508 - Robert Blair: Being Your Authentic Self, Subbing with Wang Chung & Martina McBride, Learning from Nashville’s Legends

Will Groth is the drummer for Electric Avenue among other Atlanta-based projects. Electric Avenue bills itself as “The 80s MTV Experience and plays theatres, clubs, and private events nationwide. Will grew up and got his start in Minneapolis, MN, and moved to Atlanta in 2005. He quickly secured himself on the scene working steadily with Mike Geier (a.k.a. Puddles The Clown) for five years, after which he has stayed busy with a variety of rock, blues, and cover projects. In this podcast, Will talks about: Keeping cover songs at their original tempos The surprises and challenges in the drumming of 80s pop How he and the band approach getting their sounds and tones right Playing in an organ trio with Ike Stubblefield and Grant Green Jr. How working his way into the Atlanta scene changed his perspective on music Why he always has and always will play traditional grip, and the curiosities of drumming ergonomics Finding ways of playing that will be physically sustainable as you age

5 Juli 20181h 24min

Arjuna Contreras is a drummer/ percussionist based out of Dallas, TX with plans to relocate to Nashville, TN in the fall of 2018. He possesses the uncanny ability to sound equally at home in a wide variety of musical styles including Jazz, Country, R&B, Latin, Rock, and even “Nuclear Polka”! Arjuna is often noted for the energy, soul, and excitement he brings to music both as a performer and an educator. As a performer, Arjuna’s experience is vast. He currently records and tours with the Reverend Horton Heat. He has toured nationally with the popular Texas Country band, Eleven Hundred Springs as well as Grammy Award-winners Brave Combo, Donna Summer, and Howard Scott (original lead singer and guitarist for WAR).  As an educator, Arjuna has taught at Colleyville Heritage High School and its surrounding middle schools since 1996. His duties have included teaching the high school drum line, coaching percussion ensembles, daily teaching of 6th grade percussion classes, as well as giving private lessons to students in 6th through 12th grades. Over the years, his students have garnered top honors at drum line competitions, solo and ensemble contests, and band competitions.  Arjuna’s drumming can be heard on Eleven Hundred Springs’ recording, Eight the Hard Way. Their song, This Ain’t the First Time, is currently in rotation on many Country music stations in Texas and beyond. He also appears on the song, Belgium Polka, off of RCA/Jive Recording Artists, Bowling for Soup’s latest album, Sorry for Partyin’. Other recent recordings of Arjuna’s include Brave Combo’s album, The Exotic Rocking Life, and Fingerprints’ latest release, Dream Life. Arjuna is also currently working on innovative instructional multimedia materials for drummers. In this episode, Arjuna talks about: Drumming for The Reverend Horton Heat The styes covered and influences of psychobilly  Subconsciously preparing for future gigs and opportunities Leaving a band on good terms  Redefining the term “chops” to include touch and feel Creating a drum solo that entertains the audience Keeping a solid feel and groove while performing at fast tempos The importance of an online presents And, WDP documenting his journey for his first year in Nashville Arjuna endorses: Ludwig Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth Sticks This episode is sponsored by Session Ace

28 Juni 20181h 26min

Atlanta-based drummer and studio musician Brian Hudson has performed, toured and recorded a diverse mix of music for various artists for the past 20 years. Hudson grew up in Clearwater, Florida. After high school, he attended The University of South Florida School of Music and later transferred to the University of Georgia and the music town of Athens, Georgia, which provided him with a rich diversity of music opportunities. In 2000 Hudson moved to Atlanta, Georgia and immediately started playing and touring with various acts covering a variety of styles from jazz to blues to rock to country. In 2001, he was invited to audition for Capricorn Recording Artist Memory Dean who had gained national success with the release of 6 studio albums. Hudson landed the gig and has performed with Memory Dean as a member of the band ever since. In addition to Memory Dean, Hudson has performed with a variety of other acts including soul/funk/blues band SOULHOUND, The Dave Mathews Cover Band (The DMCB), power pop singer Steve Baskin, smooth jazz artist MADOCA, country artist Thomas Tillman, R&B/Smooth Jazz band Momentum, Johnson Ferry Worship and many others. In August 2017, Hudson released his debut jazz/fusion album, NEXT LEVEL, worldwide. The songs blend jazz, jazz/fusion, funk, and Latin with a contemporary jazz underpinning and feature some of the most talented musicians in the southeast. Since its release, NEXT LEVEL has gained attention from radio stations and listeners from all over the world. Brian currently leads his jazz/fusion band Next Level, is a member of former Capricorn Record Artist Memory Dean and performs with various other artists covering a diverse mix of music. In addition, he is an active studio musician in Atlanta and also tracks drums remotely for artists around the world. Brian is on the Advisory Board for Georgia Music Partners and is a voting member of The Recording Academy. In this podcast, Brian talks about: Wearing all the hats necessary to make a record: Drummer, composer/arranger, engineer, producer, etc. Partnering with pianist and composer Randy Hoexter The necessity of using promoters and bookers to get a project out into the world Playing with Memory Dean Setting up profiles on Airgigs and Soundbetter His church gig His political involvement with state and local government to build music business infrastructure in Georgia Brian endorses Sakae Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Regal Tip Drumsticks and Headhunters Creations. This episode is sponsored by Session Ace

21 Juni 20181h 18min

Harry Miree is a drummer currently based in Nashville, TN and is the drummer for Ryan Follese of Hot Chelle Rae. Harry will touring the summer of 2018 with Warner Brothers artist Troy Cartwright and indie rock band, Sons Of Bill. Harry has built a very entertaining YouTube channel where he covers many topics like The True Life of a Side Musician, Open Handed Techniques, alternatives to playing a Cajon and many other useful videos. Currently, Harry has close to 60,000 subscribers. Harry was a founding member of the rock band Boom City, which used the internet as a platform for music and videos. Boom City signed with a major rock label, toured arenas with Panic! at the Disco, and then disbanded. Miree graduated Berklee College of Music and moved to Nashville, securing the spot as touring drummer for recording artist Whitney Wolanin. In 2015 he toured with then-Capitol Records artist Joey Hyde, and in 2016 toured with Big Machine artist Levi Hummon. In 2017, Miree toured with LoCash (known for hit songs I Love This Lifeand I Know Somebody), and Clare Bowen, singer/actress known for her role as Scarlett O’Connor on the television show Nashville. In this episode, Harry talks about: What goes into making YouTube videos that resonate  Finding your own creative outlet Building an audience on your YouTube channel Speaking your truth Making lifestyle choices to afford a life in music Early influences Coming through the other side of an attempted suicide  Trying to separate ones sense of self worth from the gig that you have  The lessons and strength gained from failures  Finding the joy and inspiration in music by listening to music! Harry endorses: Vic Firth Sticks, Meinle Cymbals, Pearl Drums This episode is sponsored by Session Ace

14 Juni 20181h 46min

Drummer/percussionist Adam Bowman has been a mainstay in both the Canadian and international music scenes for nearly two decades. As a touring musician, Adam has been heard on stages across five continents with artists such as Juno-award winners Kellylee Evans and Carlos Morgan, Canadian independent music trail blazer Ember Swift, improvising guru VINX and country-folk songstress Dawn Langstroth, among many others. In the studio, Adam has become the drummer of choice for producers and songwriters on dozens of recordings. 2015 saw Juno-nominations for Eccodek’s Singing in Tongues and Alysha Brilla’s Womyn albums. In 2018 Alysha’s Rooted album received another nod. Currently, Adam can be heard playing with Elise LeGrow, Alysha Brilla, Jeff Eager and Jason Raso as well as providing accompaniment for modern and contemporary dance classes with IMAGEO artworks, Dancetheatre David Earle and Guelph Dance. In this podcast, Adam talks about: How saying yes to a seemingly insignificant offer determined the course of his professional and personal life Dance concepts that translate to other art forms, and how modern dance principles have made him rethink his drumming approach Cultivating long musical relationships with the same people and the same songs, and going deeper into each Using the feeling of making music you believe in with people you love as a reference to recreate that emotion in situations where everything is less familiar Accessing emotions in music, and letting them inform your musical decisions The Toronto scene, and why he lives just outside the city How easy it is to get “too comfortable” on a scene Adam Bowman endorses Headhunters sticks and Murat Diril cymbals. This episode is sponsored by Session Ace.

7 Juni 20181h 14min

Billy Ward is a Grammy awarded drummer, music educator, recording engineer and producer. Just a few of the people Billy’s Recorded and/or toured with include B. B. King, Robbie Robertson, Carly Simon, Richard Marx, The Knack, Yoko Ono, Joan Osborne, Ace Frehley, Glen Cambell, Art Garfunkel, David Crosby & Jimmy Webb just to name a few.                                                                                 Billy has recorded on more than 50 sound tracks for feature films including a musician’s favorite – That Thing You Do! , where Billy taught actor Tom Everett Scott to play the drums and was on the set as a consultant. Two records have been released under Billy’s name. Two Hands Clapping, and The Billy Ward Trio – Out The Door. Billy has been engineering in his private studio, DrumPike, since 1990. Billy has produced numerous drum tracks for famous and not yet famous artists out of DrumPike. As an educator, his two instructional DVDs, Big Time ( a Modern Drummers Readers Poll Award winner) and Voices In My Head have won raves from critics as well as fellow drummers. Billy occasionally travels anywhere in the world to play but he LOVES the close contact with students when performing Drum Clinics and Master Classes.                                                                                                             His book, “Inside Out – The Mental Aspects of Drumming”, further demonstrates Billy’s ability to clearly explain the difficult challenges that working musicians face.  In this episode, Billy talks about:  Money, the arts, and the divide  The state of the music industry  His short time and experience in Nashville  Creating and nurturing your own voice  Billy’s book: Inside Out His lesson with Elvin Jones at 17 Being concerned with how you are at your worst  “Practice Playing” Giving back to the drumming community  His DVD’s: Big Time, Voices in My Head & Modern Drummer fest – 2000 & 2008 Learning to judge yourself harshly  Recording drums for movie sound tracks Billy endorses: Zildjian Cymbals, DW Drums, ProMark sticks, Gator cases This episode is sponsored by Session Ace

31 Maj 20181h 25min

Brandon Goodwin has lived and worked in Montreal for 12 years. His group, B’s Bees, for which he serves triple duty as drummer, bandleader, and composer, recently released two albums: Dear Charlie, a tribute to the great jazz bassist Charlie Haden, and Kanata, a musical exploration of the history and identity of their home country of Canada. The group is currently touring Canada and the U.S. on the back of these releases. Brandon grew up in Armstrong, CA, and chose Montreal as the base of operations for his music career because of its vibrant, art-loving culture, and because its cost of living is actually lower than Vancouver, Toronto, and many comparable American cities. From early in his career, he had a drive to write, perform, and record original music. Drumming is just one aspect of his musical life, as he is usually spending as much if not more time developing himself as a composer and doing the administrative legwork it takes to get an original jazz group in the studio and on the road. In this podcast, Brandon talks about: What Charlie Haden means to him and the jazz world in general The drummers Haden was most associated with, especially Paul Motian, and the influence they had on Brandon The subject matter of Kanata Traveling to New Orleans to meet with Delfeayo Marsalis and workshop the compositions and recording/producing techniques for the record Montreal culture His early drumming influences, from Grohl to Bonham to Blakey His experience at Concordia University in Montreal His thoughts on accessibility vs. expression, as a drummer and composer This episode is sponsored by Session Ace.

24 Maj 20181h 4min

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Aaron Comess is an extremely versatile drummer with a wide range of influences and playing experiences including his ongoing work as a founding member of the Grammy-nominated funk-rock band Spin Doctors with a total of 10 million albums sold and over 1500 live shows under their belt and all four original members intact. 2018 marked their 30th year. Aaron has also spent a decade-plus in the touring band of Joan Osborne. In 2017, Aaron appeared on new releases by Joan Osborne, Rachael Yamagata, James Maddock, Willie Nile, Garland Jeffreys, Chris Bergson and German platinum-selling artist Marius Westerhagen to name a few. He has also worked with Bilal, Edie Bickell, Chris Whitley, Mark Cohen, Roswell Rudd, Ivan Nevil and a host of others. Aaron has been active as a band leader since his 2006 debut recording “Catskills Cry”. This was followed up with “Beautiful Mistake”, “Blues for Use”, “Aaron Comess Quintet”, “Live 2016” and most recently “Sculptures”. In this episode, Aaron talks about:  The current nature of touring and recording The power of positive attitudes  Curating a career that fits your vision Drumming for Joan Osborne Learning through experience how to create a sonic landscape in the studio His solo projects as well as his new record, “Sculptures”  The Spin Doctors Learning to say “no” to some gigs What to practice  Staying relaxed  Aaron endorses: Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks and Remo Drumheads  This episode is sponsored by Session Ace

17 Maj 20181h 33min