Music's Elite Seat: With Dan Lewis

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Welcome to this episode of Music’s Elite Seat, where we dive deep into the lives and careers of some of the most talented musicians in the industry. In this 15th instalment, I’m thrilled to have with us a true powerhouse of the West End, Touring and Depping Drumming Theatre world, Daniel Hayward. With years of experience on some of the biggest stages in the UK and London's theatre district, Daniel has built a reputation for his incredible versatility, precision, and ability to bring every production he works on to life through rhythm. Not to mention his amazing attitude and great personality.

From the fast-paced world of touring to the unique demands of live musical theatre, Daniel has done it all, working on iconic productions like Frozen, On Your Feet, Dreamgirls, Wicked, The Lion King and so many more. His mastery of both the technical and creative aspects of drumming has earned him accolades from peers and performers alike, as he seamlessly adapts to the dynamic shifts of each show he’s a part of.

But beyond the spotlight, Daniel has managed to strike an impressive balance between his busy career and life off-stage. Whether it’s juggling family life, drum teaching at the Birmingham, Conservator, or pursuing other passions, he continues to stay grounded while navigating the highs and challenges of being a musician in today’s competitive landscape.

In this episode, we’ll be diving into Daniel’s musical journey, his experiences on tour and in the West End, and how he maintains harmony between his personal and professional life. We’ll also explore what it’s like being a drummer in such high-pressure environments and the unique challenges of playing live in musical theatre. So, sit back and enjoy as we chat with the one and only, Daniel Hayward.
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Website - www.MusicsEliteSeat.com
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Tim is a Nashville-based drummer and educator. He has toured with multiple

Nashville artists (Gloriana, Jana Kramer, Jerrod Niemann, Remedy Drive, Cody Fry,

Adam Sanders) and records drums for projects from his home studio as well as other

Nashville-based studios. In addition to touring and recording, Tim is passionate

about creating educational resources for drummers and musicians and maintains a

roster of private students (both virtually and in Nashville).

Tim has also spent many years transcribing drum parts from iconic songs and drum

solos. His transcriptions have been featured by Zildjian, Vic Firth, the Percussive Arts

Society and he has created notation books with Ash Soan, Aaron Sterling, and Aaron

Spears. To view his transcriptions, learn more about lessons, or download free

drumming resources - visit his website: https://www.timbuellmusic.com.

Email - [email protected]

Website - https://www.timbuellmusic.com

Podcast: https://www.youregoodgetbetterpod.com

Instagram - @timbuell

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/timplaysdrums

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Tony Succar is a two-time Latin GRAMMY award-winning artist, producer and composer/arranger. Born in Lima, Peru, and raised in Miami, Florida, Succar earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz Performance from Florida International University in 2008 and his master’s degree in 2010. In 2018, Tony was nominated for the Latin GRAMMY for Best Tropical Song, “Me Enamoro Más de Ti.” He received four nominations in 2019 for his album, Más de Mi, winning Producer of the Year and Best Salsa Album and making history as the youngest winner to ever win both categories. Tony went on to direct and produce his documentary  "MAS DE MI," chronicling his journey from unknown indie artist to Latin Grammy winner, which he released in May 2021, in tandem with his new album “Live in Peru.” Tony has also produced, co-directed, and is featured leading the Raíces Jazz Orchestra in the documentary “Roots of Latin Jazz,”, which premieres on PBS in July 2021. His musical diversity is well-known in the industry, having worked with an impressive array of talented artists, including Tito Nieves, India, Jon Secada, Marc Anthony, Sheila E., Arturo Sandoval, Judith Hill, and Obie Bermudez, among others. His latest single "Tu Mejor Equivocación," is a collaboration with Tik Tok sensation  YX that fuses Salsa and Trap sounds. Tony’s debut album, UNITY: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson, had tremendous success, reaching Billboard’s #1 Tropical Album Music Chart, iTunes' #1 World Latin Chart, and also became a primetime PBS special. In 2021, Tony was elected to the Latin Grammy Board of Governors for the South Florida area. For more information: www.tonysuccar.com - Thank you so much Gabriel for setting up, and a MASSIVE thank you to Tony for being so cool, kind and incredible. I hope you all enjoy! 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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Taking the elite seat today is one of the busiest and best musicians out of the UK Jonathan “Ginger” Hamilton who’s Most known for his drumming work with the amazing Sam Smith. As well as playing for Sam, Jonathan has literally been a pro musician since the age of 14, playing with big gospel artists around London before moving into the mainstream pop music scene at 18. This is literally a guy who’s seen and done it all, and I’m extremely grateful for your time Jonathan! In this conversation we talk about his new clothing line, which he started during this pandemic, his life on tour with various big time UK artists and many other things. Thanks Jonathan for being such a humble and kind bloke! Thank you all for listening and I really hope you enjoy! Be sure to follow @musicseliteseat on instagram and subscribe to musicseliteseat on youtube! Enjoy all! 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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In the elite seat today is the incredible Devon Eisenbarger. Devon plays guitar for the megastar Katy Perry, which has taken her all over the globe, She’s also played with Zayn Malik on the Pillowtalk tour in which we also delve in to. We speak about everything ranging from her technical workouts on the guitar, to touring with one of the biggest artists on the planet to auditions, the universe and everything in between. I honestly can’t thank you enough devon for being such a rockstar and an insanely cool and good person. I had an absolute blast speaking with you! Thank you all for listening and be sure to follow @musicseliteseat on instagram and subscribe to the new youtube channel, which is about to have a LOAD of content posted over the next few months! Thank you, and enjoy! 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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In this episode I'm incredibly lucky to have an hour of one of the busiest teachers on the planets time. Henrique De Almeida is a professor at the worlds best music college [Berklee College of Music] and has been for the last 10 years. Along with this remarkable achievement, he's a world class musician, and has played some of the biggest gigs around. I catch up with Henrique while he's setting up his new drum school in Colorado. I'm so grateful to Erika for helping me set this up and to Henrique for your invaluable advice, insights and time. Thank you all for listening. 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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In this conversation I speak with the incredible Eric "Pik Funk" Smith. Eric is best know for his work playing Bass guitar for superstars Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson, Rhianna, P.Diddy and much more. In this conversation we talk everything touring, family and work-life balance, reading and auditions. Thank you so much Eric for being literally one of the coolest most insightful people I've ever spoken to. There's so much in this to digest and I thoroughly enjoyed the analogy's. Thank you all for listening,

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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Kyle Keegan plays drums for the folk turned alternative sensation artist Ben Howard. Amongst playing some of the greatest and biggest shows on the music circuit, recording for Ben on his last two albums and touring the world, we pretty much cover everything in this conversation. This one is a personal one for me, being a huge Ben Howard fan, and I can't thank Kyle enough for his time and humility. He gives advice on everything from becoming a sustaining a career in music, to his achievements to date, having no clue how big Glastonbury pyramid stage was to play and everything in between. Thank you for listening! 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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Rich Redmond is an incredibly diverse, energetic and inspirational person. He has been playing drums for the country phenomenon Jason Aldean for the last 20 years and achieved 26 #1 singles in the billboard charts throughout his playing career. Rich diversified into becoming a motivational speaker and uses his expert knowledge of live drums in his speeches and incorporates the instrument that got him where he is today. Rich also acts, is an author of drum books and has his own podcast The Rich Redmond Podcast, which is definitely worth checking out. In this instalment we talk everything from playing the biggest stages and TV shows on the planet, to life advice to living and fulfilling your dreams. Thank you to everyone who's listening and thank you Rich for such an energy fulfilling chat. 

[Episode Recorded In 2021]

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[MISSING INTRO]

How is the show going?

It’s going great…you know, we’re rolling, we’re heading towards a year, which is unbelievable. It’s going great! We have lots of new cast members on the horizon and things like that…


Yeah! There’s a cast change coming up, right? Ben Platt being one of the major changes…

Yeah, so Ben leaves November 19th is his last show and we’ve got like an interim Evan Hansen in between I guess like November to January-ish, and then we have a full time one coming in January.


That great! So, talking in almost major steps, how did you get to the position you’re in now?

Well… it’s been a long journey [Laughs]. I came here for grad school mainly and while I was there I worked as a pianist and, you know, anything from auditions to classes, to working with individual actors and performers and musicians and things like that. Just any kind of freelance work with any musician I could, and, you know, I sort of built up a reputation as I went and then started to slowly get different jobs, and I started subbing in to orchestras and bands on Broadway and then sort of slowly made my way in to a permanent position at Wicked…I was there for a very long time…and then Dear Evan Hansen was actually something I was working on over the past few years, they brought me in early on during readings and workshops, and then just stayed with it, and then when time came for it to go to Broadway, I sort of had to make the decision whether to leave Wicked and do it, and I did, and here I am. That’s the quick version [Laughs].

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Ben Cohn is one of the top Musical directors on Broadway today currently the MD for the highly acclaimed, 6 time Tony Award winning musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. Having previously spent 10 years at Wicked on Broadway, Ben has many incredible stories and advice for many wanting to go into similar careers. I caught up with Ben from his home in New York just after an evening performance of Dear Evan Hansen.  

[Episode Recorded In 2017]