Drummer's Weekly Groovecast

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Episode 116 - Interview - Jeff Sipe, Apt. Q - 258 Dec 17, 2018

Show notes

In the snowy mountains of rural, western North Carolina Jeff Sipe (Apt. Q-258) resides. You may know him from his tenure with acts such as, John McLaughlin, Jimmy Herring, Leftover Salmon, Col. Bruce Hampton, Jazz Is Dead, and Shawn Lane/Jonas Hellborg. However most know him from the group that gained him his initial popularity, Aquarium Rescue Unit. To finish out our second season Jeff agreed to talk to us about all of the above including his current gigs and the publishing of his new method book, “Rhythm Patterns for Drum Set”. Stories. Everyone likes to hear them and many musicians have colorful tales about being on the gig. If you look at Sipe’s past credentials you’ll quickly recognize that he’ll have plenty to offer in that category. We start with how he received the moniker, ‘Apt. Q-258’. We also spend a good bit of time discussing his upbringing abroad and how it fostered his love for music. Jeff also tells great stories about his time in Boston and attending the Berklee College of Music. One of the stories revolves around his friendship with guitarist, Steve Vai, and being present during Steve’s ‘transcription phase’ prior to his tenure with Frank Zappa. Jeff then talks about his departure from Boston and subsequent arrival in Atlanta. From there he tells of how a chance meeting with Bruce Hampton ultimately led to a long relationship with the legendary performance artist. From there we go through the lexicon of his gigs including the formation of the Aquarium Rescue Unit and the bands that followed. We finish up talking about his current teaching studio including a description of his new method book. As always, we end the show by putting Jeff through the obstacle course that is the DWG Rorschach Test. Jeff wants you to stay abreast of his upcoming gigs. Please go by his web site at: www.jeffsipemusic.com There you can find out where he’s performing and check out his new method book, “Rhythm Patterns for Drum Set”. Thank you very much for your support during season two of the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast. Please stay subscribed during our short hiatus and let us know what you’d like to hear in the next season. You can email us via our web site at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com There you can also listen to all of our episodes, watch our videos, and manage your social media accounts. Lastly, please take a moment to share our podcast with your friends. If you are an Apple user and access the show through Itunes we’d greatly appreciate a review the next time you’re at our homepage inside of Itunes. Finally, if you do not use Itunes you can find us at Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Soundcloud, and everywhere you listen to your favorite music and podcasts.

Episode 115 - Interview - John Ramsay, Berklee College Of Music Dec 10, 2018

Show notes

The Berklee College of Music is ubiquitous with musicians worldwide. When we think of the great institutions of education along with the world’s greatest musicians Berklee is routinely mentioned in both instances. However, with any topic of conversation that conjures legendary tales there are as many negative connotations as positive. In this episode we cover everything you’d want to know about the school from a gentleman who has been a part of the faculty for 36 years, John Ramsay. Ramsay, a Massachusetts native, was a self-taught drummer who soon realized that if he was going to make a living as a musician he’d have to seriously learn his craft. Through meeting Max Roach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst he was ultimately steered toward private lessons with master drummer/instructor, Alan Dawson. With Dawson he learned the legendary methods associated with Ted Reed’s ‘Syncopation’, soloing with Stone’s ‘Stick Control’, and Alan’s creation of the ‘Rudimental Ritual’. After several years Ramsay became the second drummer and tour manager in Art Blakey’s big band. Between this experience along with side-man duties with many other legendary jazz artists Ramsay bolstered his resume leading to his hiring at the Berklee College of Music in 1982. John’s list of Berklee credentials includes copious classroom and applied teaching along with an administrative stint as chair of the percussion department. In our chat he describes exactly what the aspiring student should prepare themselves with including knowing the 26 American rudiments, chart reading, styles, and more. He then details what the audition process is like. We also spend a good amount of time discussing the acceptance process and the different types of scholarships and financial aid that is available. We then talk about the many different degree paths that are available including the new graduate programs. Applied lessons, the celebrity teachers, and how students can request them are then covered. John then talks about the required classes, labs, etc. Then we finish with a discussion about the state-of-the-art facilities (recording studios, practice rooms, performance venues, media center, and more). After the Berklee talk has concluded we conclude the show by running John through the maze that is the DWG Rorschach Test. As mentioned during the show you can keep up with John and Henrique de Almeida are doing by visiting the web site: www.thedrumsetcoach.com You can buy John’s books by visiting Amazon: Art Blakey’s Jazz Messages: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Blakeys-Jazz-Messages-Publications/dp/0760400091/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543503787&sr=8-1&keywords=john+ramsay The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as taught by Alan Dawson: https://www.amazon.com/Drummers-Complete-Vocabulary-Taught-Dawson/dp/0769265243/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1543503787&sr=8-2&keywords=john+ramsay If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from access to all of our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. We try to personally answer all emails and questions. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 114 - Season Two DWG Advisory Board Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

We are back again with our illustrious panelists from the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast Advisory Board. With the success from the last episode featuring the advisory board we knew it was a must for the second season. For this show’s topic we have employed a few past board members and welcome a few new faces to the panel. Please welcome Rod Morgenstein, Chris Fryar, Tom Brechtlein, Joel Rosenblatt, and Ted Mackenzie to this session’s advisory board. This time around we pose the question, “What important aspect do you believe is missing or should be done better in music education?” Each guest gives their answer and we discuss our own thoughts on what might be beneficial to modern students in today’s current and future music business. We analyze different topics such as: curriculum, application, concepts, student accountability, methods, technology, and much more. If you haven’t heard the previous episodes featuring interviews with our panel members you listen to them by following the links below: Rod Morgenstein: https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-100-interview-rod-morgenstein You can also visit Rod’s web site at: www.rodmorgenstein.com Tom Brechtlein: https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-65-interview-tom-brechtlein You can also visit Tom’s web site at: www.tombrechtlien.com Chris Fryar: https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-90-interview-chris-fryar-of-the-zac-brown-band You can visit Chris’ web site at: www.chrisfryar.com Joel Rosenblatt: https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-29-interview-joel-rosenblatt You can visit Joel’s web site at: http://joelrosenblatt.com/ Ted Mackenzie: https://soundcloud.com/phil-smith-592966725/episode-103-the-adler-technique-with-ted-mackenzie You can also visit Ted’s web site at: www.tedmackenize.com If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from access to all of our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. We try to personally answer all emails and questions. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 113 - Interview - Jason Bittner Nov 26, 2018

Show notes

Jason Bittner is one of the premiere heavy metal drummers. His resume includes the bands, Shadows Fall, Flotsam and Jetsam, Burning Human, Stigmata, Anthrax, and currently he is a member of the legendary east coast band, Overkill. Not a bad way to welcome our first, straight-up, metal drummer to the Groovecast. He sat down with us from his home in upstate New York. I was introduced to Jason through our mutual friend, and previous show guest, Ted Mackenzie. A few days before Thanksgiving we found a time to chat. Aside from being a tremendous player Jason is a fantastic storyteller. He starts the interview with details about a clinic he recently conducted near his hometown. That story leads to other accounts from past tours including an unforgettable night in the UK where his clinic was held in a pub. We spend a good amount of time discussing his education (early teachers and methods) and how it led to him reading Modern Drummer, noticing ads, and ultimately attending the Berklee College of Music. He talks about his time in Boston and his teachers, Ed Uribe, Arvin Scott and Skip Hadden. We then discuss the early metal bands he was in and the perseverance it took until the formation and success of Shadows Fall. We then talk about his current gig with the band, Overkill. Jason takes us through a typical day of being on the road including his pre-show routines. We finish up talking about his daily practice schedule before he runs through the gauntlet that is the DWG Rorschach test. If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 112 - Season Two Q & A Nov 19, 2018

Show notes

Here at the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast Thanksgiving is one of our favorite times of the year. It gives us the perfect opportunity to give thanks to our art form and for us, Phil and Jon, to give thanks for our listeners. In this episode we dedicate the entire time to answering listener questions. We begin the show with a short segment of listener comments directed at the last two shows, JM Van Eaton and Roger Hawkins. We often say it but never say it enough. Thank you very much for your loyal support of the show! Your comments and reviews mean the world to us! We then get to the main part of the show which is a full session of Q & A. Over the last several months we’ve received quite a few emails. We always respond personally but most of the time we don’t discuss them on the show. We decided this time around to publicly answer our most frequently asked questions. Topics we cover include: practice, injury, gear repair, recording tips and technology, music theory, ear training, and more. We finish the show with a segment on underrated drummers. Phil and Jon each share their picks along with representative tracks and videos. If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 111 - Artist Feature - Roger Hawkins Nov 12, 2018

Show notes

“Now, Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers. And they’ve been known to pick a song or two.” Literally millions of people have heard this famous line from Lynyrd Skynyrd but how many actually know what it means? The Swampers were the famous rhythm section from Muscle Shoals’ FAME recording studio and they are responsible for hundreds of popular hits and thousands of great feeling tracks. This week we’ll christen the midway point of the second season and listen to the Swampers’ incredible drummer, Roger Hawkins, for our artist feature. Knowing that this topic would be dead center of Jon’s strike zone he details a short biography of Hawkins and discusses the many influences, sometimes unknowingly, on the drumming populace. Hawkins is sometimes mistaken for RnB studio greats, typically Al Jackson or Bernard Purdie, so we take time to explain the reasons for that. We then listen to several tracks featuring Roger and analyze what’s happening in each track. Below are the song choices from each host. Phil’s tracks: 1) Land of a 1000 Dances – Wilson Pickett 2) Get Ready – King Curtis version 3) Respect Yourself – Staples Singers 4) Katmandu – Bob Seger Jon’s tracks: 1) Never Loved a Man – Aretha Franklin 2) I’ll Take You There – Staples Singers 3) I’d Rather Go Blind – Etta James 4) Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett Join us every Monday for brand new episodes. We can be found on Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are a subscriber on any Apple platform please go by our page in Itunes and leave us a short review. Not only does it help the show rank higher it also allows new listeners to find us more easily when their looking for shows with our content. Lastly, please take a moment at visit our website at: www.drummersweeklygroovecast There you can listen to the show, watch our videos, manage your social media accounts, and interact with the show through our email form.

Episode 110 - Interview - J.M. Van Eaton Nov 05, 2018

Show notes

It’s not an exaggeration to say that JM (Jimmy) Van Eaton was at rock and roll ground zero. It certainly didn’t hurt that he was unknowingly living in one of the great hot beds for American music, 1950s Memphis, TN. Although it’s no longer in the top echelon of music cities, being significantly overshadowed by its eastern neighbor a mere 200 miles away, Memphis paved the way for future generations of rock, RnB, country, and jazz musicians. After a long stretch of living in rural West Tennessee JM recently retired from his long-time occupation in financial services. I caught up with JM at his new residence is Memphis. From there we discussed his upbringing and how it led to his initial musical training on trumpet. He soon moved to percussion in his school’s concert band and subsequently cobbled together a complete drum set using different pieces from their percussion cabinet. Van Eaton transitioned to professional gigs ultimately landing him at the world-famous Sun Recording Studios. JM quickly moved from demo sessions to master tracks. The rhythm section on one of the sessions included a young, hungry up and coming pianist named, Jerry Lee Lewis. JM continued playing sessions and live gigs with Jerry Lee and ended up on several of Lewis’ iconic hits including, “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On”. Aside from his long-standing relationship with Lewis, JM played on over 200 records and has worked with legendary musicians, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins to name but a few. We finish up hearing about his recent playing endeavors and then we run him through the gauntlet that is the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast, Rorschach Test. Join us every Monday for brand new episodes. We can be found on Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, Podbean, Soundcloud and everywhere you listen to your favorite show. Also, please visit our web site at www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com. Aside from accessing all our shows you can also view our videos, manage your subscription, access our social media, and email us using our contact form. Please share our podcast with your friends and leave us a review if you subscribe using Itunes.

Episode 109 - Jazz Vs Rock Mindset featuring Marlon Patton Oct 29, 2018

Show notes

“Yeah he’s a great drummer, but he’s a jazz player.” I’d be willing to bet that sometime during a conversation you’ve heard a similar comment. What does that even mean? And more importantly what’s the rationale for saying that? It’s obviously a reference to the musical approach of the jazz player and how he’d be inappropriate for a particular job. It’s certainly no secret that many musicians devote the majority of their time to one particular musical style. That devotion however can lead to neglect and the superimposition of the preferred style while playing another genre. That’s not good. However, instead of a sweeping generalization what particular aspects of his approach make him suitable for jazz but not for rock? In this episode we welcome Marlon Patton to the show as we dissect and examine the differences between the jazz and rock mindset. What makes up the mentality of a great jazz or rock musician? We take the topics of touch, gear, independence, feel, groove construction, song structure, and gig preparation to dig deep into what makes the approach different between the two styles. We also spend a few minutes talking about the start of the new season while reviewing a few listener emails. If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 108 - Interview - Daniel de los Reyes Oct 22, 2018

Show notes

Daniel de los Reyes is one of the premiere percussionists in the world. Even if he wasn’t a member of one of today’s most popular bands, the Zac Brown Band, his resume is as impressive as anyone’s in the music business. He’s recorded or toured with: Earth, Wind, and Fire, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Sting, Chicago, Ben Vereen, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, Steve Winwood, Sheryl Crow, and Peter Frampton to name a few. All that being said he’s an even better human being. In our time together, we certainly talked drumming and music. However, we spent significantly more time discussing life, family, priorities, mistakes, ambitions, and giving back. Daniel has seen it all and has walls full of awards to prove it. Right now, one of his priorities is furthering his philanthropic endeavor, Day Glow Music. Danny blends culture, art, and music together to educate and enlighten kids with the hopes that they can share their passion with others. He’s also working to bring relief to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico. We also speak in detail about his current gig, percussionist with the Zac Brown Band. He tells how his relationship with the band started, including his first gig with them at Red Rocks, becoming a member and how each person in ZBB builds a group concept that is integral to the success of the band. We finish off with a sprint through the obstacle course that is the DWG Rorschach test! If you’d like to donate or read more about Day Glow Music please visit Daniel at: www.dayglowmusic.org If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

Episode 107 - Season Two Premiere - Performance Panic Oct 15, 2018

Show notes

Welcome back to the start of a new season of the Drummer’s Weekly Groovecast. We greatly appreciate your patience and support during our hiatus. We look forward to bringing you the best in topical conversation, interviews, and recommendation segments. After our cold open we debut our new show theme and discuss what we’ve been doing during our break. Our topic for the week is “Performance Panic/Neurosis”. In past episodes we’ve covered several subjects that deal with problems arising from outside sources: stage bullies, outdoor events, unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances, etc. Today we discuss how to manage problems that are self-manifested. We often sabotage ourselves when we get the chance to perform with or for a great musician or personal hero. We get inside our heads and let the voice of negativity and doubt ruin our experience. We discuss our personal understanding and the different ways it has affected us during gigs and sessions. Sometimes we respond by over playing. Sometimes we play it too safe. Then are times we completely panic and send ourselves off the rails. After addressing each scenario, we talk about proven ways to rationalize and overcome these stressful situations. We then finish up the show with must-have gear recommendations. If you haven’t been to our website recently please go to www.drummersweeklygroovecast.com and see what new content we have to offer. Aside from our episodes we’ve posted ‘Host Spotlight 3” on our video page. Feel free to send us a message through our email form or manage your social media accounts from our site. New shows are available every Monday. You can subscribe through Itunes, Google Play Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts. If you are an Apple Itunes user please click 5 stars and leave us a short review. We greatly appreciate your support!

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