Drummers on Drumming

This week’s guest is Michael Benjamin Lerner…drummer, singer, and primary songwriter for the band Telekinesis. I love having songwriters on the show because, as we discuss in this episode, they usually have more of a birds-eye-view-approach to writing drum parts. I was made aware of Michael’s drumming in a really fun way (which we discuss) and, while I never got to meet him when we were both living up in Seattle, this chat is long overdue…at least for me. Michael’s drumming is powerful, deliberate and just fun. We chatted for a long time and a lot our conversation didn’t make the episode, but I made sure to keep in Michael’s perspective on the current state of the music industry and his spot-advice for how to be a successful band member. We, of course, sprinkle in some influences throughout. It got a little rushed at the end, which I do regret, but we’re both busy guys and sometimes it do be like that. He is such a sweetheart and I hope you enjoy this episode. Cheers!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

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This week’s guest is Ira Elliot, drummer for the alternative rock band Nada Surf. Formed in the 90’s, Nada Surf has been going strong for multiple decades with no signs of stopping and Ira has been the backbone behind it all. Ira could be on a Mount Rushmore of drummers who know how to instill their own vibe while not taking anything away from a songwriter’s (in this case, Matthew Caws’) impactful words and melodies. While he definitely has fun behind the kit throughout the records, listening to Nada Surf takes you to school on how to just drum…cool. You know what mean? There’s a quiet confidence about his drum writing and you’ll see what I meannnnn in this episode. Please enjoy my conversation with Ira while we dissect a few songs from his career the top 5 shtuffs that made him into the drummer I wish I was. Cheers!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s guest is Patrick Hallahan, drummer for the rock band My Morning Jacket. Formed in 1998, My Morning Jacket leans heavily into rock and country, but they pride themselves in have no limitations. Patrick, while certainly not tame on MMJ’s records by any means, is a monster drummer live and provides the perfect foundation for a lot of the band’s experimentation. I loved this conversation and was grateful geek out about Levon Helm yet again! Patrick has a great story about meeting Levon so listen for that and be sure to check out My Morning Jacket’s new album which came out Oct 22nd of 2021…and have a great damn day. Cheers!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s guest is Adam Deitch. Adam is the Grammy-nominated drummer for the bands Lettuce and Break Science. He’s also played and / or collaborated with legends such as John Scofield, 50 Cent, Average White Band, DJ Quik, Matisyahu and many, many more. His power and intention behind the kit is one of the most inspiring things to watch and he seems to reinvent his career every few years by just choosing what project to focus on in that moment…because he trusts his instincts. The thru line, however, has always been his collaboration with Lettuce. Anyways, Adam has been on a few previous guest’s top and I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mr. Adam Deitch. 

Earth, Wind & Fire Concert (Oakland Coliseum 1981)

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s guest is the Global Drumming Ambassador himself, Mr. Dom Famularo. I gush over Dom’s impact on my playing at the top of this episode because Dom is an incredible drummer / educator / author / motivational speaker / and lifter-upper-of-vibes based on Long Island. He’s an authority (to say the least!) and it was an honor to have him on the show. In this episode, Dom breaks down the top 5 influences that shaped his playing style. I could also just rename this the Steve Gadd appreciation episode, but Dom has a very thoughtful and unique reason for each of his choices. Please enjoy…Mr. Dom Famularo. Cheers! 

DONATE TO ‘WHY HUNGER’ HERE!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we have Mike Edison (author of the book “Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters”) on the show to discuss the quintessential recordings that showcase Charlie Watts’ progression as a player. Obviously, this is subjective, but thanks to Mike’s EXTENSIVE knowledge of both Charlie’s career and style, I knew he would nail it. Many people, including myself, take The Rolling Stones for granted and have yet to truly dive deep into the humble greatness that was Charlie Watts. 

I also must give a BIG FAT shoutout to our mutual friend Bart van der Zee of Drum Historypodcast for introducing me to Mike. And please go check out their interviews on the Drum History feed as those conversations tackle the treasure trove of Charlie’s career from a different angle.

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Mr. Joe Seiders of The New Pornographers…which I consider a supergroup of songwriters including A.C. Newman, Neko Case, Dan Bejar and, well...the rest of the band; they're all amazing. I’ve known Joe for a few years now after first meeting him backstage at a New Pornographers show, but I’ve always been a big fan of his drumming. As is the case with most of my favorite drummers, he’s a songwriter’s drummer…you know…the best kind? 

His advice on recording and writing drum parts is sprinkled all throughout this conversation pertaining to the top 5 influences that shaped his playing style. Cheers!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

This week’s episode is nothing but good vibes. We’ve got Carson Gant aka @oneupdrumvids on the show. Carson’s ability to recreate classic loops and drum breaks on the acoustic kit is unmatched, but not so much in the vein of Jojo Mayer, Adam Betts, or Richard Spaven (which I know I’ve described in a similar way), Carson focused more on the slower, hip-hop style grooves that might SEEM a little more approachable in comparison to the drummers I just mentioned, but ohhhhh no. Believe me, there are a lot of nuances within a groove that are only exposed at a slower tempo…at least in comparison to drum n bass. This has been a long time coming because Carson has been a busy little Canadian bee launching a website providing different take on the classic loop library system called oneupdrumvids.com which we also talk about during the show. Please enjoy my conversation with Carson Gant on all things groove and the top 5 influences that made him into the drummer he is today. 

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Jake Reed. Jake is a Los Angeles-based session player / educator and the host of an incredible YouTube Channel breaking down recording techniques….(also, I must give a big shoutout to Blair Sinta for inspiring me to reach out to Jake after hearing him as a guest on the “Recording Drums with Blair Sinta” podcast). On top of knowing how to explain things in an extremely approachable way, Jake is simply an amazing drummer. He’s performed / recorded with trioKAIT, Bill Holman, Johnny Mandel, Bill Cunliffe, Bruce Forman, Cow Bop, Seth MacFarlane, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Matt Forbes, Larry Goldings, Anthony Wilson, Adam Levy, Bob Mintzer, Les McCann, Freda Payne, the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Synowiec, Mako, Ellis Hall, Tommy Torres, and Frenship. 

He’s even been asked to sub for Peter Erskine soooooo there’s that. I love his overall energy and perspective on this often-too-serious world of drumming and I knew his choices would expand my own palate and (since I’m recording this after our conversion) I can confidently say I was rightt…just like always! Anyways….I have a feeling Jake will be a recurring guest on this podcast in many facets…so I hope you like this one. If you don’t. Just push PLAY while your phone is on mute because it’s all about those numbers baby. Cheers.  

Check out Jake’s online store HERE

Check out trioKAIT’s online store HERE

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week’s guest is Anika Nilles. She doesn’t really need an introduction because there’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said, but she’s a German drummer who took the drumming world by storm in 2013 and has solidified time and time again why she’s one of the best drummers in the world. I’m continuously blown away that I have the opportunity to chat with people that I admire every week and I can honestly say drummers are the best group of people. I love my job….so please enjoy the top 5 influences that shaped the playing style of Anika Nilles.

P.S. I want to get to know you! Please email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram @benhilzinger and tell me a little bit about yourself! Cheers!

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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!

🎯 Click here to order now!

Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.

For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices