114 – Angela Lese: Drumming for The Dead Deads, Cultivating a Strong Fan Base, From “Regular Job” to Touring Musician

Since the age of three, Derrek C. Phillips has had a deep passion for music. From that time he has carved out an exciting musical career as a performer, educator, and composer While attending high school, Phillips played snare drum for the Concord Blue Devils drum and bugle corps from 1990-93. In 1998, he received his bachelor’s degree in jazz studies at William Paterson University in Wayne, N.J. He studied privately with Horace Arnold, Yoron Israel, John Riley and Tony Williams. As an educator, he has also worked with several school bands and drums corps as a percussion and marching instructor, jazz and drum set clinician, composer, marching drill designer, and private tutor. He is currently the presiding drum set and ensemble instructor at both Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University. In the spring of 2014, Derek became the touring drummer for Hank Williams Jr. His drumming is featured on Vanessa Williams’ recording The Real Thing and Michael McDonald’s This Christmas. He has also worked with Rachael Lampa, Jonny Lang, Charlie Peacock, Mike Farris, the McCrary Sisters, Seth Walker, James Otto, Charlie Hunter, Jimmy Hall, Tommy Sims, Delbert McClinton, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Greg Osby, Joshua Redman and Kurt Elling. He has performed on the CBS Early Morning Show and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, BET (Black Entertainment Television) and throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as Brazil, Korea, South Africa, Turkey, India, Panama, the Caribbean, and Japan. In this episode, Derek talks about: Teaching at Middle Tennessee State University and Vanderbilt University Utilizing a curriculum when teaching Getting into drum corp and joining The Concord Blue Devils Master classes with Tony Williams Working with Charlie Hunter Touring with country legend Hank Williams Jr Derek endorses: Spaun Drums, Istanbul Cymbals, Evans Drumheads and Vater Sticks. ​

17 Touko 20171h 24min

At the helm of The Equinox Orchestra are tenor saxophonist and bandleader Jeremy Davis, lead vocalist Clay Johnson, and trumpet player, musical director and tour manager Tommy Brinson. Their combined efforts have gotten the 11-piece group on the road for a 2 month, 18,000 mile U.S. tour, the most ambitious undertaking in the band’s 15-year history. The three talked with their drummer and Working Drummer Podcast co-host Zack Albetta about their individual roles, the drummer’s role, their perspective as leaders of a group and owners of an enterprise. Equinox began as a traditional 18-piece instrumental big band playing performing whenever and wherever they could, but has evolved into a multi-faceted group with line-ups ranging from three to 25 playing everything from restaurants and bars to theatre shows and private events. Jeremy and Clay have recently sought to use Equinox for philanthropic causes in addition to their regular for-profit gigs. In this podcast, the guys talk about The types of gigs Equinox has played and what their goals are How Tommy ascended the ranks from regular sideman to musical director and tour manager Jeremy and Clay’s musical background leading up to Equinox The outsized role and responsibility of the big band drummer How bands and musicians can use their talents for causes they believe in Jeremy’s strategy to keep the band working – the more leads you chase down, the more will pan out How to create a band identity and monetize it, and how to attract multiple funding sources How to eat well on the road

10 Touko 20171h 26min

Jermal Watson is a native of New Orleans and like so many musicians there, got his musical start playing in church. Growing up in New Orleans, he explains, young musicians learn songs and styles by ear and by the time you’re grown, all of the city’s musical languages – the swing feel of Preservation Hall, the street beats of the brass bands, the funk of The Meters and The Neville Brothers – are languages you just know. As a young drummer, Jermal was brought along on the scene by two of its elder statesmen, Russell Batiste and Gerald French and for decades now, he has been among The Crescent City’s first-call drummers. His resume includes The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Eddie Roberts, and many more. For the past two years, he has also headed a percussion program at Encore Academy, in which almost 90 elementary school students participate. In this podcast, Jermal talks about: His elementary school percussion program Playing with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band Why learning songs by ear on the fly is particularly common in New Orleans How Russell Batiste and Gerald French helped him work his way onto the scene How New Orleans changes the playing of drummers who move there A project he was recently involved in called Attakid, a collaboration between New Orleans and San Francisco musicians Playing with Big Sam’s Funky Nation Where to go for live music in New Orleans (hint: it’s not Bourbon Street). The New Orleans style of recording Jermal Watson endorses Mapex Drums and Meinl Cymbals

26 Huhti 201755min

Around The Kit with Joe Gansas For close to a year and a half, Joe Gansas has been hosting an online radio show focused on drummers and all things drums. This show is called Around The Kit. Joe digs deep into the life, career and background of each guest whether it’s a well known drummer like Kenny Aronoff or a lesser known drummer with important and relatable storys to tell. Joe has surrounded himself with a strong team that helps Joe create a thoughtful and consistent show week by week. A few highlights of Around The Kit include multiple guests every episode as well as tribute shows. Some of Joe’s guests include Simon Phillips, Dave Weckl and Cathy Rich. This show can be found www.aroundthekit.net. It airs 8-11:00pm eastern time every Sunday night In this episode, Joe talks about: His internet radio show – “Around The Kit” Drug addiction in our community Joe’s performance background and his influences The importance of listening The future of Around The Kit Asking important questions This episode is sponsored by Mapex Drums

19 Huhti 20171h 12min

Carter McLean has been a New Yorker for most of his adult life. From his home base in Brooklyn, he commands a multi-pronged career as the drummer for The Lion King on Broadway, playing regularly with 8-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, and running his own educational website, Four Hands Drumming. In this podcast, Carter talks about: His first experiences in NYC – working at Manny’s Music, driving 12 hours for a $100 gig, going to Jeff “Tain” Watts’ jam session. His typical day, which almost always includes one or two Lion King shows Fighting the complacency that comes from a steady paycheck His educational website, Four Hands Drumming, and how the focus is practical musical concepts that everyone can apply Basic gear and techniques drummers can use to improve the quality of their videos His approach to micing drums and how using fewer mics gives the drummer more control and more responsibility to self-mix Playing with Charlie Hunter Carter McLean endorses Dunnett/George H. Way drums, Istanbul Agop Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Remo heads, DW Hardware, Tackle Instruments, BigFatSnareDrum, Beyerdynamic mics, and BAE mic pres. This episode is sponsored by Mapex.

12 Huhti 201747min

Russ Miller is internationally known as one of the top drummers of today. As a Multi-Platinum recording artist, he has played on multiple Grammy award winning recordings with combined sales of over 26 million copies. His musical versatility has led him to work with an incredible list of over 50 international artists from legends like Ray Charles, The Fifth Dimension, Natalie Cole, Tina Turner & Bobby Caldwell through modern stars, Nelly Furtado, The Psychedelic Furs, Hilary Duff, Steve Perry, Andrea Bocelli, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Daniel Bedingfield and Meredith Brooks. As a star of the Los Angeles studio scene, the Modern Drummer Magazine Readers Poll has repeatedly voted Russ in the top 5 Studio Drummers in the world, including the 2015 Poll, where he was voted the #3 Session drummer. He has performed on more than 300 albums (including many #1 Billboard hits like Nelly Furtado’s “Whoa Nelly” and Hilary Duff’s “Metamorphosis”). Russ has also recorded for many T.V. shows and over 60 international movies (such as #1 box office titles like “Chicken Little”, “Fracture”, “Lakeview Terrace”, “Resident Evil Apocalypse”, “Percy Jackson” and the “Boondock Saints” series of movies, just to name a few). Along with his many sideman recording credits, he has been a staple on T.V. “house bands”. Such as “American Idol”, for all of their “Mentoring Sessions”. Russ also has four critically acclaimed solo albums, Cymbalism, Arrival and the Arrival Live concert DVD/CD and his latest “Chagada3” with the Arrival Trio. In addition, Russ performs educational clinics throughout the world. In October of 2014, Russ was awarded an “Honorary PHD” for “ sustained lifetime accomplishments that have benefited Drumming artistry and the Global Drumming community”, from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, in Shanghai, China. He also has authored two books: The Drum Set Crash Course and Transitions, along with his three videos, “Arrival-Behind The Glass” from Hudson Music, The Drum Set Crash Course and The Drum Set Crash Course Tuning Edition from Alfred Publications. A 7-time Modern Drummer readers poll winner, Russ’ solo projects were also voted the #1 educational books and videos in the world (2001-2004). In this episode, Russ talks about: Russ’s current gigs including Andrea Bocelli, India superstar Kavita Krishnamurthy and his band Arrival Recording on TV and Movie sound tracks Russ’s approach to world music Being a life long student and finding a “coach” The YouTube effect Gig opportunities in technology Creating your own voice Russ Miller’s interest in product development Explaining the Mapex Design Lab series Russ endorses: Mapex Drums, Zildjian, Remo, Vic Firth, Porter & Davies Tactile monitoring, Hercules stands, May E/A Mics, Prologix, SKB cases, Arrel Audio Electronics, Puresound Snares, Korg and Meinl music instruments This episode is sponsored by Mapex Drums

2 Huhti 20171h 15min

Yonrico Scott has been a fixture on the Atlanta scene and in Southern music in general for decades. He was born and raised in Detroit, where he began touring and recording as a teenager. His interest in percussion brought him to The University of Kentucky where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in classical music. After college, he moved to Atlanta and quickly felt like he was home. In the late 90’s he joined the band led by guitar prodigy Derek Trucks with whom he recorded several albums and toured extensively for a decade. He was also a member of Southern super group The Royal Southern Brotherhood, co-led by Devon Allman, Mike Zito and Cyril Neville. YonRico has just released Life of a Dreamer, his fifth album as a leader. In this Podcast, Yonrico talks about Recording “Life of a Dreamer” at ZAC Recording Studios in Atlanta with engineer Tony Terrabone Recognizing when a unique drum part is called for vs. something more obvious Playing congas and percussion in funk, R&B, and pop settings as opposed to Salsa, and the subliminal power of a shaker How he was shaped by the musical culture and history of Detroit. Studying percussion at Kentucky State University and the University of Kentucky, and approaching the drumset more like orchestral percussion. His time in The Derek Trucks Band, and what he and Derek learned from each other. Sentiments on his recently departed friend and Allman Brothers drummer, Butch Trucks. Yonrico Scott endorses Pearl Drums, Ziljian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, and LP Percussion. This episode is sponsored by Mapex.

29 Maalis 20171h 15min