What does a drum tech do? A drum tech tunes, sets up and looks after an artist's drums, then fixes problems during the show so the drummer can stay focused. On Mindful Mutiny, Mark Bennett, who has worked with Pink, Korn and Shinedown, explains the job, the risk that started his career and how he handles nerves and imposter syndrome.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Mark sees a drum tech's real job as letting the drummer forget everything except the performance.
- A back injury ended his marching years and moved him from a warehouse to a drum sales floor, which started his career.
- He says how you act during the other 23 hours of the day decides whether you stay hired.
- Mark still feels nerves before every show and uses them to rehearse his backup plans.
- His imposter syndrome showed up in corporate settings rather than on stage, and it eased as he did the work.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠWhat does a drum tech do on a major tour?
A drum tech sits behind the drummer and answers for everything on the riser. Mark Bennett compares the role to a golf caddy. Speaking with his longtime friend, host and therapist Jeremy Van Wert, he describes his working rule: to "create an environment that inspires the artist to take his performance to a level that he didn't know was obtainable."
In practice, the drums must look, sound and feel right the moment the drummer sits down. During the show, Mark watches for anything working loose and fixes it before the drummer notices. If a guitar is too loud in the drummer's mix, he adjusts it so nothing breaks their focus.
On a recent tour Mark also ran playback, learning a new program that synced the band's video and lighting. He cares this much, he says, because someone in the crowd saved up and waited a long time for that night.
ᚢHow to become a drum tech: one unplanned path
Mark grew up in a blue-collar family in San Jose and started percussion in fifth grade. Jeremy became his marching instructor in the mid-1990s. Then, at about 21, Mark badly hurt his back in the Guitar Center warehouse. He had to relearn how to stand and walk, and he lost his final marching year.
The store moved him to drum sales, though he had never played a drum set. Asked to build a floor kit, he put a tom on upside down and the bass drum on backward. He learned quickly, and eventually Pink's drummer came into the shop. A friendship led to a clinic, then studio sessions, then live shows.
Mark's unplanned route suggests a practical order: know the gear thoroughly, get close to working musicians and do small jobs well.
ᚦTaking a career risk: the call he first turned down
By about 25, Mark was in corporate training at Guitar Center to run his own store. Then the drummer called: "Good news. I get to pick my drum tech and you're coming on tour with me." Mark said no, and it took several conversations to change his mind.
Touring meant no insurance, no 401(k) and no guarantee, and turning down the store would probably close the door at the company. His district manager, who had toured himself, said he would never go back to the road now but would do it all again from the beginning. The pay finally settled it, though Mark calls the step terrifying.
Once out there, he felt for the first time that he was where he belonged. If you are weighing a similar leap, a private 30-minute conversation with Jeremy is one way to think it through out loud.
ᚨHow to be a good drum tech: the other 23 hours
Mark knew drums and little else. The tour's guitar tech taught him how to wind a cable and pack a semi-truck. Backstage, Mark says, is mostly people on their phones. The real work is long days, extreme heat or cold, little sleep and 12 people sharing a bus despite different backgrounds and beliefs.
People notice the one-hour performance, he says, but "it's the other 23 hours that determine whether or not you are hirable." In his view, tours will choose someone who gets along with everyone over someone more skilled who doesn't. Work also travels by referral in what he calls a very small world.
The nerves never left. Mark took about five years off the road to be with his young daughter, and his anxiety peaked before returning. He feels it at every show and thinks that helps, because it sends him through a checklist of what could fail and how he would respond.
ᚱHow to overcome imposter syndrome at work
Jeremy assumed imposter syndrome must have been overwhelming on those arena stages. Mark says it wasn't. He describes his younger self as confident, even arrogant.
It hit him in corporate settings instead. At a Palo Alto tech company, surrounded by top programmers, he says he was faking it all the way through despite the good pay. Later, moving into a marketing department to be home for his family, he spent the last of their money on dress shoes so he could blend in.
Over time he found he had what it took there too, and the feeling faded. If that pattern sounds familiar, individual therapy and coaching with Jeremy is one place to work on it.
ᚲGrowing up without his father
Mark talks openly about growing up without his father, whom he didn't see again until he was an adult. He says it left a voice telling him he wasn't good enough. It is a large part of why he stepped off the road when his daughter was born, and why he wants to change his family's story.
The old feelings still surface at odd moments, sometimes during a movie. It took years and therapy to reach his current view of them: "I remember the hurt, but I'm not hurt."
ᚷHow Mark stops overthinking career decisions
Mark's steadying line is simple: everything's going to be okay. He uses it when money is tight or a door closes. He says he has walked away from good pay and stable careers when an environment wasn't right for him, and has always landed on his feet.
Mark says he believes in past lives and guardian angels, and that months inside arenas drained him while walking among trees at an outdoor venue restored him.
ᚹWhy he started a custom drum business
It began with a logo sticker that looked bad on a drum head, so Mark had a friend at a sign shop cut the letters in vinyl. Later, as an artist relations manager, he kept seeing custom requests that manufacturers couldn't fill because of lead times or limited bandwidth. So he found the people who could do the work and learned how it was done.
That became his company, Backbeat Chop Shop, which does custom drum heads, powder coating and electronic programming. Mark says he recently turned a drum set for Beyoncé's production chrome with 36 hours to ship it. Leaving his job for this made him sick to his stomach, he says, but he loves working for himself.
He says he got tired of hearing no. If he can't do something, he'll figure it out or find the person who can.
ᚠWhat he wants his daughter to know
Mark's best teams treated every problem as shared, starting with his first Pink crew. Near the end, Jeremy asks him to speak directly to his daughter. Mark tells her to be a good person, believe in herself and know she is never alone.
If you want that kind of company on your own hard days, Thriving Spirits, the Mindful Mutiny community, offers real conversation, live Fireside Chats and a course library.
This episode includes talk of childhood abuse and a past suicide attempt; if you are struggling, please reach out to a mental health professional or a crisis line such as 988 in the US.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is the role of a drum tech?
Mark Bennett compares the role to a golf caddy. A drum tech sets up and tunes the drums, then solves problems during the show so the drummer can stay focused.
How do you get a drum tech job?
Mark got his first touring job through a friendship with a professional drummer he met at Guitar Center. He says touring is a small world where work moves by referral, so being reliable matters.
How much do drum techs make?
Mark doesn't give a figure in the episode. He says the difference from his retail pay settled his decision, but that touring came with no insurance, no 401(k) and no guarantee.
How do you overcome imposter syndrome at work?
Mark's imposter syndrome came up when he moved into corporate roles. He says proving to himself that he could do the job built his confidence, though it took a while.
How do you stop overthinking a career decision?
Mark talked his first big decision through with someone who had already toured, then took the step despite his fear. He now reminds himself that everything's going to be okay.