Drum Hustle

Alex Van Halen—the powerhouse drummer who anchored one of the most explosive bands in rock history while quietly shaping generations of players.Often overshadowed by his brother Eddie’s groundbreaking guitar wizardry, Alex Van Halen delivered a style that was equal parts raw power, impeccable groove, and musical intuition. Drawing from influences like John Bonham, Ginger Baker, and Buddy Rich, he blended big-band swing, behind-the-beat feel, and arena-rock bombast into something utterly unique. His playing didn’t just support the songs—it elevated them, turning Van Halen’s high-octane riffs into unstoppable anthems.

Dive into the century-long saga of one of America’s most iconic drum brands! What started as a Chicago banjo company—kicked off by founder H.H. Slingerland winning a music correspondence school in a legendary card game—exploded into the heartbeat of jazz, swing, and rock.

my take on drum why drum fills are so important.

This is how I teach the Purdy shuffle To my beginner to intermediate students. of course no one can teach it like the master: https://youtu.be/T1j1_aeK6WA

Snare sampling isn’t always the most popular choice these days, but I think it’s certainly a good choice for certain genres and songs. This is how I blended a snare sample on an R&B track.

One of the most influential Big Band / Jazz drummers, Gene Krupa played his last gig on this day in 1973 with the Benny Goodman Quartet. Reach me at drumhustle@gmail.com. https://youtu.be/Nu1teeixmpw https://youtu.be/j9J5Zt2Obko

All to often we work on the flash. We watch you tube and work on a fill or chop and forget about the song.

Make yourself valuable as a drummer. Keep those skills sharp. Do the 10x30 challenge. 10 minutes per day for 30 days. singles, doubles, paradiddles. Don’t get fired!

On this episode, I take you through the process of sampling Craig Parton's 7x14 maple Shelby edition snare.  I recorded it with low, medium, and high tuning.  Check it out on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8e3mJhnKic/ This snare is based on the 1960's Shelby Cobra by Ford.  Amazing Snare.

I found a drum track I recorded sometime back, and wanted to give the snare that classic 80's Gated Reverb effect.   This is about my process

1967 Ludwig supraphonic snare, and Yamaha tour custom maple snare.   I did not want to make this podcast a ( which is better) episode, but more of a comparison between two of the snares I use regularly.  In the end, it seems the Ludwig was a little more useful to me, but not by much. On this episode I have recordings (samples) of each direct and room.  I also added them in the context of a drum mix, and a mix with other instruments in a short song.   Mics used:  SM 57 -Direct Rhode NT 1- Room

Worked with a producer that wanted loops that sounded late 60’s funky. This is my ( on a budget) process

Drum stick Comparison.  Wood vs. Nylon Tip with examples.  

In this Episode, we talk Ekits and Acoustic kits

https://www.airgigs.com/https://www.facebook.com/AirGigs/https://www.instagram.com/airgigshq/?hl=enThis one is extra special to me because AirGigs.com had been very good to me over the years. Back in 2008 I decided to find multiple streams of income as a drummer.  I could see the music industry morphing into something I really did not like at the time, but looking back, we have to change with the times just as our predecessors did.  I’ve done:performingstudio session workteachingrecord productionfilm scoreThanks to AirGigs for making the transition possible.  I encourage every instrumentalist, vocalist, producer, mixer, master engineer, beat maker, and more to test the waters.  If you are in the Knoxville area, I will take the first 10 musicians and help build an audio profile ( record you ).

https://www.mikemichalkow.com/http://www.drumlessons.com/drummers/mike-michalkow/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Krnkf865SIABOUT MIKE MICHALKOWMike Michalkow has been performing, recording, and teaching drums for more than 20 years, with a storied career that has seen him brush shoulders with some of the most recognized drummers in the industry.As a firm believer in drum education, Mike has studied privately with Mitch Dorge (Crash Test Dummies), Dom Famularo, Jim Chapin, Chuck Silverman, John Fisher, Peter Magadini, and Virgil Donati - while also taking classes with the Drummers Collective in New York City, and graduating at the top of his program while majoring in Latin and Jazz under Brian Thurgood at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton.His passion for drums and percussion has earned him a name in the business. This led him to be the Orchestra Drummer on a popular cruise line, heading up the drum department for the USA West Coast for the “National Guitar Workshop”. Mike has also performed and recorded with songwriters and bands with a range of styles including progressive rock, latin, jazz, blues, pop, funk, celtic, country, metal, and R&B.Mike has taught on various drum instructional DVDs including “Moeller Method Secrets”, “The Jazz Drumming System”, “The Latin Drumming System”, and the world-famous “Drumming System” which has sold nearly 20,000 copies. Mike is also an ongoing instructor for the online drum lessons community at www.Drumeo.com.Mike’s goal as an outgoing performer and enthusiastic teacher is to excite and motivate others about the drums and music.

http://jimrileymusic.com/  Jim is the drummer and bandleader for multi-platinum group, Rascal Flatts. Since moving to Nashville in 1997, Jim he has played over a thousand of sold out shows for millions of fans. His television credits include The Grammy Awards, The Tonight Show, The American Music Awards, The Voice, American Idol, Dancing with the stars, Oprah, and The Today Show. Jim’s recording credits include Rascal Flatts most recent album ‘Back to Us’ including the #1 hit single “Yours If You Want It”, ‘Me and My Gang (album)’, EA sports ‘MADDEN Football’, Brian McKnight’s album, ‘Ten’ as well as TV/movie soundtracks for “Heaven is Real”, ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’ and The hit show, Nashville.Jim’s has been constantly recognized by his peers as being one of the best in the business. 2011-2015, 2017 Jim was voted “Best Country Drummer” by the readers of Modern Drummer Magazine as well as winning “Best Drum Clinician” in 2009. The readers of DRUM! Agree voting Jim “Country drummer of the year” 2008-2010, 2012-2013.2016In May of 2014 Jim was featured on the cover of Modern Drummer.Jim attended University of North Texas where he received his degree in Music Education. In addition to being one of Nashville’s elite touring drummers, Jim has become internationally recognized as a clinician and educator. His 2011 Clinic for Modern Drummer Fest was filmed and released on DVD in November of 2011. His teaching studio “The Drum Dojo,” opened up in 2007 and is a place where Jim can teach the great drummers of tomorrow. He is also a published composer, and a frequent educational columnist for Modern Drummer Magazine. Jim has been a member of both the Pro panel and educational panel for MD as well as a member of the PAS drum set committee. His first book, “Song Charting Made Easy: a play along guide to the Nashville number system” (Hal Leonard Publications) was released in June 2010 and is now in its 4th printing. Jim’s latest book, “Survival Guide for the Modern Drummer” (Alfred Publishing) is a documented #1 best seller on Amazon and was voted “Best drum book” of 2016 by the readers of DRUM! magazine. He is sponsored by Ludwig, Sabian, Remo, Gibraltar, Latin Percussion,Innovative Percussion, LP and Roland..

Hanging out with Scott Houston talking drums and stuff Scott Fugate Drumhustle@gmail.com

Rodney Blake Powell is a drummer, vocalist and drumtech with US and international tours under his belt, as well as multiple recording sessions. Rodney  has worked with Johnny Cash's backing group The Tennessee Three, Randy Travis, Donna Summer , Heartland, Larry Bagby, Ricky Lynn Gregg, Razzy Bailey, Wade Hayes, The Chicharones, Gold City , and The Councilmen, and drumteched for Pink Floyd ( Division Bell tour), Rolling Stones ( tech Steel Wheels, and Bridges to Babaylon tours), Alabama ( tech on June Jam Shows, and Pass it Down Tour). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1jtKmBtBQ

I was fortunate to get a one on one interview with the world renown, major label recording artist, drummer Bruce Becker!  He has taught some of the best including: David Garibaldi (The architect of funk) , Tris Imboden  Jiro Yamaguchi (Ozomatli) , Jake Slichter (Semisonic) , Mark Schulman , and Daniel Glass .  He studied many years under the amazing Freddie Gruber.  Freddie was a drum teacher for  Vinnie Colaiuta, Neil Peart, and Steve Smith to name a few.    Bruce has made appearances on Drumeo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct_TKdIc0Hc) and has his own DVD and other educational material.  He is still working today with with the passion he had when he was first starting out. https://brucebecker.com/  Contact us:  drumhustle@gmail.com