Best places for a drummer to relocate

[sidereal]

Let's say I was considering moving away just to get a change of scene (i.e. get into a new network of musicians and projects). It could be anywhere on the planet.

 

Anyone have any opinions on places where quality of life is fairly good, where I could buy some property on limited means, where there is a lot of music happening, but maybe drummers are in high demand? Any particular countries/cities that are musician friendly, where the economy makes it fairly easy to make a living gigging? Seriously, I'd be in Morocco, Bangkok, Prague, or anywhere else if I figured I had a pretty good shot at making a living playing the drums. But I'm also asking about good places in the States.

 

Any thoughts? How would one research such a thing?

[DrummerCafe]

Dendy and I have been talking about that very thing because I am looking to relocate soon. It may be several years or even next year, but I definitely am looking to move.

 

I would recommend making some decisions about what type of lifestyle you want, climate, natural surroundings, etc., first of all. From there you should be able to find someplace that meets your criteria.

 

For me, I love Flora & Fauna (plants and animals), so I want to live someplace that is very green, nice climate, close to a major city but where I can live outside of town for some peace and quiet. I have a family so it's important for me to find a place that I'm comfortable raising my kids.

 

I'm seriously looking at Nashville since I grew up in the Mid-West and lived in Chattanooga for several years. I'm bringing my family to PASIC this Fall, which will be in Nashville. We plan to "scout out the territory" and surrounding communities to see how it feels.

 

I think you can my a living in music wherever you decide to live ... well, with in reason. You have to be a "go getter" and be willing to "shake the bushes" until you find what you are looking for.

 

If I had my rathers, I would move to Costa Rica in a heart beat, and live out in the forest area. The only problem is that there aren't too many professional musicians in the country ... let alone a Gringo like me! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

[Lee Flier]

Awww come on sidereal, isn't it obvious by now? Just move to Lee's Home for Wayward Drummers. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

 

--Lee

[rlhubley]

Sidereal,

I moved to Austin about one year ago. There is a great need for good drummers. The only problem i've had is gettting the amount of exposure needed to make much progress. The music scene is great. Rockabilly, Country, Rock, Hard rock, Metal, jazz, funk, blues(tons of stevie wannabees), folk, reggae, tejano, jam, hip hop, rap, r&b, stoner rock, irish, celtic, pop, etc, are all styles you can find almost any normal night. Just like any other town, there are a TON of just plain bad bands, but with a bit of effort, you will find some great music. As far as making a living goes, i think it is quite possible, but would take a bit of time to work up all of the contacts etc.

Austin is very music friendly, but the cost of living is quite high, but significantly less than say, L.A. however as Bartman suggested, there are numerous small towns that are much less expensive and very close to Austin. I love this town, and if the girlfriend can find peace here, I would like to stay here for many years.

The climate is nice, but has pretty brutal summers. Toss in humidity to 35 days in a row of 100+ degree weather and you get Austin in August! There are incredible parks and outdoor activities.

I have no idea if you could make a comfortable living here by your standards. But, come visit Austin for a few days and consider it in your search.

[Gaddabout]

Originally posted by rlhubley:

I moved to Austin about one year ago. There is a great need for good drummers.

 

You beat me to it. I've always wanted to live in Austin because of its vibrant artistic community. Here are some other places I consider fine music towns (i.e., the locals support a broad range of music, there's studio work in town, a professional musician can make a modest living, you don't have to pull down six figures to own a house, etc.):

 

- Raleigh, N.C.

- Atlanta

- Mobile, Ala.

- St. Louis

- Charleston, S.C.

 

Perhaps, given time to develop the scene ... Tempe, Ariz.

[captain54]

I've been to Austin a few times and I've lived in Chicago a while and I would have to say that I believe right now Chicago has Austin beat as far as being drummer friendly....

Austin is more expensive, they've taken a hit with all the dot.com's going under, the summer's are BRUTAL, and I think it would be tougher to break into the inner circle in Austin than Chicago simply because there are much more venues in Chicago to be seen and get your chops together...

The only downside to the Windy City is the winters can get a little rough at times...other than that, its afforable, plenty of opportunity year round, possibility of national exposure, and no shortage of venues within the metro area for a drummer to stay busy....

[sidereal]

I've been to Chicago and I liked it. Plus, they've got an interesting experimental "Post Rock" scene going on with all those Thrill Jockey label bands.

 

Sounds like Austin is still a great scene. Never been there. Tempe sounds promising and I could probably buy a house there.

 

Any ideas internationally? I was sitting in a bar in Bangkok a few years back watching a band and thinking "I could do this." Cost of living sure is low, but I imagine getting an extended stay is next to impossible. How about English speaking places in Europe... Dublin, Glasgow, London, Brussels....

 

Prague sounds cool. Found this on the net: "Also high on Prague's attraction list is its entertainment: music from classical through to modern jazz and rock; opera and ballet; avant-garde theatre; excellent museums; and dozens of art galleries. Prague's greatest distraction, however, is that it is now one of Europe's most popular tourist destinations, and choked with summer crowds."

 

Hey, tourists need to be entertained right?! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif

[DrummerCafe]

I was in the Austin area for awhile back in the late 80's while working on my Masters in Music degree at SWTSU. That area is like the Garden of Eden, but I don't know that I would want to relocate there. I know a number of pro drummers in the Austin area ... and I can't really say that they are staying incredibily busy.

 

Oh my lord ... St. Louis?! No way man ... I was raised around their and lived there for a year. I have a friend who is an incredible pro drummer that still gigs there, but moved to Nashville hoping to break in. There is NOTHING in St. Louis ... trust me! http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/eek.gif

 

Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago would all be nice. My wife and I have tossed the idea around about Chicago, but we are going to check out Nashville first this Fall. My life lived in Chicago for awhile and we were both born in Illinois, so Chicago might be good for us. We would be close to our families that's for sure. But I'm not too crazy about all the cold weather in the Winter.

 

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

[Lee Flier]

Well I love it here in Atlanta, and I think it's a great place for a musician to live. And we can never have too many drummers. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif The mountains are very close by too and there are lots of great parks for hiking and wilderness for backpacking, which I love.

 

Housing is not near as cheap as it was when I first moved here in '92, but it's still quite affordable in the suburbs compared to most metro areas.

 

--Lee

[sidereal]

One other thing about Chicago.... A friend of mine said it's completely saturated with studios that work exclusively in advertising content. So there's just a ton of jingle work to be found. Not exactly the most enjoyable work, but it's work.

[Gaddabout]

My opinions on St. Louis are heavily swayed by two blues cats here in Phoenix who rave about the scene there. It may be more one-dimensional than I was led to believe, and perhaps hard to break into.

 

Before you move to Tempe, I suggest you consider your tolerance for heat. The quality of living is fairly high -- more bang for your buck -- but the trade-off is three months of literal hell. Yes, 105 here may be more tolerable than, say, 95 in Atlanta, but it's quite an adustment for some people. If you're good, Tempe/Scottsdale is a great place to be a big fish in a small (but growing) pond. It rains *maybe* 21 days out of the year. It's also only a 6 hour drive from LA and a not too far from Vegas.

[DrummerCafe]

Originally posted by Gaddabout:

My opinions on St. Louis are heavily swayed by two blues cats here in Phoenix who rave about the scene there. It may be more one-dimensional than I was led to believe, and perhaps hard to break into.

 

Well, your first problem is that you are listening to the opinion of Blues players! LOL How many professional blues players do you know? Can you even make a living doing that? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

There are very few gigs in St. Louis, trust me. My buddy is playing all that there is practically, and that aint much. There's just enough work for a handful of players and of course the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra percussionists, which are all my former teachers. If you want to teach privately, there is a lot of opportunities, but that's about it.

 

I guess when I think of relocating to a city, I want to know that the music scene is rich. By that I mean that there is a lot of diversity in the music, people are making a good living, and there's not just a few doing it all. Sessions, Live, Tour, Corporate, Clinics, Private Instruction; all of these areas would be of interested to me. I haven't even touched on the varied styles of music I would want to see!

 

I lived in Chattanooga, TN (for almost two years) about ten years ago. I relocated there because it was the home base for a group I was touring with, and I wanted to check out the area. Within 6 months, I had played every gig the town had to offer ... and was quickly known as THE GUY for drums and percussion. Now I don't view myself as some HOT player mind you, and for me to be the big fish in the little pond is not a good sign. It was great to have the work (and have my ego stroked), but I quickly got bored musically speaking. I played with the Chattanooga Symphony, performed for the pit orchestras with musicals and operas, taught some private lessons, and gigged with the top jazz cats in the area, and even played on the river boat a few times. With all of that, there still wasn't a challenge and fulfillment; but it sure is a beatiful part of the country!

 

I think that to be happy in a city, you need to be charged by the music you are playing; it needs to meet your artistic appetite. Making money is important too, obviously, otherwise you're hardly a professional (which means to make your sole living as a musician). I guess Chattanooga did not meet my artistic appetites even though I was able to support myself with music.

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

[djarrett]

Actually, there are some places that you guys are overlooking if you want to play full time.

 

Branson, Mo.

Gatlinburg (Pigeon Forge) Tennessee

Myrtle Beach SC

Hilton Head SC

Las Vegas, NV

SeaSide (Panama area) Resort Beach, Fl.

 

All of these places have alot of entertainment at the core of the business community. All would be nice places to raise a family.

 

DJ

[sidereal]

Of course, how could I forget Las Vegas... a friend of mine, a live sound engineer, moved there because of all the work to be had. There are so many live shows going on. Then he met his future wife, a singer, who, yes, makes her living singing.

 

Also, the basist in one of my bands made his living playing in Vegas. He eventually moved here to the bay area to get a 'real' job.

 

I suppose it's a possibility. I have friends there. Somehow I couldn't see myself living in Vegas though.

[DrummerCafe]

I did think about Branson, MO ... since it's just 100 miles from the town I grew up in (my parents still live there). Branson would be better than St. Louis, unless you plan to focus on classical music.

 

Glad to have you back DJ!

 

 

 

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Bart Elliott

http://bartelliott.com

[Dan1642605963]

La, hands down

[DrummerCafe]

Originally posted by Dan*:

La, hands down

 

 

Los Angeles? Give me a break here! LOL

This is a town where you've got to pay the clubs in order to let your band play right? http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/confused.gif

 

We're talking about places where a drummer/percussionist could move to and make A LIVING as a professional musician. By professional we mean that music is your sole means for supporting yourself. A place where there is a lot of opportunities and openings; people looking for drummers. I don't know which would be worse, relocating to LA or to New York. I'm not discrediting the towns because they are the biggest in the music industry, but I can't imagine moving there cold turkey and hope to find work immediately. If I had a gig lined up and several dozen connections in LA, I might think about it.

 

Maybe we should make a thread that's called:

The WORST places for a drummer to relocate.

[rebonn]

Originally posted by Bartman:

Maybe we should make a thread that's called:

The WORST places for a drummer to relocate.

 

Blairsville Georgia http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/frown.gif

 

 

This message has been edited by rebonn on 09-07-2001 at 02:27 PM

[ModernDrummer]

From Sidereal:

 

[Q]One other thing about Chicago.... A friend of mine said it's completely saturated with studios that work exclusively in advertising content. So there's just a ton of jingle work to be found. Not exactly the most enjoyable work, but it's work.[/Q]

 

Well, I like it here myself. But the flipside to that, the downside, is that it's viciously competitive here. I suppose that's true in any big area, or big music area. Not really sure, as I've not really traveled around from big city to big city checking out the prospects for a working drummer.

 

But I can tell you there's LOTS of excellent musicians around. GOOD Drummers, Guitarists, etc. are a dime a dozen. IMHO, this is especially so for blues stuff, as Chicago area is sort of known for blues. At least, more so than for any other genre. So, if that's your bag, be prepared for lots of competition.

 

The other downside is that because it's so competitive, the $$$ goes down. Sure, you can probably snap up a band doing "$50 a night + beer" as soon as you blow into town, if you have some talent. But that's not gonna pay the bills for ya very long.

 

But in order to grab up one of the GOOD spots (as a drummer) that pays WELL, is a bit tougher. Not saying anyone here can't do it. I'm just saying make sure your "P's & Q's" are in order. Pretty much, with some exception, everyone thinks everyone else sucks, LOL. Sometimes, they can be pretty vocal and somewhat 'unkind' about it, too! No shortage of hecklers, musician AND non-musician alike!

 

Conversely, there's also a great bunch of folks hitting the 'working gig' circuit around here. So, if you're the gregarious sort, you should be able to pal around with fellow musicians, fellow drummers, in short order.

 

Besides, we already have ENOUGH good drummers around here! STAY AWAY!

 

Winters CAN be mean sometimes, as was mentioned. This past winter, I had snow piled up 7 - 8 high in order to clear the sidewalks, etc. LOL, the communities had dump trucks and payloaders coming around the neighborhoods and hauling it away! 'Cause folks actually ran out of room to pile it. This was true even from some of the strip malls. So bring a good shovel. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif

 

Otherwise, cool area. And some of the best music, especially local club stuff, that you'll find anywhere. Don't want to scare ya off considering this area. But it might be helpful to at least know what you're walking into.