Keeping a funky beat takes more than talent, it takes hard work and perseverance
Posted On October 2, 2019
What’s more important to success? Talent? Or hard work?
Obviously, that may depend on what you’re trying to be successful doing. For a musician like Stanton Moore, drummer for the New Orleans funk band Galactic, we might assume that talent would be king, that how far he is able to go in his line of work would be largely dependent on his skill at his craft.
And according to Moore, we would be wrong.
In the latest episode of “What’s Working With Cam Marston,” Moore credits hard work and perseverance with getting him where he is today.
“I do believe that I’m solely where I’m at because of the work ethic,” he says. “I think talent is sometimes overrated. It’s nice to have that talent, but to really excel in life I think you have to back it up with that work.”
Part of that hard work is in developing a reputation for reliability, even in small things like answering emails. It is this hard-won reputation, he says, that enabled he and his partners in Galactic to purchase an iconic New Orleans club, Tipitina’s, in order to continue its legacy. It is that reliability that has given him opportunities like playing with legendary New Orleans singer Irma Thomas, a project that ultimately won Thomas and her band a Grammy.
And it is that work ethic and reliability that have allowed him to get other projects off the ground, such as frequent drum seminars around the world and his online Stanton Moore Drum Academy.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Moore shares with us where he got his work ethic, how concert bookings work, how many people it takes aside from the band to put on a touring show, how he’s able to manage his side projects while touring with Galactic, and what it takes to develop a reputation as a “New Orleans drummer.”
Join us for a funky chat about music, hard work, perseverance and what it takes to be a success – in any line of work.