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

Stefan, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

Yes I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. It definitely did not start that way. It took some developing of relationships and networking. I think the biggest thing was just showing up and performing. When you get an opportunity to prove yourself, you have to knock it out of the park the first time. You have to be there for friends or future employers, show them that you’re dependable and trustworthy. Once you develop those relationships, the phone starts ringing and that’s when a new opportunity can change your life.

Stefan, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started out at a young age having a genuine interest in drums and how cool they looked. I remember growing up in church, watching the youth group drummer (who ended up being my first teacher) and being completely taken in with the drums and how they sounded. It led me to my first lesson in fourth grade. When I sat behind the kit for the first time, it felt like a spaceship and I was immediately obsessed. It continued on into middle and high school where I played in all of the band programs. It really showed me how to be a disciplined musician and how to keep really good time. I can still hear that metronome in the back of the football field ticking in my head. My next step was into the professional world where I played at Busch Gardens Tampa. That opened up a whole new world for me, including being 12 feet up in the air on a drum riser performing with a Mongolian circus act with fireworks going off behind my head. Then I got the urge and sign to move to Nashville. After years of riding in vans and sometimes playing for empty dance halls or bars, the journey here has allowed me to travel with Gary Levox of Rascal Flatts, Billy Currington, and, now, Bailey Zimmerman. I thrive on fixing anything that may break on the drums – you have to be ready for anything to happen so that way the show goes on, sometimes, for 50,000 people. Traveling with these artists has let me see the world in ways I never thought I could. I’m so excited to see where it takes me even further in the future.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The biggest thing I think society can do to support artists is genuinely watching the content or performances that musicians or artists put on. When you are at live shows or concerts, just enjoying the moment and taking in everything that’s happening on stage and what you’re hearing – I feel like so many people get caught up in using phones and it takes away from the experience of actually being there and enjoying it. Not only is it the artist on stage in front of you, but there are so many other people behind the scenes making that show happen. Even if it is just on social media, hitting the like or share button and interacting, that way the artist feels engaged or appreciated for the hard work that goes into creating the performance that you are watching at the time.

Have you ever had to pivot?

There has been so many times I’ve had to pivot, I might struggle narrowing it down. From living out of my car to crashing on my friend’s couch down in Florida and his family taking me in when I was down. This business is all about adjusting and flowing with the obstacles that are put against you. Just last winter, the artist I was working for and I had to part ways, resulting in me having one of the roughest times of my life. This lead me to pivot and get a part time job at Tractor Supply throwing dog food and livestock bags at five o’clock in the morning. Personally, I went through a divorce almost four years ago, forcing me to make the decision to leave a roof over my head and my first dog I ever owned. Going through that directed me to finding my soulmate and now having a daughter; life works in mysterious ways and as long as you’re willing to follow what feels right, then the sky is the limit!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @stefancdrums / https://www.instagram.com/stefancdrums
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/stefan.chippeaux
• Youtube: @sscdrummer / https://youtube.com/@sscdrummer

Image Credits

Photos by Ericky Hernandez