Preparation Meets Opportunity - Pt. 1

I went to bed so discouraged that night. That phrase my dad told me played over and over again in my head…

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On more than one occasion, my dad told me that two things have to happen for me to have a career in music or to succeed in anything in life – preparation has to meet opportunity. 

He told me, some people spend their entire lives preparing, but never get an opportunity. Others get an opportunity, but they aren’t prepared. I was afraid the second scenario fit me a few years ago.

In May 2014, after I submitted my video audition to Bread of Stone and had a two-hour phone conversation with the lead singer, Ben, the band invited me to Sioux City, Iowa, to audition in person. I wrote a little about my audition in a previous blog post (Auditions - Pt. 1) and the three-step process I recommend for artists to follow when looking for new band members. 

I would LIKE to say that I blew them away in my audition. I would LIKE to say I came in, and my drumming was so lit that I was the bomb.com, or something. However, the only real bomb was that I BOMBED the audition!

Rest assured, I prepared as much as I could, but I got lost playing to the pre-recorded rehearsal. I sat on my drum throne sweating bullets, thinking about how the guys sat in a separate studio control room watching my playing on a screen, probably scrutinizing my timing. I could only imagine the words exchanged amongst all of them when I inadvertently started blending together different parts to their various songs that I had tried to memorize. I focused so hard on getting everything perfect that I forgot how to just play music!

I was awake for well over 24 hours that day, with having my twelve-hour car trip, followed by my nightmare of an audition. I went to bed so discouraged that night. The phrase that my dad told me played over and over again in my head. I thought that second part of my his axiom applied to me – I had been given this opportunity, but I just wasn’t prepared. 

Somehow, by the grace of God, the band guys saw something in my heart that led them to believe that I was the right guy. It just goes to show that I didn’t get here because of my own strength and abilities. I did everything I could. I had drummed as much as I physically could drum, every day. But it still wasn’t enough. I remember TobyMac’s former drummer once said, “If we do everything that we can, God will do everything that we can’t.” Only God could take the musical failures of my audition and make me a hired drummer for the band for nearly seven years now and counting!  

Are you preparing yourself today for what is to come? I encourage you to.

You should be preparing individually as musicians and collectively as a group. Don’t wait for your “big break” to start working on your live performance! You need to be constantly cultivating it.

In what ways are you working to improve your live performance or maybe another specific vocation? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.

Are you interested in diving deeper into these areas for YOUR show? I’d love to get to know you and learn about your journey in music! Let’s schedule a FREE discovery call today!

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