The Drum Shuffle

On episode 083, Brendan Buckley returns to catch up on all he's been up to over the past year.  Brendan shares how he landed a gig with Perry Farrell and the tour that followed.  He also talks about his day-to-day routine being a high-demand drummer and offers exceptional advice on how to keep working toward your goals.  This is a great and truly inspiring interview with one of the world's busiest drummers.    

Joe McCarthy should be a mentor to every drummer.  His playing is both brilliant and creative, his work ethic is strong, and his experience is second-to-none.  As leader and founder of the New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band, he has one heck of a band.  A Latin Grammy winner, the group's newest release "Upwards" is sure to garner similar industry attention.  On episode 082, Joe and Jamie discuss Joe's career from the very beginning, including his time as principal percussionist of the US Naval Academy Band.  He also discusses his time at the University of North Texas, where he received his Masters in Percussion Performance.  Joe is a massive wealth of knowledge and real-world advice for all drummers.  This is a can't miss conversation. 

Kent Aberle is a prime example of hard work and hustle paying massive dividends in the music world.  Growing up in rural Illinois, Kent started drumming at a very young age and was forming bands by his teens.  He completely immersed himself in the local music scene and became THE in-demand drummer.  He soon decided to relocate to Atlanta to explore bigger opportunities in a larger city.  He quickly became a highly successful instructor and opened his own drum shop while gigging full time.  As luck would have it, a visitor to his shop asked him if he wanted to audition for a country gig.  As always, Kent was all in.  That gig turned out to be Kristian Bush of Sugarland fame.  Kent has toured the world with Kristian as well as massive tours with The On Fires and many others.  Kent is the epitome of hard work and dedication to drumming.  He is also a wonderful human.  Don't miss this highly educational and insightful interview.

John DeChristopher is a wealth of drum related knowledge and stories.  After growing up in Massachusetts, he relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the music industry.  After working for Simmons for several years he became the first artist relations representative for an upstart custom drum company, Drum Workshop.  He relocated back to Boston during this time and in 1989 he was asked to meet with the Zildjian family for an interview.  John served as the artist relations rep for Zildjian for almost 25 years before retiring in 2014.  Since that time, he has been managing the careers of Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Rick Marotta, and Danny Seraphine. On episode 080, John shares his history and a ton of great stories in this excellent interview.

Samuel Torres moved to the United States from his native Columbia in 1999 and has been an in-demand percussionist since that time.  His touring and recording credits include Arturo Sandoval, Shakira, Paquito D'Rivera, Tito Puente, Ricky Martin, Jeff "Tain" Watts, and Chic Corea.  On Episode 079, Samuel discusses his early years as a percussionist, his education, making the move to the United States, and his stellar new album, Alegria.  His beautiful approach to traditional Afro-Latin percussion shines through in this highly educational interview.

Israeli-born drummer, Dor Herskovits is creating some of the finest Jazz music available today.  His terrific drumming can be heard on his newest release under his name, Flying Elephants and on Earprint's new release Easy Listening.  Both albums showcase both his incredibly musical drumming and superb composition skills.  On episode 078, Dor joins Jamie for an in-depth review of both records as well as revisiting Dor's early days of drumming.  Dor also talks about his education at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory of Music and how that changed his perspective on his chosen instrument.  Be sure to check out both of these outstanding albums and enjoy this insightful interview with one of Jazz music's brightest young stars.

Josh Feldstein has been drumming since age 11.  He has always been a jazzer...He formed the Verve Jazz Ensemble in 2006 and since that time, the group has released six studio albums.  Five of those releases have charted in the top 10 of JazzWeek, their 2018 effort, Connect The Dots, hit number 1, and the current album, Night Mode, has been in the top 10 for the past five straight weeks.  This is a group that is taking care of business.  On episode 077, Josh and Jamie discuss his start as a musician, the formation of the group, their composition and recording process, and talk about Josh's stellar abilities as a drummer and bandleader.  Josh shares some fantastic insight and great stories in this must-hear interview.

Dony Wynn remembers so vividly the day he fell in love with music and wanted to become a drummer.  He started playing at a very early age and became a pro as an early teen.  Using a fake mustache to play in the bars, he was a well-seasoned drummer by the time he moved to Los Angeles.  On episode 076, Dony talks about his early years, joining the great Robert Palmer's band for 20 plus years, touring with Brooks and Dunn, and playing with Robert Plant.  His career in music has been incredible, yet he is on to a new chapter as a world-class photographer.  Dony has a zest for life that is unparalleled.  Everyone is sure to gain inspiration by hearing this interview.

Rodney Edmonson started drumming early.  He was playing gigs by his early teens in his native Virginia.  His first thought was to become a music teacher or band director until he came to the realization that he'd rather play than teach after his first year of college.  He soon found himself relocating to Nashville where he began his journey trying to make a living as a drummer.  On episode 075, Rodney and Jamie discuss his early years, making the move to Nashville, playing the Grand Old Opry dozens of times with The Whites, and landing his current gig 27 years ago.  Rodney has toured and recorded with Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Ronnie Milsap since 1992 playing Ronnie's legendary catalog of music.  Rodney offers some great advice on what it takes to break into the Nashville scene by relaying his experience and knowledge.  His playing has been heard by millions around the world and Rodney is a living testament to good guys winning in the music business.

Hot Tuna, NRBQ, Rusted Root, and Bill Frisell are all a part of Harvey Sorgen's discography.  It that weren't enough, he has just released the superb, New Origin, with his own trio.  On episode 074, Harvey joins Jamie for a career-spanning interview that covers a lot of ground.  Harvey shares some insights into the master classes that he teaches, his approach to improvisation, and how to make musical expression that is free of self-imposed confines.  He also shares an enormous amount of knowledge on individualism in any artistic approach and how his new release celebrates that individualism in a trio setting.  This is an interview that every creative-type on Earth should hear.

Cindy Goldberg is a Canadian drummer and filmmaker.  She began drumming as an adult and it quickly became a true passion for her.  Cindy quickly noticed that men vastly outnumbered women in the drumming world which created a true sense of "sisterhood" among female drummers.  This led her to film a short documentary focusing on female drummers.  The overwhelming response to this short film led her to undertake filming a full-length feature documentary, Beat Keepers: Women With Rhythm. On episode 073, Cindy discusses her travels all over Canada and the United States filming and interviewing the greatest female drummers in the world, some misconceptions about women in drumming, and her hopes for the upcoming release of the film.  This is a film that The Drum Shuffle is extremely excited about and we hope that everyone will get involved in this terrific project.

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is a living legend within the drumming community.  Growing up in Cuba in a large musical family, he was destined to be a drummer.  He immersed himself into the instrument and scored a job at EGREM studios in Havana where he would record sessions for up to 20 hours each day.  After thousands of hours of practice, touring, and recording he decided to apply for asylum in the US.  Within two days of his arrival in New York in 1990, he recorded an album that would score him his first Grammy award.  Since that time, he has had almost no break in his schedule.  His discography is incredible and his output is prolific.  On episode 072, Negro and Jamie discuss his upcoming big-band project with Italuba and everything else that is always keeping him extremely busy.  Negro also offers some sincere and heartfelt views on how musicians think and feel that will surely inspire anyone who listens.

Ed Toth has spent the past 15 years drumming in The Doobie Brothers.  Prior to that, he was a member of the multi-platinum band Vertical Horizon.  As if those two entries on a resume weren't enough, Ed is also in constant motion when he's not on the road doing session work and playing gigs in dozens of different groups.  Ed's first gig was in his dad's Top 40 band when he was 11 and he hasn't slowed since that time.  On episode 071, Ed and Jamie discuss his early days as a drummer, his education at the University of Miami, his move to Boston where a chance encounter led to him joining Vertical Horizon, and how the changing landscape of the music business in the late 1990's led to his dream gig with The Doobie Brothers.  Ed is fantastic player and a world-class nice guy.  This episode is for all music lovers!

Matt Slocum is one of the great Jazz drummers in the US right now.  His terrific new release, Sanctuary, highlights his abilities as a drummer and composer within this record's trio setting.  On episode 070, Jamie catches up with Matt to discuss his beginnings as a drummer in Wisconsin, his move to Los Angeles to study at USC's Thornton School of Music, then his move to New York where he has been an in-demand drummer for the past several years.  In this interview, Matt shares lots of great experiences, advice, and insight into his career and the new release.  He is not only a wealth of musical and drumming knowledge, but he is an open book about the new release and his career.  This is an episode of The Drum Shuffle that everyone will certainly want to hear.

Jerry Pentecost is a Nashville native that seems to be everywhere in the Americana world these days.  "I try to be a virus in the best way possible," as Jerry puts it.  Some recent accolades for Jerry include a feature in Modern Drummer, being nominated for Instrumentalist of the Year by the Americana Music Association, and serving as the house drummer for the AMA's awards and honors show for the past two years.  On episode 069, Jerry and Jamie discuss his beginnings as a young drummer, how he has built a massive network of opportunities, his time as musical director for Amanda Shires, to his current gig with Brent Cobb.  Jerry is making some serious waves in the world of drumming and is simply amazing as a human being.  This is a fantastic episode for all music-lovers.

Mark Walker is an amazing drummer with amazing stories to share.  After growing up in Chicago, Mark spent a decade in New York playing with the likes of Paquito D'Rivera, Ralph Towner, Michel Camilo, and Lyle Mays.  Making his home in Boston for the past 13 years, he is a first-call drummer to the greatest names in Jazz.  On episode 068, Mark and Jamie discuss his new album, You Get What You Give, his approach to composing the album, putting together the band, and what it takes to make it in the modern world of recording.  Mark is simply a wonderful drummer having won a Grammy and claiming a top 5 award from Modern Drummer this year.  This is a terrific interview with one of the Jazz world's great drummers.