A colleague asked me the other day, “What would you recommend as a first step in becoming a touring musician for a broadway show?” I had to think about that for a moment.
I can only describe my experience and what I did right, and what I did wrong.
From 1993 until the year 2000, I played all kinds of gigs. I came to New York City with the hopes of meeting the right musicians and eventually finding the band I could work with who could catapult me into rock superstardom. I would play each gig thinking that there was someone watching me in the audience who would believe I was such a good drummer that they needed me on their next arena tour.
Well, I didn’t get that. Not exactly.
I played with singer-songwriters, fusion bands, heavy metal, rock, funk, jazz, club date and even some country music bands here and there. I did all I could to open myself up to any and every opportunity that might come my way. All of that performing led me down an unexpected path. A guitar player in one of the club date bands I worked with had some experience working on broadway musicals. He thought I’d be interested in being a part of a broadway show called Footloose that was having a three month sit down in Las Vegas. It was the second or third leg of the tour and I was to be a part of the non-equity bus and truck tour.
The show was to sit in Vegas for the summer, then tour across the USA for another 9 months. Back in the early years of my life here in New York, I was playing with 10 different bands at one time and could use some financial and musical stability. I was also working a “9-5” job. I was burning the candle at both ends but was focused on eventually leaving the day job to play drums for a living.
I left that 9-5 job in1998 and I was going to “make it” as a professional musician one way or another. This tour was the right opportunity at the right time. I took the gig not knowing that 20 years later, I’d still be playing shows and a part of some of the best productions to ever be produced.
In 1999 I met the woman who would later be my wife, mother of our two kids and eventually ex-wife. I was just getting started with that relationship when I decided to up and leave to go to Vegas and subsequently do the tour. I would suggest that that is one thing you shouldn’t do. Getting into a relationship with someone who eventually wants you to be home and stable when you are about to go away four a year probably doesn’t make too much sense. I didn’t really think it through and neither did she. We clicked on several levels but didn’t talk things through like we should have.
She came out to see me on the tour and was supportive, but it wasn’t easy. Being a touring musician in general isn’t easy on relationships. I wouldn’t recommend being seriously involved with anyone if you plan on touring a lot. If you have kids, it becomes even more tricky. You’ll miss them and they will miss you. It’s really tough.
My advice for young musicians who want to get into touring for broadway musicals? Be single and childless. That is the first, and in my opinion the most important. The second? Get rid of any expenses that you might have in the city where you live. That means your apartment. Why pay rent for a place you won’t be living in? If you can sub lease, do it! If not give it up and live on the road. You need to cut down on any expenses you have so you can actually make a profit. It’s business 101.
The third? Get ready to play the same thing over and over again for a long, long time. And expect to not take off. Why? Because you can’t! Especially if you are the drummer. It’s much harder for a production to hire a local drummer to play your show than it would be for most other instrumentalists. You do get breaks from time to time on the tour to go home for a week during certain holiday seasons, but other than that, you are on call. It’s a long haul, but I found it all worth it.
I could go on further about what life on tour was like for me, but I’ll stop for now. I have a lot more to say. These three tips are a good start. Working steadily as a musician is an amazing experience. Getting to see this amazing country, or to visit rest of the world while you’re at it, makes it even more special.
Clayton Craddock is and independent thinker, father of two beautiful children in New York City and is the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business and is a 25 year veteran of the fast paced New York City music scene. He has played drums in a number of hit Broadway musicals including “Tick, tick…BOOM!,Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical and Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Clayton has worked on other musicals; Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.
Clayton is the chair of the New York chapter of the National Parents Organization and is focused on promoting shared parenting, where both parents have equal standing raising children after a separation or divorce. He is writing a memoir and writes for various local and national publications.
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