Working Drummer

Prior to forming his own jazz orchestra, The BBB Featuring Bernie Dresel, Bernie backed Maynard Ferguson, the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. Bernie served 15 years for both Setzer and Goodwin. He has been the drummer on numerous Brian Setzer Grammy Award®-winning recordings and more recently on every recording that Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band has released, including the Grammy Award-winners.

You can see Bernie on the silver screen and hear him in Jersey Boys. He also played on Jurassic World, Inside Out, Tomorrowland, Minions, American Sniper, Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Mission Impossible 3, Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Superman: Man Of Steel, Up, The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie, Cars 2, Super 8, Transformers 3, Get On Up, Star Trek Generations, Star Trek 2009, Speed Racer, The Bourne Supremacy, Payback, The Hulk, Ratatouille, Elf, Me Myself And Irene, The Santa Clause, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Stuart Little, Jingle All The Way, The Mask, Analyze This, The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas, An Extremely Goofy Movie, The Aristocats, Liberace: Behind The Candelabra, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Hairspray, The Bucket List, Walk Hard, Enchanted, and many more.

Bernie has played on sessions for TV including Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, The Simpsons, King Of The Hill, Pinky And The Brain, Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures, Lost, The Sopranos, Jag, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Enterprise, Baywatch, The Young And The Restless, American Music Awards, Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Emmy Awards, American Comedy Awards, Dawson’s Creek, Dallas, Knots Landing, Simon And Simon, Murder She Wrote, Cheers, Frasier, News Radio, Beverly Hills 90210, Christmas At Rockefeller Center, Tom And Jerry, Ugly Betty, and many more. He also performed as the drummer for Jerry Lewis’s MDA Labor Day Telethons.

In this podcast, Bernie talks about:

* His philosophy on leading and recording a big band

* Joe’s Great American Bar & Grille, and the place it holds on the LA music scene

* Growing up in rural Pennsylvania

* How parts of the new record “Bern Bern Bern” tell the story of his early musical experiences

* His experience at Eastman School of Music

* Working his way onto the LA scene, and how he distinguished himself from guys like Vinnie, rather than trying to emulate or compete with them

* Playing with bassist John “Spazz” Hatton

* How the LA scene has changed over the years, and how it can turn musicians into specialists

* The groove aspects of jazz and big band drumming

* The importance of putting on a visibly energetic performance

Bernie Dresel endorses Craviotto drums, Remo drumheads, Vic Firth sticks, and Sabian cymbals

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Sandy Gennaro was born and raised in NYC and currently resides in Nashville TN. Sandy has toured and/or recorded with: Cyndi Lauper, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bo Diddley, Johnny Winter, The Monkees, Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Bolton, Benny Mardones, Craaft, The Mamas and Papas and Jon Paris. He has recorded several Top 10 singles and has performed for for over a billion fans spanning his 50 year career.

Sandy has also made numerous TV appearances including The Tonight Show, The Grammy Awards, The American Music Awards, The MTV New Years Ball, and The Late Show with David Letterman among others. He is also a favored councelor at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camps.

He is currently recording and gigging with various artists in Nashville.

Before his move to Nashville in early ‘14, Sandy gave lessons, master classes and inaugurated the Music Business program at the Collective in NYC where he started in 1987.

Gennaro is also a corporate/academic inspirational speaker. He has brought his “B.E.A.T.S.” presentation to FedEx, Belmont University, Pacific Hotel Management LLC, Sam Ash Corp. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center, The Collective NYC and The School of Rock with extraordinary results. Participants in his “B.E.A.T.S.”program return to work or school with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm, increased passion, tenacity and a renewed engagement in their work. They will be inspired by new behaviors that increase productivity and drive business, sales and leadership performance. “B.E.A.T.S.”in an acronym for Belief, Enthusiasm, Attitude, Tenacity and Service.

In this episode, Sandy talks about: 

* Appreciating the journey over any destination

* The acronym “B.E.A.T.S.” that he uses for his speaking engagements 

* Sandy’s early career highlights during the 1970’s and 80’s 

* Positive interaction with others that lead to monumental change in Sandy’s life 

* What lead to his long time gig with The Monkees (1987 – 2012)

* Teaching at The Collective in New York City for 27 years

* His tour with Cyndi Lauper in 1984/85 and his hybrid electronic/acoustic kit

* Opening up for Queen in 1986 on four month tour with German band Craaft

* Info about “Breast Cancer Can Stick It”

Sandy endorses DW drums, pedals and hardware, Zildjian cymbals, Hot Sticks, Remo drumheads, Rhythm Tech percussion

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Cody Rahn and Ben O’Brien Smith are the creators of Sounds Like A Drum, “an ongoing video series for drummers, audio engineers, and anyone who is responsible for achieving great drum sounds at the source. Sounds Like a Drum offers in-depth tutorials on tuning in ways most have never learned, tips and tricks for a memorable sound, and hacks that you might never have thought of.” Cody’s background as a working drummer in New York and Ben’s background in product development give them a unique and insightful approach to achieving great drum tone, whether that means finding creative new sounds or just troubleshooting the old ones.

In this podcast, Ben and Cody talk about:

* The philosophy behind the aesthetic and presentation of Sounds Like a Drum

* SLAD’s origin story

* How to associate certain drum tones with certain genres

* Going beyond the “what” and “how” of tone, and getting into the “why”

* Developing your ear and taste to inform your tone choices, rather than buying gear

* Making confidence part of you sound

* Balancing tone with feel

* Cody’s approaches for mic’d vs. un-mic’d situations

* How they handle comments and feedback on their channel

* Their advice for anyone who wants to start a social media or digital enterprise

Cody Rahn endorses Promark sticks and Evans heads.

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Since the early 1990’s, Rodney Edmondson has been the drummer for award winning singer and piano player Ronnie Milsap. Ronnie Milsap is credited with six Grammy Awards and forty No. 1 country hits. He was selected for induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2014. 

Growing up in Virginia, Rodney developed his feel and approach to drumming throughout the 1970’s with local groups that included many styles that prepared him for his eventual move to Nashville. Rodney quickly established himself as a solid musician that could cover many different styles from heavy rock to traditional country. Just before landing the Milsap gig, Rodney was the full time drummer for the traditional country group, The Whites. 

Rodney balances his touring with Ronnie with his work at Spectrum Sound Inc. building and designing road cases.  

In this episode, Rodney talks about: 

* Ronnie Milsap and his history including the time he meet Ray Charles

* How Rodney got the gig with Ronnie

* Evolving with the gig 

* Recordings that Rodney did with Ronnie 

* Growing up in Virginia and playing music locally in the 70’s 

* Significant changes In the music scene in Nashville

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Los Angeles native Elmo Lovano built a successful career as a touring and studio drummer with Juliette Lewis, Miley Cyrus, Christina Perri, James Fauntleroy, Avril Lavigne, Paul Oakenfold and many more. He began to see the need for a legitimate networking platform for professional musicians because, “as creatives, we don’t use Linkedin, and as professionals, we don’t use Craigslist.” After a couple years of beta testing among friends and colleagues he launched the Jammcard app in 2017. After a successful rollout amongst L.A.-based musicians, Jammcard then launched in Atlanta, followed by Nashville.

In this podcast, Elmo talks about:

* How networking for musicians is pretty much the same at any level

* Fully completing your product (album, app, whatever) before you market it and release it

* The team he assembled to help him create, maintain, and grow Jammcard

* Best practices for Jammers

* Why Atlanta was chosen as the second launch city

* How to build a professional portfolio that will get you accepted to Jammcard

Elmo Lovano endorses Pearl drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, and Remo heads.

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MeetHook Founder & CEO Anthony Citrinite is an established pro musician with a number of career highlights including playing on live TV with the classic rock band Boston at the Fiesta Bowl in 2002, Katy Perry and Joe Perry in 2009 at Radio City Music Hall on the MTV Video Music awards, and playing percussion for Coheed and Cambria to a sold out show later that year. He can be heard on a number of notable major label releases & movie soundtracks with his band The SmashUp. Anthony has been a part of The Collective School of Music executive staff and board for 23 years.

Anthony is a visionary who is constantly coming up with new ways to help all people follow their passions while sustaining a career in music.

In this episode, Anthony talks about:

* What the MeetHook app is and how it’s used

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* The personal experience that the app MeetHook offers

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* How to tackle a daunting task 

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* Anthony’s journey

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* The great teachers at The Collective 

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* Spreading the word about MeetHook

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* The importance of making connections in the music business

Anthony endorses: MRP Custom Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vater Drumsticks, Evans Drumheads

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Jake Wood has been touring with Hamilton since early 2017, playing percussion, keyboards, electronics, and running Ableton. With no prior experience in musicals, he landed the gig through a San Francisco acquaintance, and proved himself by taking a month away from pretty much everything else in his life to spend ten hours a day practicing and learning the show. In addition to Hamilton, Jake plays with Bay Area groups including Diego’s Umbrella and March Fourth, and has been running his own teaching studio for nearly a decade.

In this podcast, Jake talks about:

* How he landed the Hamilton gig with no prior experience in musicals

* Creating drum cover videos using songs with no drums

* How his social media content became a useful resume booster

* The month-long process of learning the show

* The intricacies of his part and learning to follow a conductor

* The mix of acoustic drums and samples in the pit set-up

* Playing continuous grooves vs. isolated single notes

* The Bay Area scene, and his musical life there outside Hamilton

* His strategy for building his teaching studio

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Ben Hans is a musician and music instructor who keeps a busy performance schedule performing many genres of music. Ben performs as a freelance artist, who cut his teeth performing under the tutelage of Jazz Guitarist Jack Grassel and the late Swing Clarinetist Chuck Hedges.

Ben has shared the stage with a diverse list of artists such as singer/songwriter/composer and Grammy nominated C. F. Kip Winger. Legendary Rudimentalists John S. Pratt, Mitch Markovich, the great Jazz Pianist Barry Harris, celebrated Saxophonists Eric Morones, Johnny Padilla and Jesse Lee Montijo, Jazz Guitarists Scott DuBois, Jeff Schroedl and Steve Peplin. Guitar virtuosos Reb Beach, John Roth, Jorge Salan and Donnie Wayne Smith as well as rock vocalist Fiona Flanagan. Ben has also performed alongside many great regional jazz artists such as Rick Embach, Berkeley Fudge, Tom McGirr, Pete Billman, Aaron Gardner, John Babbitt, Michael Arnold, Kirk Tatnall, Mark Solveson, Jeannine Rivers, Swing Nouveau, and many more.

As an educator, Ben is currently teaching Music Business at SAE Institute in Nashville, TN. Past teaching positions include Milwaukee Area Technical College as well as the Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Ben is also an author, proofreader, freelance editor and session performer for Hal Leonard Publishing, with published works including: “Workin’ Drums – 50 Solos for Drumset,” “40 Intermediate Snare Drum Solos,” “Rudimental Solos for the Marching Snare Drummer,” “Modern School for Mallet Keyboard Instruments,” “HalLeonard School for Snare Drum,” and transcriptions of Ray Luzier’s “Double Bass Drum Techniques”, as well as performing on and writing for the Hal Leonard DVD “Traditional Rudimental Drumming”by John S. Pratt.

In this episode, Ben talks about:

* Building and developing his private teaching practice 

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* The importance of being able to read music

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* Changes in the recording industry 

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* Diversifying your work load 

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* Successfully working through drum books – a strategy 

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* The history of John S. Pratt

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* Ben’s gig with Kip Winger

Ben endorses Yamaha Drums, Aquarian Drumheads, Mike Balter Mallets, Vic Firth Drumsticks, and Tycoon Percussion

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Quinton Robinson moved to Atlanta from Miami in 2010, and has established himself as a busy touring and session drummer for acts including Kenny Lattimore, Avery Sunshine, Algebra Blessett, and the newly released New-York-based musical “Born For This.” Jonathan Joseph served as his primary mentor on the drums, and Q has also made himself valuable as an expert Ableton practitioner and STEM producer. In addition to many roles as drummer, Quinton is also the musical director for Anthony David.

In this podcast, Q talks about:

The different type of fulfillment he gets from playing in musical theatre

How trust between a musical’s M.D. and drummer drives (and sometimes saves) the show.

What it means to be more than your job title

Navigating the culture clash that happens among people from different backgrounds on a musical

The enormous potential in musicals for drumming to contribute to emotional content

Honing your gift vs. honing the “vessel” that carries and delivers the gift

Being a good player vs. “living in musical excellence”

How being willing to do a little extra thing for free can lead to an income source

Using social media to make authentic connections and create genuine community

Quinton Robinson endorses Pearl drums, Vater sticks, Sabian cymbals, Humes & Berg cases, Reunion Blues gigbags, Audix microphones, Empire ears, Pighog cables, Ableton, Kickport, Drumdots, and Big Fat Snare Drum.

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Christian Matthew Cullen started his professional career as a session musician and sideman for Jim Peterik (Ides Of March, Survivor) in his Wold Stage band where he gained the opportunity to play with notable rock artists such as Alan Parsons, Don Barnes (.38 Special), Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), Kip Winger, Joe Lynn Turner ( Deep Purple, Rainbow), Mickey Thomas (Starship), and Kelly Keagy (Night Ranger).

Christian took over the keyboard chair in Night Ranger in early 2007. Joining up with original members Jack Blades and Brad Gillis, Reb Beach (Winger) and later, Joel Hoekstra (TSO, Rock Of Ages) , he toured the world supporting rock giants Journey, Styx, Boston, REO Speedwagon, Peter Frampton, Heart, Alice Cooper, Steve Miller and Eddie Money.

Christian launched a sample company called Sound Famous. It’s for Apple MainStage and features iconic synth sounds from classic records like Prince’s 1999 using analog and virtual synths captured through analog gear and processed to sound exactly like the records they came from.

Currently, he composes music and creates sound design for video games, animation and advertising. He has produced music for acclaimed clients such as Smirnoff, Party City, Hollywood Casino, The Kentucky Derby, Jeep, and the Florida Gators and award winning music for children’s media and toys for Tomy, Alex, Infantino, Fisher-Price, Radio Flyer, and Learning Curve. 

In the episode, Christian talks about:

Recording with Abe Laboriel Jr

Being open to ideas in when recording 

The benefits of “live tracking”

Defining the difference between composing and sound design 

Finding out what your truly passionate about 

Transitioning from live work to sessions and “in town” work 

The influence of technology in the way we work and produce 

The power of a peer to peer network to create work

Discovering new opportunities when you reach outside your comfort zone

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