Nobody Cares That You're Tired

Growing up, Jay-Ray watched other touring drummers from the outside and assumed the job came with a drum tech, someone else to handle the setup and breakdown. It wasn’t until he was living the touring life himself that he realized how much of it falls squarely on him.

On the latest episode of Broadway Drumming 101, Jay-Ray Anderson, drummer for the latest touring production of The Wiz, pulls back the curtain on exactly that, and on what it really takes to bring a show to life night after night.

“That was something that I didn’t understand at first,” he says. “Like, oh, I’m going to have to set up my drums. I’m going to have to break down and still get on the bus and go to the hotel and get on like a three-hour flight the next day and make soundcheck the next day.”

It’s a reminder that the unglamorous parts of touring, the packing, the breakdown, the redeye flights, are the price of admission for the moments that actually matter: the ones shared with an audience.

More from Jay-Ray Anderson is on the way. His new podcast episode is coming soon. Subscribe below so you’ll be notified of when it is released.

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Clayton Craddock is the drummer for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also the founder of Broadway Drumming 101 and the author of Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician’s Guide to Building a Theater Career.

His Broadway credits include Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Ain’t Too Proud, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, with additional credits spanning tick, tick…BOOM!, The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and subbing on Rent, Motown, Evita, Avenue Q, and the Hadestown tour.

Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the Tony Awards. He has performed with artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Ben E. King to Kristin Chenoweth and Norm Lewis.

www.claytoncraddock.com