The Importance Of: " The Drive"

This edition of the "Importance Of" is on "the drive." What is "the drive" you ask? It is that inner feeling of pushing yourself to get better. The feeling of wanting more for yourself as a musician. Every player is going to come across this. It's almost like an addiction. You wake up every day and all you can think about is playing. This is a great thing. Its a healthy release. Every day you will wake up and want to do better and you go for it. I see it in alot of my students and in alot of musicians I encounter. One of which is former columnist Michael "Dork" Dinkins. When you get to practice with him you see it. He gets up early on a Sunday, ready to jam, ready to create something new and ready to improve on something that he has been playing for a while. This drive has made him a hell of a musician. i have watched him over the years go from an ok drummer to a musician with the abilities to hang with the big boys. He could very easily be a professional musician. Another person with the kind of drive is Rob Boggs from Quest Sound and Productions. He has a love for music and mixing like no other. I have watched Rob over the years go from an ok mixer and a weekend warrior soundman to a full blown sound company that mixes for tons of national bands that come to Augusta and around the south east. He is always working to improve his mixes and make a band sound like heaven from a speaker. He does this sometimes with no sleep and nothing but "The Drive" to kick some ass and make a show spectacular. I have watched my students do the same. One example as of late is Blake Sloan. He came with not a song he could play. Through his hard work he is tackling Randy Rhoades solos and improving every time I see him. "The Drive" is something every person must harness and use to make them the best they can be as a player or in any musical endeavor they choose to take on. There might not be a single thing more important than "The Drive" you have. It will make you learn songs, scales, do finger exercises and anything else it takes to be a champion player. The best get to be the best because they put in the time and effort. I have given you a few examples of people with the drive. Its your turn to get it and roll with it.