081 – Wes Little: Backing Super Stars Like Sting, Stevie Wonder and Beyonce at Obama’s Inaugural Ball, Touring and Recording with Robben Ford, Building a Session Resume

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

30 Maj 20241h 8min

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)

22 Maj 20241h 34min

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

16 Maj 20241h 9min

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

9 Maj 20241h 37min

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

2 Maj 20241h 23min

Born in Northern New Jersey, Finch grew up with an unwavering love for drums that shaped his life's path. Before his eventual move to Nashville Tennessee in late 2020, Finch spent time in the US Army as well as working in the insurance world. Shortly after his move to Nashville, his dream was realized by the founding of FDS Drum Services, a drum tech service that includes repairs, restorations, custom heads, tour teching & so much more. FDS quickly gained recognition through Finch’s dedication as well as the overwhelming support from the Nashville drumming community. Beyond providing professional drum services, he actively contributes to the community by hosting drummers' hangs, fostering networking, and uplifting fellow musicians. In this episode, Finch talks about:    Managing your time as a self employed person    Utilizing your network to get things done    Always learning new skills    Being ready when shit goes wrong on stage    Reviewing five different drummers he’s teched for    Creating financial security    Focusing on physical and mental health

25 Apr 20241h 42min

Steve Picataggio has lived in New York for over a decade and has stayed busy on the jazz and musical theatre scenes there. He has toured with The Hot Sardines, The Four Phantoms, and others, and is active on the New York jazz scene playing everything from trio to big band. He is a graduate of University of North Florida where he studied with Danny Gottleib and Ulysses Owens Jr., and NYU where he studied with Billy Drummond. He is also active as an educator, with students from age 4 to adult as well as at the collegiate level. In this episode, Steve talks about: His fully remote college gig Touring with The Four Phantoms Why he loves rehearsing The mentorship and influence of Matt Wilson and Bill Drummond How cutthroat attitudes are mostly gone His love of accompanying singers

18 Apr 20241h 26min

Yamil Conga is a percussionist and drummer with over 20 years of experience playing a vast array of musical genres in live venues, music videos and in the studio. A native of Puerto Rico and a current resident of Nashville, Yamil has benefitted from a vast array of musical influences. Salsa runs in Yamil’s blood due to his father, singer songwriter, Eladio Jimenez, who wrote and produced for several Latin giants. Knowing that music has no boundaries, Yamil’s mission is to make people fall in love with the art of live performance and foster a new generation of percussionists. Yamil tours nationally and internationally bringing educational lectures on the conga drum and salsa music. He is currently the percussionist and DJ for Country artist Frank Ray. Yamil rounds out his calendar performing with corporate bands as well as performing as a soloist as a drumming DJ.   In this episode, Yamil talks about:    Diversifying your "portfolio”    Being proactive with your daily activities    The evolution of the drumming/DJ thing    Playing with artist Frank Ray    Lecturing on the origin of the conga in American music    The influence of his father’s legacy    Percussion advice for drum set players

11 Apr 20241h 33min