Working Drummer

Latest Episodes:

476 - MUSIC CITY DRUM SHOW CLINICIANS: Dre Energy, Greg Hersey, Hayley Cramer, Dante "Taz" Roberson, Jaheim Lee Jul 04, 2024

Show notes

In this episode we provide a preview of five of the six clinicians that will be performing for the 2024 Music City Drum Show in Nashville TN. The clinicians are Dre Energy, Greg Hersey, Dante "Taz" Roberson, Jaheim Lee, Hayley Cramer.

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475 - Josh Bailey: His New Touring Gig with Ben Platt, Running Tracks and Ears from the Drum Chair, Studying with Dafnis Prieto Jun 27, 2024

Show notes

Josh Bailey has been in New York for ten years, with a wide variety of live and session work to his credit. He is on staff at Studio G (Brooklyn based recording studio), recording drums and percussion for industry and independent artists & producers, and is currently subbing on Broadway's & Juliet and The Outsiders. He has acted as music director and drummer for artists building, arranging & operating live backing tracks, running IEM mixes and contracting musicians. Josh was seen drumming on Saturday Night Live in a digital short with Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennet (2019). As music director and drummer for pop singers Erin Bowman, Josh performed on Good Morning America, and Live! With Kelly and Ryan (2017).

In this episode, Josh talks about

The healthy vibe on the tour that comes from the top down
Posting only what you feel good about on social media, "posting with purpose"
MD'ing from the drum chair
Learning how to streamline track rigs and ears rigs for "skeleton crew" opening acts
His work at Studio G in Brooklyn
The idea of a "drum statement" and how it can flavor the song, show, and band
Studying with Dafnis Prieto and serving as final editor for his book "A World of Rhythmic Possibilities"

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474 - Dre Energy: The Different Scenes in Las Vegas, Playing the Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam show, The Power of Relationships Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

Dre Energy is a native of St. Louis MO, and was inspired a very early age by friends and family at his church to play drums. When the opportunity struck, he found his way to Las Vegas and began performing with Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam show where he held the drum chair from 2010 to 2016. During that time he learned so much about the industry and toured the world. Dre discovered an affinity for performing as a clinician which took them to many places around the world, including China, South Korea, England, and many other places

Dre is also known as an entrepreneur with his own line of snare drums, practice pads and even drums shoes. He works closely with Samsun cymbals and he has his own signature line called Dre Energy signature remix line.

In this episode, Dre talks about:

Finding your people
The power of relationships
The variety of scenes in Las Vegas
Playing the Cirque du Soleil’s Quidam show
Touring China and other other unique locations
Developing his own signature line of snares, shoes, cymbals

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473 - Larry Aberman: Making a Late Move to Nashville, Ways to Stay Present, Getting Feel Right at the Source Jun 13, 2024

Show notes

Larry Aberman has achieved in-demand status in New York, LA, Las Vegas, and Nashville recently moved to Nashville after a 12 year stint on the Cirque du Soleil show Zoomanity. Since moving, he has gotten busy playing with jazz, country, and everything in between, with Mandy Barnett, Pat Coil and others.

In this episode, Larry talks about:

How the time to leave his Zoomanity gig after 12 years became clear quickly
What social context means in music
Tools to make yourself present
How Southern musicians and scenes are more groove and blues based
Being conscious to not bring negative energy into a musical situation
Adjusting to Nashville's needs in terms of tuning and groove
Getting it right at the source with tone AND feel, so that grid correction is less necessary and less noticeable

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472 - Bart van der Zee: Host of the Drum History Podcast, Connecting with the Drumming Community, Meeting Charlie Watts Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Drum History Podcast was created in October of 2018 and has been on a journey to document the history of the drums ever since. Topics range from the very early beginnings of man’s involvement with percussion up to modern day innovations that are changing the drum industry. The show has seen major growth since its launch and has become a resource for many drum historians and enthusiasts around the world.

Bart van der Zee is a lifelong drummer with a deep passion for learning the full history of the drums. He has been a working musician for many years performing live and as a session drummer. Bart has worked as an audio engineer and has worked on a wide variety of projects including albums, commercials, TV and Film, and a number of podcasts.

In this episode, Bart talks about:

Work / family balance
Drum History Podcast
Inspiring the next generation
The popularity of the “gear episodes”
WW2 era drum manufacturing
Meeting Charlie Watts
Creative ways to stay connected to the drumming community

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471 - Adam Marcello: The MD Role, His LA/Katy Perry Chapter, Splitting time between the US and Ireland, His New Teaching Role at Berklee May 30, 2024

Show notes

Rhode Island native Adam Marcello is a professional drummer, music director, educator, clinician, and programmer most notably recognized for his work with singer Katy Perry. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, his performances range from multiple world tours, the Super Bowl XLIX Halftime Show, Saturday Night Live, and American Idol to recordings for numerous movies and TV shows including theme songs for Modern Family, Arrested Development, and Deadwood. As a clinician and artist for Roland Drums, he has helped to develop techniques and instruments for hybrid electronic/acoustic drumming as well as programming for drummers and percussionists. These versatile techniques can be applied to live performance and studio recording to help maintain musicality and creativity on the drums.

In this episode, Adam talks about:

Treating the different aspects of your playing like actors treat different characters
Becoming Katy Perry's MD in the early stages of her career "out of necessity"
Owning being a control freak and also sharing responsibility and trusting collaborators
How to be manageable and coachable from the MD's perspective,
How to have greater awareness of the song and the show as a whole
His experience of living in Dublin, and living back in his hometown outside Providence

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470 - Piero Perelli: Touring with The Swell Season and Glen Hansard, Growing up in a Small Town in Italy, Solo Record “Notte” May 22, 2024

Show notes

Italian Drummer, Sound Explorer, music maker Piero Perelli is a musical maverick whose skills stretch from free improvisation to film scores, to performances with international artists and musicians, both live and in the studio. His original style is grounded in his journey as a musical explorer, touring around places like the United States, Europe, Africa and India.

Engaged both in the service of songs and in experimentation, Perelli maintains the creative center of his activity in the Tuscan countryside, where he has also created his own personal laboratory-studio, the SoundSet Studio.

As a drummer and percussionist, Piero has recorded with artists like Eddie Vedder, Glen Hansard, Cat Power as well as producers like Robin Hannibal (Kendrick Lamar, Little Dragon), Vinicio Capossela, Paul Savoy (A-Ha) Simone Giuliani (Andrea Bocelli, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Rodrigo DʼErasmo, Edoardo Bennato, Roberto Dell’Era, Niki La Rosa, Effenberg, Andrea Biagioni and many others, Piero has also recorded a library of their specific sounds and grooves and loops for the American That Sound made available to producers from all over the world.

He has recently been touring with Glen Hansard and The Swell Season as well as the well respected Italian singer/songwriter Vinicio Capossela.

His first solo album, Notte is a piece of work where Piero expresses his most intimate and experimental soul.

In this episode, Piero talks about:

Working and touring with The Swell Season and Glen Hansard
His journey of learning music and drums in a small town in Italy
Absorbing regional music throughout the world while touring
Recording his solo record “Notte”
Reacting to the acoustics in the space where you’re performing
Recording on a movie sound track with Eddie Vedder, Cat Power and Glen Hansard
Italian drummers that have inspired him
The influence of Tony Allen (father of afro-beat drumming)

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469 - Brandon Combs: Playing with Leon Bridges, Studying with Ndugu Chancler, Nashville vs. LA May 16, 2024

Show notes

Brandon Combs is a drummer, programmer, and producer hailing from Lansing, Michigan. Destined to be a great musician, Brandon has been involved with the Grammy Foundation since the young age of 15, attending their Grammy Camp programs in 2009 and 2010 via full ride scholarship. Now living in Nashville, Brandon recently obtained his BM in Popular Music Studies from the University of Southern California (2015). Currently on tour with Grammy Award-winning artist Leon Bridges, Brandon’s skill, versatility, and professionalism have also allowed him to work with many different world-renown artists across multiple genres such as Keith Urban, Raphael Saadiq, Moses Sumney, Lupe Fiasco, NIIA, Gallant, Chris Bullock of Snarky Puppy, and many more. Some of his most recently completed projects include recording drums on John Legend’s A Legendary Christmas album (2019) and the entirety of jazz-pianist Mark De Clive Lowe’s double album Heritage (2019). He’s also put his hands into music production, co-producing the song “Famous” off of The Internet’s Grammy-nominated album Ego Death (2016).

In this episode, Brandon talks about:

Covering the many vibes and sonic palates in Leon Bridges' evolving catalogue
Getting on the same page about drum sounds with FOH sound people
Archiving snare sounds in his studio
Organic relationships leading to his best and biggest opportunities
Studying with Ndugu Chancler and others at USC
What it means to know a whole song
His thoughts on Nashville vs. LA
His outlook as he's about to become a dad

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468 - Justin Amaral: New Record: LIFE IN GROOVELAND - The Hymnal, Practicing Movement and Visualization as a Technique, Creating Opportunities May 09, 2024

Show notes

Justin Amaral first made a name for himself touring the country in the jam band scene, leading to shows with Mike Gordon of Phish and a profile in Modern Drummer’s (April, 2004) “On The Move” column. After world tours with alt-country guit-steel legend Junior Brown, Justin relocated to Nashville and quickly became first call for many of Nashville’s finest players and songwriters including Paul Burch, Tim Carroll, Fats Kaplin, Jon Byrd, Charles Butler and the late, great David Olney. In addition, Justin has performed and recorded with Jim Lauderdale (Late Night with Conan O’Brien), Laura Cantrell, Michelle Wright, The Wild Iris Brass Band feat. Jeff Coffin, Dennis Crouch, Milan Miller, Mike Farris, Layton Howerton, Tommy Womack, Chris West and many more. Justin maintains an active performing and recording schedule working at some of Nashville’s most prestigious studios like Blackbird, Creative Workshop and the Hen House as well as venues like The Bluebird, The 5Spot, The Exit/In and Roberts Western World.

In 2024 Justin released a collection of traditional hymns re-imagined as world beat instrumental duets called LIFE IN GROOVELAND - The Hymnal. Each track features a different instrumentalist.

In this episode, Justin talks about:

Heeding the call to do your own thing
The origin of his new record: LIFE IN GROOVELAND - The Hymnal
Creating your own opportunities
Jump starting the creative process
The inspiration of Drum and Fife
Practicing movement and visualization as a technique

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467 - Ty Bailie: B3 Organ and All Things Keys from Seattle to LA to Nashville, Buying Into an Artist's Vision, Being Musically Agnostic May 02, 2024

Show notes

Ty Bailie is currently on tour with Mitski playing keys and organ. He moved to Nashville in 2021 after a stint in LA where his main gig was touring with Katy Perry. Since coming to Nashville, he has also performed with Joss Stone, Don Felder, Tanya Tucker, Wilder Woods, and his own group Uncle Bronco featuring Petar Jancic on drums and Adam MacPhail on guitar.

In this episode, Ty talks about:

Touring with Mitski, and buying into at artist's vision
Being musically agnostic and seeing validity in all types music, musicians, and music fans
What makes a good organ drummer - "don't panic"
Moving from Seattle to LA to Nashville, and the differences between those scenes
Finding different versions of yourself while still being yourself

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