Discussions in Percussion

Damon and Marcos interview Ed Choi over several time zones in three different countries. They talk about his upbringing in Canada and the USA, with his start in drum corps and education from some of the greatest educators ever. The talk about some of the mysteries of how to pursue being a classically trained orchestral musician as well as some of the other jobs available in that realm. There's also an iconic recording, an educational spotlight and some music news.

Damon interviews Andy Smith and they talk about his upbringing in CT, attending Berklee to Umass to Nashville and eventually to Texas with all the adventures he has along the way. Marcos Joins and there's an iconic recording, product reviews, music news and more!

Damon talks to Nick Angelis about starting drums at age 5, playing in drum corps, learning from the masters of rudimental drumming, Blast! going to Umass Amherst, Brass Theater, getting a masters degree, teaching at the University of Cincinnati and more! Marcos joins to talk about various gig alerts, new songs out, social soundbytes, product reviews, and iconic recording and music news.

Damon and Marcos interview Chris Robley of CD Baby and he answers questions from listeners about understanding streaming, royalties, monetization, sync licensing and so much more! They dig into some of the new ways the business of music is being conducted in this new era. There's also festival alerts, educational spotlight, and iconic recording and music news!

Damon and Marcos talk with Taku Hirano while he's on tour with Fleetwood Mac. They talk about his upbringing in California and start with classical percussion, then going to Berklee, and expanding his horizon with learning percussion from Cuba/the Caribbean, the Middle East, Japan and more. He's one of the most in demand percussionists on the scene today, and he talks about what goes into making that happen as well as other fun tidbits. There's also some gear talk, music news, festival alerts and other segments.

Damon and Marcos talk to Jessie Caraballo about growing up in New England then moving to Florida. They talk about starting on drums, moving to timbales and then combining the two and so much more! There's also an iconic recording, festival alerts and educational spotlight and music news!

Damon and Marcos talk to Carter about his new book, the Four Hands Drumming website, why he quit drumming and the comeback. There's some gear talk and much more! There's some new albums out, festival alerts, an iconic recording and RIP to Jerry Gonzalez, along with music news.

Damon chops it up with Nate and they talk about Indiana to North Texas. His brother Nick, and the move to NYC. They talk about winning Grammys, the album Snarky Puppy just finished recording as well as the upcoming Ghost Note tour (and new album). Nate drops a lot of wisdom on various topics. Marcos joins to talk about an iconic recording, product reviews, gig alerts, a couple of educational spotlights, music news and more!

Damon interviews Josh Dion and talks about his upbringing as well as how he started playing drums and then learning that he could sing as well. They talk about how Paris Monster was formed and the details on how that band works and more. Marcos joins Damon to talk about an iconic recording, educational spotlight, social soundbyte, music news and much more!

Damon sits down with Thom Hannum, Colin McNutt & Ian Hale at Umass Amherst. They talk about what goes into creating a great program, and keeping it consistent from year to year as well as other fun tidbits (Some selected info was redacted to protect the innocent). Marcos joins Damon to talk product reviews, an iconic recording, gig alerts, music news and other segments.