MasterMind Drummer
Newsletter #45
Oct 29th, 2024
What Does The Opportunity Cost, And Are You Willing To Pay It?
What I wanted to share with you this week is a brief but pivotal anecdote around the idea of ‘opportunity cost’.
Every opportunity we come across has a cost. The question is, does it align with where we are at, and are we willing to pay it?
It’s an interesting thought, as when you think of the word ‘opportunity’, you tend to only really think of it in the positive sense, but, the reality is, that’s not always the case, especially when you zoom out, take a moment, and look at the big picture.
But, as we all know, this is sometimes hard to do…
First, before we kick into all that, I messaged you on Friday, sharing the newly released Black Comet album with you.
Thanks so much to everyone for the great response. Much appreciated. We are stoked about how it turned out.
That night, we actually held the album release show down at Totara St venue, (the same place where my drum studio is based), and it was a fantastic night, to say the least.
We played the album from top to bottom, and then added a couple jams at the very end, to close the night out.
It was a packed house, had great energy, and it’s fair to say that we had an absolute blast.
This show was quite the bookend for us, for a couple of reasons…
1. The album dropped that same day.
2. It was our first headline show at Totara St.
3. It officially marked the end of our winter tour.
Now that we are on the other side of it all, we are not wasting anytime, and are going straight into pre-production for album #2.
The idea is to do the 2nd album much faster, and overall, release it in a tighter timeframe as well. So watch this space!!!
I actually filmed the show, and multi-tracked it straight off the desk, so over the weekend I quickly knocked together an edit of one of the tracks, to send to the boys, to catch the vibe.
It’s unlisted on my YouTube channel, but I thought I’d share it with you HERE, too.
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So…. Oppotunity cost.
It’s an interesting thought, and although hard sometimes, an important thing to consider.
The thing is, JUST because you are presented with an opportunity, does not always mean you should take it.
The thing is, as creatives and active pro musicians, this is often hard. The reason being –
A. It’s hard to say no to anything, in fear of not being considered for future work, and
B. It’s sometimes just hard to get perspective on our own situations, and what’s the right thing to do.
I’ve had to make a ton of hard but necessary decisions over the years, and decisions that, on the surface, really flew in the face of what I had been working towards as an up-and-coming professional drummer.
But like I say, when I took a moment, zoomed out and weighed them up, ultimately, they didn’t quite align with my path.
One of the first times I was faced with a massive opportunity that I had to weigh up, and ultimately pull away from, was when I was playing for Kimbra.
In short, she was on the up-and-up, bigtime, and I was part of the band that turned her from a solo artist into a full live show.
I had already played on a couple of her tracks for her debut album, which included Cameo Lover, and we had filmed some live performances called ‘The Sing Sing Sessions‘, but our main job was to interpret all the songs off that upcoming debut album, for her live show, making sure we honoured all the parts well, and translated her message for each track, clearly.
This was quite the task, and as a band, we actually formed quite a strong bond through this period. We were problem solvers, and we got the job done.
Looking back, I think it was at a time when she really needed the support, too – on and off the stage. We were like her big brothers.
She was young, had lots going on, and everything was happening super fast – oh, and I should mention, too, she just so happened to collaborate on a little song with another Australian artist that ended up becoming a worldwide sensation, and one of the most popular songs of all time. No joke.
You know the song, too, but you can listen to it HERE.
So yeah, this was all going down at the same time. Lots of buzz, to say the least.
It was at this point she was offered her first big international tour.
It was a 3-month tour around the US and Canada, supporting Foster The People, who, at the time, were at the height of their popularity.
The tour would also include performances on Jay Leno and Dave Letterman, as well as other big features along the way.
Now, I had already done a bunch of touring at that point, but I’d say more so the NZ and AU equivalent. So, tours that stretch over weekends, and then maybe the odd week or two in Japan, etc. Things like that.
Certainly not 3 full months away, on a bus, getting paid a decent weekly salary, and playing shows and TV spots, night after night. It was stacked!
But this was the dream, right? This is what I had been working towards, right?
I was only 23 at the time, so it ticked all the boxes in terms of opportunity and experience.
When people would ask me what I did, I would say ‘I am a session drummer’, and really wore that badge with a massive sense of pride. It was who I was, inside and out.
I suppose the last added bonus was outside the tour itself, and because of all the attention and support she was getting, this opportunity also came with major endorsement deals, too. Drums, cymbals, heads, sticks – the whole 9 yards.
As I say, the dream, right?
But the thing was, it wasn’t. It didn’t align with me.
In short, I had a young family at home, and I never signed up to be an absent father or partner. And they didn’t sign up for that either.
The opportunity was incredible, yes, but I knew the cost was way too high for me personally.
I sat on it for a few days, even though I knew deep down what the answer was. But I wanted to make sure I had at least internalized it from every possible angle.
So, although it completely pained me to do so, I said no, passed on the tour, and actually ended up leaving Kimbra at that point, too.
The reality was, from then on, things were only going to get busier for her, and I just couldn’t facilitate it.
So, what did I do?
Well, instead, I went the other way. I activated ‘business-mode’ Stan.
I ended up setting up my first business, a busy little espresso bar in the Melbourne CBD. This was great as it created a whole new level of stability for me and my family, and actually gave me some time (and headspace), to get some ‘long-term slow-burn’ deep self-work done.
I kept doing spot session work here and there, depending on what it was (including jumping back in with Kimbra for a couple of shows), but really, this ended up being quite the turning point for me, as instead, I leaned in heavy and prioritised my own development – on and off the kit, and started building up my personal brand, too, as social media had just started kicking off.
I dissected all the weak areas in my playing – areas that I wanted to develop, and started doing the real work.
I dove heavily into mechanics, dynamics, facility, single-kick development, and pocket, spending countless hours strengthening these things.
I also went deep into personal development too, understanding full well the power of what happens off the kit, is just as important as on the kit. (I’d actually argue its more important).
I knew that eventually, when time permitted, I’d be back on the scene in full force, so I used this time to push myself forward, so that when I did come back, I had more to offer.
In summary, all this culminated in much more opportunity down the track. Opportunities that would not have happened otherwise.
I’d actually go as far as saying that everything I have now is due solely to the decision I made back then, when faced with that fork in the road.
Like I’ve said before, you can’t connect the dots looking forward, only by looking back, and sometimes you need to just follow your nose and let things unfold as they may, even though it may be a little bit confusing, and even quite counter-intuitive at the time.
So, remember, no matter what carrot is getting dangled, and no matter how big and shiny that carrot may be, take a second…
Step back, get some perspective, and ask yourself, does this align with my path, and where I see myself going? The real question is…
What Does The Opportunity Cost, And Are You Willing To Pay It?
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Let’s leave it there for this week, as I am sure you have lots on as it is.
As always, thanks for taking the time, and thanks for all your feedback, too. I really appreciate it.
I read them all. So please, if you have any thoughts, send them through, and let’s get a dialogue happening.
Don’t forget… Stay hungry (and stay healthy!)
See you next week.
Stan