The Drum Shuffle

On episode 113, Jamie is joined by the great Rudy Royston to discuss his new solo album, Panoptic, his decision to donate all proceeds from the sale of the album to the Musicares COVID-19 Relief Fund, his background in the Denver, Colorado music scene, his move to New York, and chasing a career in the arts. Rudy has a very realistic and fresh approach to music; and to life in general that shines through in everything he does. This interview is full of great tips, advice, and knowledge that is sure to help everyone chasing their artistic dreams help those dreams become reality.

Danny Gottlieb has a drumming career that most musicians could only dream of. Danny studied with Mel Lewis and Joe Morello, played with the Pat Metheny Group, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Elements, The Gil Evans Orchestra, The Blues Brothers Band, and The Lt. Dan Band, has authored several books, and continues to be one of the great drum teachers in the United States. On episode 112, Danny stops in to discuss his new release with Mark Egan, Electric Blue, and ends up letting Jamie talk to him about his entire career in a wide-ranging and in-depth interview. Danny is one of the nicest guys in the business and shares so many great stories and freely provides wonderful advice in this fantastic conversation.

Dude! On episode 111, Jamie is joined by the phenomenal Harry Miree to discuss his path to becoming one of Nashville's busiest session drummers, touring 160 days per year, and having a YouTube channel with millions of views. Harry is an open book sharing his love for drumming and explaining his approach to his extremely busy career. He is truly one of the wittiest and hilarious guys you'll ever meet and he does not disappoint in this wide-ranging and in-depth conversation. You do not want to miss this episode. Dude!

On episode 110, Marc Pisapia joins Jamie for an in-depth conversation on his career as an in-demand, first-call drummer. Marc's discography includes albums with k.d. lang, Kelly Willis, Chuck Prophet, David Mead, and Josh Rouse. Marc provides great insight and advice on having a successful career as a drummer in an ultra-competitive industry.

Brian Setzer, Five For Fighting, The BoDeans, and The Honey Dogs are all names on Noah Levy's impressive drumming resume. On episode 109, Noah joins Jamie for an in-depth conversation about his career, adapting to new musical situations, and how he has stayed busy for the last 20-plus years. The entire interview is full of great advice and tips for working musicians and Noah's humor and kindness are on full display for the drumming community.

Michael Bland is a drummer's drummer. He has been playing professionally since his teens. During one of his early gigs, Prince stopped in and was so blown away, he offered Michael a job before he was old enough to legally purchase a beer. Let that sink in. Since those days, Michael has played with countless artists and for the past few years he has been a member of Soul Asylum. On episode 108, Michael joins Jamie to discuss his early years, his time with the legendary Prince, and the current state of the music industry and society. This is a fantastic interview with a superb drummer and human being.

Our good friend, Kevin Charney, stops by to give us a quick update on what's going on in his life and to tell us about his new radio show, Supertwang, on Gimme Country. We talk about the shutdown of the music and arts industry, building drums during the pandemic, and almost everything else that comes to mind. This episode is a typical "hang" that occurs all the time between drummers. Listen in as Kevin and Jamie talk about life and learn more about Kevin's awesome new radio show.

On Episode 107, Jamie is joined by Dave Kirby of The Belfast Cowboys to discuss his drumming throughout the years. Dave is a native of Minnesota and grew up in a musical family. Like many working musicians, early in his career Dave was forced to choose between a "regular job" and chasing his musical dreams. Dave is one of the few that managed to be extremely successful in both the business world and the musical world. In this episode Dave helps us explore how to create a balance between those two worlds and shares some great advice for everyone.

Shirazette Tinnin grew up in North Carolina and started drumming at a young age. She honed her early musical chops at church and in her public school system. A proud graduate of Appalachian State University, she now resides in New York and continues making waves in the NYC jazz scene. Her new album, Sonic Wallpaper Vol 1, The Cards That Life Can Deal showcases her drumming, composing, and arranging chops. On episode 106, Shirazette joins Jamie to discuss her drumming education, influences, and stories that inspired Sonic Wallpaper...She is a rising star in the jazz scene for good reason. She is a brilliant young drummer that everyone should know.

On episode 105, Jamie is joined by Rajiv Jayaweera to discuss his new release, Pistils, which is hot off the presses. Originally from London, Rajiv moved to Australia as a youngster and was surrounded by music from an early age. After college, he worked and toured the Australian circuit before relocating to New York to pursue every Jazz drummer's dream. After several years of composing original material and playing the NYC scene, Rajiv recorded and released his brilliant new album just last week. Rajiv and Jamie discuss his approach to writing and tracking the album, his eastern-influenced drumming, and much, much more in this informative interview.

Jon Foster is an up-and-coming young drummer currently splitting his time between Toronto and Los Angeles. He has already completed tours of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia with a wide-range of artists including Justin Nozuka, Jeremie Albino, and Tanika Charles. He is also creating amazing drumming content on YouTube that is very helpful to all drummers. Jon is a drummer to watch over the next few years, for sure. Please enjoy getting to know more about him in this great interview. 

Billy Sullivan should be a perfect example for all drummers on launching, maintaining, and growing a career in the music industry. A self-proclaimed angry kid, Billy was drawn to the drums as a way to release aggression. What he didn't know as a kid, was that his drumming would take him from his hometown of Long Island, New York to Los Angeles, where he would become highly successful in the world of film scoring. Billy's credits are far too numerous to list, but he has been a part of many highly successful films' soundtracks. On episode 103, Billy and Jamie explore his background in drumming, his move to L.A., sleeping on Steve Vai's floor, and ultimately building Cloverland Studios where he works today. Billy's story is one of persistence, determination, hard work, and a small dash of good luck. Again, his story should serve as blueprint for all musicians on what it takes to 'make it' and 'keep it' in the music world. You don't want to miss this one.

Troy Luccketta has spent the last 30-plus years manning the drum throne for Tesla. In that time, they have sold in excess of 15 million albums in the United States, toured the world countless times, and influenced scores of young musicians. On episode 102, Troy joins Jamie to discuss his early years and influences, what Tesla means to him, how dreams can come true, and how he approaches being a musical drummer. He also talks a bit about the "Troy Shows Up" program designed to reach kids in schools and offer a message of positivity and hope. Troy has always been one of the first musicians to offer his time and efforts for charitable causes and he continues giving back each and every day. Jamie grew up a huge fan of Troy, so this was a very special interview for him. Troy's story is inspirational and is sure to be a beacon for all musicians, everywhere.

On episode 101, we catch up with our old friend, David Parks, to hear about his exciting new band Resist and Bite, how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the touring industry, how things could change in the future, and how he's keeping busy during this downtime. David always has great perspective on things and always offers sound advice and a few laughs.

How did this happen? On this special 100th episode of The Drum Shuffle, Jamie interviews the four biggest musical influences in his life, his Funnel bandmates of nearly 30 years. Phil Weisenberger, Kevin Rexroat, Matt Weisenberger, and Allen Case all call in for a retrospective on their musical journey together. The guys share some early details of Jamie's drumming history, what it means to be in a band for 30 years, favorite memories of the past, and what a long, strange ride it has been. This is a special trip down memory lane for Jamie and it sheds some light on how The Drum Shuffle happened 100 episodes ago.

Patrick Muzingo grew up with a pedigree of hardcore Southern California skate culture. By his early teens he was drumming in countless punk bands, sometimes having to sit outside when he wasn't on stage because of his age. When we say punk bands, we mean bands like The Atoms, Americas Hardcore, and Decry. But his path in punk rock bands made an unlikely turn in 1986 when he joined Junkyard. Drawing comparisons to Guns N' Roses, Junkyard perfectly mixed heavy rock and blues with a hint of southern boogie music. Not exactly what you'd expect from a guy growing up on punk rock and skateboards. On episode 099, Pat joins Jamie to discuss his early years as a drummer, the formation of Junkyard, signing to Geffen Records, touring the world on a 3-piece kit, and he finally answers the question about his kit's "unique" set up. Pat and Jamie are also both Los Cabos Drumsticks artists, so there's some brotherly banter about gear as well. Pat is a fantastic drummer with loads of great stories and advice for everyone. This is one you don't want to miss.