An Interview with Rob Shaw

Rob Shaw - drummer

Rob is one of those guys who is never short of a gig and is always popping up on tv shows and sessions… So we needed to find out just how he manages it. We caught up with him to pick his brain.

Tell us about The X Factor performances this year.

I got the gig the first time around through a guy that I'd met on an audition a few years back. It’s always a good idea to stay in touch with anyone in the industry and it turned out he was doing some fixing. I saw a status on his facebook asking for drummers so I was straight on the case and luckily I manage to do two shows of the last season because of it.

Hang on, you got to play on the biggest TV show in the UK from a facebook status? 

It sounds simple, but I knew the guy from before and it was more a case of calling out to his musician contacts all at once. Opportunities can come from anywhere and you have to be prepared to follow up any potential lead for work.

What was it like working on such a massive show?

It’s great! There is a lot going on though so you have to make sure when your a small part in the whole thing that you nail it first time. There are only ever two or three run throughs of a contestants tune and that includes the live show. Because the show is so big there can be a lot of waiting around but this is a great opportunity to make contacts and meet some top industry players.

“when other people around you give up, just keep pressing forward because none of it will come easily and you have to be determined to succeed.” – Rob Shaw

You recently played for Jennifer Hudson’s UK promo. How was that?

I got a call very last minute to perform 5 tv slots in 4 days, they cram it all in as she wasn’t in the country for long. The shows were The Graham Norton show, The Alan Titchmarsh Show, So You Think You Can Dance, Daybreak and a couple of pop outs for Channel 4. 

Sounds like the perfect week for a musician…

Well it wasn’t all glamour, Daybreak was on so early that the driver was due to pick me up at 5am and as I’m from Brighton I had to provide a London postcode. I borrowed a mates address but as he was away, I slept in my car in an alley in S London… Didn’t sleep much but obviously it was worth it.

What advice would you give to musicians looking to get into TV work?

Do your research and be relentless. Find out who the fixers for tv are and contact them with good pictures and a concise CV. Then just make sure you check in with them and try to get on their radar a bit. This doesn't mean you will get any TV as it is hugely competitive and the fixers always have their main guys that have done hundreds of TVs who the fixers trust way more. Your goal is to make them aware of you and hopefully when the opportunity arises make sure that you get the job done. The main thing to remember is that you are competing against 1st rate professionals who have spent years getting to where they are and they won't give up jobs without a fight. It's not easy but if you do get called to do it, you will enjoy it so much and the hard work that you put in will all be completely worth it.

Big thanks to Rob for the advice and insight into tv work.