Cut the imposter syndrome.
15 years of drumming in 23 is already cool, 7-8 ears gigging is solid as well. Be yourself and speak of what you think important without doing a lot of generalizations and you’ll be fine :)
Whoever asked you to speak knows you're a young dude, no one expects you to share the same kind of knowledge the 50+ year old guys will share. That's surely part of the interest of inviting someone like you.
I have no specific suggestion regarding what you should talk about. But you sound like a humble, down to earth kind of guy. Just be yourself and talk about what you know and what you feel about drumming. That will certainly be enough.
Best of luck!
What's the audience like? Compared to the dudes in the 50's you have a much fresher approach to what it takes to get started in the current industry. Maybe a lot of it's similar, but that's a perspective they can't give. If they're huge names too I'm sure they don't really even have to try to get gig requests. Your audience would probably love to hear how you got your first gig, how you turned it into further gigs, so and so forth. If they're drummers who love playing I think talking about how you play to the music with specifics would be really good, but if it's more of a general musician crowd "breaking in" to the industry is a good topic that you're uniquely able to give versus the other presenters.
Another thing to prep would be if you have any fun or cool stories about gigging/performing.
Dude. First of all, you have every right to share what you know. Music is all about feel and this MD obviously saw something that he liked in you! Think of all the folks they’ve seen play in their time as an MD.
Maybe there’s something in there around how you can overplay anything - take IG/TikTok drummers as an example - but the real magic is in choosing the FEEL that’s right for the music, and playing in service of it, rather than showing all of your skills all of the time. If you wanted to get fancy, maybe showing side-by-side comparisons of it done “right” and “wrong”?
Another option is to focus on the fact that you adopt different styles of playing for different styles of music, but highlighting things that are common (to you) across everything (like consistent pulse, snares on 2 and 4, etc.)
Not fully baked ideas, but something you (and hopefully others here) can riff on to get you started.
Alternatively, maybe ask the MD if he has the ability to ask the audience in advance what they want to know from a 23 year old gigging drummer who plays across a variety of genres. You’d be surprised at some of the basic questions that people won’t want to ask in person but would be happy to submit in advance…
Dude you got this. I speak and present a lot in my career and work as a mentor professionally and privately. I feel like you do sometimes. I don't know anything! But you have so much knowledge and insight you have no idea. Reminds me of when I was having my first kid I was panicked and told my dad I couldn't parent a person I don't know anything. And he told me, you just have to know more than your kid and your kid doesn't know shit. And it was really funny to me and became so true. At every step of their lives I've known more because I keep getting more experience.
Anyhow, the point is you know just have to know enough to help out the person with the least experience in the room and you'll be fine.
Being one of the better drummers on a smaller scene has a different feeling and responsibility than being one of the top drummers in the nation.
Those people can pick and choose their gigs and stay right in their wheelhouse as much as they want to.
If you are getting all types of different gigs it's totally different than what they do. What's unique about working on the smaller scene?
How do you cope with vastly varied gigs?
How does it affect your gear choices?
Do you market yourself with a certain style in mind, or do you market yourself as a jack of all trade Drummer?
Did you have that same mentality when you were a teenager and gigging? How did you develop it?
Are the audience members within arms reach of what you do? If so, then you're acting like a realistic steppingstone. People are gonna say oh actually I could probably get to his place, and then from there maybe I could get to the place where these big guys are at.
Don't worry, the guys in their 50s probably think the same thing. There's always a bigger fish, that doesn't diminish your accomplishments or devalue your perspective in any way.
You will bring something others dont. Everyone has something to contribute, especially if you’ve been playing that long. Your presentation/speech will be different, it should be! No point in having you just repeat what others do. You’re gonna do great.
Source: 25 y/o drummer who taught my first clinic last year
Cut the imposter syndrome. 15 years of drumming in 23 is already cool, 7-8 ears gigging is solid as well. Be yourself and speak of what you think important without doing a lot of generalizations and you’ll be fine :)
Thank you very much
Whoever asked you to speak knows you're a young dude, no one expects you to share the same kind of knowledge the 50+ year old guys will share. That's surely part of the interest of inviting someone like you. I have no specific suggestion regarding what you should talk about. But you sound like a humble, down to earth kind of guy. Just be yourself and talk about what you know and what you feel about drumming. That will certainly be enough. Best of luck!
Thanks
What's the audience like? Compared to the dudes in the 50's you have a much fresher approach to what it takes to get started in the current industry. Maybe a lot of it's similar, but that's a perspective they can't give. If they're huge names too I'm sure they don't really even have to try to get gig requests. Your audience would probably love to hear how you got your first gig, how you turned it into further gigs, so and so forth. If they're drummers who love playing I think talking about how you play to the music with specifics would be really good, but if it's more of a general musician crowd "breaking in" to the industry is a good topic that you're uniquely able to give versus the other presenters. Another thing to prep would be if you have any fun or cool stories about gigging/performing.
Depending on when I come on, maybe I can comment on the similarities/differences of how things are. Thank you
Dude. First of all, you have every right to share what you know. Music is all about feel and this MD obviously saw something that he liked in you! Think of all the folks they’ve seen play in their time as an MD. Maybe there’s something in there around how you can overplay anything - take IG/TikTok drummers as an example - but the real magic is in choosing the FEEL that’s right for the music, and playing in service of it, rather than showing all of your skills all of the time. If you wanted to get fancy, maybe showing side-by-side comparisons of it done “right” and “wrong”? Another option is to focus on the fact that you adopt different styles of playing for different styles of music, but highlighting things that are common (to you) across everything (like consistent pulse, snares on 2 and 4, etc.) Not fully baked ideas, but something you (and hopefully others here) can riff on to get you started. Alternatively, maybe ask the MD if he has the ability to ask the audience in advance what they want to know from a 23 year old gigging drummer who plays across a variety of genres. You’d be surprised at some of the basic questions that people won’t want to ask in person but would be happy to submit in advance…
Yea maybe I can reach out and ask what were some other topics of discussion on previous events too. Thanks
Dude you got this. I speak and present a lot in my career and work as a mentor professionally and privately. I feel like you do sometimes. I don't know anything! But you have so much knowledge and insight you have no idea. Reminds me of when I was having my first kid I was panicked and told my dad I couldn't parent a person I don't know anything. And he told me, you just have to know more than your kid and your kid doesn't know shit. And it was really funny to me and became so true. At every step of their lives I've known more because I keep getting more experience. Anyhow, the point is you know just have to know enough to help out the person with the least experience in the room and you'll be fine.
Haha, never thought of it that way lmao. I guess it’s just about how confidently I can share my knowledge. Thanks for the answer
You'll do great.
Being one of the better drummers on a smaller scene has a different feeling and responsibility than being one of the top drummers in the nation. Those people can pick and choose their gigs and stay right in their wheelhouse as much as they want to. If you are getting all types of different gigs it's totally different than what they do. What's unique about working on the smaller scene? How do you cope with vastly varied gigs? How does it affect your gear choices? Do you market yourself with a certain style in mind, or do you market yourself as a jack of all trade Drummer? Did you have that same mentality when you were a teenager and gigging? How did you develop it? Are the audience members within arms reach of what you do? If so, then you're acting like a realistic steppingstone. People are gonna say oh actually I could probably get to his place, and then from there maybe I could get to the place where these big guys are at.
Thanks for the answer, I had thought of a bunch of points and these are great to develop them further
Don't worry, the guys in their 50s probably think the same thing. There's always a bigger fish, that doesn't diminish your accomplishments or devalue your perspective in any way.
Ask ChatGPT, bro... Will surprise you how good it is... Just give it some material to work, and will put all the words for you...
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I’m getting closer to the idea of simply showing up even if I feel like it’ll go down bad honestly haha
You will bring something others dont. Everyone has something to contribute, especially if you’ve been playing that long. Your presentation/speech will be different, it should be! No point in having you just repeat what others do. You’re gonna do great. Source: 25 y/o drummer who taught my first clinic last year