Todd Suchermann- Percussion Discussion - Episode 121 

Im thrilled to be joined for todays Percussion Discussion by the one and only Todd Sucherman!

 Todd is best known for playing drums for legendary American rockers Styx since 1995. Join Todd and myself for a thrilling conversation covering many areas of Todds remarkably busy life and career. 

We talk about the many drums in his stunning room and how he goes about choosing the right job for the right song. 

We also discuss Todd's approach to putting drums down remotely after getting a track with programmed drums or a guide track. 

I had to ask Todd about his stunning version of the Foo Fighters Rope on Drumeo after one listen, Todd lets us into a little secret that he didnt want to do it and it took Jared Falk to offer Todd a beautiful (and rare) Jade Green Yamaha Recording Custom snare drum to twist his arm in to doing it!! 

This was a real pleasure to do, Todd is a wonderful guy and i thank him for giving up the time from his crazy busy schedule to talk to me! 

huge thanks must go to our mutual pal Peter 'Dougal' Butler for putting us in touch!

Robert Sput Searight - Percussion Discussion - Episode 120

 Joining me today is one of the best and funkiest drummers on the planet, Robert Sput Searight. 

Sput is a multi Grammy award winning and remarkable drummer / keyboard player / composer who has played for the likes of Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Snarky Puppy, Ghost - Note and of course now Toto!

 Join Sput and myself as we talk through some of the elements of his stunning career so far from his beginnings and how church played a huge part of his musical education through to Ghost - Note. 

Sput also shares with us the really interesting story of how he ended up being endorsed by Meinl Cymbals.

 Of course we had to talk about his gig with Toto and how it felt to get the call from Steve Lukather asking him to join.

 There is so much more to this amazing conversation than i have put in this description as i really want you to listen to it!
 
 I am so grateful to Sput for giving up his time so generously. Hope you enjoy it.
 
www.ghost-note-official.com

 www.totoofficial.com

Joining me today is Chris Jago for the second part of our conversation.

 Chris originally hails from Toxteth in Liverpool however he has lived in Los Angeles for the last 20 years. Chris has a remarkable story in the world of drumming and music in general, he has played for the likes of the legendary Neil Diamond, Alan Cumming, Boy George, Barclay James Harvest and many more....... but wait there is more, Chris is hugely respected in the musical theatre / Broadway world with a whole other CV in his back pocket including Wicked, Rent (Live on Fox) We Will Rock You, Frozen the musical plus he has written the drum book for Paradise Square and his new musical Shucked. 

Join Chris and myself as we talk through his incredible career so far from his beginnings in Toxteth through to heading to London to hopefully take his career further and how he found himself in accidentally in a Musical thinking that the audition for a touring band!

 we talk about all the twists and turns that lead Chris to where he is now, an incredibly busy drummer with many plates to juggle including his own Shabby Road Studio where Chris is constantly recording drum parts for many clients around the world. 

Todays Episode includes the INCREDIBLE Neil Diamond story, you need to listen to it, im not giving it away! 

Chris - Thanks so much for giving up your time, cant tell you how much i enjoyed it. 

www.chrisjago.com

Joining me today is Chris Jago.

 Chris originally hails from Toxteth in Liverpool however he has lived in Los Angeles for the last 20  years.

 Chris has a remarkable story in the world of drumming and music in general, he has played for the likes of the legendary Neil Diamond, Alan Cumming, Boy George, Barclay James Harvest and many more....... but wait there is more, Chris is hugely respected in the musical theatre / Broadway world with a whole other CV in his back pocket including Wicked, Rent (Live on Fox) We Will Rock You, Frozen the musical plus he has written the drum book for Paradise Square and his new musical Shucked. 

Join Chris and myself as we talk through his incredible career so far from his beginnings in Toxteth through to heading to London to hopefully take his career further and how he found himself in accidentally in a Musical thinking that the audition for a touring band!

 we talk about all the twists and turns that lead Chris to where he is now, an incredibly busy drummer with many plates to juggle including his own Shabby Road Studio where Chris is constantly recording drum parts for many clients around the world. 

We had such an enjoyable conversation it went on a bit longer than they usually do so i have decided to put this out as 2 parts, Part 2 contains the most incredible story about Chris's run up to actually playing with Neil Diamond.....DONT MISS IT!!

 Chris - Thanks so much for giving up your time, cant tell you how much i enjoyed it.

www.chrisjago.com

Homer Steinweiss - Percussion Discussion - Episode 118 

Joining me today is Homer Steinweiss, Homer is a drummer, writer and producer from New York, he has an enviable CV of both live and recording credits including - Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Fleet Foxes, Lady Ga Ga, Bruno Mars, Texas, Amy Winehouse, St Vincent, Michael Buble, Charles Bradley, Sheryl Crow, Rufus Wainright, Daniel Merriweather and literally hundreds more! 

Join Homer and myself as we talk about his quite remarkable career so far - we talk about his work with late Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and the effort that went in to making those beautifully crafted and incredibly authentic sounding albums, including the approach of the producer, recording equipment and of course the vintage drums themselves, something Homer is very passionate about (as am i) 

We also talk about his work with the late great Charles Bradley and how his soulful style was the perfect fit with Homers beautiful and equally soulfull touch on the drums. 

Homer speaks at length about how he thinks drummers should recieve a writing credit for coming up with a drum part for a song, he explains that had this happened many years ago then the likes of the late Clyde Stubblefield could have had a much more comfortable lifestyle later in life as the composer of one of the most sampled drum beats in history "The Funky Drummer" 

We also talk about the sessions with Mark Ronson about the Amy Winehouse Back to Black sessions of which Homer played on half of the tracks on this iconic album, he lso tells about how Valerie was recorded live in the studio with Amy Winehouse singing!

 This conversation was nothing short of remarkable, Homers name deserves far more recognition than it presently has, an incredible drummer, writer & producer plus with a great head for business too.

Homer kindly offered to let me use the beautiful playing that you hear over the titles totally free of charge, definitely more drummy and more in keeping with the nature of this podcast.

www.homersteinweiss.com

Please rate and review this podcast if you are enjoying it - Thanks!

Joining me today is Grammy winning drummer, producer and composer Trevor Lawrence Jr. 

Trevor has an impeccable career as drummer, composer and producer, his CV boasts names such as Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, LeAnn Rimes, Macy Gray, Eminem, DJ Khaled, Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys...... the list goes on and on! 

Join Trevor and myself as we chat about his love of hip hop and how he thinks the genre is stagnating a little at the moment with no Number 1 album or single from this genre this year as yet. Trevor tells us about his incredible work ethic, being taken seriously as a producer, how he finds time to share between work, family, his love of firearms and spending time at the shooting range!

 As if thats not busy enough, we talk about his love of photography which is going to be another side to his business and the exclusve news that he has a new Podcast about to come out with Thomas Lang, you heard it here first!

 We also chat about the Clapstack, a cymbal he designed with Istanbul Agop to replicate the sound of an authentic hand clap, something he was keen to have without having to use, Pads, triggers and mountains of equipment. 

I had to ask Trevor about two huge musical events that he took part in - The half time show at the 2022 Superbowl with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre and of course playing Live 8 with Stevie Wonder in 2005 in Philadelphia. 

Thank you so much to Trevor for giving his valuable time up to speak to me, it was a conversation i thoroughly enjoyed!

 www.trevorlawrencejr.com

 www.trevorlawrencejrflix.com

Joining me today is Mikey Sorbello. 

Mikey is an Australian born  London based Drummer. Perhaps best known for being the percussive half of The Graveltones, Mikey has graced stages around the world and has played on countless albums. 

Here is a quote from UK Session Great Ash Soan about Mikey....

 "Mikey has a unique playing style which reflects his personality. I feel personality and individuality are very much needed in todays players. If you learn one thing from Mikey, it will be how to find your own personality and style" 

Join Mikey and myself as we chat about his career so far - We of course talk about The Graveltones, Mikey's love/obsession with Coffee, we share our mutual love of vintage drums and how sad it makes us when we see vintage drums that have been fitted with modern components, something that irks every vintage drum nuts! 

We also talk about his unique style, and how his instantly recognisable set mutated from a more regular set up. 

Mikey is an incredible drummer and a great human being to boot, check out his performance from the 2022 UK Drum Show on YouTube if you are in any doubt!

Mikey - Thank you for being a wonderful guest. 

Mark Pusey - Percussion Discussion - Episode 115

 Joining me today is Mark Pusey. 

Mark is a superb british session drummer, he has played for some amazing artists such as Tom Jones, Andrea Bocelli, Nicole Scherzinger, Leona Lewis, Olly Murs, Sarah Brightman and Pixie Lott and for the last 11 years has been the drummer for Ed Sheeran. 

Mark has also worked on many movie soundtracks including the 2019 Elton John Biopic Rocketman. 

Join Mark and myself as we talk about his recent feature in Modern Drummer Magazine and why this was so special to him! 

We also chat about the huge stadium tour that he is bang in the middle of with the mighty Ed Sheeran (Mark was actually talking from his hotel room in Atlanta, just a few hours before hitting the stage in front of 75,000 fans!) Mark talks to me about how the band are completly live with no click tracks at all and how Ed likes to change the setlist and how the songs are performed on the night! He also explains the changes he has to make to his own playing when going from a more intimate venue into a stadium. 

Mark has recently recorded some drums & percussion on some huge films that will be hitting the Silver Screen next year (2024) The film version of the west end & broadway smash Wicked, this will be featuring Jeff Goldblum & Ariana Grande. He also appears on Back to Black, the upcoming Amy Winehouse Biopic that will also be out next year. Mark talks to us about the different approaches that can be taken when recording soundtracks for movies, some having well written parts, some not so, but requiring a little bit of creativity to satisfy the directors needs.

It was a real pleaseure chaatting to Mark, i feel we only scratched the surface on his already incredible impressice career! 

Mark - Thank you so much!

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Percussion Discussion - Episode 114 - Ian Palmer.

Joining me today is my good Friend Ian Palmer.
Ian is a remarkable drummer that has played at the highest level from a very young age, he has gone on to play for the likes of Ray Russell Music, The Ghosts, Martin Taylor, Randy Brecker, Mark Egan, Mo Foster, Alan Price, Leo Sayer, Roy Wood, Jane McDonald and many more!

We talk about so much in this conversation including Ian's passion for constant learning from lessons with the legendary Joe Morello in New York through to lessons with Ian's friend and mentor Dom Famularo and funk drumming legend David garibaldi

Ian also tells us about a recent recording with American composer, arranger and guitarist Richard Niles, a band that was packed to the rafters with the most talented musicians you could ever wish to hear, the result is the album Niles Smiles, a beatifully crafted album that is now released and available for everyone to hear. This album showcases Ian's wonderful and tasteful drumming style perfectly.

As well as being a superb drummer, Ian has another side to his career, an airline pilot for Virgin Atlantic, this puts him in a pretty exclusive club of musicians that fly aeroplanes including Bruce Dickinson and former Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse.

This was a fantastic conversation (as i knew it would be) Ian, thanks so much for giving up your time to do it!

www.ianpalmer.com

Joining me today are 2 wonderful gentlemen, Nigel Constable and Bob Henrit. 

Nigel is a wonderful drummmer and in the last few years along with Bob wrote the hugely succesful Hayman Drum Book. 

Bob of course needs no introduction, he has played for some huge British bands including Argent and The Kinks, has written many books over the last 30 years and is an absoloute authority on vintage drums. 

Together they have written Crash Bang, Wallop! The people and the products behind the beat from the 1950's to the millenium. 

This is an incredible read, one i highly reccomend. we have a great chat about the book, why it needed to be written and we get a few tasty little insights into the man that it is loosely centered on, Ivor Arbiter. 

Thanks so much to Nigel & Bob for finding time to chat with me about this remarkable book. 
You can find the book for sale here - www.libripublishing.co.uk/Products/ProdID=280 
Or here - https://amzn.eu/d/iqlPXNm