Attila wrote:
Cymbals are worth a shitload...I've put about 2500 into mine...easily worth more than the rest of my kit combined. And they're usually conveniently packed away in a case with no way to trace them if stolen.
yeah was gonna say, over the years i've probably got like $10k in cymbals-- plenty of which exist in the fucked-beyond-playable pile in my backroom. Shit, if you were to buy a good brand-new K ride you could expect to pay upwards of $500. drumming don't come cheap.
to play devil's advocate, there's a lot of untested, pie-in-the-sky thoughts about the industry here. I've made my living for the past 10 years playing/writing/performing/recording music. I've walked off of plenty of gigs that i thought were bullshit, and made plenty of money playing gigs that were unbelievably fulfilling. At the end of the day, if this is what you do, there are days where it's just a job and you grin and bear it-- and there are days where it is trascendent, the music makes the sky bluer. and every shade in between.
But i do certainly agree w/ Fanu's sentiments-- patience and hard work-- consistent hard work-- are 2 of the best things you can bring to the table as a professional in music. As one on the creative end of things, being able to grow from criticism, sometimes harsh, is really handy as well, as is the ability to collaborate and bring a project to fruition, be that a single song or a full theatrical production.
Being an internet don who's got deep-set principles and will never make music just to be big because music is a part of your soul and you don't want to tarnish it-- not so much.
and share your music as well as listen to a bunch of other stuff all around. Don't hold a bias opinion there will be a good tune in any genre even if there's more bad than good. 
