Today we’d like to introduce you to Nate Onstott.
Hi Nate, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Music was always around me growing up.
My dad listened to the Eagles and other classic rock. My mom was a former high school band director who encouraged me to try band in middle school. She prepared me for the trial day. I had all the inside info. How to buzz a trumpet mouthpiece or make a woodwind reed vibrate. But when it came time to make it happen, I couldn’t do it.
Out of pity, the band director reluctantly set up a snare drum and tapped a rhythm. I tapped it back. And suddenly, I was a drummer. The drumming continued into high school and by that time I was playing drum set and wanted to be in the jazz band. It was a pretty well-known program and hard to get into. Somehow I did and it accelerated my passion for drumset and music.
That all led me to music school and college at Belmont in Nashville. I liked it here and decided to stay after school ended. I got a gig with a Christian rock band (guys I went to school with) and toured with them for 7 years. Then started playing with another Christian artist (Plumb).
After I got married, I continued to tour while I set up a home studio in my house so I could eventually focus on recording.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not always smooth. But sometimes it felt like I was in the right place at the right time. I got my first gig out of college within a few months and just committed to it. The band was called MIKESCHAIR and they had just signed a record deal and we were doing every show they could at first.
I had so much fun and learned the ropes of being a hired musician in that world. But when that was ending I was worried I wouldn’t have any work. I called my friend Tiffany (Plumb) and basically got hired on the spot. When her touring slowed down some friends from college were looking for a drummer for their new band (Apollo LTD) and I basically did that and Plumb and still play with both artists today.
There have been very few issues with schedules. There are always things you miss when you’re touring for a living. Family stuff. Friend stuff. Other musical opportunities in town. But I am very thankful that I generally had a gig for over 10 years with very few slow seasons.
I also maintained a part-time job working for a Percussion manufacturer in town and still do that today as well!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Basically drumming in general.
But it covers many different areas. I toured as a hired drummer. I have also recorded a bunch. More recently I have started recording remote drum sessions from my home studio and creating educational content for drummers who play at church (something I’ve done all my life).
I’m proud of the work I’ve done on the road, at church, and recording in the studio. Develop a specific way to translate a recorded song into a live performance or hear a song demo and create a drum part that supports it.
I think there is specific energy I bring in those settings that is unique.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
After moving to the suburbs of Chicago in 4th grade, I made friends with my next-door neighbor.
He had a cool older sister so he always had cool new music that we would listen to. One of the first alternative bands I remember listening to was Green Day. I had never heard anything like when I grew up in Texas.
I wore those records out and it started my love for rock music and my passion for music in general
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nateodrum.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/nateodrum
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/nateodrum
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCqGUBy-BqsE6YrFAMcwOTzA
Image Credits
Jeremy Hazen and David Ottestad
