Drumeo Gab Podcast

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Tony Royster Jr. (Katy Perry, Jay-Z) - Born To Drum Oct 11, 2020

Show notes

"I was meant to do it."

Tony Royster Jr. is a household name in the industry and has been famously recognized by drummers all over the world since his drum solo that he performed at the age of twelve during the Modern Drummer Festival. He has since been mostly a touring musician with some of the biggest musical entertainers in the world, including Jay-Z and Katy Perry.

Times are changing though and with musicians essentially being pulled from touring, Tony has begun pivoting in his career. Private lessons, YouTube, and so on have been on his mind as things continue to change.

You Will Hear About….

Tony's decisions lately regarding his career.
Whether he believes in natural talent and his experiences in the early years of his life with music.
What it is like for him teaching when considering his innate abilities.
Tony's thoughts on the generation he was born into.
Bowling.
What that Modern Drummer Festival solo meant to him.
A nerve-racking experience on Dave Letterman.
How social media affects our ability to socialize.

Why Should You Listen?

To hear Tony's perspective on the questions raised in this interview is really interesting to hear. This situation has forced him to look at different ways of maintaining a career. For a drummer who has been blowing minds with his abilities all of these years, it is kind of unreal to hear him speak on how to keep it going.

Tony's Socials

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VIP - 10/07/20 - Just Play Oct 07, 2020

Show notes

VIP is made in part by YOU, the audience. Submit your media to Seamus@drumeo.com

Today's episode deals with the importance of experiencing joy playing the drums, why I love drumming, and to encourage you to just play.

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Jeremy Taggart (Taggart & Torrens, Our Lady Peace) - Hey BAHD! Oct 04, 2020

Show notes

"One of my youngest memories at four years old was him quitting drums in 1979, literally destroying his drum set."

Jeremy Taggart is a household name in Canadian music due to his twenty-one-year career with the iconic rock band Our Lady Peace. Taggart began playing with OLP at the age of seventeen and from there on out he experienced life on the road playing packed venues and making records. In 2014 it all came to an end for him with OLP and he decided to reinvent himself. Enter Taggart & Torrens podcast.

Their podcast has been downloaded (at the time of writing this) over four million times! They have toured their musical/comedy act, wrote a best-selling book titled "Canadianity: Tales From The True North Strong And Freezing" and they even released an album this year titled "Bahds". They have managed to create a buzz with their show by infusing strong Canadian flare that we Canucks can strongly relate to and a serious dose of comedy.

On a more personal note, to record this episode was an absolute honour. Given the fact that I am Canadian and grew up during the era in which OLP was in the Canadian music spotlight, Taggart was definitely a major influence to me growing up with drums. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.

You Will Hear About….

Touring in Canada.
Mushroom Fish n'Chips and cowboy boots.
How the podcast started with Jonathan Torrens and everything they have worked on together.
The early days of Jeremy's drumming and starting with OLP.

Why Should You Listen?

First and foremost, this is just a fun and hilarious hang. Taggart & Torrens is a very casual and comical podcast, which I strongly recommend! I did want to capture the spirit of their program on this episode. A dash of interview amongst random conversation. There is by no means anything essential in this episode except for some good laughs.

Check out TnT's new record Bahds

Canadianity: Tales From The True North Strong And Freezing

Taggart & Torrens Podcast

Photo Credit: Aaron McKenzie Fraser

Jeremy's Socials

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VIP - 09/30/20 - My Favorite Modern Drummers (6-10) Sep 30, 2020

Show notes

VIP is made in part by YOU, the audience. Submit your media to Seamus@drumeo.com

Today's episode is the second half of me covering my favorite modern drummers over the last fifteen years.

Dan Weiss Bandcamp

Clips used:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP4fwwHpYZM

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-e4YJ-3Cb0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViHmnR4OXUc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqH_jK48slE

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcr2f1l7aDE&t=190s

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYooD58N0Lg&t=231s

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6muS5lg-9B8

Aric Improta (Night Verses, Fever 333) - Quarantine Dream Sep 27, 2020

Show notes

"I'm curious how many people are good at saying, "I like this. I don't like this", no matter what someone else says."

It is always a good time chatting with Aric Improta. He's the extremely energetic drummer for Night Verses and Fever 333 that you may have seen hanging off of speaker cabinets, rafters all while performing backflips and pulling 360's off his drum throne. Aric is an absolute beast of a showman. Of course, many drummers have watched his Guitar Centre Drum-Off video which was riddled with tricks and stunts.

Beyond the tricks, Aric also has a way of paving his own lane. He has a preference for remaining focused on his own creativity and not taking in very much outside influence. Aric is the kind of drummer who incorporates technology, ingenuitive techniques, radical showmanship, athletics, and then all of the other "normal" stuff we drummers usually do. No one is like Aric. A dedicated craftsman who is among my favorite drummers of his generation.

You Will Hear About….

The quarantine, habits, and masks.
Attachment and creating art in isolation.
Authenticity and the importance of choice.
Past references and making a statement.
How art lubricates society so that ideas and thoughts can be expressed more freely.
Our thoughts on getting attention online.
A bit about a new project with Munky from Korn.

Why Should You Listen?

Aric and I tackle a lot of stuff that touches on the quarantine and creativity. The whole situation of the lockdown and how that affects creative output is a big topic and it is interesting to think about and have discussion. How does social media change our perspectives on what we create? This is the kind of territory we explore.

Aric and I have talked before more than once and I wanted to create something very unplanned and spontaneous with him here. I know that Aric appreciates that and he would carry the conversation well. So, really this episode is just two dudes having some fun gabbing about some deep stuff.

Song featured is "Copper Wasp" performed by Night Verses - watch the whole thing here

Aric's Socials

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VIP - 09/23/20 - My Favorite Modern Drummers (1-5) Sep 23, 2020

Show notes

VIP is made in part by YOU, the audience. Submit your media to Seamus@drumeo.com

Today's episode is covering my favorite modern drummers over the last fifteen years. This is the first five.

Clips used:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhtcG79kPNw

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlxe3EpJDLk

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oUSvp6qg2A&t=122s

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZKpAPpHm2Q

5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJDARjzHhZE

Chris Paprota (Gnarbot) - Step By Step Sep 20, 2020

Show notes

"A lot of drumming fans are just that."

Chris Paprota is a multi-instrumentalist who experiments with making his own recordings, such as his latest project "Riff Tapes" which is due for release on October 1st of this year. He is also the drummer for the Philly based prog-fusion band "Gnarbot". Click this link to a sample of their work from a performance at Meinl which was released as a four-song EP titled "Meinl Sessions, Vol 1" which is also available as a vinyl release.

Chris was scheduled to perform this year at the Meinl Festival in Germany but due to Covid it has been canceled for this year. Chris is hopeful that due to the fact that he was invited this year that he will be performing next year assuming that it is in fact happening next year. Chris is a drummer who I feel falls far below people's radar and I have been asking myself why that is and what makes a drummer rise to fame or social media fame?

It is interesting to hear how he aligns with his own creativity and how people assume the worth of somebody based on their associations and achievements. This is just one aspect of this conversation.

You Will Hear About….

Improvisation and risk taking.
Why we think some drummers are underrated.
Social media and whether it hurts an artist.
The difficulty in converting your drumming audience into a fan of your music.
Obsession.
Meinl festival cancellation and how that affected Chris.
Chris's time studying with Dom Famularo.
Riding the ebbs and flow of motivation.
A conversation about the spark within us.
A listener question.

Why Should You Listen?

This is really relatable to anyone who is working hard and their craft and has experienced a slow burn, maybe not being noticed or feeling like you have had some missed opportunities. These events and experiences can be a hard thing to deal with but Chris's point of view with this is hopeful. It is encouraging to hear such a great musician have a tone of voice that indicates that he believes in himself and that by working hard at his drumming and making moves in the world will bring what he is looking for.

The song in the intro of today's podcast is a sample of Chris Paprota's "Megazord" from his Riff Tapes record.

Chris's Socials

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VIP - 09/16/20 - Acquiescence Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

VIP is made in part by YOU, the audience. Submit your media to Seamus@drumeo.com.

Opening music by @ianhitsdrums and @elotium

Taggart and Torrens Podcast

Maison Guidry (Jonathan Scales Fourchestra) - The Real You Sep 13, 2020

Show notes

"Creativity stems from the mind. Feeling stems from the heart. When you combine the two together you get character."

Maison Guidry is a multi-instrumentalist who may not be known to many people. He is an extremely advanced drummer who pushes the boundaries of what is possible. He commits himself to thirteen hours of practice per day, however, due to a recent injury to his shoulder he has had to take some time off.

To find a conversation in a podcast with Maison is rare and therefore it is a great honour to feature him here because he has some incredibly compelling thoughts regarding how people may want to pursue their life in order to gain a fuller experience day to day. He is uncompromising with his art. I hope that in the future his name becomes more widely recognized because there is no one else like him.

You Will Hear About….

Progress report on Maison's injury.
The uncertainty of life.
Why we should embrace ourselves.
Standing by your vision.
Where creativity comes from in Maison's words.
How sometimes people devalue themselves.
Listener questions.

Why Should You Listen?

I get a lot of emails and messages from listeners who are a bit uncertain about what they want. Sometimes they realize that they love drumming but they aren't sure it is meant for them as a professional career. What are the influences that bring people to this state of mind? This is one of the biggest takeaways from this episode. It allows you, the listener, to reflect on your own choices and thoughts about what your life could become. This is a common dilemma with some of the drummers I have spoken with who listen to this podcast.

Besides that, this is just an incredibly interesting conversation about life and choices in life. There is also some Star Wars stuff in here too because Maison loves Star Wars.

Jonathan Scales Fourchestra - Pillar (album)

Maison's Socials

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VIP - 09/09/20 - The Music Episode (Now VS Then) Sep 09, 2020

Show notes

VIP is made in part by YOU, the audience. Submit your media to Seamus@drumeo.com

Follow Tim Baltes and check out his Vol.6 Drumless track packs.

Today we are talking a bit about music and whether it was better in the good ol' days. These are just ideas and conversation. Don't take this as gospel.

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