Designated Drummer

Saran Thompson is a spoken word artist, performer, and writer in Nashville. His performances center on positive change and hope. His talent has taken him all over the world and he continues to teach and inspire our youth with his example of positivity.

Check out his latest project here!

John Spittle grew up in Southern California as a son of a drummer. Working in his dads drum shop and filling in for him on gigs until he was old enough to strike out on his own was great training ground. He ended up in Nashville and has been playing for Trace Adkins for more than a decade. He talks about his early days in Ventura California and having to drop out of music for his kids then returning in a big way.

Technology has changed the world in so many ways, especially in music. The way we record our music, the way we listen to music, watch music, and even buy tickets to live shows. Back in the day, it was much more difficult to, say, record an album or get a song out to the public for people to hear. Think about it, without social media or the internet music used to be a pretty slow and hard to obtain success path. In this episode, I talk about different ways a person can use inexpensive technology to start, maintain and even succeed in a music career using the phone in your pocket. Pretty crazy but it’s true!

Without a good groove and a good pocket for the music to lay into, there would be no hit records. The art of a good drum groove and for the rhythm section to lay down into the pocket has been the subject of many teachings in pop music. In this episode, I take things one at a time and define what each part of this means. I talk in depth about groove, pocket, and what’s called "deep pocket” and how it tends to effect the overall mood of a song.

Becky Buller is a 10 time IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) award winning bluegrass and country music singer, songwriter, musician and artist. Her main instruments are fiddle, banjo, and guitar. She’s been a leader in the genre of Bluegrass music since the mid 2000’s. Her knowledge and passion for bluegrass is exciting and educational to say the least. She records and travels the world with her band of amazing bluegrass musicians and her mascot “Trout”, a stuffed fish-pillow. Her stories are entertaining and her voice is angelic.

Becky Priest is a Nashville singer and keyboard player originally from Texas. She has played with the likes of Tricia Yearwood, Pam Tillis, Neal McCoy, and Lori Morgan just to name a few. She was part of a couple of all-girl bands in the 1990’s and is extremely talented and gifted in music. She’s one of the few people on this planet that has 'Perfect Pitch’. She’s an incredible player and singer and has been my good friend for more than 30 years.

After playing drums professionally on the road for 40 years, I’ve learned a thing or 2, sometimes the hard way. In this podcast episode, I try my best to answer a hand full of questions I’ve gotten from listeners and students. Questions about making up beats and how to play fills and some about playing with Lonestar. I’m always more than happy to pass along any wisdom I’ve gained from all my years of drumming.

Since the mid 1990’s, Piano/keyboard player Jimmy Nichols has shared his amazing talent for not only playing the piano with great skill but being able to take an ordinary song to great heights. He has played on some of the biggest Nashville sessions and Los Angeles as well. After playing piano on a big Faith Hill session back in the early 2000’s, Faith was so taken by his talent and skill, she made Jimmy her musical director and keyboard player for her touring band. His beginnings with his brothers, The Nichols Brothers had started a career that would eventually lead him to Nashville and to be one of the most sought after piano session players as well as producer. Jimmy takes us out at the end of this episode with a personal song he wrote about his dad. You don't want to miss it.

Muscle memory is one of the biggest parts of practicing and getting to be a better drummer. When you see a pro drummer playing, you are witnessing the finest example of muscle memory there ever could be. Without muscle memory, we would have to think about every tiny little part we are playing and not be able to listen to the other musicians we are playing with. In this episode, I talk about how to use these techniques in your practice routines and 5 things you can work on to make your playing much better through the use of muscle memory.

Designed Drummer is back for Season 3 and we are kicking off episode 1 with Robby Wilson and His daughter Shyanne Wilson. They have such an amazing story. Robby, bass player for Lonestar, started out moving to Los Angeles in the Heavy Metal glory days of 1989, then later relocated to Nashville and continued to play bass, produce music and raise his family. His Daughter Shyanne has grown into an amazing songwriter, singer and producer. Her career started back when she was barely 10 years old. I know you will be inspired by them both. So, jump on in and listen to today's episode with Robby and Shyanne.

Shyanne Wilson's Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/Shyannemusic