve kept a pretty consistent road journal in a moleskine notebook I bought in Illinois:

Entry # 3:

“We’re about thirty miles outside of Terre Haute, Indiana. Most of the country over here, during this time of year, looks as if someone drained all the colors out of a Norman Rockwell painting… The road winds like a snake through these hills, frosted by ice and melted by rain. Indiana is mud and water in March…”

Not your typical “Rock-n’-Roll” description of a band-on-tour lifestyle, but there’s truth in it.

One of the most important - if not THE most important - things that I’m really learning to put in to practice, is being present. Each moment; Every step of the way. I hear that whole philosophy tossed around by a lot of people and touted by a lot of movies and prime time T.V., but it’s truly rare to view in application. In fact, it’s become somewhat of a cliche, these days.

Keeping a daily journal is definitely helping me do this. It’s a fantastic exercise in coming inward for a little peace and honest self-reflection for a short time every day. The key to its consistency is its brevity. I try not to write more than one page a day, and rather than sum up all of the things we’ve done, I try just to address only what is on my mind, and what I am feeling at the time.

I also think that reading, although it may zone you out for a period of time, if the right material is being read, can inspire you to be more aware. I prefer to read inspirational or self-motivational books while on the road. Again, I try not to burn myself out by tackling multiple chapters per day. We’ve got a long trip, so I take in a little every day. Right now, I’m reading Zen and the Art of Making A Living, by Laurence Boldt. Rather than going by so much of the standard cut-throat business “ethics”, this book advocates a strong spiritual and intellectual path to not only finding, but living one’s passion. I’m not through it yet, but I already strongly recommend it to anyone interested in being passionate about their life’s work.

Another important exercise in keeping me present is having a steady exercise routine while out here on the road. Even if I have to run on the side of a highway with no shoulder, in the snow (don’t try this at home), I make sure I get my exercise in. There’s a certain zen to it, that enables me to clear my mind and find grounding in a steady routine. Also, it’s imperative to stay and feel healthy while on the road traveling and performing night after night.

Lastly, I’d like to point out the significance of having a soundtrack to your road trip. Just some music you can turn on either in your car, or on your ipod (if you’re not driving) to give you a real sense of comfort and presence in the moment. There’s this epic ambience created, as if in a pivotal scene of a movie. I prefer instrumental tracks. I also listen to music while writing and running.

Here’s a little bit of what I’ve been listening to:

Song   -   Artist

An Elephant In the Delta Waves - Dredg

Rylynn - Andy McKee

Kill Everybody - Skrillex

Night Diving - Thrice

Invocation - …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

On Impulse - Animals As Leaders

The Fatal Impact - Dead Can Dance

Aries - Unearth

Oraanu Pi - E.S. Posthumus

-P.K.

At the start of January, I was invited by one of my sponsors, Vic Firth Company, to attend The NAMM Show as a sponsored artist under their banner. For anyone who doesn’t know, The NAMM Show is a music industry convention specifically open to industry professionals, where music product companies debut their new products for the year. It’s a somewhat star-studded event, being one of the largest music industry conventions in the world and it is held at the Anaheim Convention Center every January. A few days before, I arrived in Los Angeles and met up with my friend, mentor and teacher, Dom Famularo, at The Musicbox on Hollywood Boulevard for the Guitar Center Drum-Off Finale. To see the level of musicianship these young drummers possessed was a powerfully motivating force. Essentially, it said to me, “This is the cutting edge; The future of drumming.”

The drum is probably the oldest instrument known to man. Its ancient incarnations were large, hollowed-out trees with slits carved in to them, and struck with animal bones. Tribes did this to communicate with one another over long distances. The larger the tree, the greater the distance they could communicate. Eventually, they evolved in to the instrument’s most recent incarnation: The drum set (or as Jim Chapin called it, the “Multiple Percussion Instrument”). The drum set is one of the youngest instruments known to man. It formed in a period between the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s, and it continues to evolve today under the influence of artists and drum manufacturing technology. Being that the drum set as we know it is only a little over one-hundred years old, we are still in an infantile stage of the instrument’s development. WE ARE PIONEERS OF THE ART OF DRUMMING.

With every artist, clinic, or new approach to a technique, we advance the art form forward. Every one of us; From greatest to least. One of the greatest moments of my career thusfar has been meeting Vic Firth. He’s both intelligent and friendly, with a sense of humor that is as witty as it is endearing. What is fortunate for me, as a drummer, is that this is comparable to a pianist sitting down to dinner with Mozart or Chopin. The legends of my art form are- for the most part- still living! Vic’s advice for our individual journeys toward pioneering the art of drumming is, “If you can’t break a wall down or go through it, find a way under, over or around it… and never get angry.” Perserverence is a neccessity of survival.

Dom Famularo is known as “Drumming’s Global Ambassador” the world over. He has a potent ability to motivate and inspire. Luckily for me, he lives about a twenty-five minute drive from my house. When I asked Dom one day, while chatting in his studio, about wanting to contribute to rhythmculture, he told me about something he calls the “Three A’s”. These are: Absorb, Adopt, Adapt.

By listening to the music of the great musicians before us with an open mind, and learning the techniques and styles laid down before us, we can successfully absorb musical ideas and concepts. Many of these are imprinted in to our memory in a way that begins to come second nature to us. Secondly, we must adopt these ideas and concepts and incorporate them in to our playing. Lastly, we must adapt these ideas and concepts to our own style. We must put our own spin on the ideas laid down before us by others, which is the way music naturally evolves and progresses throughout time.

What impresses me most about people in the music industry is the scrupulous attention to detail that so many professionals display in their particular fields. Observing this sort of focus really helps me stay aware of what the industry standards are, at their best. We have so much to take from and offer one another. One of the most important pillars of growth in any situation, I think, is being able to listen to others and take cues from their knowledge. There is a near-infinite wellspring of wisdom that we pioneers may draw from and then pass on to one another. It also inspires me potently, to see people that are so passionate about what they’re doing. Aaron Accetta and Mike Caffrey are two such people. One of my bands, Testing For Echo, is working with Aaron (a multi-platinum producer who has worked with Forever The Sickest Kids, He Is We, Aaron Carter, and Rookie of the Year) on producing some songs for radio. After pre-production at his studio in Mt. Kisko, New York, we decided that we’d like to spend some time tracking with Mike Caffrey (another multi-platinum producer/engineer for Cobra Starship, Chaka Khan and Avril Lavigne) at his Monster Island Studios (Ryan Adams, Gym Class Heroes, Jeff Buckley, Katy Perry, Coheed & Cambria, George Clinton) in NYC. Over the course of the five-hour session I spent tracking, Aaron, Mike and I hit on topics of conversation ranging from electronic songwriting to the health benefits of oatmeal for breakfast, and I found myself learning something new with nearly each sentence. Most importantly, I sharpened my game by honing in on what they wanted to hear from me on the tracks. I did this by asking lots of questions and keeping an open mind, which has proven itself a solid motif for 2011, or what’s come of it so far.

- P.K.