513 - Bill Ransom: Playing with Beth Hart, the Cleveland Scene, Doing Your Homework

Willie McNeil came to LA barely out of high school in the early 1980s. He got busy quickly and hasn’t stopped since, playing with bands across the musical spectrum, sometimes as a sideman but more often as a leader. These days, he’s most widely known as the drummer and frontman for Big Willie’s Burlesque, a troupe of musicians and dancers that appears weekly at LA’s hottest clubs including No Vacancy and The Edison. In this podcast, Willie talks about: How working in a clothing store kickstarted his music career in LA His experience coming to LA in the 80s vs. a young drummer’s experience today His gig in the house band at The Forty Deuce, where the LA Burlesque scene was born Tricks of the Burlesque drumming trade, and incorporating different styles into the Burlesque genre Some common mistakes American musicians make when playing Afro-Cuban styles His “whatever works” approach to gear The advantages of smaller cities over LA and New York, particularly in terms of live music scenes This episode of Working Drummer Podcast is sponsored by OnlineDrummer.com

9 Mars 201650min

Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Marshall Richardson moved to Nashville in 2000 after graduating from the University of North Texas with a BA in Music. As a sideman, Marshall has worked with a diverse list of artists, ranging from country legends to roots rockers, including Jo Dee Messina, Lorrie Morgan, Webb Wilder, Bernie Leadon, Joe Nichols, and Johnny Reid. His career in Nashville is a balance of recording sessions and live local, national, and international touring performances. Marshall endorses Paiste cymbals, Vater percussion, Gretsch drums, and Gibraltar hardware. In this podcast, Marshall talks about: Delivering a great performance when recommended for gigs Being comfortable playing with or without a click Touring with a “Legacy Artist” Getting advice from engineers about home recording Explaining phase and polarity when recording Balancing your kit Considering note length when drumming

2 Mars 20161h 10min

The Los Angeles jazz scene has been coming on strong in recent years and Tina Raymond is right in the middle of it. She performs regularly in the city’s top jazz clubs as well as internationally, with artists ranging from relative newcomers like Cathlene Pineda and Jon Armstrong to long-established greats like Bobby Bradford and Vinnie Golia. She is a graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, better known as Cal Arts, where she studied with legendary jazz drummer and master teacher Joe LaBarbara. She teaches at several high schools and colleges in the LA area and is also a certified yoga instructor. In this podcast, Tina talks about: Two very different college experiences at two very different schools How studying with Joe LaBarbara helped her use her intuition and develop her own voice Being a woman in the male-dominated worlds of drumming and jazz How yoga has affected her mentally and physically as a musician

24 Feb 201637min

Chad Cromwell is known as one of the most respected studio drummers in Nashville. Even before his move to Nashville, Chad had a strong history of live and recording experience with legends like Joe Walsh, Neil Young and Mark Knopfler. Chad Started recording and touring with Joe Walsh in 1986. In 1987 as well as collaborating with songwriter Neil Young that lead to several recordings and tours with Neil. Chad appears on Neil Young albums such as Freedom (1989), Prairie Wind (2005) Living with War (2006) and Chrome Dreams II (2007). He has also appeared in Heart of Gold, a documentary capturing the debut of Neil Young’s album, Prairie Wind.  Cromwell is also known for his contributions to Mark Knopfler’s solo albums Golden Heart (1996), Sailing to Philadelphia (2000), The Ragpicker’s Dream(2002) and Shangri-La (2004). He was also part of Knopfler’s band during the tours of his first solo albums. He has also worked with many other artists including Dave Stewart, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Lady Antebellum, Diana Krall, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Boz Scaggs, Wynonna, Trisha Yearwood, Miranda Lambert, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Frampton, Allison Moorer, Chris Knight, Joss Stone, Rodney Crowell, Marty Stuart, and Stevie Nicks. In this podcast, Chad talks about: The impact that home studios have had on the music industry

17 Feb 20161h 20min

John Kizilarmut spent his formative years bouncing around the Midwest and Texas, eventually landed in Kansas City. He has become a first-call drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist and composer/arranger in KC’s vibrant music scene, playing with the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Hermon Mehari, and many more of the area’s world-class talents. He has also maintained teaching duties as an adjunct faculty member at multiple colleges. In this interview, John talks about: How his first year of college shaped his work ethic His lesser-known but masterful and influential mentors including Al Sergel, Kevin Bobo and Doug Auwarter (read an article on Doug here). His heavy focus on marimba and orchestral percussion in college, and how the college environment can blind musicians to the wider world of musical possibilities/opportunities. The deep understanding of jazz and swing held by Kansas City musicians and audiences. How Kansas City’s fierce pride in its rich musical history is balanced with its openness to all kinds of music, and its embrace of a younger generation of musicians creating new and original music. Listen to John on Soundcloud!

10 Feb 201650min

Paul Griffith is a freelance drummer and writer based in Nashville, TN. As a musician, his unique, left-of-center style (the result of a New Orleans upbringing) has made him a first call for artists looking to add a laid back groove to their records and live performances. Combining the visceral, dance-oriented feel of New Orleans legends like Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste and Earl Palmer with the meticulous experimentation of session great Jim Keltner, Paul has found a home among some of the world’s most creative singer-songwriters, including Sheryl Crow, k. d. Lang, John Prine, Todd Snider, Cerys Mathews (Catatonia), Greg Brown and Jack Ingram. He has been recognized as “Best Hired Hand” by Nashville Scene magazine and was nominated for a Nashville Music Award in the drummer/percussionist category. In this podcast Paul talks about: Being a “Stylist” Caring about the gig but not worrying about it Dealing with your insecurities Dealing with peeks and valleys in the music business Managing expectations and diversifying Asking what the gig pays The right conditions for taking a gig Click here for pictures

3 Feb 20161h 19min

Giuliano Mingucci was born in Brazil but has spent almost his entire life in Kansas City, MO. He started playing professionally in high school and since then has been a member of Kansas City’s most beloved bands including Bixby Lane, The Barclay Martin Ensemble, and David George & A Crooked Mile. He attended college at The University of Missouri-Kansas City, but chose to get a degree in audio engineering rather than music performance. He has since made a name for himself around the region as a go-to in either discipline, and sometimes both. In this podcast, Giuliano talks about: How the jazz of his hometown and the Brazilian music of his family heritage has shaped his playing Being the house drummer in a cabaret bar Playing in a band with broad stylistic influences Giving a producer musical control of an album How drum tuning, room acoustics and drum mic’ing should be connected Relying solely on drumming vs. having mulitple sources of income Click here for pictures

27 Jan 201646min

Jim Reilley is a songwriter and producer in Nashville. Jim was also the co-founder of the late-lamented folk-rock “gangstas”, The New Dylans. Along with songwriting partner Reese Campbell, The New Dylans toured the country for 9 years sharing stages with The Band, Townes Van Zandt, Shawn Colvin, The Fleshtones, Superdrag, Syd Straw, The Silos, Steve Forbert along with old pals 10,000 Maniacs. Reilley broke up The New Dylans and moved to Nashville in 1998, signing deal as a staff songwriter with Curb Publishing. In his 8 years at Curb, over 45 of Reilley’s songs were recorded by artists including Vince Gill, Hal Ketchum, Jack Ingram, Tim O’Brien, Sam Bush, Claudia Church, Joy Lynn White, Ronna Reeves, Cowboy Crush, Lisa Brokop, Ryan Tyler, Mustang Sally, Lauren Lucas, Susan Haynes, Amy Chappell and many others. In 2003, Reilley released his first solo album “The Return of Buddy Cruel” on Silent Planet Records. Reilley recorded a second solo album (“Thank God I’m A Contrary Boy”) in 2004 with Grammy-winner Robert Reynolds (The Mavericks) co-producing and featuring a band consisting of Ken Coomer (Wilco/ Uncle Tupelo), Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick), Jen Gunderman (Jayhawks), Audley Freed (The Black Crowes), Al Perkins (Gram Parsons/Manassas), Paul Deakin (The Mavericks) and David Mead. In October 2012, Reilley signed a songwriting deal with Nashville based Rare Spark Media Group. In April 2015, The New Dylans released “Meta”, their first new album in 18 years. The Tennessean, has documented the entire process of writing and recording of “Meta”. In this podcast Jim talks about: Producing Producers and musicians working together to make the recording session happen Using musical references to give direction Ringo creating a musical landscape for pop music Less recognized session drummers from the 50’s – 70’s Audio examples of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr with the drums isolated Getting the right drum sounds for recording Click here for pictures This interview was recorded January 3rd, 2016

20 Jan 20161h 24min