Be So Good They Find You: Chastity Ashley on Drumming for Duran Duran (Episode 116)

Luck = preparation + opportunity.

Chastity Ashley is a drummer, percussionist, vocalist and DJ who has worked with Duran Duran, Kanye West, Tom Morello, Kesha and Cypress Hill, and played stages like Coachella and Madison Square Garden. Now she leads Neon Pony, a hybrid DJ experience built around a stand-up electronic and acoustic drum kit she designed, with a light show built into it.

In Episode 116 of The Career Musician, Nomad asks how a kid from East LA got there, and how she turned sideman success into her own artist project. If you are wondering how to become a professional drummer and then build something of your own, this is the blueprint: repetition, relationships and refusing to give up.

Repetition before YouTube

Chastity's parents were teenagers when they had her and huge music fans, so she went to every concert and festival with them. She started beating on chairs and tables, and by 12 she knew music was what she wanted, because it felt so good. A friend of her dad's brought over a snare, hi-hat and kick, and her parents let her keep them in the tiny bedroom she shared with her brother and sister. She practiced every day, playing along to her dad's Tom Petty records.

When her family could not afford a kit, she got a job as a day camp counselor at 14 and saved up. After seeing a djembe at a drum circle, she saved again, bought one and practiced for six months with bruised hands until it clicked. No YouTube lessons. Just figuring it out.

"I'm not going to become great unless I consistently try and figure this out."

Chastity Ashley, 18:36

By the time she got to music school, teachers pointed out a few bad habits. But she also had something many students didn't: feel. Nomad's take: learn the fundamentals, but those little habits are often what make you unique. Get off YouTube, sit in the room with your instrument and find your own voice.

Be so good they find you

When young artists ask Chastity which label or manager to reach out to, she tells them to pause.

"What you need to do is be so freaking ridiculous at what you do that these people... will find you."

Chastity Ashley, 23:46

She still made things happen. Touring with a hard rock band, singing and playing djembe, she wanted a percussion endorsement. She cold-called a company, left messages, kept calling, and got invited to meet at the NAMM show, where she jammed on the spot and got signed. A few months later someone called that rep looking for a fiery female percussionist. He sent her videos. Then she got a call from Duran Duran's bassist: you're hired, show in two weeks. No in-person audition.

Be ready, then be present

At her first rehearsal they ran two songs. Three hours before a sold-out show, she was asked to play on many more. She charted them on the spot with headphones, taped her notes to the floor, counted off the set and played it clean. Within days she was on a world tour and on the Coachella stage. People called it overnight. It wasn't. It was years of building stages on rough tours and playing bars for ten people.

"Be present... when you're present, that is when the magic happens."

Chastity Ashley, 30:59

Nomad asked how she handled the private jets and five-star hotels without getting a big head. It humbled her. She was the last one at the bar talking to fans, signing a teacher's doll, buying people drinks. Her view: ego steps on the hundred-dollar bill to pick up the penny, and the most accomplished artists are usually the coolest people in the room. That is Humility from the ETHOS code, and it is Low maintenance / no drama at the highest level.

Build your own platform

Nomad's point about sustainability: playing with big artists is great, but it is their art. Chastity started planning her own project while still on tour. A bandmate told her one lyric was too safe, and that pushed her to stop playing it safe. She went to DJ school in person to learn the equipment fast, since she already knew how to make beats, produce and write. Then she built a light show into her kit with a brand-new technology, strand by strand, through weeks of trial and error.

Her rule from that process: troubleshoot, troubleshoot, troubleshoot. People don't lose because they couldn't make it happen. They lose because they gave up. Nomad agreed. He had just spent weeks debugging his own Ableton rig for a 40-plus-song live set. Consistency wins. That is Make Music Your Business and Diversify or Die in one project. She is also producing remixes now, including a country track.

It's relationships, not connections

How do you get a manager or agent? Chastity's answer, learned from her mentors: don't make connections, create relationships. Become friends first. Learn who people are, not what you can get. Her manager became a friend before he ever saw her play. When he did, he said they needed to work together immediately.

And play every show like it is Madison Square Garden, even if three people are there. You never know who is in the room. Nomad and Chastity met by simply saying hi at a crowded industry event. Three years later, they are friends planning music together. Everything you do is an audition.

The takeaway

Put in the hours nobody sees. Be so good they find you. When the call comes, be ready and be present. Stay humble. Build relationships, not connections. And when you have earned your seat in someone else's band, start building your own. If you want help getting that first call, start with the free Get the Gig guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.