Go with Elmo Lovano

Episode 84: Dave Weckl

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Episode 83: Narada Michael Walden Part 2

At this point in the story, Narada has gone from a jazz fusion drummer with Mahavishnu Orchestra, to a major label solo artist with hits, to a Grammy-winning producer with Aretha Franklin. And now... Whitney Houston enters the picture.

We kick off this episode with the moment Narada and Whitney's journey starts together. He gets a call from Arista A&R exec Jerry Griffith, who discovered Whitney, asking him to work with the unknown artist. Narada says yes and immediately produces "How Will I Know." The song becomes a number 1 hit. Then comes the call from Clive Davis asking for a follow-up. Narada delivers "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." The story continues.

We also get into his work with a then unknown Mariah Carey, and wild stories from across his life, including how Narada introduced Jaco Pastorius to Weather Report, giving Jaco his big break!

Narada is an incredible soul with a deep story and endless energy. This is Part 2 of our conversation. Let's go!!

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

(0:00:00) TRAILER

(0:01:52) NARADA INTRODUCTION

(0:03:33) A SPECIAL OFFER FROM DISTROKID

(0:04:46) MEETING WHITNEY HOUSTON

(0:07:12) “HOW WILL I KNOW” WHITNEY & CISSY HOUSTON

(0:12:28) “THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL”

(0:14:26) “HOW WILL I KNOW”

(0:16:16) PRODUCING 80’S DRUM SOUNDS

(0:17:37) “I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY”

(0:21:12) WHITNEY’S REACTION

(0:23:32) MAKING WHITNEY HAPPY

(0:24:30) TARPAN STUDIOS

(0:25:14) PRODUCING TIPS, MUSIC IMPACT ON THE WORLD

(0:26:41) DRUM INTRO FOR “I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY”

(0:27:43) CLIVE DAVIS’ REACTION

(0:28:10) CREATING A TEAM, RANDY JACKSON, WALTER AFANASIEF

(0:32:10:19) MANAGEMENT, ADMIN SIDE OF BUSINESS

(0:35:14) KITES ARE FUN BY FREE DESIGN

(0:35:38) “I’M EVERY WOMAN”

(0:37:51) UNRELEASED WHITNEY HOUSTON SONGS

(0:39:21) HOW TO ASK GOD WHAT TO DO

(0:40:43) INTRODUCING JACO PASTORIUS TO WEATHER REPORT

(0:44:00) PAT MATHENY

(0:45:12) HIRAM BULLOCK, “I CRY, I SMILE”

(0:45:42) MARIAH CAREY

(0:49:34) MARIAH CAREY & JAY-Z “HEARTBREAKER, STACY LATTISAW

(0:50:33) WORKING WITH OTHER PRODUCERS, ANDERSON .PAAK

(0:52:14) MAKING A HIT, JOURNEY

(0:53:07) RAPID FIRE INTERVIEW

(0:54:13) DRUMMING FOR JOURNEY, STEVE SMITH

(0:54:55) NARADA’S NEW MUSIC, “HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME”

(0:57:54) LOVE FOR DRUMMERS

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Episode 82: Narada Michael Walden.

He went from being the drummer of Mahavishnu Orchestra and landing the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine, to producing Whitney Houston’s biggest hits and winning the GRAMMY for Producer of the Year. This interview is the epic journey of Narada Michael Walden.

I loved this conversation so much. Narada’s positive, creative energy jumps out at you immediately.

We go deep into his drumming career, how he got the gig with his favorite band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, following the great Billy Cobham. How he landed a record deal as a solo artist, almost got dropped, then shifted his focus to disco and scored a hit that saved his career.

Then came the call from Clive Davis that launched his producing career and brought him Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and so many more.

His story is incredibly inspiring. From super drummer, to successful solo artist to hit producer. We went so deep on Mahavishnu in this convo that we had to do this interview in two parts!

I’m happy now to bring you Part 1 with the brilliant and fun Narada Michael Walden.

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

Big thanks to our friends at DistroKid! DistroKid is the easiest and fastest way to get your music on over 150 platforms worldwide! Go to https://distrokid.com/vip/elmo to get 20% off your first year!

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!  

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Episode 81: Kevin Lyman. The Vans Warped Tour is the longest-running touring music festival in North America, drawing over 750,000 fans every summer at its peak. And it all started with one guy — Kevin Lyman.

In this episode, we sit down in person with the man who turned parking lots into punk rock playgrounds, helped break some of the biggest names in music, and built a generation-defining cultural movement.

Warped Tour was the first concert I ever went to at 13 years old, and a few years later, I was lucky enough to play the tour multiple times, including full runs, and again in 2010 with Skrillex. It was a big contributor in shaping my life. In this conversation, I finally got to ask Kevin everything I’ve wanted to know for years.

We dive deep into:

- How Kevin started Warped Tour from scratch

- How he landed the sponsorship deal with Vans

- The behind-the-scenes details that kept it running for 24 years

- How he gave stages to artists like Sublime, No Doubt, Blink-182, Eminem, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Avenged Sevenfold, Paramore, Deftones, Katy Perry, The Used, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, Sugar Ray, and MXPX

- How legends like NOFX, Bad Religion, Rancid, Pennywise, and Less Than Jake helped anchor the tour

- Why set times changed daily, were never announced in advance, and who set them

- Working with Sublime, what Brad Nowell was like, and how Brad's death led Kevin to focus on helping people with recovery

- Kevin's personal mission, values, and work ethic behind it all

This 90-minute deep dive is the ultimate Warped Tour tell-all. We recorded it right after the first Warped Tour returned in Washington D.C. in July 2025 — with Long Beach and Florida still to come.

Kevin Lyman is a punk rock pioneer, a cultural architect, and one of the most influential figures in live music. I’m honored to share this one with you. Here’s my conversation with the amazing Kevin Lyman. Let's go!!

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO

(0:05:04) WARPED TOUR 2025 D.C.

(0:09:12) WARPED TOUR 1998

(0:12:30) WHY KEVIN CREATED WARPED TOUR

(0:15:54) VANS

(0:16:30) WARPED TOUR YEAR ONE

(0:19:29) BLINK-182

(0:19:56) HOW VANS GOT INVOLVED

(0:26:10) BECOMING PROFITABLE

(0:28:06) CREATING DAILY SET TIMES

(0:29:35) SET TIME LOTTERY

(0:32:28) HOW TO SETUP WARPED TOUR

(0:34:34) MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY

(0:35:33) BRINGING FRIENDS ON STAGE, SKRILLEX (SONNY MOORE)

(0:39:35) LEGENDARY BANDS

(0:41:32) THE PUNKS

(0:44:51) BLINK-182, TOUR BUS STORIES

(0:50:06) KEVIN’S WARPED TOUR DAILY ROUTINE

(0:54:16) SUBLIME

(0:55:39) KICKING OUT SUBLIME IN 1995

(1:00:22) BRADLEY NOWELL

(1:03:30) 2019 WARPED TOUR, BRINGING IT BACK IN 2025

(1:05:24) NOFX

(1:07:19) NO DOUBT 1995

(1:08:23) CRAZY STORIES

(1:10:05) KEVIN’S DREAM WARPED TOUR BILL

(1:12:04) LONG BEACH 2025

(1:13:04) BIGGEST WARPED TOUR MOMENT, BECOMING A PROFESSOR

(1:14:13) HOW TO WALK AWAY

(1:17:53) HANDLING HEALTH

(1:19:21) L.A. WILDFIRES

(1:21:44) HOW TO SKIP THE 2025 WARPED TOUR LINE

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Episode 80: Mike Caren.

If you’re in the music industry, you hear the name Mike Caren all the time. He’s one of the most powerful people in music, with a career that’s led to billions of streams, multiple GRAMMY wins, and chart-topping, career-defining hits as both an A&R and executive.

He’s signed and/or helped break artists like Bruno Mars, Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Kehlani, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Wiz Khalifa, Flo Rida, T.I., Trey Songz, Ava Max, Kevin Gates, and Don Toliver.

He started his career at Atlantic Records at just 18 years old, eventually becoming President of Worldwide A&R at Warner Music Group. Today, he is the founder and CEO of APG, which includes Artist Partner Group (label) and Artist Publishing Group (publishing), one of the most successful independent music companies in the world.

This is Mike Caren’s first-ever long-form, on-camera interview. Mike usually keeps a low profile, so I was honored he agreed to do this. We dive into his full trajectory, how he got where he is today, lessons learned, and his advice for artists, songwriters, and A&Rs trying to build meaningful careers in today’s music landscape. We also talk artist development, the balance of creativity and business, AI and more. There’s so much to take away from this one.

Hope you enjoy my conversation with the great Mike Caren!

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO

(0:07:13) EARLY CAREER, GROWING UP

(0:08:22) RADIO SHOW WITH THE ALCHEMIST

(0:09:20) INTERSCOPE RECORDS INTERNSHIP 1993

(0:13:10) PROVIDE VALUE

(0:14:34) MARKETING ROLES

(0:17:14) CRAIG KALLMAN, BIG BEAT, ATLANTIC

(0:19:21) BLACK EYED PEAS, SIGNING TWISTA

(0:21:56) THE PHARCYDE REMIX, STARTING IN A&R

(0:24:23) BECOMING EVP OF A&R AT ATLANTIC RECORDS, SIGNING TRICK DADDY, TRINA, T.I., TREY SONGZ, NAPPY ROOTS

(0:28:10) STARTING APG

(0:31:37) ATLANTIC AND APG

(0:33:18) BEING AN EXEC WHILE RUNNING A PUBLISHING COMPANY, STARTING ELEKTRA RECORDS

(0:34:15) CEELO GREEN

(0:34:30) B.O.B, “NOTHING ON YOU” WITH BRUNO MARS

(0:35:13) SIGNING ED SHEERAN

(0:36:49) SIGNING BRUNO MARS, BRANDY, AARON BAY-SCHUCK

(0:41:09) BEING A CO-PRESIDENT WITH JOHN JANICK

(0:42:35) SIA & DAVID GUETTA “TITANIUM”

(0:48:23) PRESIDENT OF A&R WARNER MUSIC GROUP, SIGNING KEVIN GATES

(0:51:57) CHARLIE PUTH, WIZ KHALIFA, LIL WAYNE

(0:54:09) KEHLANI

(0:56:16) “SEE YOU AGAIN” CHARLIE PUTH

(0:57:43) CREDITING

(1:03:01) HOW TO PRIORITIZE

(1:10:10) CRAFTING HIT SONGS IN 2025

(1:17:24) A.I.

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Episode 79. Omar Hakim, Part 2!

We’re back with the drumming legend Omar Hakim and pick up right where we left off in Part 1. We start with the wild story of how he met Sting while recording Brothers In Arms with Dire Straits… ON AN ISLAND. This story blows my mind.

From there, we continue through his career with Sting, Miles Davis, Madonna, and the crazy story of making the Daft Punk hit "Get Lucky." This episode is full of rare backstories, industry gems, and lessons in creativity and innovation.

We talk about Omar being an early adopter of electronic and acoustic hybrid drum setups. As the drummer for Madonna in her stadium-filling heyday, Omar blended cutting-edge sampling, triggers, and MIDI controllers to deliver on recordings’ impossible sounds in a live setting, building custom rigs and using expression pedals for real-time sound bending.

This preceded today's standard in pop touring, marking him as a pioneer for the next generation of drummers. We also get into the business side of touring and recording and where Omar is at today. I hope you enjoy Part 2 of my conversation with the man, Omar Hakim!

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO  

(0:03:34) HOW OMAR MET STING  

(0:08:13) SESSIONS WITH STING  

(0:10:30) STINGS FIRST SOLO TOUR  

(0:11:07) “BRING ON THE NIGHT” FILM  

(0:14:58) THE “BRING ON THE NIGHT” BAND  

(0:17:19) MILES DAVIS  

(0:18:36) HANGING WITH MILES DAVIS  

(0:20:52) MILES KNEW OMAR’S DAD, JAMAICA QUEENS  

(0:33:09) MADONNA, LIONEL RICHIE  

(0:39:20) MICHAEL BEARDEN  

(0:40:08) LUIS CONTE, MADONNA BAND  

(0:41:24) DAFT PUNK, “GET LUCKY”  

(0:48:47) JOHN JR ROBINSON  

(0:51:20) THE 80’S MUSIC BUSINESS MODEL  

(0:59:21) MARKET RATES FOR MUSICIANS  

(1:02:11) SONIC BOOM SQUAD, RACHEL Z, LIFE TODAY

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Episode 78: Omar Hakim.

Today on the pod we’ve got one of the most recorded drummers of all time. The legendary Omar Hakim! We went deep for over 2 hours, and unlocked SO MUCH GOLD, so we’re releasing this conversation in two parts.

In Part 1, Omar shares the stories behind some of his most iconic recordings, including his legendary session with David Bowie on Let’s Dance, his deep musical relationship with Nile Rodgers, and his time in Weather Report.

We also get into the wild story of how he tracked the entire Dire Straits album "Brothers in Arms" (including the questions I’ve always had about Money for Nothing).

With this interview, I hope you'll now understand how Omar became the legend he is today. I think your mind will be blown when you hear about the caliber of musicians that were around him since he was a kid!

Part 2 drops next week. For now, here’s the first hour of my conversation with the amazing Omar Hakim.

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO

(0:04:57) STARTING PROFESSIONALLY AT AGE 10

(0:05:57) JAMAICA QUEENS, NEW YORK

(0:07:13) TOURING WITH JAY MASON AT AGE 15

(0:08:08) OPENING FOR HALL & OATS, PLAYING ARENAS AS A TEENAGER

(0:08:42) LABELLE, LADY MARMALADE

(0:11:15) JOINING WEATHER REPORT

(0:11:35) DAVID SANDBOURNE, “AS WE SPEAK” RECORD, MARCUS MILLER

(0:12:10) CARLY SIMON

(0:13:29) OTHER GIGS IN TEENAGE YEARS

(0:14:18) OPENING FOR “RETURN TO FOREVER”

(0:15:00) CHICK COREA, STANLEY CLARKE STORY

(0:20:02) GETTING THE GIG WITH WEATHER REPORT

(0:21:41) MILES DAVIS

(0:22:53) GETTING THE GIG WITH WEATHER REPORT CONTINUED

(0:24:57) HUGH MASEKELA, VICTOR BAILEY

(0:26:56) HOW THE WEATHER REPORT GIG CHANGED OMAR’S LIFE

(0:27:31) NILE RODGERS

(0:28:32) DAVID BOWIE’S “LET’S DANCE”

(0:33:08) BECOMING A MUSICAL CHAMELEON

(0:34:08) “LET’S DANCE” DRUM PART, THOUGHT PROCESS

(0:36:53) RECORDING “RICOCHET” WITH DAVID BOWIE

(0:38:22) TIPS FOR SESSION MUSICIANS

(0:40:05) GROWING UP WITH NILE RODGERS

(0:41:59) NILE RODGERS, “GOOD TIMES” MASTERING SESSION

(0:44:58) NILE RODGERS AS A PRODUCER

(0:47:23) DAVID BOWIE SESSIONS, SAYING NO TO TOURING

(0:50:26) DAVID BOWIE “TONIGHT” ALBUM RECORDING

(0:51:42) TURNING DOWN BOWIE FOR WEATHER REPORT

(0:55:22) DIRE STRAITS “MONEY FOR NOTHING”

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Episode 77: Steve Smith.
The incredible, multi-faceted, Steve Smith was one of my favorite drummers growing up. His playing with Journey blew me mind, and the fact that he had a full-on jazz career alongside his rock success made him even more inspiring to me.

Steve made Modern Drummer’s Top 25 Drummers of All Time list and won the #1 All-Around Drummer Award five years in a row. His credits are stacked, from early gigs with Jean Luc-Ponty (alongside Allan Holdsworth), Focus, and Ronnie Montrose, to arena-filling hits with Journey, to leading his band Vital Information (for the past 4 decades). He’s done sessions with Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Vasco Rossi, Zucchero, Savage Garden, Bryan Adams, and Zakir Hussain.

On the jazz side, Steve has played with heavyweights like Steps Ahead, Tom Coster, Ahmad Jamal, Victor Wooten, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Frank Gambale, Stuart Hamm, Dweezil Zappa, Hiromi, and Bill Evans.
Steve is one of the greatest to ever do it, and it was a total honor to have him on the show. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the legendary Steve Smith!

Special thanks to Zildjian. I used their ALCHEM-E Perfect Tune Headphones in this episode and loved it. Check it out! https://zildjian.com/products/zildjian-alchem-e-perfect-tune-headphones?variant=49623287628068

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO

(0:06:01) FROM JAZZ TO JOURNEY

(0:11:02) PROGRESSIVE FUSION, BOSTON FROM 1972 TO 1976

(0:12:24) JEAN-LUC PONTY

(0:13:37) MOVING TO L.A. IN 1978

(0:15:13) SONOR FUSION DRUM KIT, RONNIE MONTROSE

(0:16:24) OPENING FOR JOURNEY IN 1978 WITH RONNIE MONTROSE

(0:17:02) TOURING WITH VAN HALEN, RONNIE, AND JOURNEY

(0:18:37) GETTING THE GIG WITH JOURNEY

(0:20:51) AN IMPRESSIVE CAREER AT 24 YEARS OLD

(0:21:49) WHAT VAN HALEN WAS LIKE IN THE EARLY DAYS

(0:24:25) RECORDING JOURNEY’S ALBUM, “EVOLUTION”

(0:24:54) HOW JOURNEY’S HIT SINGLES CHANGED STEVE SMITH’S LIFE

(0:27:42) PLAYING JAZZ, MEETING RANDY JACKSON

(0:28:40) STARTING VITAL INFORMATION

(0:29:32) GETTING FAMOUS

(0:33:36) “DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’”

(0:40:45) CREATING JOURNEY’S BIGGEST HITS

(0:44:03) DRUM SOLOS

(0:45:44) ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME, DANNY SERAPHINE, NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, BILLY COBHAM

(0:46:56) MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA

(0:48:13) LEAVING JOURNEY

(0:53:11) “TRIAL BY FIRE” ALBUM

(0:55:02) TRANSITIONING OUT OF JOURNEY

(1:02:20) BUDDY RICH BIG BAND

(1:06:13) NEAL PEART FRIENDSHIP

(1:07:08) TOURING

(1:11:31) TOURING WITH VITAL INFORMATION IN 2025

(1:12:09) HOW TO PLAY GREAT EVERY NIGHT

(1:13:58) STAYING INSPIRED

(1:15:00) DRUMMING IN NEW YORK CITY

(1:16:19) HOW TO BUILD A DRUM COURSE

(1:20:02) HOW TO SYSTEMATICALLY PRACTICE

(1:23:12) KONNAKOLS, ZAKIR HUSSAIN, INDIA

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Journey's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speeches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XyCKJ-Z9dA

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Episode 76: Jerrod "J-Rod" Sullivan.

If you're a drummer, chances are you've seen J-Rod pop up in your feed. He's one of the most exciting drummers to watch, and now he’s holding down the drum chair for Janet Jackson. From uploading his first drum video to YouTube back in 2006 to building an audience of over 700,000 followers, J-Rod is living proof that consistency and passion pay off.

We get into everything from his early days playing in church to building an online community of over 700K+ followers with his drum videos and how he creates them. We talk about staying consistent while on the road, and why authenticity is everything. Plus, we go deep into the Janet Jackson gig, talking about how it came together from a DM and the sacrifice he took dedicating 2 months to turn this Janet Jackson opportunity into a closed deal.

I had to find out how in the world he plays the infamous “Control” drum fill, his gear setups, how he makes his social media videos (both the cameras, the audio, and the process), creating drumless tracks with the Moises app, his band The 4 Korners, staying sharp, and why it pays to act as if you already got the gig.

J-Rod came through to my hotel room in Las Vegas to link up the next day after his show with Janet Jackson. I went to the show and it was incredible. After the show, we went out with Zedd until 5 a.m., and the next morning he went straight to AMA rehearsals with Janet, then soundcheck at Resorts World with Janet, then to my hotel room to do the interview, and then straight to his show with Janet that night. We were running on fumes for this convo, which made it fun in it's own way. We dive into his story, his viral rise, how he landed the Janet gig, and so much more.

Here's my conversation with the incredible, Jerrod "J-Rod" Sullivan!

(0:00) INTRO

(01:17) THE JANET JACKSON LAS VEGAS SHOW

(02:37) ZEDD

(03:20) STARTING OUT, JROD'S SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE

(06:30) J-ROD'S DRUM TONE

(07:20) HOW GETTING NOTICED CHANGED J-ROD

(08:27) VIDEO CREATION PROCESS

(11:07) DECISIVENESS

(13:26) DRUMLESS TRACKS

(13:56) HOME RECORDING RIG

(15:11) HOW TO MAKE TRACKS DRUMLESS

(16:11) PARAMORE'S "AIN'T IT FUN" COVER

(17:06) GAINING TRACTION OVER 10 YEARS

(18:43) GETTING THE GIG WITH JANET JACKSON

(34:19) OFFICIALLY GETTING THE GIG WITH JANET

(36:24) REHEARSALS WITH JANET JACKSON

(40:42) "CONTROL" DRUM FILL

(43:41) MEETING JANET JACKSON AT REHEARSALS

(46:40) LIFE RIGHT NOW AND WHAT'S NEXT

(50:17) WHO SHOULD BE ON THE PODCAST? 

Here's the Jimmy Jam Videos that were referenced in the video:

Jimmy Jam Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VQgpr2WNM0&t=3894s

Jimmy Jam Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R4utgYvHdY&t=2305s

Flyte Tyme Studios Tour with Jimmy Jam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=updSUi65UvI&t=1266s

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!  

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Thomas Lang: Drum God Mode, Practice Secrets, Clinics, Social Media Trends with guest Luke Holland!

Episode 75: Thomas Lang.

Thomas Lang is one of the best drummers of all time. His drive and focused, intentional practice has led to him being one of the most sophisticated drummers, producers, and composers, with the ability to do four-limb separation beyond pretty much anyone else. On top of that ability, he is musical! He's also a great human, impressive entrepreneur, and a fun guy to hang with.

In this episode, we dive deep into his story, how he became the Thomas Lang we see today — both in his skill sets and his success. We talk about how he throws his drum camps, his insane clinics (he did the biggest clinic tour of all time), how to practice correctly, what to do and what not to do. You'll also get a glimpse into his great personality and mindset.

Luke Holland jumped in and joined us in this interview as well, which was fun since we're all friends. Together we talked about something you all want to know — our least favorite social media drumming trends lol. More importantly, keeping the inspiration to continue drumming, and so much more.

Here's my interview with the awesome Thomas Lang, and special guest Luke Holland, Let's go!!

Special thanks to Apogee Electronics. We used their Apogee HypeMic and Podcast Kit in this episode and they sounded great. Check it out!Apogee HypeMic & Podcast Kit: https://apogeedigital.com/product/podcast-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOor0bzlGQhUM0cHCNZoSPLEmXEl_qjIO-AQhdsDTDCxQCP7zNBd_

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(0:00:00) INTRO

(0:04:16) CREATIVE CONTROL DVD

(0:12:10) HOW THOMAS BECAME 'SUPER DRUMMER'

(0:14:21) THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DRUM CLINIC TOUR

(0:20:22) ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(0:21:04) HOW TO PUT A DRUM EVENT TOGETHER

(0:28:07) BIGGEST REVENUE GENERATOR

(0:30:35) SIGNATURE PRODUCTS

(0:34:04) PRICING

(0:37:30) THOMAS LANG ON PRACTICING

(0:45:17) SLEEP

(0:46:09) PRIMUS & DREAM THEATER AUDITION

(0:50:24) SOCIAL MEDIA DRUMMING

(0:51:05) PRIMUS AUDITION

(0:51:45) WHO THOMAS LANG LOOKS UP TO

(0:53:11) LUKE HOLLAND APPEARS

(0:55:05) INSTAGRAM DRUM TRENDS WE DON'T LIKE

(1:02:36) HOW TO STAY INSPIRED

(1:21:05) THE DRUM WORLD TODAY

(1:27:21) AI DRUMMING

(1:29:38) DREAM COLLABS

Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!  

Listen to the audio form of this podcast wherever you get your podcasts: https://elmolovano.komi.io/

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https://www.instagram.com/thomaslangdrum/

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