{"id":34052,"date":"2022-03-25T13:50:26","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T20:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/?p=34052"},"modified":"2022-08-19T12:19:08","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T19:19:08","slug":"hannah-welton-everything-happens-for-a-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/hannah-welton-everything-happens-for-a-reason\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything Happens For A Reason"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was about 19 years old, my name was starting to grow in the drum industry. I had already been featured on local TV and in different newspapers, and I was starting to get more and more interviews. I had been gigging professionally around Chicago since I was 12, and I had a pretty good amount of live performance experience at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a certain buzz and momentum starting to pick up, which was super exciting – and cool opportunities started to present themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of those opportunities was to be on the cover of a pretty prominent music magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what was even cooler about that opportunity was that I was going to share the cover with another prominent female drummer. I grew up studying her playing and watching her instructional DVDs, so I was really geeked for it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"hannah<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was picking outfits and getting ready for this shoot, when my dad – who is also my manager – sat me down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019d built a relationship with this magazine over the years, and when they called him with a \u2018predicament\u2019, he knew it wasn\u2019t going to be an easy conversation with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis other drummer doesn\u2019t want to share the cover with anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The magazine decided to pass on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was like a punch in the gut. I was so excited – this was going to be my first real break on a national and maybe even global level. It was a really big deal to me and it just broke my heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My dad\u2019s been my biggest cheerleader my whole life and we both just sat there and cried a bit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After having the conversation with my dad, I was talking to my then boyfriend (now husband), Joshua, about it. He grew up in the industry and had received his fair share  of \u2018nos\u2019 throughout his own career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember him saying, \u201cThe no may hurt, but all it takes is one yes. So stay encouraged, stay motivated, and keep your eyes on the prize. Don\u2019t allow this to block the momentum you already have going for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

“The no may hurt, but all it takes is one yes.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

As much as it hurt, I kept pushing and stayed focused. I still ended up in the magazine – just not on the cover. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, the grind continued. I kept gigging and making videos, attended live jams and went to school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A couple of years went by, and I got to marry my best friend! Almost immediately following the wedding festivities we hit the road on a clinic tour with the great conguero, Giovanni Hidalgo. We were having such a blast, and video after video started circulating from these shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there was one particular video that marked a special milestone for my career; it was the first video of mine that crossed over a million views. Once again, there was a buzz that continued to pick up after that, and my numbers started to escalate at a supernatural pace.<\/p>\n\n\n