John was a student of Alan Dawson for many years and shares many of his experiences with Alan and a great spotlight on the life of this truly legendary teacher. We hear what it was like to walk into the room and learn from Alan Dawson using his extremely musical and innovative techniques. Alan would squeeze the absolute most out of books such as Syncopation and Stick Control, along with countless other ways that teaching Alan became the icon he is today. John Ramsay is the former chair of the pe...
Apr 06, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nick and I discuss 11 different popular cymbal myths in this episode, many of which were submitted by listeners of the podcast! We cover things such as "old cymbals are always better", "hand hammering is automatically good", "covering my cymbal in ketchup makes it sound better", and many more. This is a really fun episode where I learned a ton from my pal Nick Margarite aka NickyMoon. Nick is a great independent cymbal maker based out of New Jersey and the man behind NickyMoon cymbals. Check out...
Mar 30, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast A Military Tattoo is a ceremony that dates back to the early 17th century in the Netherlands when Drummers would notify the soldiers at the local bars at 9:30pm that it is time to return to the barracks. This was known as "Doe Den Tap Toe " or "Turn Off The Taps". This tradition continued and evolved over the centuries to be a nightly ceremony that was designed to entertain in the summer months, Fast forward to modern days and it is a worldwide, mega event that celebrates the best drummers and m...
Mar 23, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the full history of Bosphorus Cymbals - A traditional handmade Turkish cymbal brand that has been around since 1996, but has what seems like centuries of knowledge and expertise. The tale of Bosphorus is tied into the other major company that originated in Turkey that we all know about, but once they left the country many cymbal makers were left with a mastery of the art and that knowledge was passed on to the founders of Bosphorus Cymbals. = Check out Bosphorus here: http://www.bosphoru...
Mar 16, 2021•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nicholas and I dissect 9 amazing audio examples of 1920's drummers including Zutty Singleton, Baby Dodds, Gene Krupa and many other greats in this episode. We also talk about that bizarre restrictions that were placed on drummers in the 20's in recording studios which is a fascinating and not largely known topic. We talk gear, playing styles, and the great musicians of the day and lots of other great information along the way. - Nicks website is a great resource for everything you want to know a...
Mar 09, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is an in-depth look at Electronic Drums dating back to the 1960's with Justin Greenawalt of 65 Drums on YouTube. Justin has an incredible passion and knowledge for e-drums and he has done tons of research to understand the full history of the instrument and shares it with us to cover each decade of the history and we end with discussing what we can look forward to in the future of electronic drum kits. Here are the links to Justin's extremely detailed and great videos on the history of e-dr...
Mar 02, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tony Williams began playing professionally at the young age of 13, but he gained international attention when he joined the Miles Davis Quintet at age 17. My guest, Dave Goodman, wrote his 100,000 word doctoral thesis on Tony and we have condensed all that great information into an hour long episode that covers Tony's early life, lessons with Alan Dawson, rise to fame, evolution of his equipment, and everything you would want to know about the great Tony Williams. Dave Goodman is located in Sydn...
Feb 23, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tama's parent company, Hoshino Gakki, dates back 113 years to 1908 in Japan where it started a book and sheet music seller. Hoshino then entered the world of distribution and later instrument production with the Spanish guitar brand - Ibanez. Hoshino didn't enter the drum world until the early 60's as Star Drums, and the world was never the same. Star was a leader in the "Made in Japan" revolution of drums, until the 1970's when star transitioned to Tama Drums and they became a major player in t...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Freddie Gruber is known as the teacher of iconic drummers such as Neil Peart, Vinnie Colaiuta, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, and my guest Bruce Becker. Freddie has somewhat of a mysterious background that wasn't well documented, but Bruce fills us in on what is known about his life and career, plus many great stories of what it what it was like to be on the inner circle of his friends. Freddie was a real character of a person and you really get a feel for that with this episode. Bruce Becker is legen...
Feb 09, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike takes us back to the advent of the drum set and how people would learn to play in the early 1900's and how things have and haven't changed over the years. We go through each advancement in education including face to face lessons, lessons on records (LP's), drum books with CD's, drum tapes and DVD's, online lessons, and what the future holds for the world of drum lessons. Mike Johnston is a leader in the world of online drum lessons and has a contagious passion for education. Check out ever...
Feb 02, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brooks has recently released his long awaited book -"The Tools That Built The Gene Krupa Legend". After a decade of work, this is the be-all and end-all source for everything you would ever want to know about the most minute details of Genes life and equipment through his entire career. Brooks gives us a quick refresher biography of Gene and then he jumps into the details of how he put such a great resource together. We pick some key points of interest to spotlight as we talk about his gear and ...
Jan 26, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is a a unique episode that takes a deep dive into the history of acoustics as we know it today dating back to 6000 b.c. Thomas is a French drum builder who makes extremely scientifically progressive and modern drums, but he is also a noise vibration and harshness engineering expert in the automotive industry. All of that combines together for a passion for how acoustics have changed over thousands of years and how it effects drums in 2021. Check out Thomas' drum brand here: www.repurcussion...
Jan 19, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The iconic 5000 pedal dates back to the early 1940's where it was created by the Martin Fleetfoot company, and it has been a staple of the drum world ever since. The 80 year history has many twists and turns until it reaches the modern DW 5000 pedal that we all know and love. Vincent tells us all about each and every era of the pedal including Gretsch, George Way, Camco, Rogers, John Gray, Tama, and DW and many more. The impact that this one pedal design has had on the drum world is unbelievable...
Jan 12, 2021•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Pete Magadini is a modern legend as a teacher and clinician who has taught drummers such as Michael Shrieve, Chad Wackerman, Mike Johnston and many more. He is also a very established performer who has worked with artists such as Diana Ross, George Duke, Al Jarreau, and many more. He shares his approachable theory on Polyrhythms and many other great lessons on life and drumming and the story of his career and rise as a top teacher. Here are links for this episode: Petes Website: http://www.peter...
Jan 05, 2021•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Cocktail drum kits date back to post World War 2 in an orchestra pit in England where space is at a premium and the drums needed to grow taller, as opposed to wider. the "stand up drum set" evolved from there and became a staple of jazz lounges, street performers, comedy acts and many great drummers who wanted a unique look and feel to the drums they play. John Mettam is the founder of cocktaildrum.com and a longtime performer and cocktail kit enthusiast. He shares the full story of these iconic...
Dec 29, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jerry was the drummer for the iconic "A Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack and he shares the story of the writing and recording of the album and great info on the creation of the TV special. He tells us about how he wanted nothing to do with Charlie Brown for 30 years, until he came to the realization that he has made millions of happy people and he should embrace it. We also hear the full story of his illustrious career and his background in drumming. You can learn more about Jerry at his webs...
Dec 22, 2020•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are lead to believe that the bass drum pedal was invented in the USA, and that the drum set as we know it today was first created in the states - but Fritz shares examples that show many revolutionary drum inventions that were first created in Europe. We also discuss brands like Sonor, Trixon, Paiste, plus drumming and drum building in communist countries and many other great facts and stories along the way. Fritz is a veteran in the drum industry and has owned and operated DrumHouse Freiberg...
Dec 15, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Orion was a 14 year old drummer boy in the Civil War when he earned the Medal of Honor for an extremely courageous act in battle. Marlene Shares his amazing story that begins when he enters the war at 12 years old through the rest of his life, and the lives of his musical family. We learn all about drummer boys and the role they played in the war, including Johnny Clem - the youngest noncommisioned officer in army history who began as a drummer. Marlene wrote "Diary of a Drummer Boy" which is Or...
Dec 08, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Peavey Drums were short lived but the Radial Pro series has become a cult classic to many drummers. Rob shares his experience with the first generation of Peavey Drums that was full of problems from the beginning that never got off the ground and the second generation which is the ultra unique Radial Pro's that were short lived but are a part of drum history. This episode is a lesson in the harsh realities of the music business. Rob is an industry veteran of 40 years including running multiple m...
Dec 01, 2020•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast N&C is the oldest drum company in the US, founded 166 years ago in 1854. The company began at a kitchen table with Silas Noble making Toy Drums for Christmas presents. Once the Civil War broke out, he then partnered with James Cooley to make drums for the Civil War and the company grew massively from there. Jay and Nick Jones are the the 6th and 7th generation to continue on the family business. They carry on the masterful drum building that has existed for almost two centuries, and they also st...
Nov 24, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike has 650 rare and valuable snare drums in his San Francisco home! He tells us all about the rarest snares that he owns and how he got into this level of collecting. Mike also shares tips and trick for how to begin your own collection and how to utilize eBay to find great deals on legendary snare drums. Mike is a true legend in the drum community and his collection of snare drums has got to be one of the largest privately owned collections of snare drums in the world. Mike is not buying these...
Nov 17, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mike is the co-founder of SJC and shares the great journey he and the company have been on in its 20 year existence. They erupted on the scene right when boutique drum companies were popping up everywhere, and I think it is safe to say that they came out on top - but it was full of serious ups and downs in the relatively short existence of the company. We hear about the rocky relationship that Mike had with his co-founder brother Scott, who is a true mastermind at drum building and a massive par...
Nov 10, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Max Abrams was THE drum teacher in England in the mid 1900's and taught Stewart Copeland, Simon Phillips and my guest, Neal Wilkinson. He operated like a drill sergeant and didn't give his students much praise, but it created countless professional drummers. Before he was a teacher, Max was a top drummer around the Jazz and Big Band scene in England in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Neal Wilkinson is one of the UK's top studio drummers and has worked with artists like Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, An...
Nov 03, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mapex was founded in 1989, but its parent company, KHS, goes back 80 years in China and has a very interesting story beginning in after school music programs. Jeff is the brand manager for Mapex and is full of great stories about this relatively young drum brand and goes through the origins of all the iconic lines of drums that Mapex is famous for today. Jeff is the brand manager of both Mapex and Sonor drums and is a working drummer in Nashville, Tennessee. Learn everything about Mapex at www.m...
Oct 27, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Donn Bennett is one of the worlds foremost dealers in celebrity drums that were owned by the top drummers in the world such as Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Hal Blaine, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones and MANY more... Donn shares how he got into this unique profession and some stories of acquiring some ultra rare drums. He also tells us how he authenticates these ultra rare drums and what happened when he comes across a counterfeit drum that is being advertised as being owned by Ringo. Check out Donn's collec...
Oct 20, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dan Bailey shares his tips and tricks for recording with vintage drums in his studio including favorite drum brands, head choices, mics and recording gear. Dan and I go off the deep end in this episode and completely nerd out about recording and engineering..and it's great! Learn his entire mic and pre-amp choices he uses in his studio. Dan is the drummer and Music Director for Father John Misty, along with recording and performing with many other major artists. You find out everything about Dan...
Oct 13, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Norbert takes us through every decade in the history of Meinl and gives a detailed look at the 70 year history of this iconic company. We begin in 1951 when Roland Meinl started out making wind instruments and creating his own cymbals by hand in his home with his wife. He then went head first into distributing Hoshino (Tama) drums in Germany and carried on in that fashion until the company grew into what we know today in a slow and steady rise to the top. Meinl has now grown to be one of the mos...
Oct 06, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast We discuss how percussion is used in Ireland, Turkey, Iran, Africa, and other various countries in comparison to the downbeat focused western music that dominates pop culture. It is a big eye opener to learn that drummers are often used to support the melody of the music more commonly than providing a head-bobbing back beat that we are used to in American music. Colin O'Donohoe AKA "World Maestro" has had extensive travels and played with musicians across the globe where he has learned the histo...
Sep 29, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vic Firth was a prolific timpanist, drum set performer, and educator all before he started his iconic drum stick company that we all know today. This episode starts as a biography of Vic, but then goes through the origins and rise of his company with great stories like how Vic used to have his employees matching sticks by tapping them on a tombstone he got from a friend in his basement. Mark Wessels is a long time employee of Vic Firth and is now the Director of Education at Vic Firth/Zildjian/B...
Sep 22, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Nick takes us through an in-depth look at the full history of cymbals, bronze, the iconic brands such as UFIP and Paiste, and all of the processes that are used around the world to create cymbals through time. The episode starts 7000 years ago and works up to the modern revolution of independent cymbal makers like NickyMoon. Nick is a master cymbal maker that has a deep passion for preserving the history of this art form. Not only does he tell us about all the milestones throughout time in China...
Sep 15, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
