Working Drummer

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

Originally from Detroit, Jack White is best known for his work world wide with singer/songwriter Rick Springfield in 1976, 1980-84, and 1990-2002. In the 40 plus years that Jack has been playing drums, he has worked with many other artists including Mitch Ryder, Ike and Tina Turner, Sam The Sham, Rare Earth, Redbone, The Knack, Steppenwolf and Roger Miller just to name a few. At the age of sixteen, a few events would help Jack set a standard for how he would live his life and find success in music. These include cold calling Mitch Ryder and demanding to be his drummer as well as hitch hiking to L.A. in 1971. He is also known as an actor in several Disney movies and several tv shows including the last 2 episodes of the series “Sons of Anarchy” and the TV series “Nashville”. Jack is currently announcing for iheart radio. In this podcast, Jack talks about: Perseverance and determination Cold calling Bob Seger Mitch Ryder when he was 16 Never taking “no” for an answer Auditioning for Ike and Tina Turner Drumming

Willie McNeil came to LA barely out of high school in the early 1980s. He got busy quickly and hasn’t stopped since, playing with bands across the musical spectrum, sometimes as a sideman but more often as a leader. These days, he’s most widely known as the drummer and frontman for Big Willie’s Burlesque, a troupe of musicians and dancers that appears weekly at LA’s hottest clubs including No Vacancy and The Edison. In this podcast, Willie talks about: How working in a clothing store kickstarted his music career in LA His experience coming to LA in the 80s vs. a young drummer’s experience today His gig in the house band at The Forty Deuce, where the LA Burlesque scene was born Tricks of the Burlesque drumming trade, and incorporating different styles into the Burlesque genre Some common mistakes American musicians make when playing Afro-Cuban styles His “whatever works” approach to gear The advantages of smaller cities over LA and New York, particularly in terms of live music scenes This episode of Working Dr

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Marshall Richardson moved to Nashville in 2000 after graduating from the University of North Texas with a BA in Music. As a sideman, Marshall has worked with a diverse list of artists, ranging from country legends to roots rockers, including Jo Dee Messina, Lorrie Morgan, Webb Wilder, Bernie Leadon, Joe Nichols, and Johnny Reid. His career in Nashville is a balance of recording sessions and live local, national, and international touring performances. Marshall endorses Paiste cymbals, Vater percussion, Gretsch drums, and Gibraltar hardware. In this podcast, Marshall talks about: Delivering a great performance when recommended for gigs Being comfortable playing with or without a click Touring with a “Legacy Artist” Getting advice from engineers about home recording Explaining phase and polarity when recording Balancing your kit Considering note length when drumming

The Los Angeles jazz scene has been coming on strong in recent years and Tina Raymond is right in the middle of it. She performs regularly in the city’s top jazz clubs as well as internationally, with artists ranging from relative newcomers like Cathlene Pineda and Jon Armstrong to long-established greats like Bobby Bradford and Vinnie Golia. She is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, better known as Cal Arts, where she studied with legendary jazz drummer and master teacher Joe LaBarbara. She teaches at several high schools and colleges in the LA area and is also a certified yoga instructor. In this podcast, Tina talks about: Two very different college experiences at two very different schools How studying with Joe LaBarbara helped her use her intuition and develop her own voice Being a woman in the male-dominated worlds of drumming and jazz How yoga has affected her mentally and physically as a musician

Chad Cromwell is known as one of the most respected studio drummers in Nashville. Even before his move to Nashville, Chad had a strong history of live and recording experience with legends like Joe Walsh, Neil Young and Mark Knopfler. Chad Started recording and touring with Joe Walsh in 1986. In 1987 as well as collaborating with songwriter Neil Young that lead to several recordings and tours with Neil. Chad appears on Neil Young albums such as Freedom (1989), Prairie Wind (2005) Living with War (2006) and Chrome Dreams II (2007). He has also appeared in Heart of Gold, a documentary capturing the debut of Neil Young’s album, Prairie Wind.  Cromwell is also known for his contributions to Mark Knopfler’s solo albums Golden Heart (1996), Sailing to Philadelphia (2000), The Ragpicker’s Dream(2002) and Shangri-La (2004). He was also part of Knopfler’s band during the tours of his first solo albums. He has also worked with many other artists including Dave Stewart, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Lady Antebellum, Diana Kral

John Kizilarmut spent his formative years bouncing around the Midwest and Texas, eventually landed in Kansas City. He has become a first-call drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist and composer/arranger in KC’s vibrant music scene, playing with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Hermon Mehari, and many more of the area’s world-class talents. He has also maintained teaching duties as an adjunct faculty member at multiple colleges. In this interview, John talks about: How his first year of college shaped his work ethic His lesser-known but masterful and influential mentors including Al Sergel, Kevin Bobo and Doug Auwarter (read an article on Doug here). His heavy focus on marimba and orchestral percussion in college, and how the college environment can blind musicians to the wider world of musical possibilities/opportunities. The deep understanding of jazz and swing held by Kansas City musicians and audiences. How Kansas City’s fierce pride in its rich musical history is balanced with its openness to all kinds of mu

Paul Griffith is a freelance drummer and writer based in Nashville, TN. As a musician, his unique, left-of-center style (the result of a New Orleans upbringing) has made him a first call for artists looking to add a laid back groove to their records and live performances. Combining the visceral, dance-oriented feel of New Orleans legends like Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste and Earl Palmer with the meticulous experimentation of session great Jim Keltner, Paul has found a home among some of the world’s most creative singer-songwriters, including Sheryl Crow, k. d. Lang, John Prine, Todd Snider, Cerys Mathews (Catatonia), Greg Brown and Jack Ingram. He has been recognized as “Best Hired Hand” by Nashville Scene magazine and was nominated for a Nashville Music Award in the drummer/percussionist category. In this podcast Paul talks about: Being a “Stylist” Caring about the gig but not worrying about it Dealing with your insecurities Dealing with peeks and valleys in the music business Managing expectations and diversi