Episode 65: Nate Smith. One of the greatest drummers in the game, a future member of the Hall of Fame—you already know it’s Nate Smith! I had a great time hanging with Nate in this conversation. He’s a brilliant musician, composer, thinker, and such a fun guy. We go deep on how he got the gig with Brittany Howard and his work with her, how the Fearless Flyers became a band and how they make records, his practice regimen, personal life, philosophies, working with Paul Simon, going viral, what dri...
Feb 07, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 64: Nathan East. One of the most recorded musicians of all time, and truly one of the greatest humans—that’s Nathan East. I had the best time hanging out with him, diving into his perspective and stories, and cracking up along the way. We talk about his 40-year relationship with Eric Clapton, recording some of the biggest songs ever, and co-writing one of my personal favorite records. His outlook on life is incredible, and I believe that’s a huge part of why he’s had nonstop opportunitie...
Jan 30, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 63: Don Was. Don Was is undeniably one of the most influential figures in music. For the past 31 years, he’s been producing The Rolling Stones, while also working with legends like Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, The B-52’s, and John Mayer. Beyond that, he’s the President of Blue Note Records, plays bass with Bob Weir, and now fronts his own band. In this episode, Don sits down with Elmo to share how he balances running Blue Note Records, producing iconic albums, and touring. He opens up about ...
Jan 23, 2025•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 62: George Clinton. Step into the Mothership as we welcome the legendary George Clinton, the godfather of funk and mastermind behind Parliament-Funkadelic, on this week’s episode of Go With Elmo Lovano!! From shaping genres to leading a musical revolution, George reflects on his 7 decade career, the stories behind his iconic hits, and the vision that has kept him evolving until today. We go back to the early days with Parliament and Funkadelic, sharing the origins of hits like "I Wanna T...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alissia Benveniste, aka Alissia, quickly makes an unforgettable impression on people. Her bass playing first caught the attention of Prince, Quincy Jones, and Bootsy Collins, even though she had only been playing for a few years. While at Berklee College of Music, Alissia created a wave that has only grown bigger, with her bass videos going viral on YouTube and Instagram.Her tone, sound, style and talent captivate instantly. Now, Alissia is nominated for PRODUCER OF THE YEAR at this year's GRAMM...
Dec 27, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 60: Zedd. Joining us today is one of the biggest artists and DJs in the world, Zedd. Fresh off a GRAMMY nomination for Best Electronic Album for his latest masterpiece, TELOS, Zedd dives into the nine-year journey behind the album, sharing how timeless chord progressions, creative isolation, and a relentless pursuit of perfection shaped this epic project. We explore the incredible collaborations with Muse, John Mayer, Jeff Buckley, and Remi Wolf, uncovering how each artist brought their ...
Dec 19, 2024•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 59: Jacob Collier. Today, I’m hyped to have one of my favorite artists on the podcast—Jacob Collier. Jacob is one of the brightest lights on Earth, and I always treasure our conversations. This time, you get to watch us! Jacob is nominated for 3 GRAMMYs this year, including Album of the Year, Best Arrangement, and Best Global Music Performance. With 6 GRAMMY wins and an incredible 15 nominations to his name, he’s set a remarkable standard, being nominated for Best Arrangement for the pas...
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s that time of year when Walter Afanasieff takes over the charts. Walter is the writer and producer of “All I Want for Christmas Is You”—the biggest Christmas song of all time—and he also produced “My Heart Will Go On.” But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. From writing and producing with Mariah Carey to working with Celine Dion, Whitney Houston, and Barbra Streisand, Walter has been behind some of the most unforgettable songs in music history. He co-wrote dozens of hits with Mariah Carey, ...
Dec 05, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 57 - Elena Pinderhughes is one of the most sought-after musicians in today’s vibrant jazz scene. From touring with legends like Herbie Hancock, Common, and Chief Adjuah to performing the iconic “Mask Off” with Future on the Coachella Main Stage, Elena has already brought the flute to a new level. She’s a prominent figure in this wave of brilliant young musicians rising within the new jazz world. The first time I heard her play flute, it was alongside the jazz world’s GOAT, Herbie Hancock...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 56 - Dave King of The Bad Plus. The Bad Plus is one of the world’s most exciting and innovative ensembles. Over the past 20 years, they’ve created a groundbreaking sound that blends jazz and avant-garde music in a way that’s uniquely their own—beautifully melodic, dark, twisted, soft, loud, simple, and incredibly complex, all in one. Their drummer, Dave King, is one of my all-time favorite drummers. Creating a distinctive and instantly recognizable voice on an instrument is rare, but Dav...
Nov 15, 2024•2 hr 49 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 55 - Quincy Jones was one of the most important humans in the history of music. At 91 years of age, we sadly lost the legend this week. Quincy touched us all in so many ways. Beyond his music and boundary-breaking life, Quincy was a friend, advisor, and investor to Jammcard. His support meant the world, changed our lives, and inspired us beyond explanation. We’d like to take a moment to honor Quincy and share stories from the podcast of friends and collaborators of his, in hopes that it ...
Nov 07, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 54 - Jason White is one of the greatest choir directors, vocal producers, and contractors in the world. He's best known as the leader of Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir, which took the world by storm in 2019, and he's worked with so many other legends as well. He worked with Beyoncé on her GRAMMY-winning "Break My Soul" (and we talk about that session in this episode), Will Smith on his first new music in years and re-emerging in the public eye (which we also talk about), Harry Styles,...
Nov 01, 2024•2 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 53: Kris Pooley is one of the most successful musical directors in the game, known for his long relationship as MD for Katy Perry, music directing American Idol for the last 8 seasons (going on 9), and working with Gwen Stefani, Kesha, Demi Lovato, Pink, Smashing Pumpkins, Morrisey, Jane's Addiction and so much more. We dive deep into his career, how he landed these gigs, his creative process behind directing major performances like Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, and his unique p...
Oct 24, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 52! Please welcome the incredible Dexter Hercules, drummer for Ed Sheeran, to discuss his career journey from coming up in London’s music scene to currently performing in stadiums around the world. Dexter shares his experiences playing for The Voice UK, how he got the gig with Ed Sheeran, what it’s like playing stadiums, navigating the world of drum clinics, left handed drumming, the big reason why he learned how to read music, his passion for community-building through music, and more. ...
Oct 18, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 51 is with the legendary Adam Blackstone. Adam is one of the most successful musical directors of all time, and a multi-GRAMMY-nominated artist himself. He’s been the musical director for Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West, Eminem, Jill Scott, Dr. Dre, and countless others. Adam has musical directed four Super Bowl Halftime Shows in the last six years, including the 2022 performance with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar—where he took home the Emmy...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wooo it’s Episode 50 of Go With Elmo! Thank you for listening. We hope you’re enjoying it and finding value in the conversations! For this landmark episode we sit down with legendary drummer and musical director Teddy Campbell, whose impressive career spans performances with industry giants like Stevie Wonder, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, Alicia Keys, 98 Degrees and as the house drummer for The Oscars, American Idol and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Teddy shares stories...
Oct 04, 2024•2 hr 43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 49 is with the incredible composer, conductor, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist, Miguel Atwood Ferguson. We delve into Miguel's extensive career, having participated in over 600 recordings and 2,500 shows. He shares key insights from these experiences and his role in the next legendary LA movement alongside talents like Thundercat, Kamasi Washington, Flying Lotus and Terrace Martin. Miguel recounts the artist's journey—meeting Thundercat for the first time, their collaboration, and th...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast We're hyped to have our first repeat guest, the most recorded drummer in the history of time, the legendary John JR Robinson. We talk with the King of the Groove about his new book, more stories of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, embracing new technologies in music, and a super deep dive on entrepreneurship. Musicians and music lovers, this is a must listen and a dang good time. We hope you love it. ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entr...
Sep 19, 2024•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Alayna Rodgers and Alana Linsey have toured the world and performed on TV as background vocalists with artists such as Anderson .Paak, Steve Lacy, Raphael Saadiq, Harry Styles, Madonna, John Legend, The Masked Singer, and many more. They're the electric duo that's been on stage singing background vocals with Anderson .Paak, and now they're stepping to center stage with their own artist project, GAWD. They just dropped their album Cathedral City Supreme and are going on tour with Anderson .Paak, ...
Sep 06, 2024•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tarriona "Tank" Ball is the incredible lead singer of Tank and the Bangas, the multi-Grammy and Emmy nominated band. She’s a songwriter, poet, singer and performer and has collaborated with artists like Norah Jones, Big Freedia, James Poyser, Robert Glasper, and many more. We dive into her journey from where she started before her viral performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series, talk about her new EP's The The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, songwriting, how to keep a band together for over 10 ye...
Aug 29, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode is with the AI music team, Dadabots. The co-founders CJ Carr and Zack Zukowski, are musicians and computer programers that have built an AI music system that creates original music through neural networks and machine learning. It is able to generate new songs and beats in the style of any artist, any genre, and even can create new genres. They have the longest continual stream on YouTube called RELENTLESS DOPPELGANGER that is AI music created in realtime and is ENDLESS. It's ...
Aug 22, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brian Frasier-Moore is the first call drummer for some of the biggest artists in the world: Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Backstreet Boys, and so many more. He's done three Super Bowl Halftime shows (JT, Madonna, Shakira/J.Lo) and is the definition of professional. We talk about growing his career, working with the greatest musical directors, drummers, the important of reading music, and what the future holds for him. We hope you love this insider conversat...
Aug 15, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 43 - Ant Clemons is a GRAMMY winning songwriter, producer and artist. Known for his work with Kanye West, H.E.R, Justin Timberlake, Mary J Blige, Beyoncé, Ty Dolla $ign, Chance The Rapper, Camila Cabello, and for his artist project which received a GRAMMY nomination for Best R&B Album. Ant has reached a high level of success all while keeping his signature smile and that red hat! We dive deep on how he got started in music, the benefits and challenges of being a songwriter, his relations...
Jun 27, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 41- Cory Henry is one of the greatest musicians on the planet. Known for his masterful skills on the organ and his songwriting, Cory has worked with Snarky Puppy, Kanye West, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rosalia, Imagine Dragons, Rick Rubin, Jon Batiste, and has multiple GRAMMY nominations for his solo albums. We talk about all those subjects, plus his new album Church, his approach to soloing, the Funk Apostles JammJam, both his dog Lingus and the song, earning income as an independent artis...
Jun 20, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 41 - For this weeks episode, we compiled stories from some incredible guests all answering the same question, how did you get the gig? In this episode, we hear how Stanley Randolph got the gig with Stevie Wonder, how Nicole Row got Incubus, how Larnell Lewis got Snarky Puppy, how Isaiah Sharkey got D’angelo, and how Mark Guiliana got David Bowie. You can hear the full episodes of each of the interviews on our channel so please subscribe! Whether you’re watching us on YouTube or listening...
May 02, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 40 - Welcome to the first Go With Elmo ENCORE! We’re re-releasing our interview with Mark Guiliana because it’s incredible and we feel like a lot of you missed it since it was one of the first episodes on the pod! We were posting everything at the time on the Jammcard channel, so now that Go has it’s own channel, let's go. WIth that being said, please SUBSCRIBE to Go with Elmo on YouTube, and please follow the pod on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you’re listening to us. Mark Guiliana is on...
Apr 25, 2024•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 39 - Michael Bearden is one of the most successful music directors of all time. He was Michael Jackson’s final musical director, building the This Is It show, and spent MJ’s last night together, rehearsing with him. He’s been with Lady Gaga for over a decade (including her iconic Super Bowl half time show performance). He was with Whitney Houston at her highest moment. He’s lifelong friends with Michelle Obama. And on top of all that, has also worked with Madonna, Rod Stewart, Sting, Car...
Apr 19, 2024•2 hr 53 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 38 - Adam Deitch has built an incredible name for himself in the drumming, funk and hip hop world. From leading his bands Lettuce, Break Science, and the Adam Deitch Quartet, to producing for 50 Cent and MF Doom, to even touring with John Scofield, Pretty Lights and Wyclef Jean. Adam’s incredible groove powers so much of the worlds funk and hip hop. We talk about how Adam built his career and his approach to still being extremely proficient today. Of course we have a bunch of laughs and ...
Apr 11, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 37 - Bludnymph is our new favorite pop star. She is Spotify’s Pop Rising Artist to Watch for 2024, has a hit single with The Chainsmokers, and an going collaboration with the super producer, Cirkut. We talk with Bludnymph about her start, how she broke into the music industry, her fast rising growth, and monetizing on the internet in many ways including OnlyFans. We hope you enjoy this interview and make sure to keep your eyes and ears on Bludnymph! ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podc...
Apr 05, 2024•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Episode 36 - Daru Jones is one of the most recognizable drummers on the planet. Whether you’re hearing him on a record, seeing him on tour, or even just looking at his kit, you know it’s Daru. He creates custom drums, cymbals, sticks and sound effects. He even sets his drum set up so they’re essentially backwards! Daru is one of a kind, and he’s an amazingly humble and loving guy. We talk with Daru about how he got the gig with Jack White, his past with Nas, Talib Kweli, Black Milk, church, deve...
Mar 28, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
