In this episode, I chat with the incredible Jason Heerah! We discuss his unique approach to blending drumming and singing, and how he adapts to a wide range of musical settings. Jason also opens up about life on the road, sharing how he stays grounded while touring. We also touch on balancing the demands of a music career with family life. Enjoy!
In this interview, I sit down with renowned Australian drummer Johnny Salerno to explore what it takes to be a truly versatile player. We dive into his approach to adapting across genres and handling the fast-paced nature of jumping from one gig to the next. Johnny also shares practical insights on time management, mindset, and maintaining professionalism in a busy schedule. Enjoy!
Gordon Rytmeister is without a doubt one of my biggest inspirations, not only as a player, but as a career musician as well. Gordos versatility and adaptability to almost any musical situation has been something that I have always been in awe of. Aside from his amazing skills as a drummer, he's been able to stay at the top of his game in a career sense for decades now, and is continuing to play some of the biggest gigs and shows in Australia. In this chat we cover a wide range of topics, from musical flexibility to career advice, to some of his favourite concepts when working on time and feel and everything in between. Enjoy!
Steve Lamante has been the drummer for the Australian and International tours of "Hamilton" for the past 3 years. In this chat, we speak about Steves path to getting the gig on such an incredible show, the joys and challenges of playing a musical theatre production and what he thinks are some of the most valuable skills to have as a drummer in order to succeed in todays industry. Enjoy! You can follow Steve at https://www.instagram.com/stevelamante and https://www.stevelamante.com
Ben Ellingworth is the current drummer for the incredible G-Flip. For the past 5 years, he has been touring and recording with G all over the world, and in this chat, I speak to Ben all about the ins and outs of the gig. Everything from how he got the gig, how the show is put together and rehearsed too what he thinks are the most important elements to work on in your playing to be able to play a gig like he's on now. Enjoy! You can follow Ben at https://www.instagram.com/benji_elling/ and https://www.benellingworth.com
Patty Danao is without a doubt one of Australia's best up and coming drummers. Currently he's holding the drum chair on 2 amazing gigs, Jessica Mauboy and with the jazz legend, James Morrison. In this chat, I speak with Patty not only about how those gigs came about for him, but just how he goes about changing his approach between the 2 extremely contrasting, yet equally challenging gigs. He also shares some great advice for anyone interested in both touring with big name pop artists, as well as the fundamentals of drumming that he thinks are the most important to have a handle on to best succeed. Enjoy! You can follow Patty at https://www.instagram.com/pattyonthedrums and https://www.patrickdanao.com
No one has influenced me more not only a drummer, but also as a person, as my Dad Steve Todd. He has had an extremely successful career as a professional drummer for over 40 years, and in that time has seen so much change and development in the music industry and drumming in general. In this conversation we chat about a wide range of topics, from his time as a full time session musician in Adelaide, to the changes he has seen in touring and recording here in Australia, as well as some incredible insights into what he thinks has been valuable to him in having such a long and successful career as a drummer. Enjoy!
Memorising a piece of music can be challenging, but memorising an entire show requires a different level of learning. Over the years, I have needed to memorise a wide variety of shows, and be able to recall and execute the intricate details at times under a lot of pressure. In this video, I share with you my approach to memorising a shows worth of music as I currently go through the process of learning a new show myself. Enjoy!
Sydney based Jack Robert is absolutely killing it on the Australian festival touring scene. Having played with a super impressive list of artists already, his most recent gigs have been with Tkay Maidza and Thundamentals. In this conversation, I speak with Jack about some of the “ins-and-outs” of playing on major festivals, how he adapts his playing depending on the gig and size of venue, his approach to being a musical director, as well as hearing Jacks advice for anyone hoping to be playing on major festivals one day. Enjoy! You can follow Jack at https://www.instagram.com/jackjrobert and https://www.jack-robert.com
If you know anything about Cirque du Soleil, and more specifically the drums and percussion within it, you'll know that Kit Chatham is an absolute legend in that world! He has been a part of 4 different creations for Cirque du Soleil shows, as well as playing and touring in more than that again. Apart from being an incredibly versatile and adaptable drummer and percussionist, Kit has had so much experience as a professional touring musician, and as an educator. In this conversation, we talk about a wide variety of things, from his experience of working with Cirque and how he got to be involved in the first place, to his educational history and development as a musician, as well as hearing some amazing advice and insight along the way to drummers and percussionists who wish to be playing in a professional touring production. Enjoy! You can follow Kit at https://www.instagram.com/kitchatham/ and https://www.kitchatham.com/Home.html
If you were one of the millions of people who tuned in to watch the ABC TV Australia New Years Eve show live from the steps of the Opera House, you would have seen Brendan Tan absolutely killing it as part of the house band! Playing with a huge array of artists in an even bigger range of styles, learning over 30 tunes, all live to air is no small feat. This is Brendans second year playing the New Years Eve gig, and in our chat, I speak with him about exactly what the rehearsal process was like, his personal preparation for the gig and how it all ran down on the day of the show. Alongside this, Brendan shares some amazing advice for drummers who not only wish to play a show on that level, but also the most useful skills aside from drumming that you should have to excel in that world. Enjoy! You can follow Brendan at https://www.instagram.com/rendanbay/ and https://brendantan.com
Alex Flood is fast becoming a trailblazer on the Australian drumming scene. He's released 3 solo albums, in which he composed and produced, and is now touring nationally and internationally under his own name. In this interview, we discuss Alex's creative process when writing music, how he balances his solo career with freelance work, as well as how the role of social media has influenced and shaped his journey. Alex also shares some amazing advice for both drummers and other instrumentalists wishing to become solo artists and release their own music in this day and age. Enjoy! You can follow Alex at https://www.instagram.com/alexander_flood and https://alexanderfloodmusic.com.au
Kosta Theodosis is known for his incredible energy as a drummer. He has recently returned from a tour with Delta Goodrem all through Europe and Australia. Prior to this, Kosta has also played with artists such as Conrad Sewell, Robbie Williams, The Kite String Tangle, Amy Meredith and many more. In this conversation, Kosta shares his experiences of what its like to tour with some of the best pop and rock artists in Australia, his journey of studying jazz performance at the Victorian College of the Arts with aspirations to be a solo drummer and clinician to where he is now, as well as his advice for balancing family life with being a full time touring musician. Enjoy! You can follow Kosta at http://www.kostatheodosis.com and https://www.instagram.com/kosta_theodosis/
Emma Ford was born and raised in Australia, studied drums at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, became an active member of the Australian musical theatre community, but is now living, working and playing drums on Broadway. She has played numerous shows both in Australia and on Broadway, including In The Heights, Moulin Rouge, Pippin, Paradise Square and became the first woman in the world to play the drum chair on Hamilton. She currently holds a full-time chair on the new musical, Shucked. In this amazing conversation, Emma shares her journey of moving from Australia to New York, what is was like to become established in the theatre scene on Broadway, some of the similarities and differences between Broadway and the Australian theatre scene, and has some incredible advice for anyone who is considering making the move to chase their dream gig. Enjoy! Make sure to follow Emma at https://emmaforddrums.com and https://www.instagram.com/emmaford.drums
Touring as a musician, and being paid to do it is one of the greatest privileges you can have as a performer. Not a day goes by where I am not extremely grateful to have a full-time touring job playing drums. Having said that, being on tour, especially for a long period of time, can be a challenging and difficult environment to be in for many reasons. In this video, I want to share with you what I have found to be the top 5 challenges that I've experienced being on tour, to not only give you a better understanding of what some of the realities are like, but also to help better prepare you to face these challenges, if you are ever fortunate enough to be heading out on the road. Enjoy!
Benjamin Northey is one of the most well respected, in demand and versatile conductors in Australia. He has worked with every major symphony orchestra in the country, as well as numerous performances as a guest conductor overseas. Due to his incredible versatility and background, Benjamin has had the chance to conduct countless orchestral performances that also include drums and rhythm sections. He has worked with some of the best drummers in Australia in these environments, and has had a vast amount of experience bringing the two worlds of orchestral and contemporary drumming together. In this amazing conversation, Benjamin shares his thoughts on what he thinks are the most important elements that drummers need to be conscious of when performing with an orchestra, as well as what he believes to be the key strengths that drummers need to have to succeed in the orchestral environment. He also shares some amazing tips for drummers who have had little experience working with a conductor, and what the most important things to be aware of are! Make sure to follow Benjamin at http://www.benjaminnorthey.com and https://www.instagram.com/maestrobenny/
Any time we play, we always want to aim to be as relaxed as possible. This can be much easier said than done sometimes, however there is one super common issue that many drummers and musicians have, that can be easily fixed to help them play more relaxed. The best part is, it takes literally no practice to execute it at all!!
Gerry Pantazis is someone who I would consider to be the quintessential "all-rounder". He's worked in pretty much every conceivable musical situation, with an amazing array of artists from Bachelor Girl to Tommy Emmanuel to Larry Carlton just to name a few. He's also performed on countless TV shows, and recorded a huge variety of albums and soundtracks both commercially and from his home studio. In this interview I speak with Gerry about how he has been able to establish himself as the amazing all-rounder that he is, his advice on how to best operate in high pressure gigs and some tips for other drummers who want to be able to play a wide variety of musical situations on a professional level. Enjoy! Make sure to follow Gerry at https://www.instagram.com/gerrypantazis and https://www.youtube.com/@gerrypantazis2518