We were lucky to catch up with Ransom McCafferty recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ransom, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
My grandparents fostered my love for music. Neither of them were professional musicians, but my grandfather played piano, and my grandmother played violin. More than that, they were lovers of art and music at a level where I was constantly immersed in it when I was with them. My parents were music lovers too, but were not musicians themselves. Through my grandparents, I was first introduced to jazz, and to this day when I hear certain records it takes me back to their house as a young boy. My grandparents tell me that when I was a kid, they’d set up pots and pans for me to play on. I don’t quite remember that, but they did gift me my first drum at the age of 6. Growing up with my mom, she showed me the 90’s grunge she loved, and that’s also played a big part in my development. It was until 7th grade when I joined the drumline in middle school that I really started to consider drums being a part of my life, and not until 9th grade, when I started playing drum set and listening to Rush, Yes, and more prog-rock that I realized this was the most important thing in my life, and I wanted to follow this path for the rest of my life
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.
As far as “getting into the industry”, I don’t have much to say. Most of my connections, I got through making friends at music school (Berklee) and in New York. Most of my gigs just come from friendships and recommendations by friends to others.
In high school, I played drums and bass in a few bands, but was inspired by my heroes who went to Berklee. And it’s at Berklee that I met most of my circle in New York.
Something to mention is one specific artist I play with that has dramatically changed my career: Mei Semones. Through her, many other doors have opened, such as touring domestically and internationally, playing large festivals, and meeting many new connections that have broadened my circle and has made being a full time musician a reality.
It’s at Berklee too that I ended up pursuing a path that I knew I was interested in in high school, but didn’t know would be a big part of my college education: Indian music. I studied tabla for several years under the direction of Maestro Jerry Leake. And this is an aspect of my musicianship that I think sets me apart from some of my peers. I play gigs on tabla occasionally in New York, but what I’ve learned from Hindustani music opened up many possibilities in my playing on the drums, and the way I hear and interpret music in general. That’s something I am proud of and will continue to pursue, as Indian music takes more than a lifetime to understand, especially as a westerner.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
To me, the most rewarding aspect of being a musician is playing in front of an audience. It’s when all the work (which is a pleasure in itself) comes together and doesn’t need explanation. There is something so special about playing and improvising in front of an audience and feeling their energy respond to what’s happening in the room. Music, to me, is the most beautiful and transcendent art form because it happens live in the moment, and everyone in that room is experiencing the exact same thing. It’s also a place that has saved me from some dark times mental health wise. Performing really turns off the part of your brain that’s constantly thinking about life and the future or the past and forces you to just live in the present moment and make something collectively.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
A long term goal, that’s relatively unrelated to my current path, is to travel and live in India and study music. As a working musician living in New York, I make a living playing drums, and plan to stay see where things take me here. However, along with playing drums, my passion is Hindustani classical music. I fell in love with the music in high school and followed that feeling in college. It takes a lifetime of diligent practice to do this music justice and requires much patience and focus, as it should be for an ancient art form like ICM. Eventually I want to be able to travel to India and properly study under a guru, like my teacher did. And eventually be able to perform this music and teach.
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