Meeting Alan Dale

Last week was the first of our Hn2 gigs, they went quite well I was happy with my performance. However as per usual, I managed to burst one of my knuckles on a cymbal from hitting it too hard and getting far too carried away but managed to handle it professionally and not let it affect my performance which is an important factor in becoming a session musician. If you let anything external affect your performance whilst playing on a track or a gig, this could then jeopardise your reputation and you may not be asked back again and may also not be recommended for other session work.


A few days after the gigs, a drummer named Alan Dale visited the college to host a drum clinic. This clinic was open to anyone interested in becoming a session musician but was mainly aimed at the drummers. Alan has made a successful career in session work and is currently drumming for the Dirty Dancing musical tour and is going on to drum for the Ghost musical tour next year. 
Watching Alan's clinic really inspired me into thinking about what I really want to do with my drumming as a career. Dirty Dancing is one of my favourite films/ musicals and I have always loved the music from it, but it has never occurred to me that I could work as a drummer for the broadway shows. As soon as Alan began talking about his job and what he does it became clear in my head that my aim is to become a broadway drummer.
I was fortunate enough after the clinic to be introduced to Alan himself and ended up chatting to him for over an hour, he was really interested top know how inspired I was by his presentation and how much i aspired to doing what hes doing,  Alan then asked me if I would like to join him in the pits at one of is upcoming broadway shows so I can get an insight into what it would be like to actually drum at a broadway show, meet some people and just get some experience. He then took my number and e-mail so that we can keep in touch and I can ask him any questions, he also wanted me to send him drum material that I work on throughout the year so that he can keep track of my progress and give me advice.
Meeting Alan and getting his details was a massive deal for me and I was really excited about what this could mean for the future. Alan is a well known and well respected session musician in the music industry, so by making contact with him and by him showing an interest in what I do, he could be my link into the music industry if I work hard and keep in contact with him. Networking is an extremely important factor when becoming a session musician and I feel the contact I made with Alan Dale was one of the most important contacts I have made to date.