The Trap Set with Joe Wong

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064: Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Beirut, etc.) Apr 06, 2016

Show notes

Jeremy Barnes tells Joe about growing up in a military family, dropping out of school, playing in the highly influential band Neutral Milk Hotel, falling in love with Eastern European music, and evolving as a multi-instrumental artist.

063: Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello & The Attractions, Suzanne Vega, Jackshit, etc.) Mar 30, 2016

Show notes

Pete Thomas began his career in the UK Pub Rock scene, but he is best known for his 40-year association with Elvis Costello. He tells Joe about stalking Mitch Mitchell as a teenager, his working relationship with The Attractions, drinking for maximum enjoyment, getting arrested, and the existential dread that plagues us all. This episode is co-presented by our good friends at thedrummersjournal.com

062: Live from Los Angeles (Stella Mozgawa, Fred Armisen, Clem Burke) Mar 23, 2016

Show notes

Joe welcomes back three of your favorite guests for a live panel discussion about life, fandom and existential crises. All three guests were fans of each other and were excited to interview each other, as well as take questions from Joe and the audience. Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa interviews Portlandia’s Fred Armisen—who began his career as a drummer. Fred interviews his favorite drummer of all time—Blondie’s Clem Burke. This episode was recorded live at The Steve Allen Theater in Los Angeles.

061: Barbara Gruska (The Belle Brigade) Mar 16, 2016

Show notes

Barbara Gruska tells Joe about growing up in a musical family, forming the excellent band The Belle Brigade with her brother, and developing meditative practices to keep existential worries at bay.

060: Dennis Chambers PT. 2 (Parliament/Funkadelic, Niacin, John Scofield) Mar 09, 2016

Show notes

During Part 2 of Joe's conversation with legendary drummer Dennis Chambers, Dennis talks about his recent brush with death and his subsequent recovery. He also assesses the legacy of his influential body of work.

BNS: Steve Gadd on Stuff Mar 09, 2016

Show notes

Steve Gadd discusses Stuff, an incredible band he co-led with other NY studio luminaries in the 70s and early 80s.

059: Dennis Chambers Pt. 1 (Parliament/Funkadelic, Mike Stern, Santana) Mar 02, 2016

Show notes

After a recent, life-threatening health scare, drum legend Dennis Chambers met with Joe for a revealing, comprehensive conversation. Dennis opens up about his mischievous childhood in Baltimore, how he fell in love with music, his time with Parliament/Funkadelic, his obsessive drive for greatness, the legacy of his groundbreaking instructional videos and, of course, his near-death experience. Part one of two.

058: LIVE in Portland with Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi), Tim "Spit Stix" Leitch (Fear, Nasalrod), John Moen (The Decemberists), and John Sherman (Red Fang) Feb 24, 2016

Show notes

Joe traveled to Portland, OR, to record the very first live episode of The Trap Set at the world-famous Revival Drum Shop. Four of Portland's finest drummers--Janet Weiss, Spit Stix, John Moen, and John Sherman--shared their remarkable life stories. This is the first time all four drummers had been in the same place at the same time, and they bonded over the common challenges they face throughout the course of their artistic lives.

057: John "Jabo" Starks (James Brown, BB King, Bobby Blue Bland) Feb 17, 2016

Show notes

Jabo Starks is a stylistic chameleon who can jump from hard-driving blues shuffles; to latin-infused backbeats; to sophisticated, syncopated funk jams. His addition to James Brown's band in 1965 was crucial to the leader's evolution from traditional song forms to his own, wholly unique style. Though he is most closely associated with James Brown, Jabo has also worked blues legends such as Bobby Blue Bland and B.B. King. He tells Joe about how he fell in love with music, his journey with giants of music, and his advice for maintaining a strong family life as an artist.

056: Clyde Stubblefield (James Brown, Whad'ya Know) Feb 10, 2016

Show notes

As a member of James Brown’s band, Clyde Stubblefield created ingenious drum patterns that came to define the funk genre. Years later, Clyde became the most sampled drummer in history, powering hits by everyone from N.W.A. to Kenny G. Yet, despite his monumental contributions to music, Clyde’s name doesn’t even appear on the majority of the records on which he appears. He tells Joe about his time with James Brown, how he ended up as the house drummer on an NPR show, and why he hates the song “Funky Drummer”.

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