Working Drummer

Peter Erskine has played the drums since the age of four and is known for his versatility and love of working in different musical contexts. He appears on over 600 albums and film scores, and has won two Grammy Awards, plus an Honorary Doctorate from the Berklee School of Music (1992). Peter graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan and studied at Indiana University under George Gaber. In 1972 Peter commenced his pro career playing with the Stan Kenton Orchestra. Four years later, he joined Maynard Ferguson before working with Jaco Pastorius in Weather Report and moving to Los Angeles. Peter recorded five albums with the band. He won his first Grammy Award with their album ’8.30’. During this time in LA, he also worked with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Chick Corea, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Farrell and George Cables. Peter then moved to New York City where he worked for five years with such musicians as Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez and Eliane Elias in Steps Ahead, John Scofield, Bi

Todd Strait was into jazz from the very start and has played with some of its biggest names over his a 35-year career. After studying with Ed Soph and Joe Morello, he made New York his home base and built an impressive resume there which included Marian McPartland and Woody Herman. In the 1990s, he relocated to Kansas City where he became the drummer for Eldar as well as two of the most celebrated vocalists in jazz, Kevin Mahogany and five-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson. For the past decade, he has split time between the local scenes of Kansas City and Portland, OR, and continued to record and tour internationally with Karrin Allyson. In this podcast, Todd talks about Creating a practice routine in high school that mirrored his dad’s 9 to 5 schedule. Bad habits that Ed Soph helped him break His short but educational tenure with the Woody Herman Band The different types of legwork needed to get beyond a local scene Playing behind vocalists vs. instrumental groups Using volume, orchestration, tuning, and cy

Zack Albetta grew up in Santa Fe, NM, where he began drum lessons at age 8. Music was the focus of his high school years and he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from Ball State University. In 2003, Zack entered graduate school at The University of Missouri-Kansas City and in four years, Zack earned Master’s degrees in Percussion Performance and Jazz & Studio Performance. While at UMKC, Zack’s primary mentor was alto sax legend and Grammy nominee Bobby Watson. Zack also studied drumset with Doug Auwarter, a master of jazz, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban styles, who impressed upon Zack the importance of playing various styles authentically. By the time he graduated in 2007, Zack was already in high demand on Kansas City’s rich and vibrant music scene. He spent the next three years playing with many of the area’s top artists and organizations including Bobby Watson, Shay Estes, Mark Lowrey, The Kansas City Symphony, the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and the 18th & Vine Big Band, with whom

Wes Anderson recently became the drummer for the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, the military’s premier touring jazz ensemble. Born and raised in Phoenix, AZ, Wes graduated from Arizona State University and marched drum corps with The Arizona Academy. In 2012, he landed a gig at Disneyland and moved to L.A. A few months after moving, he joined pianist Eric Reed‘s trio, with whom he continues to perform in his off-duty time. His on-duty time with the Jazz Ambassadors involves performances all over the country, bringing the American art form to a wide variety of audiences in towns and venues big and small. In this podcast, Wes talks about: His Disneyland audition, and how the Disney gig facilitated establishing himself in L.A. Matching Eric Reed’s intensity, focus, and musicality on the bandstand How being too territorial about a gig can deprive you of other experiences The audition process for the Army Jazz Ambassadors, and how his audition tape was basically a full-length, professionally produced album What life

Dave Harrison is a graduate of West Virginia University School of Music. He performed with the world famous Percussion ’90 under the direction of Phil Faini where he served as arranger and featured performer. Dave moved to Nashville in 1990 and started working in the studios. He joined the Edwin McCain Band in January 1996 and over the next 10 years, recorded 6 albums with the group, co-producing 2 of them. He played drums on the monster hit “I’ll Be”, which was in the top 40 for nearly a year, and which yielded a top 10 video. Dave has also performed with Taylor Swift, Maia Sharp, Olivia Newton John, Hootie and the Blowfish, John Hiatt, Caroline Dawn Johnson, Rachel Proctor, Cyndie Thomsyn, and many others. In this podcast, Dave talks about:  Changing careers Tracking percussion in the studio Drummers “creating magic in the studio, not math” Moving to Nashville Meeting and hanging with Larrie Londin Getting the Edwin McCain gig Touring and recording with Edwin McCain Auditioning for Peter Frampton Trying to

Ryan Lee was born and raised in Kansas City, MO, and earned a bachelor’s degree in music from The Conservatory at The University of Missouri-Kansas City. New York, Nashville and LA are established as places from which to launch an international performing career, but Ryan has stayed in Kansas City and found many opportunities to perform around the world with artists including Jose James, Tony Tixier, and A Bu. He remains a fixture on the Kansas City scene, having established himself as a creative voice in many circles including jazz, hip-hop, funk, gospel, and the projects that often result from KC’s various musical camps joining forces and overlapping. In this podcast, Ryan talks about: How new skills, from bass to piano to Ableton and in-ear systems, help him conceptualize his creative projects Studying with Bobby Watson, and how he’s just beginning to understand some of what Bobby taught Recording Watson’s big band album, Gates BBQ Suite His collaborations with KC trumpeter Hermon Mehari How a huge opportu

Scot Corey is a freelance drummer/percussionist who has performed as an ‘extra’ with the Nashville Symphony for over 17 years, including NSO’s Carnegie Hall Debut (2000), their Naxos recording of Piazzola’s Sinfonia Buenos Aires and their return to Carnegie Hall. He has served as adjunct percussion faculty at Trevecca Nazarene University since 2000 and is a founding member of the Matrix Percussion Trio which has provided free educational concerts to over 37,000 students in the greater Nashville area. He served as the percussion specialist at Freedom Intermediate and Middle schools (Franklin, TN) from 1997-99, and as percussion faculty at the Southeast Chamber Music Institute (grades 9-12) at Tennessee Tech University from 1998-2002. Scot began his professional career in 1985 at the age of 17 as drummer/percussionist for musical theater. To date, he has played more than 50 different shows, including many at Cumberland County Playhouse and TPAC. Scot’s training includes a BM (Performance) from the University of

L.A.based drummer Jamey Tate has been solidly busy for almost 15 years. He studied under Peter Erskine as a grad student at USC and has put Erskine’s lessons, musical and otherwise, to good use since then. He has made a name for himself touring and recording with two of the biggest names in smooth jazz, David Benoit and Mindi Abair, as well as being in demand for studio work around LA on creative and commercial projects alike. In recent years, he has also taken on other musical roles as a producer, composer/arranger, and musical director. In this podcast, Jamey talks about: How his first lesson with Peter Erskine set the course of his career, and one lesson he learned the hard way His experiences in the world of smooth jazz, and what it has to offer drummers How he bounced back professionally and psychologically after a major tour was cancelled with three days’ notice Switching to Sakae Drums Playing with bassist David Hughes Expanding his career beyond just playing drums Jamey Tate is an artist endorser for

Establishing himself in Nashville as one of the top studio drummers, Eddie Bayers has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Vince Gill, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Steve Winwood, Peter Frampton, Bob Seger, Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Uncle Kracker and the list goes on and on. Playing on hundreds of gold and platinum albums and numerous movie soundtracks, Eddie has received the Academy of Country Music Drummer of the Year Award 14 times (11 times in a row). He was put into the Honor Roll for Modern Drummer Magazine for winning the readers poll 5 years consecutively. DRUM Magazine named Eddie one of the Top Ten Session Drummers Of All Time. Trained as a classical pianist, it was during his college years in California that his musical interests took a turn. Eddie began jamming with local musicians, including Jerry Garcia and Tom and John Fogerty (of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame) and through Tom he became involved with studio work. Soon, he began hearing go

Marlon Patton was born and raised in the Atlanta area, attended college down the road at The University of Georgia in Athens, then returned home to Atlanta where he has lived and worked ever since. He is a true genre-hopper, in terms of the many types of music he plays and the many types of work he does. Any given day could find him mixing a jazz record in his studio, tracking a rock record in someone else’s, playing a live show in one of Atlanta’s many venues, or out on the road as a hired gun. Over the years his huge skill set, fine-tuned musical sensibilities, and affable humor have made him indispensable to artists and bands all over the region as a drummer and engineer. In this podcast, Marlon talks about: The long, gradual process of acquiring the gear and skills needed to run his home studio Recording jazz vs. other genres Attending The University of Georgia in Athens (home of R.E.M., The B-52’s, and many others) and the wide variety of playing opportunities he found there, in and out of school How bre

Rick Malkin has made a career for himself by combining his passion for drumming and photography. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Rick learned photography at an early age from his father who was a full time photographer. At the age of 10, Rick discovered the drums and at the age of 14 he was already playing drums in musical theater. After meeting Eddie Bayers for a Modern Drummer cover shoot, Rick moved down to Nashville and worked as Eddie’s drum tech for 11 years. Along with his continuing work in photography, Rick was the house drummer for 13 years at the Boiler Room Theater in Nashville and continues to stay involved in the theater community. In this podcast, Rick talks about: Playing drums in musical theater and learning to read from the record Taking pictures of many famous drummers like Jeff Porcaro, Larry London, Steve Gadd and Alex Van Halen. And learning from the experience. Balancing work as a drummer and photographer Taking pictures of celebrities over the years including Buddy Rich and Prince

Josh Heffernan is the drummer for Dustbowl Revival, an eight-piece outfit based in LA. Their most recent album, With A Lampshade On is their biggest yet, and their touring schedule is keeping them busy all over North America and Europe, and most recently, China. Josh grew up in Seattle and got some of his first professional experience in an Army band before moving to LA. He attended the Los Angeles College of Music where he studied with Ralph Humphrey, and was a freelancer around LA until the Dustbowl drum chair became his full time job. Comprised of an acoustic rhythm section, two singers, trumpet, trombone, mandolin and fiddle, the band is a mashup of folk, rock, bluegrass, New Orleans swing, and whatever else they can come up with. No matter what musical or geographical territory they find themselves in, Josh is at the center of it finding ways to get people dancing. In this podcast, Josh talks about: Dustbowl Revival’s recent tour of China His post-high school musical education first in an Army band, then

Troy Luccketta entered his musical career at 17, and by the time he was 23 he was touring with The Eric Martin Band (lead singer for Mr. Big), and found himself on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand.” For more than 30 years, he has been the drummer for the multi-platinum rock band Tesla, with whom he still tours with to this day. Troy started working with Marc Bonilla in 1991, and after playing drums on Marc’s first two solo records, the two continued to collaborate. As a result, the two formed the band Saville Row, and released their first album in 2014. Their music has already been featured on television dramas like NBC’s “Las Vegas” and Lifetime’s “Monarch Cove.” Along with his wife, Troy has become passionately involved in the creation of a web-site and organization called “A Song For Wellness”. The goal is to simply provide all the information and resources you would need to live healthy and fight major diseases like cancer through the power of nutrition. Most recently, Troy was poised to tour with the gre

Using ever-changing combinations of drumset and hand percussion, Colin Agnew has developed an earthy, organic signature sound that has made him indispensable to artists and producers of many stripes. He is the rare musician who can come up with creative ideas but use them judiciously in support of the music. Colin grew up in Savannah, GA, where he began studying classical percussion, piano and drumset in middle school. In high school and college, he got involved in several types of Latin music, performing as either drummer or percussionist, eventually developing ways to combine to two worlds. After graduating from Georgia State University, Colin stayed in the Atlanta area and has amassed a huge list of live and studio performance credits. In this podcast, Colin talks about: His recent first experience at South By Southwest with Cicada Rhythm Using complex coordination and independence to combine drumset and percussion in musical ways Studying drums and percussion with Kinah Boto How Latin music and musicians

Ben Jackson is a Nashville based drummer/producer, primarily working in Nashville’s top studios, as well as touring with a wide variety of artists and songwriters in the country, pop and indie genres. A versatile musician, producer and engineer, Ben maintains a busy recording schedule, playing sessions in the studios of Music Row, as well as his own East End Studio. As a producer, Ben can be found working with singer/songwriters, indie artist, and up and coming country acts, as well as producing a wide variety of music for television/film sync placement. Ben has recorded/toured with many of Nashville’s top recording artists. Some of his past credits include: Sister Hazel, Joe Nichols, Frankie Ballard, Greg Bates, Aaron Tippon, Ty Herndon, Jana Kramer, Jimmy Wayne, Jon Pardi and Steve Azar In this podcast, Ben talks about: Knowing recording gear the way we know drum gear Taking the time to experiment with your recording gear Understanding touch and tone when recording drums Blogging, sharing information, build

Dan Schnelle was born and raised in New York and came to LA to attend college at USC. While in school, he studied with an impressive succession of teachers; Ndugu Chancler, Aaron Serfaty, Peter Erskine and Terri Lyne Carrington, each of whom presented him with a boot camp of different concepts. After graduating, Dan stayed in LA where he has been one of the busiest drummers in town for over a decade. He has played with a host of world-renowned jazz artists, including Josh Nelson, Ambrose Akinmusire, Daniel Rosenboom, and Sara Gazarek. In this podcast, Dan talks about: Growing up on Long Island and being into everything but jazz as a teenager What each of his legendary college mentors brought out in his playing Learning the language of jazz through transcribing the great drummers, but also through transcribing solos by the great horn players and pianists and playing them on the drums Absorbing the more improvisational styles of drummers like Tony and Elvin, and the more groove-oriented jazz drummers like Al Fo

John defines what it means to be a working drummer in Nashville Tennessee. Since his move to Nashville in 1993 from Connecticut, John has covered it all from international touring to studio work to maintaining a steady stream of work in Nashville’s lower broadway district. John’s early influences include Neil Smith, Nigel Ollsen, Jim Keltner, Hal Blaine, Billy Cobham, Bill Bruford and all the Motown drummers. Shortly after high school, John worked with a ten-piece band that played international dance music that covered every imaginable style and shared a bill with “Sun Ra and his Omniverse Arkestra”. Within the first week of moving to Nashville in 1993, John got the gig as the Grand Ole Gospel Time staff drummer, which continued for three years of weekly Friday night live radio gigs at the Grand Ole Opry House. In the proceeding years, John’s experienced a range of international touring with artists that include Becky Hobbs, The Forrester Sisters, Rhonda Vincent and Hank Williams III, Highway 101, and Tammy C

“My father’s side was musicians, my mother’s side was singers and preachers.” This sums up Charles LaMont Garner’s musical pedigree. The Charleston, SC native lives in Atlanta where he works as a drummer and producer when he’s not on tour with India Arie. Gospel music was his gateway to drums, and presented him with his first opportunity to play professionally at age 15. Since then, he has played with a wide swath of bands and artists, picking up life lessons from each colleague and experience along the way. In this podcast, Charles talks about: Growing up and playing in church in Charleston, SC His mentor, Quentin Baxter, and the many lessons Charles learned from him, musical and otherwise. A trip to Switzerland at age 16 which cemented his desire to be a pro musician How he learned different styles by playing each one exclusively, one at a time His mixed feelings about gospel chops His stint with a corporate band in Ethiopia (yes, Ethiopia). How good character creates good relationships, and good relationsh

Based in Columbus Ohio, drummer Reggie Jackson built a reputation from an early age as a powerful drummer who could cover many styles such as be-bop, latin, big band, fusion, pop and gospel. Over the last two decades Reggie expanded his reach beyond the Columbus scene through world wide tours with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Dr John as well as the Grammy Award winner Diane Schuur. Throughout these tours, Reggie has performed in many legendary jazz clubs such as The Blue Note and can be heard on Diane Schuur’s CD “Live in London” which was recorded at the famous Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. Reggie continues to stay busy in Columbus balancing work in music and family. In Columbus alone, Reggie can be found working with many great players like Bobby Floyd and Derek DeCenzo. His work covers a wide variety of situations such as educational workshops, church gigs and weekly jazz jam sessions. In this podcast, Reggie talks about: Drumming is like being a “relationship counselor” in the band Picking your bat

As a freshman in high school, Kassandra Kocoshis was studying classical percussion in a collegiate program, and went on to DePaul University in Chicago to study with members of the Chicago Lyric Opera and Chicago Symphony. But while there, she got turned on to Chicago’s Flamenco scene, and became obsessed with hand percussion and world music. She pursued them further in graduate school at The California Arts Institute, and made a quick and smooth transition into a busy schedule of live and studio work in and around Los Angeles. Her performance credits range from guitarist Vahagni, who fuses Flamenco music with Armenian folk music, to L.A.-based soul band Beat Mosaic, to pop acts like Young the Giant and Kanye West. In this podcast, Kassandra talks about: The universal musical concepts she learned as a high school student studying classical percussion How Flamenco was her gateway to other types of world music Studying percussion traditions from around the world at Cal Arts Her connection with hand percussion v