How to Keep the Gig: Rich Redmond on 20 Years With Jason Aldean (Episode 122)

Everything you do is an audition.

Rich Redmond is an award-winning recording and touring drummer based in Nashville and Los Angeles, best known as the longtime drummer for Jason Aldean. His credits also include Ludacris, Kelly Clarkson, Bryan Adams, Bob Seger, Chris Stapleton and many more. He is also a speaker who shares his CRASH philosophy for success with audiences around the world.

In Episode 122 of The Career Musician, Nomad and Rich talk about the hours behind the chops, how Rich got to Nashville, and what it really takes to keep a gig for more than 20 years. Here is what stood out.

Tens of thousands of hours in the formative years

Rich started drum lessons as a kid in Connecticut, then his family moved to Texas, where music education is serious business. Giant marching bands, five days to memorize your part, week after week. He practiced before school, at lunch and after school, did every all-city and all-state ensemble, and always had bands on the side.

That training still pays off. Rich says if a month goes by without sticks in his hands, the muscle memory is still there from all that time in the trenches. Nomad pointed out that working players put in way more than the famous 10,000 hours. As Rich put it, that was just high school.

Invest in yourself, because you are the product

Rich went on to earn a master's degree studying with world-class educators in a jazz-heavy program. His case for jazz: if you can drive a 17-piece big band, a three-piece rock band or a wedding gig gets a lot easier.

"If you're gonna invest in anything, forget about Apple, forget about Bitcoin. Invest in yourself, because in the music business you are the product."

Rich Redmond, 10:56

Did the piece of paper matter? Sometimes, for teaching jobs. But what he really paid for was seven more years of experience across every style. When he moved to Nashville he was in 27 different bands at once, hustling 20 bucks here and 300 there. He could do it because he read music. Bands knew he didn't need to rehearse: he had charts and tempos, and he could be whatever character the gig needed. People saw him play, and that was the best advertising there is.

Go where the ceiling is higher

Rich had a strong scene in Dallas, but he saw the glass ceiling. Calls came for Nashville auditions. He over-prepared, and three times he got great feedback, followed by the same question: where do you live? Dallas, he said. He probably should have said Nashville. After the third time he gave his band two weeks' notice and moved.

That is Luck = preparation + opportunity. He had the preparation. He had to put himself where the opportunities were.

How to keep the gig

Nomad asked the big one. Rich's answer works for an arena tour or a weekend casino run:

"The drumming, the musicianship is an expectation. But it's the hang, and the ability to take direction and being easygoing."

Rich Redmond, 24:21

Drums that sound good and work. Be over-prepared. Take direction. Firm handshake, look people in the eye, give respect. Be flexible and a fun hang. Roll with schedule changes and don't complain about the bottled water. Come from gratitude and humility, because somebody out there hates their job, and you get to play music for a living.

His road rules are classic Low maintenance / no drama: a backup snare tuned the same, spare pedals, every stick, towel and drink you need. Never pass up a hot shower or a hot meal. Always keep your luggage with you. Never be the squeaky wheel.

Twenty years, five presidencies

Rich met a young Jason Aldean in 1999. The same rhythm section played endless showcases for label executives who didn't get it, until something clicked. Because they had been with him for years, the band played on the record. Then came 300 days a year on the road, then arenas, then headlining.

He called it rare: the same people for five presidencies, in a business with very little loyalty. That kind of deep listening and unspoken communication only comes from the blood, sweat and time in the trenches. That is Reliability beats virtuosity, and work begets work.

And the legends he met along the way? The ones who stay successful are nice people. A rock legend walked in and already knew everybody's name. That's how you build a team.

To keep it, you have to give it away

Rich shares everything he has learned, through books, teaching, magazines and his own podcast, because he believes you have to give it away to keep it. He puts bands together for singer-songwriters all the time, matching the right player to the gig.

His CRASH framework sums it up: Commitment, Relationships, Attitude, Skill and Hunger. Everything in music is relationships, he said. It's not a job board. It's real people who champion each other. And he played Madison Square Garden, but not at 21. He did it at 41, after 20 years of doors being slammed in his face.

The takeaway

Rich's definition of success: waking up with a smile, looking forward to doing something you love that makes other people happy, so much that you sometimes forget to pick up the check. Music matters to people, whether you're on a cruise ship, at a wedding or in an arena.

"Just show up, be pro, over-prepared, have a smile on your face, take direction, be pleasant to be around."

Rich Redmond, 30:00

Find Rich at richredmond.com. And if you want a step-by-step plan for landing the next call, grab 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.