I love family even more than I love drumming, and fortunately for me I am naturally more gifted at being a father and husband than I am at being a musician.  Not to say that it has always been easy, but I think it mostly comes down to the environment I was raised in.  My parents exampled unconditional love, support and sacrifice, so these things come naturally to me.  Had my parents been great drummers or musicians…well, those endeavors would have come easier to me, and I would likely  have a different view of what it means to be successful.

I didn’t even realize that being a family man was such an integral part of my idea of success until I started one.  When in high school and college, my younger more impressionable self was more influenced by those around me and what their ideas of success were, so success looked like record deals, touring, endorsements, etc.  In hindsight, too much “success” early on would have gotten in the way of achieving the most important piece of my success puzzle: having an amazing wife and kids that love, respect, and appreciate me unconditionally – and that feeling is mutual.

Getting married and/or having children isn’t for everyone, and it seems doing so successfully is often incompatible with being a professional musician.  It can be difficult at times to choose between spending time with family, or practicing so that you can better support your family with career success.  Thank you Tina, Katelyn, Jason and Brandon for your love, support and understanding when I have errored on the side of practicing too much!!       

              –   Dad

I love drumming and have been doing so for roughly 35 years.  20ish of those years I have been freelancing in the greater Los Angeles area, but the bulk of my work has been performing drums and banjo at Disneyland.  I have a Masters in Jazz Performance from USC, and have had the good fortune to study with some of the greatest drummers past and present (Louie Bellson, Jeff Hamilton, Steve Houghton and Gregg Bissonette to name a few).  I have also listened to and transcribed a great deal of music from many genres(check out some of my Groove or Solos/Fills transcriptions), and worked diligently from many great books.  All to say that I thought my well rounded experiences and curriculum would make it easy for me to make it professionally – it hasn’t even been close to easy!

Long story long, for those of us that are of below average to average talent levels (I classify as non-prodigious), we need to do more than what some of the pros say worked for them (especially the prodigious ones – it is impossible for someone to teach you how to be talented).  Sure we need to practice extra hard, but more importantly, we need to practice effectively.  Check out the exercises I provide for my students in Lesson Materials, the advice in Drum Fillosophy 101, and certainly my new book Melodic Stick Control.  They are the culmination of 35 years of experience exploring the most effective and time efficient ways to become a musical, professional drummer no matter what genre of music you choose to play.

             –   Matt Matson

I love family even more than I love drumming, and fortunately for me I am naturally more gifted at being a father and husband than I am at being a musician.  Not to say that it has always been easy, but I think it mostly comes down to the environment I was raised in.  My parents exampled unconditional love, support and sacrifice, so these things come naturally to me.  Had my parents been great drummers or musicians…well, those endeavors would have come easier to me, and I would likely  have a different view of what it means to be successful.

I didn’t even realize that being a family man was such an integral part of my idea of success until I started one.  When in high school and college, my younger more impressionable self was more influenced by those around me and what their ideas of success were, so success looked like record deals, touring, endorsements, etc.  In hindsight, too much “success” early on would have gotten in the way of achieving the most important piece of my success puzzle: having an amazing wife and kids that love, respect, and appreciate me unconditionally – and that feeling is mutual.

Getting married and/or having children isn’t for everyone, and it seems doing so successfully is often incompatible with being a professional musician.  It can be difficult at times to choose between spending time with family, or practicing so that you can better support your family with career success.  Thank you Tina, Katelyn, Jason and Brandon for your love, support and understanding when I have errored on the side of practicing too much!!       

              –   Dad