Percussion Discussion Podcast

This was the end of another wonderful conversation with Simon Phillips that wasnt used in the recent Hayman episode, its way too interesting not to use. Simon tells us where his love of 24" bass drums came from, his first experience of using a boom cymbal stand that was brough back as a gift from New York and he tells us how cymbal stands affect the sound of cymbals! Simon as always has some fascinating insights in the drum world and this little nugget was way too good to waste, short but very sweet!

Joining me today is Lina Anderberg. Lina is currently on tour with Swedish singer and song writer, Zara Larsson. Lina (also from Sweden ) takes us through her career so far from her early days when her love of horses was the main competition to her drumming career! She tells us how she got the bug after just having a go on a kit at school, knowing nothing about the instrument, she just knew it was for her.....this led to her playing drums in a death metal band... (really badly, in Lina's own words!) of course she knuckled down, studied, practiced, never said no to a gig, learnt her craft well and here she is playing for one of the biggest stars in pop! We also talk about her upcoming at the UK Drum Show later this year in Liverpool. Lina, thanks so musch for chatting to me!

Percussion Discussion - Episode 134 - The history of Hayman Drums .Joining me today for this very special episode talking about the history of Hayman Drums is a star studded cast including Drummer and Hayman authority Nigel Constable, Nigel wrote the Hayman Drum Book along with Bob Henrit in 2016 so is the perfect person to guide us through the Hayman History. We are also joined by perhaps one of the most famous Hayman users, Simon Kirke, he famously used the gold ingot Hayman kit with Free in the early 70's. Another former Hayman player is none other than the incredible Simon Phillips, Simon had quite the history with Hayman drums as you will hear during the episode. Last, but by no means least is my good friend and incredible drummer Robb Reiner, Robb has been the powerhouse Canadian Heavy Metal Trio Anvil since 1978, Just about to release there 20th Studio album this summer the band are as active as they ever were, Robb is a fan of a certain Hayman snare drum........ I have to say a huge thank you to all of the guests that made this possible, Nigel, Simon Phillips, Robb Reiner and of course Simon Kirke. everyone gave there time up so generously to contribute and i am very grateful. Thank you gentlemen.

Joining me today is Nic Collins & Trev Lukather Trev Lukather and Nic Collins join me for a chat about their stunning new band The Effect, the band is completed by Steve Maggiora on Keys and the stunning vocals of Emmet Stang! Obvioulsy neither Nic or Trev need no introduction, Nic makes his 4th appearance on the Podcast while Trev has the honour of being the first guitarist to appear! Nic and Trev explain how the band came together and how the bands sound was acheived very organically with the influences of the four members just blending nicely. Obviously both Nic & Trev have incredibly talented and hugely successful fathers, Phil Collins and Steve Lukather respectively, they share with us what its like finding your way in the music business whilst having parents that are household names. Nic and Trev are both hugely talented and incredibly humble and i really enjoyed chatting with them - Gentlemen, thanks for giving up your valuable time to speak to me.

Percussion Discussion - Episode 132 - Mike Heaton. Joining me today is Mike Heaton. Since the 90’s Mike has been the drummer for Yorkshire indie rockers Embrace. Join Mike and myself as we chat about many aspects of his amazing career including his beautiful drumming and always serving the song, Mike explains how this wasn’t always the case and how he found it tricky to play in such a sparse and simple way after a producer asked for this. Mike is of course the main man behind Code drum heads, Mike tells us why he got into the drum head business and how it felt when Nicko McBrain from the mighty Iron Maiden came on board as an endorser of the heads with his own signature line of drum heads! Mike is great to chat to, the conversation is always easy and free flowing, I really hope you enjoy our conversation, I found it really fascinating! Mike, thank you for giving up your valuable time to chat to me. www.codedrumheads.co.uk

Joining me today is Michel'le Baptiste. Michel'le has played for the likes of Beyonce, Lizzo and Fifth Harmony to name but a few! My first time seeing Michel'le play was at Glastonbury 2023 where she was the drummer with Lizzo's incredible all female band that totally blew my mind! Join myself and Michel'le, as we talk about her incredible journey so far from her beginnings in Houston TX starting out on her drummimg journey at 2 years old, through to studying at the revered Berklee College of Music, she tells us how she took every class available to her to help her gain knowledge of every aspect of the business. We talk about making the daunting move to Los Angeles once Michel'le had graduated with a Bachelors of Music, she tells us about the struggle of being an unknown musician in LA and how she had to do plenty of mundane jobs before getting her first break in the business......... Thanks to Michel'le for finding the time in her busy schedule to chat with me!

Joining me today is Leon Cave. Since 2013 Leon has been the drummer with the mighty Status Quo. Join Leon and myself as we talk about his career so far, from his early days as a young heavy metal fan playing along to Iron Maiden songs through to studying with the renowned manchester based drummer and percussionist (and former guest) Dave Hassel. Leon tells us about his "sliding doors" moment, a turn of events that got him the Francis Rossi gig, and how things could have been very different if hadnt made a certain decision........ im not giving it away here!! We talk about what it takes to pull of the Quo songs especially some of the up tempo shuffles and how Leon does this and makes it look so easy! This was a fabulous conversation, its been a while in the making and im so glad we got it over the line! Leon, thanks so much for giving up your time from your manic schedule! www.statusquo.co.uk Socials@Leoncavenusic

This is a very special episode of Percussion Discussion Podcast - this celebrates 101 years of Premier Percussion, Join myself and a wealth of remarkable drummers and industry professionals as they share their memories and thoughts of the mighty Premier Percussion. Joining me in no particular order are - Joe Franco - Ged Lynch - Andie Laidlaw - Bob Henrit - Steve White - Adam Parsons - Tom Meyers - Luke Bullen - Mike Eliis - Todd Sucherman - Bob Richards - Colin Tennant - Rod Morgenstein - Stuart Graham - Ian Moseley. Huge thanks to everybody involved in the making of this film. The clips were recorded between September and November 2023. Huge thanks to Colin Tennant and all at Premier Percussion for allowing the use of the footage of Ged Lynch playing the Elite drums. Premier factory footage belongs to Adrian Schackmann. www.premier-percussion.com

Percussion Discussion - Episode 129 - Rob BrianJoining me today is English drummer Rob BrianRob has carved out an incredible career for himself so far, having wonderful names on his CV such as Miles Kane, Siouxsie Sioux, Peter Gabriel, Hugh Cornwell, Simple Minds, Clara Ponty, Modern English and many more.Join Rob and myself for a fascinating and free flowing chat about his amazing career, we talk about Robs obvious passion for education, he tells us how important it is to pass on and share information and that how the drumming community thankfully thrives on doing this.Rob and I also talk in-depth about his gig with Siouxsie Sioux, a gig he has held since 2006, and the challenge of playing some of the unique and tricky parts of the original Banshees drummer and former guest on this podcast Budgie.We had to chat about Rob’s involvement in the upcoming tour with Gary Astridge in February 2024 - The Legendary Drums and Drumming of a Starr, a tribute to the Genius of Ringo Starr, Gary Astridge (Ringo’s curator of all the Beatles era drum kits, historian and friend of Ringo) will be hosting the evening featuring some incredible Ringo facts, storied and a multimedia presentation along with Rob demonstrating some of Ringos grooves and rather unique traits behind a drum kit!Thanks to Rob for a totally fascinating chat - checkout his website www.robertbrian.co.uk

Joining me today is Tom Brechtlein. Tom is a hugely talented American drummer wh has played for the likes of Chick Corea, Robben Ford, Wayne Shorter, Frank Gambale, Don Grusin, Al Di Meola and many more. Join Tom and i as we pick through some of the highlights from his remarkable career so far. These include some remarkable stories about recording and touring with the late lengendary Chick Corea and ridiculously talented bluesman Robben Ford. We also talk about Toms time spent playing for the late great Natalie Cole and how the gig came about. Tom tells us about his busy recording schedule from his home studio and the pros and cons of remote recording. We also learn that Tom is able to produce the most incredible Scottish Accent!! its worth listening just for this! Thanks to Tom for giving up his time to do this. www.tomebrechtlein.com

Alfie Boe - Percussion Discussion - Episode 127 Joining me today is Global Singing Megastar Alfie Boe OBE. Alfie is of course known for being a singer, recording countless hit albums and selling out concert halls acrosss the world.....BUT.... you guessed it, he is also a drummer too and a very passionate one at that. Join Alfie and myself as we explore his passion for drums from where it began as an 8 year old in blackpool playing on cushions on his bed through to his parents suprising him with his first real drum set at the age of 12, Alfie tells us how he ended up in many of the local clubs in his native Blackpool playing along with the resident organists and providing backing for visiting cabaret acts. He also explains how an audition with an Indie band at the age 14 almost changed his career path for good... We chat about what he expects from the drummer in his own band and how he encourages them to really push their boundaries and not to pay too much attention to the charts provided. This was a really fascinating conversation, Alfie is genuinely one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet, and i appreciate him giving up his very precious time to chat to me. Many thanks also to Joel Barford, Joel is a former guest on the Podcast and he asked Alfie on my behalf to do this, thanks Joel! Lastly thanks to Lewis Shaw from LME worldwide for making all of the neccesary arrangements. www.alfie-boe.com

Joining me today is Austrian drummer Philipp Groyssboeck better known as Phil G. Phil has lived in London for the last 20 years and has gained a quite remarakable CV of wonderful artists synonymous with the 1980'S including names such as Go West, Mike and The Mechanics, Roachford, T'pau, Taylor Dayne, Chris DeBurgh, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young and many others. Join Phil and myself as we pick through some of the highlights of his career so far from his childhood in Austria in his parents bakery, through to playing drums with the Austrian military band whilst on National Service, Being Terry Bozzio's Drum tech for 2 weeks to performing with Mike & The Mechanics at the Isle Of White Festival in 2016. Phil also tells about his drums of choice, hand made in Austria, these are called Alto Beat Drums, and if you have ever been lucky enough to hear Phil play, then you will know exactly how good they sound and look! Many thanks to Phil for giving up the time from his insane schedule! it was a lot of fun! www.philippg.com www.alto-beat.com

Joining me today is UK Drummer Luke Bullen. Join Luke and myself as we talk about his amazing career so far, including a six year stint with the legendary Bryan Ferry, Luke tells us about some highlights of this period includinga gig at The Hollywood Bowl with the 10 piece band and a 60 piece orchestra, no pressure then.... We also chat about Luke's current gigs with British Rockers Reef and singer songwriter Rumer and the different challenges that both bring style and equipment wise. The film 3 drummers had to be mentioned, this is a lovely film tells the story amazing story of 3 drummers who lived 3 miles apart from eachother in their native Norfolk all went on to have remarkable careers as drummers playing for some of the best artists and bands in the world, Luke, Steve Barney and Nathan "Tugg" Curran are the aforementioned drummers and it is well worth a watch! Here is the link - http://www.lukebullen.co.uk/3-drummers-film This was a fabulous conversation, Luke, thank you so much for giving your time up so generously! Many thanks to our mutual pal and UK Session drummer Steve Barney for introducing us both!

Joining me today is Neil Golding. Neil is the organiser of the UK Drum Show. Join us a we talk about what goes in to organising arguably one of the biggest drum shows in the world. Neil has a background in music magazine publishing and went to organise the London Drum Show for many years after working on Drummer magazine. We talk about the monumental success that the UK Drums Show has become and how the input of both Mike Johnston and Mike Dolbear who both run their own rooms at the show is invaluable. The recent show featured a remarkable 48 Artists performing over 2 days, Not to mention the countless companies exhibiting. This is a fascinating insight in to the work that goes into organising this family run event! Many thanks to Neil for giving up his valuable time to do this interview, i really enjoyed chatting! The dates for next years show are 28th & 29th September 2024 Tickets go on sale on 5/11/23 www.theukdrumshow.com

Joining me today is Stumpy Monroe. Stumpy is best known for being the powerhouse drummer for Scottish Hard Rockers - The Almighty. Formed in the late 80's they took the 90's by storm creating so many great songs and albums and some incredibly memorable gigs along the way. Join Stumpy and myself as we chat about his career from the very beginning of his drumming journey, he had the ultimate start from the age of 13 playing in pipe band drumming competitions over many years competing against the best in the world on snare drum, Stumpy also competed in the solo snare drum championship and getting runner up at age 15 in the under 21's category! He tells us how his pipe band skills could be applied to the traditional drum kit opening up so many different fills and rhythms around the drums that somebody without that rudimental knowledge would struggle to do so.As you may now The Almighty are reforming for 3 gigs in December 23, Stumpy tells us how much perdonal work he is putting into re learning the songs and finding the energy and stamina to get through the set. Stumpy talks about the legendary performance by The Almighty at Donnington on 22nd of August 1992 where the band opened the show with a short but blistering set winning over the whole enormous Donnington crowd! I cant tell you how much i enjoyed doing this, im a huge fan of Stumps playing and i genuinely regard him as one of the best Rock n Roll drummers in the business.www.thealmightyofficial.com Stumpy - Thanks so much for doing this! Huge thanks to Adam Parsons for connecting us up for this chat. www.adamparsonsentertainment.com

Rod Morgenstein - Percussion Discussion - Episode 122 Firmly back in the legends lounge today with the remarkable Rod Morgenstein. Join Rod and myself as we talk about his remarkable career so far from his early days with Dixie Dregs through to the melodic hard rockers Winger. Rod gives us a fascinating insight to the recording of the Buddy Rich Tribute Album "Burning For Buddy" and the amount of work Rod put into learning a huge Buddy arrangement only for it not to be used! We also talk about Rod's latest project the Wing Thing, a really useful tool for loosening over tightened wing nuts www.morgensteintool.com! we talk about so much great stuff in this conversation, i dont want to spoil it by giving it away! Rod played a huge part of my youth playing drums and it was a total thrill chatting to him! Thanks so much for giving up your time! www.rodmorgenstein.com

Todd Suchermann- Percussion Discussion - Episode 121 Im thrilled to be joined for todays Percussion Discussion by the one and only Todd Sucherman! Todd is best known for playing drums for legendary American rockers Styx since 1995. Join Todd and myself for a thrilling conversation covering many areas of Todds remarkably busy life and career. We talk about the many drums in his stunning room and how he goes about choosing the right job for the right song. We also discuss Todd's approach to putting drums down remotely after getting a track with programmed drums or a guide track. I had to ask Todd about his stunning version of the Foo Fighters Rope on Drumeo after one listen, Todd lets us into a little secret that he didnt want to do it and it took Jared Falk to offer Todd a beautiful (and rare) Jade Green Yamaha Recording Custom snare drum to twist his arm in to doing it!! This was a real pleasure to do, Todd is a wonderful guy and i thank him for giving up the time from his crazy busy schedule to talk to me! huge thanks must go to our mutual pal Peter 'Dougal' Butler for putting us in touch!

Robert Sput Searight - Percussion Discussion - Episode 120 Joining me today is one of the best and funkiest drummers on the planet, Robert Sput Searight. Sput is a multi Grammy award winning and remarkable drummer / keyboard player / composer who has played for the likes of Erykah Badu, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Snarky Puppy, Ghost - Note and of course now Toto! Join Sput and myself as we talk through some of the elements of his stunning career so far from his beginnings and how church played a huge part of his musical education through to Ghost - Note. Sput also shares with us the really interesting story of how he ended up being endorsed by Meinl Cymbals. Of course we had to talk about his gig with Toto and how it felt to get the call from Steve Lukather asking him to join. There is so much more to this amazing conversation than i have put in this description as i really want you to listen to it!  I am so grateful to Sput for giving up his time so generously. Hope you enjoy it. www.ghost-note-official.com www.totoofficial.com

Joining me today is Chris Jago for the second part of our conversation. Chris originally hails from Toxteth in Liverpool however he has lived in Los Angeles for the last 20 years. Chris has a remarkable story in the world of drumming and music in general, he has played for the likes of the legendary Neil Diamond, Alan Cumming, Boy George, Barclay James Harvest and many more....... but wait there is more, Chris is hugely respected in the musical theatre / Broadway world with a whole other CV in his back pocket including Wicked, Rent (Live on Fox) We Will Rock You, Frozen the musical plus he has written the drum book for Paradise Square and his new musical Shucked. Join Chris and myself as we talk through his incredible career so far from his beginnings in Toxteth through to heading to London to hopefully take his career further and how he found himself in accidentally in a Musical thinking that the audition for a touring band! we talk about all the twists and turns that lead Chris to where he is now, an incredibly busy drummer with many plates to juggle including his own Shabby Road Studio where Chris is constantly recording drum parts for many clients around the world. Todays Episode includes the INCREDIBLE Neil Diamond story, you need to listen to it, im not giving it away! Chris - Thanks so much for giving up your time, cant tell you how much i enjoyed it. www.chrisjago.com

Joining me today is Chris Jago. Chris originally hails from Toxteth in Liverpool however he has lived in Los Angeles for the last 20  years. Chris has a remarkable story in the world of drumming and music in general, he has played for the likes of the legendary Neil Diamond, Alan Cumming, Boy George, Barclay James Harvest and many more....... but wait there is more, Chris is hugely respected in the musical theatre / Broadway world with a whole other CV in his back pocket including Wicked, Rent (Live on Fox) We Will Rock You, Frozen the musical plus he has written the drum book for Paradise Square and his new musical Shucked. Join Chris and myself as we talk through his incredible career so far from his beginnings in Toxteth through to heading to London to hopefully take his career further and how he found himself in accidentally in a Musical thinking that the audition for a touring band! we talk about all the twists and turns that lead Chris to where he is now, an incredibly busy drummer with many plates to juggle including his own Shabby Road Studio where Chris is constantly recording drum parts for many clients around the world. We had such an enjoyable conversation it went on a bit longer than they usually do so i have decided to put this out as 2 parts, Part 2 contains the most incredible story about Chris's run up to actually playing with Neil Diamond.....DONT MISS IT!! Chris - Thanks so much for giving up your time, cant tell you how much i enjoyed it.www.chrisjago.com