We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ben Pham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ben, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I started learning drum set in high school. I started playing in the 2nd Jazz Band and that’s sort of how I got my start. The director wasn’t a drummer though so it was a lot of yelling from the director, a lot of trial and error and learning from the other drum students. I think what could have sped up my learning process was properly getting with a drum teacher that could teach and play drum set. At the time, the skills that were most essential were playing different styles like jazz, rock, latin, etc. Those were most useful in the school environments I was in. Nowadays I think other skills are more useful, like learning gospel drumming and practicing time keeping.

I think many people can relate to a band or jazz director yelling at them to “play better”. They even made a whole movie about it called “Whiplash” haha. A lot of times a director may not know how to teach and yet demand the student to already know what to do. This was an obstacle for me for sometime and I’m sure a lot of other musicians. It wasn’t until I sought out help from better teachers that I was able to actually learn specifically what I needed to do in order to progress.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a professional drummer. My line of work includes performing drums for various artists, either live or in a studio. I’ve had the opportunity to perform with such artists as Burna Boy, Enrique Iglesias and more, as well as the opportunity to perform internationally in Europe and South America. I sometimes am also a music director for different bands. In that role I’m still a drummer but I also help direct the band and put together music and technical aspects that enhance the band’s performance. On top of this, I am also passionate about education so I teach privately and in group workshops/clinics. One of my passion projects is working with NuevaVision, a non-profit organization that helps lower income families with affordable music lessons. I believe everyone should have access to quality music education, not just people who are wealthy.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think some of the best ways society can support artists is to educate people on the value of art. Over the past few years there have been a lot of budget cuts in arts programs across the U.S. and I think that is unfortunate for our society. And with the increase in mental health issues, I think we severely underestimate the positive value of art in mental health therapy. A lot of people engage with art after a stressful day without even knowing it. People listen to music, watch movies, scroll on social media – all consuming some form of art. People can support artists they enjoy but purchasing their art, or even just helping market it by engaging with posts or sharing with other people.

I think society as a whole also needs to stop stealing from artists. Stealing as in pirating art, or not crediting artists in social media posts. We need to call out predatory “middle-men”, like show promotors who charge exorbitant fees for artists to perform at shows. Venues that take merch cuts from small artists. Companies like Spotify that demonetize artists and pay very little for each stream ($.003 per stream currently). There are a lot of people who prey on and steal from struggling artists and it’s very frustrating to see.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think non-creatives can sometimes underestimate how difficult it is to be a professional artist. They often will say “man, I wish I had your job, I could just make art all day!” haha. Creatives dream that that’s all they had to do!

I think one thing that can help non-creatives understand is to try quitting their job today and making money solely on their art for one year. And I don’t mean like being a middleman, creating a Spotify type thing and monetizing other people’s art. I mean, actually CREATING the art – writing a book, writing music, painting a picture, etc.

Many people would say that is crazy – and there’s the rub; that they would not dare to even attempt it! I think only when you’ve really tried that you really understand how difficult it can be. When you’ve done it and met other creatives who are doing it, you just have this mutual understanding, you know? Like you’ve been in the trenches together and you totally understand the struggle. Real recognize, real.

I don’t hold it against non-creatives though, bless their hearts.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/backbeatben
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benphamdrums
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/backbeatben

Image Credits

Dan Brown, Andrew Aguilar