Scrolling through Instagram Stories today, I caught a live, impromptu Q&A by the drummer from Coheed & Cambria, a band which I enjoy quite a lot. Most of the questions were regular fare, about life on the road and what songs they are playing on the tour.

As he was talking about how they will practice songs even when they are on the road and touring, and change up the set list when they feel like they are playing a particular song well, he started talking about the process of them learning and improving, and then he said (paraphrasing):

"Most of us guys in Coheed, Claud and Travis and me were just real natural players. We didn't take a lot of lessons, we just figured it out. But these days, we do take lessons now and then. And of course being on tour with guys like Mastodon you can't help but learn every time you watch them.

But I'm always still learning. I feel like if I ever stopped, that would be when it was time to hang it up."

I've heard people talk like that in USPSA circles, but it really surprised me given the context of a successful world-touring band. I guess it shouldn't though. You don't stay successful for two decades by coasting on what you learned before your first album.