We recently connected with Eric Ching and have shared our conversation below.
Eric, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
Ever since I was 18 (I’m now 32), I always thought that all I ever wanted to do was play music and only play music for a living. There was a certain pride that came with the seriousness of the pursuit. I had read so many biographies of jazz musicians that the lifestyle had been romanticized to death in my mind.
Now, I’m not necessarily sure if I’m happier as an artist or creative. I don’t love the way that the industry makes me feel. The way that I’m treated often makes me feel chronically undervalued. It is so difficult to get bookings, I frequently get cancellations, and I’m often unappreciated at the gig.
Music is so competitive and cutthroat that you need a ton of proof that you’re great before people are willing to book you. And with Instagram, it feels like everyone is clamoring as hard as they can for attention and clout. Everyone feels a need to show off how big the venue they’re playing in is, how often they’re playing, how much they’re traveling, and how cool their lives are.
Why do I want or need people to look at me so badly? I understand the survival need to have a bunch of social proof so that you can continue to get booked and put food on the table, but the entire game of it all is starting to feel silly.
There have been times in the middle of a performance where I’ve asked myself, “Do I feel fulfilled right now?” While music is still fun, I don’t need it to feel like my life has purpose. I don’t have a desperate need to prove something to people or even to be liked for that matter.
I don’t necessarily want a regular job either. In the past, I’ve been a bartender, I’ve worked in property management, I’ve been a personal assistant, and I’ve done other miscellaneous odd jobs. I don’t really enjoy toiling away just to make someone else’s dreams come true while selling products that don’t mean anything to me.
Eric, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As far as my story goes, I recently poured it all out in a piece for the SD Voyager.
My story with the SD Voyager:
https://sdvoyager.com/interview/check-out-eric-chings-story
I’m a jazz drummer and I lead a band that performs all over. We play my original compositions as well as straight ahead through modern jazz in the spirit of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Kenny Garrett. Here are some of our upcoming dates:
Grace First Presbyterian Church (Long Beach) 1/26/25 at 3p
The Main (Santa Clarita) 1/30/25 at 830p
Sierra Madre Playhouse (Sierra Madre) 2/9/25 at 7p
Agua Caliente Casinos (Palm Springs) 3/27/25 at 7p
I teach private lessons to folks of all ages and levels.
Email for lessons:
[email protected]
I have a book out called The Melodic Jazz Drummer. It’s about how to think in terms of melodies, gears, and density instead of beats and fills. Most teachers give students a bunch of patterns and tell them to “mix it up”, but I’m trying to get folks to relate to the melody at a higher level and play with intent and purpose.
More recently, I’ve been working with a wonderful engineer on some inventions that I’ve had in mind. The first one is a dish brush holder that holds your dish brush directly over the sink. Most models hold the brush vertically so the brush head drips down onto the handle or has a collection dish where soapy water collects. Those both give you an additional thing to clean on top of your dishes! I wanted to solve that problem so we worked together and went through a few designs until we found one that was affordable to produce, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
I will also be releasing a sock stretcher. Whenever I purchase new socks, they always cut off circulation and I get a painful pulsing feeling around my ankles. The gadget is just a plastic block that’s the perfect size for stretching out your socks. You can just pull your socks over it and wait a few hours instead of spending weeks breaking them in to feel comfortable.
Links for my tickets, album, book, patreon, courses, and inventions.
https://linktr.ee/ericchingdrums
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
With songwriting, it can feel incredibly rewarding to come up with something that flat out didn’t exist before. So many melodies, chord changes, and rhythms have been played before that it can be insanely difficult to write anything new. Sometimes, the best you can do is just have one or two fresh new elements and call it a win.
When you finish a song, it’s just special because you have this magical piece of art that no one can take away from you or replicate. You can choose to share it with whomever you’d like and however often you’d like.
I definitely don’t have the most chops on the drums so I think my compositions add a lot to my value. When people go to my concerts, I know that the audience will hear something that they’ve never heard before.
Educating others also has a wonderful feeling because I can share some of the things that I’ve learned over my past 20 years in music. I had to go on nearly a quest to find the right teachers and 200k studying at NYU. Now I can just share that information for a nominal fee. If anyone wants to dig further, they can study with me one on one.
With my inventions, I hope to help people in some small way and make their lives easier. I’m constantly looking at the problems in my life and trying to find some sort of solution instead of just accepting the way that it is.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I want to provide the best possible life for my dog.
I want to be able to afford to live wherever I want.
I want to be able to perform as often or as little as I want.
I want to be able to record as often as I want.
I want to teach or help people as much as I can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ericchingdrums.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericchingdrums
Image Credits
Main:
Norm Eder – Photographer
Shot at Revival Drum Shop
Black and White:
Norm Eder – Photographer