The Drumming Mastermind

Introducing Derek Lee of Beat Note! He is a great gentleman, awesome drummer and an inspiring entrepreneur who I'm now honoured to call a good friend. He has a very inspiring story and is contributing significantly to the drumming and education sector. He is the creator of Benny Greb's Gap Click and the mastermind behind Beat Note. An app/product I'm also proudly adopting for teaching and my upcoming online drum courses.This is an inspiring chat for anyone who finds themselves on the fence about pursuing their dreams, whether it be due to fear or failure or other limitations. Helpful for anyone in the music industry, app developers and/or entrepreneurs. I hope this episode leaves you as inspired as I was after talking with Mr Derek Lee.Derek Lee/Beat Note Website: ⁠https://beat-note.app/⁠Instagram: ⁠  / beatnoteapp  ⁠Facebook: ⁠  / beatnoteapp  ⁠Youtube: ⁠   • Create Your First Beat using Beat Note  

Part 2 of my chat with ‪@DerrickMckenzieOfficial‬ where we dig into what it takes to earn a living in the music industry, the launch of his own music label, Boogie Bus Music, his recording process, the lead up to auditioning and earning his place in Jamiroquai and much more. Again, super grateful for having this opportunity to speak with Derrick, I hope anyone watching this enjoys it and gets something from it.0:00:20 – Derrick’s label, Boogie Bus music, positive, high vibe uplifting music.0:07:00 – Hey Boo, Derrick’s new single.0:09:00 – Power of AI and the big plans for Boogie Bus Music0:14:40 – How drumming is at the core of all Derrick’s projects/endeavors and how his collaborations with others come together.0:18:40 – Plans to combine DJ sets with live drumming0:38:20 – Adopting an entrepreneurial mindset to survive in the music industry0:49:50 – Changes in the music industry 0:51:30 – Derrick’s career path from playing drums on a stool as a child and how he ended up in Jamiroquai.1:05:00 – Deciding to become a full-time musician and ditching the vanilla job.1:15:00 – The call to audition for Jamiroquai1:30:00 – Yamaha endorsement/Kit setups1:49:00 – New Jamiroquai album and the song writing process1:54:35 – Derrick’s process to prepare for recording both for Jamiroquai and other sessions. Interesting relationship between perfect takes verse vibey takes.

Still in disbelief that I was able to have a lengthy discussion with Derrick McKenzie about his life and musical endeavours including being an entrepreneur, DJ'ing, close calls on the road and ofcourse drumming and Jamiroquai.0:01:20 Coping with drummer ailments through the setup/ergonomics of drums. 0:04:12 How Derrick sets up his kit to play his best. 0:13:16 Derrick’s drumming heroes and inspirations0:23:20 A regular week in Derrick’s life/Exercise/Intermittent fasting/Life Admin/Work/Practise0:28:17 Daily activities and the importance of uninterrupted practice 0:30:40 What drumming books Derrick uses0:33:29 How Derrick chills out00:37:30 How to Force relax time and its benefits00:40:50 Having boundaries and being disciplined with days off00:45:16 The joys of playing on a cruise ship 00:51:43 Juggling Family life and music as a career00:55:00 Being proud of his son being a self-taught drummer. 00:56:48 Derrick’s first professional band CandyLand and learning more through other projects01:01:00 Fusing sounds and technology for a fresh live sound with Urban Species01:03:10 Rolling a tour bus and overcoming the mental trauma and reflecting on being lucky to be alive. 01:08:13 Narrowly missing being on the plane which flew into the twin towers. 01:12:45 Jonathan Ulman’s question “What unique techniques do you bring from drumming to your dj sets or vice versa, how do you incorporate elements from both worlds into your performances? 1:23:00 How times have changed and how social media allows us to be exposed to so many new drummers1:23:50 What attracted Derrick to drumming and his drumming journey.1:33:00 Derrick’s first kit 1:34:30 Suddenly quitting meaningless jobs to pursue our passions. 1:39:42 What life looks like when you’re juggling a job and music career1:43:20 Jamiroquai’s stylistic evolution

Meet Jonathan Ulman. A self-taught drummer who has earned himself the title of Session musician of the year 7 TIMES in addition to being nominated for “Best New Drummer 2016” by Rhythm Magazine. Jonathan is a busy bee playing live and performing recording sessions nonstop while working at @Berkleecollege where he does some amazing supportive work for students. He also played as a guest drummer on the @latenightseth show during the Summer of 2022. Follow him on Instagram here @jmudrums He is such an amazing, genuine and supportive human who I’m so grateful for giving up his time to chat. If you’re not already, please follow and support him on @jmudrums. Jonathan is endorsed by @zildjiancompany @westoneaudio @vicfirth @ludwigdrumshq @evansdrumheads @drumtacs and @protectionracket 0:00 – Managing a career while going through tough emotional periods. The therapeutic effects of drumming. 12:00 - Lesser known drummers achieving huge achievements. Boston investing into it's music scene 17:00 - Jonathan's definition of success and how it has changed over time. The importance of writing our your goals. 37:43 - The power of loving and enjoying the drums without attaching an outcome/goal to it. 44:20 - Balancing career and hobbies/passions. 50:57 - The impact of networking and being diverse in your interests. Power of diversifying your audience. 1:08:30 - The Whisper Breaks, Jonathan’s loop and sample library and the magic of improvisation and creativity. 1:22:43 - Being nominated for Best New Drummer in the world at the age of 36. 1:25:05 Being prepared for any opportunity. PHARRELL (1:26) EVERY GIG IS THE BIGGEST GIG IN THE WORLD. YOU NEVER KNOW IF THAT’S THE OPPORTUNITY THAT WILL KICK START YOUR CAREER. 1:29:00 - Playing on Seth Meyers/Playing on tv experience. 1:38:35 - Jonathan’s drum journey and how he developed his playing. The power of hip hop songs/beats for kids learning drums to make success easier. 1:46:48 - Steve Jordan story and the power of simplicity. 1:51:13 - You’re not grooving, unless you’re moving. How moving enhances groove. If you’re not feeling your own pocket, no one else will be. 1:54:30 – The difference in headspace between live and studio performances. Looking for that vibe in recording takes. 2:02:55 - What are the most important elements of a session drummer. 2:09:07 - Tips on landing endorsements. 2:28:25 - Wrap up. Reach out to Jonathan. Shout out to Pharrell Williams.

Part 4 of 4 with the legendary ‪@timbofromkeno‬ If you've made it this far, thank you, you are a legend. We wrap up this chat with some helpful topics, especially for aspiring recording drummers. Hope you enjoy and get something from this chat. If you haven't already, please like, comment and subscribe. The topics discussed are below. 0:00 – Where did drumming start and how did it evolve over time? 06:00 – Defining groove and how to emphasize it. 08:00 – Coming up with drums for songs and ways to be unique. 11:00 – How to develop groove and what is pocket? 15:00 – Mental/Spiritual/Physical approaches leading up to a performance and winning at recording work. 17:00 – Tim’s session work tracking process. 28:40 – Tim’s other service offerings. A one stop shop for creatives. 46:00 – Vintage Drums/Drum Collection Socials: ⁠⁠@thedrummingmastermind⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠@timbofromkeno⁠⁠⁠ Make sure you're following us on Socials and Youtube to stay up to date with our materials ⁠⁠⁠@thedrummingmastermind⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@drumming.mastermind⁠⁠ ⁠⁠www.thedrummingmastermind.com ⁠

Part 1 of 4 of the Drumming Mastermind Episode with legendary human Tim Baltes. The man is an insane player, has accomplished heaps and is an all round awesome human. Hope you enjoy what's instore for this 4 part episode. 0:00 – What does success look like for Timbo 2:30 – What success looks like for me 5:30 – Recording tips 21:00 – Receiving drum lessons/Education and managing injuries 25:00 – One of Timbo’s most important received drum lessons. Go to stickings and a different way of learning, using different stick grips. 31:00 – Flexibility and adaptive teaching style Socials: ⁠@thedrummingmastermind⁠ ⁠⁠@timbofromkeno⁠⁠ Make sure you're following us on Socials and Youtube to stay up to date with our materials ⁠⁠@thedrummingmastermind⁠ ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@drumming.mastermind⁠ ⁠www.thedrummingmastermind.com ⁠

Part 1 of 4 of the Drumming Mastermind Episode with legendary human Tim Baltes. The man is an insane player, has accomplished heaps and is an all round awesome human. Hope you enjoy what's instore for this 4 part episode. Socials: @thedrummingmastermind ⁠@timbofromkeno⁠ Make sure you're following us on Socials and Youtube to stay up to date with our materials ⁠@thedrummingmastermind https://www.tiktok.com/@drumming.mastermind www.thedrummingmastermind.com

Part 1 of 4 of the Drumming Mastermind Episode with legendary human Tim Baltes. The man is an insane player, has accomplished heaps and is an all round awesome human. Hope you enjoy what's instore for this 4 part episode. Socials: @thedrummingmastermind @timbofromkeno Make sure you're following us on Socials and Youtube to stay up to date with our materials @thedrummingmastermind

Caught up with Chris Blancato @chrisblancato3 and Jono Peters @GhxstBlood to stop us all going mad from being trapped at home. (Excuse the Lock.Down beard which is out of control.) In this chat we touched on the following topics: Functioning as a musician/producer during 2020-2022 Real Drummers Vs Midi Drums - Costs Vs Benefits What can make a drummer better than midi drums Building the Nic Pettersen Drum Sample Pack Synergy and Different goals of the producer and the musician Qualities of a great recording drummer Building experience recording, self criticism and different perspectives Managing difficult/poor performing musicians The right mindset in the studio for producers and musos Different perspectives Nickelback (and how awesome they are) Being able to hear a mix and song individually Getting lost in the details of song writing How to manage complex parts in the studio and carrying it over to a live performance. A.I. and Vocal Sampling Make sure you subscribe and let us know what you thought of this episode!

In this episode we discuss the following: Jono's process to songwriting with a drumming focus Interpretation and understanding of "feel" An appreciation for Paul DeMarco (Rose Tattoo Drummer) Struggling with creativity post technical development Choking the drums and the importance of stick grip How different sounding drums impact playing and inspiration Remaining consistent during the drum tracking process The importance of bass players Coming up with drum parts for existing guitar/bass parts Appreciation for Lars Ulrich The death of the tangible experience of music Disclaimer: The audio levels are a little strange in this clip. My apologies. This episode was recorded back in 2020 during "that time" where we were all stuck at home. I've got a tonne of episodes with more great drummers in line for editing. Trying to get through it as quick as possible. Thanks for your patience.

This discussion with Sydney based producer Jono Peters goes into: - What writing and recording drums is like from the perspective of a producer and how the drums affect the composition of a song. - How drum technique affects sound when it comes to recording. - Drums finally coming to the forefront of importance in modern music. We discuss: Recording and producing during the big Pan*(#&c Midi Drums for songwriting Making a poor quality drumkit sound good The role of drums and rhythm in songwriting Creative and quirky drummers Different styles of music and how drumming changes genre to genre What came first, the riff or the drums? Shifting the focus to drums in modern music Jono Peters Socials: Instagram -@premium.bites and blackvialmusic. Youtube - @BlackVialMusic Drumming Mastermind Official Socials: Instagram - @thedrummingmastermind

Drumming Mastermind Episode 1: Part 4 of 4 Some things we discuss include: -Where drumming started -How Anup and Nic got into the drums -Music as an emotional expression -Flow states -Managing on stage hiccups -Sharing kits with other bands - Dud shows And more Follow the guys on their channels for some killer drumming @asdrummer2008 @nicpettersendrums We'd appreciate the support too @thedrummingmastermind

For anyone who wants to get to know these 2 legends outside of the world of drums then you will want to check this episode out. Some things we talk about include: - What they do for fun when they're not drumming - Pet Peeves - Celebrity dates - Close encounters with sharks And more Follow the guys on their channels for some killer drumming @asdrummer2008 @nicpettersendrums

So here's the second part to the first episode of The Drumming Mastermind Podcast with Anup Sastry and Nic Pettersen. In this part we cover the following topics: - The Yamaha EAD 10 and it's benefits for all drummers - What Anup Sastry is currently up to - How to manage and handle a big workload - Anup's modern day take on sight reading while recording - Coping with external factors preventing practise - The perils of social media - Keyboard warriors and their negativity - Looking at our drumming through other people's judgmental eyes - Different approaches to recording and uploading drumming clips - The dwindling attention span of Instagram users Nic's band Northlane also releases their album today, so make sure you head on over and show some support! Thanks everyone, hope you get something out of this episode.

Here is the first episode of The Drumming Mastermind podcast. This is also my first ever podcast, there's still much to learn and improve on but here goes! I'm super grateful that I have been able to chat with Nic and Anup on several occasions. They are both phenomenal players and incredibly wise. I hope this episode leaves you feeling, motivated, inspired, entertained and that you learn some things from it. In this first part we have a bit of a general catch up and talk about the following topics: Touring and life on the road. How life and the music industry has been over the last 2 challenging years. Current projects. Unique approaches to preparing for recording and how this has changed over time with more releases and stylistic changes. Managing on stage challenges. Meeting our drumming heroes in some funny and awkward ways. If you enjoyed this episode please like and subscribe, if you know anyone who might benefit from this let them know to follow @drumming.mastermind.official to stay up to date with future releases.