Working Drummer

Dave DiCenso began his career in the late 80s on the metal scene in his hometown of Boston. He later studied at the Drummers Collective in New York and went on to enjoy a successful and varied career touring and recording with Steve Morse, Hiromi, John Petrucci, Duran Duran, Josh Groban, and many others. He is the author of several books including Universal Rhythms for Drumset and his most recent, Fluid Fills and Musical Phrasing, and just celebrated the milestone 30 years of teaching at Berklee. In this episode, Dave talks about: Self identifying as a “backbeat” drummer and that being the common thread in all the music he's played Possible reasons for modern drum recordings sounding “safe”  How your limitations can actually benefit you and help you define yourself How his teaching approach has evolved over 30 years at Berklee  “Mastering the instrument that plays the instrument” i.e. self-mastery Taking a break from performing in an effort to finally address a physical issue that has dogged him his whole career  Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

19 Des 20241h 21min

Dango is a professional drummer based in Nashville, TN who is currently drumming for Grammy award winning artist Scott Stapp – the voice of Creed. He is also a member of the platinum selling worship band, Sonicflood. He has performed with bands and artists all over the world, from the US, to South Africa, to Europe, and South America. He graduated from Belmont University, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance, studying under the legendary Chester Thompson. Dango is a longtime member of the punk band Amber Pacific, having songs on TV shows, movie soundtracks, video games, Monday Night Football, an album on Billboard Top 100, and four music videos on MTV. With Amber Pacific he has performed four full summers on the Vans Warped Tour and toured almost a decade together. Dango has also performed or toured with the multi platinum selling rock band RED, Fireflight, Superchick, All Time Low, Mxpx, Nofx, Manafest, Scarlet White, Tricia, Warren Barfield, Phil Joel, Tommy Walker, Craig Campbell, The Swon Brothers, Tucker beathard, and Deana Carter. Dango is an active teacher and clinician. In 2009 he released his first instructional DVD. In this episode Dango talks about:    ◦   Why drummers make great tour managers    ◦   Building a home studio and a clientele base    ◦   Taking even the smallest gig seriously    ◦   Drumming with Seattle band Amber Pacific    ◦   Playing with confidence    ◦   Drumming for Scott Stapp - singer for Creed    ◦   Overcoming knee issues    ◦  Sharing knowledge with the next generation Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

12 Des 20241h 31min

Jano Rix is a drummer, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer who has been the third member of The Wood Brothers for over a decade. He started as a hard core jazz pianist, earning a degree from the University of Miami and playing experimental jazz on the New York scene, but he gravitated back to the drums, his dad's instrument, and steered his path back to other styles of music. The Wood Brothers are currently on tour and in the process of recording their next album. In this episode, Jano talks about: How recording to tape changes not just the result, but the entire experiencing of playing and listening during the tracking process  How playing keys and drums at the same time brings cool ideas out of both The idea of following flexible time instead of dictating steady time  How his jazz education focused too much on the music’s theoretical result and not enough on its emotional process.  What he took (and left behind) from his jazz days What he learned from his dad Luther Rix about playing with conviction

5 Des 20241h 8min

Brandon Green is a biomechanics specialist, fitness educator, gym owner and drummer. Brandon’s online presence, often recognized as “Drum mechanics”, explores educational biomechanics perspective on fitness, drums and life. Brandon provides a series for all called the "Drum Ergonomics Blueprint" as well as his "Drum Forever Fitness Community". In this episode, Brandon talks about: The Drum Ergonomics Blueprint Physical demands of drummers in the modern age Understanding your range of motion and working within that Brandon’s podcast: The Drum Mechanics Podcast Hacks for setting up backline kits consistantly The importance of recovery & being able to interpret sensation(s) https://www.youtube.com/@brandondrummechanics https://www.instagram.com/drummechanics Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

21 Nov 20241h 9min

Aaron Redfield grew up in San Diego and started his career on that scene. In addition to his long tenure as the drummer for The Greyboy Allstars, he has compiled a long list of touring and recording credits including Elton John, Ceelo Green, and Foster the People. After 15 years living and working in LA, he has moved is family back to San Diego and operates from there. In this episode, Aaron talks about: The new Greyboy Allstars record and how it came together The musical meaning and history of the word Boogaloo The San Diego scene and how it shaped him His non-profit that pairs professional producers and artists with aspiring teenage musicians The powerful negative effects of isolation The three A’s: Affable, Able, Available Relocating from LA to San Diego Finding world-class musicians and studio spaces in San Diego Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

14 Nov 20241h 19min

Martina Barakoska is a drummer and musician who in her considerably short career has gained notable achievements. Deep and thoughtful yet energetic and playful, her style reflects her love of modern music and her fascination with the power of the drums. Throughout the years, she has maintained continuous growth of success preaching individuality, quality, and persistency.Winning an award for the best drummer at “T’k Tak” drum competition when she was only 17 was followed by many successful music projects. She is actively involved in North Macedonia's music scene, currently working and touring with Funk Shui. She's also worked with artists like Swindle, Emmy Meli, Luboyna, Vladimir Chetkar, MPNG, Efterklang, Duper, Luboyna, Vladimir Chetkar, etc. Her projects have taken her on tours across Europe and the Balkans.In 2022 she released her second solo album named "Sunrise” and took part in the “Yamaha Drum Days” Festival in Paris. She was also a part of the line-up at the workshops in Salzgitter Drum Meeting 2022, Berlin Drum Days 2023 and Dresden Drum and Bass Festival 2024. Martina is also featured in the newly released Yamaha documentary “Way Up House - Portugal”. ​ In this episode Martina talks about:    ◦   The power of meditation    ◦   Touring southeastern Europe    ◦   Using social media to connect with musicians, not impress drummers    ◦   Diving deep into Ringo’s drum parts to better understand his musicality    ◦   Fine tuning and cultivating creativity Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

7 Nov 20241h 23min

Caleb Whitlock grew up in Charlotte and has been based there for two years after having attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He tours nationally with singer/songwriter Ethan Regan, plays locally with a variety of acts, records in his home studio, and also works as a post-production engineer. Making part of his living doing post-production and editing, and how that differs from mixing How doing post production on acapalla vocal music has influenced how he hears and records drums Neutralizing his room acoustically rather than try to make it sound amazing The Charlotte scene and how he returned to it after college, a couple years of work in "The Triangle" (Raleigh/Durham Chapel Hill), and a few months in a Catholic monastary. Being clear-eyed about finances, how much different types of work earn, and saying yes and no to gigs according to your lifestyle goals Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

31 Okt 20241h 4min

Chad Wackerman’s professional career began in 1978 with the Bill Watrous Refuge West Big Band. Since then he has amassed a remarkable body of work including a seven year association with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured the USA and Europe and recorded 27 albums including the London Symphony recordings. He has also recorded 8 albums and toured with guitar legend Allan Holdsworth, played on the ‘One Voice’ album and video with Barbra Streisand, and recorded albums and toured with artists as diverse as James Taylor, Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Steven Wilson, Men At Work, Ed Mann, Albert Lee, Colin Hay, Dweezil Zappa, Pasqua/Holdsworth/Haslip/Wackerman Group, Terry Bozzio, Carl Verheyen, David Garfield,John Patitucci, Jennifer Batten, Joe Sample, Robbie Kreiger, Banned From Utopia and The World Drummers Ensemble (Bill Bruford, Luis Conte, Dou Dou Ndiaye Rose and Chad Wackerman) . As a band leader and composer Chad has five critically acclaimed CDs: ‘Forty Reasons’, ‘The View’, ‘Scream’, ‘Legs Eleven’ and his latest release, ‘Dreams Nightmares and Improvisations’. Chad has written music for the television show ‘The Dennis Miller Show’, as well as composing music for Allan Holdsworth’s ‘Secrets’, ‘Wardenclyffe Tower’ and ‘Sixteen Men of Tain’ CDs. His trio has a performance DVD, ‘Hits Live’. In this episode, Chad talks about:    Working with Allan Holdsworth    The amazing story behind recording Allan’s record “Road Games”    “Improvising at the highest level sounds like composition”    Interpreting charts efficiently    Auditioning for Frank Zappa    How to make a band sound better    Learning from Murray Spivack    Figuring out what’s important for each gig and artist Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

24 Okt 20241h 52min