We were lucky to catch up with Fer Fuentes recently and have shared our conversation below.

Fer, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I’m originally from Chile and I worked there as a drummer for around 10 years. Always wanted to move to the US because making a living back home playing drums wasn’t possible. Didn’t have the courage to leave my country until a friend convinced me to apply to a scholarship and I decided to let the universe choose. If it was for me then I was gonna get that scholarship, and I did. In less than 2 months I had to tell all my parents, my students and bands/artists that I was leaving. Sold everything I had and move to Los Angeles. Best decision of my life. Wasn’t easy of course but it’s been so worth it. I’m now working as a full time session and touring drummer. Currently on a World Tour through Asia, Australia and Europe. Im extremely grateful for all the opportunities life has given me and the constant support of my loved ones.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Been working in the music industry for 21 years. Went to music school and got my bachelors and masters degree. Mainly I work as a session drummer for recordings and live performances. I also am a private drum instructor and work as a music producer with a couple artists.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Definitely the internet has changed the game in terms of being able to access information we couldn’t before if you were in another side of the world. It has taken me a minute to understand there’s so much info you can learn and use without having to go anywhere or even spend any money. Drum clinics and any kind of masterclass is now a click away and I didn’t pay much attention to that at first because I only trusted either my teachers or what I could see in person. Today you can become a very successful person without almost moving from your house. Music school was a safe place to be for sure but so many people have made their way up without it and they are crushing it thanks to what other professionals share on internet and how much info you can access nowadays.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Having to put a number to my work and time was the hardest part. Basically value myself too. Where I’m from, it’s not a thing to for example, get paid to rehearse. I learned in the US that any work you do has value in terms of money too. You don’t always realize that it’s not just about the time you spend investing in learning songs or going to rehearsal but also all the previous work you have done for years that cost sweat and tears to get to where you are right now at a professional level to play the gigs people are calling you to play. The better you are, the least time other people need to invest to get the product they want and that saves artists/label a lot of money and time and it’s the same for us musicians.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ferfuentes.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ferfuentesdrums

Image Credits
Natt Lim @nattografi