Drummers on Drumming
- Episodios
- 307
- Se publica
- cada semana
- Último episodio
- 11 Nov 2026
Sobre el podcast
A podcast for drummers who think too much. Ben Hilzinger talks to the greats about creativity, identity, staying sane, and finding purpose behind the kit. Got a question for The Drum Panel? Submit it HERE for a chance to have it discussed on the show. --- Powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. For more inforamtion, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram.
Episodios 307
Big Fat Five: Jason McGerr (Death Cab for Cutie)
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I’m revisiting a conversation I had with Jason McGerr back in 2021. Jason has been the drummer for Death Cab for Cutie since 2002. He’s also a longtime teacher, session …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I’m revisiting a conversation I had with Jason McGerr back in 2021.
Jason has been the drummer for Death Cab for Cutie since 2002. He’s also a longtime teacher, session player, and engineer.
This was originally a Big Fat Five episode. For anyone unfamiliar with the format, I ask drummers to choose five records that shaped how they approach the instrument. It’s less about ranking favorites and more about tracing their musical DNA.
I went back and reworked this conversation for the current feed because it’s too good to leave buried in the archive.
In this episode:
- Jason's obsession with collecting practice pads and how each surface can change the way his hands respond
- What Jason wants every student feeling after a lesson
- What joining Death Cab taught him that books and practice rooms couldn’t
- Learning to frame drum parts around songs and lyrics
- Why a drummer's sound can be responsible for half of the feel
- The value of happy accidents and leaving some rough edges in a recording
- Making odd-time grooves feel natural
- Why becoming a better drummer sometimes requires playing fewer notes and listening more
Jason’s Five Choices:
Artist - Talk Talk
Album - Laughing Stock
Release Year - 1991
Key Track - “Ascension Day”
Drummer - Lee HarrisArtist - Can
Album - Tago Mago
Release Year - 1971
Key Track - “Mushroom”
Drummer - Jaki LiebezeitArtist - Led Zeppelin
Album - Led Zeppelin IV
Release Year - 1971
Key Track - “Four Sticks”
Drummer - John BonhamArtist - Soundgarden
Album - Badmotorfinger
Release Year - 1991
Key Track - “Jesus Christ Pose”
Drummer - Matt CameronArtist - Jon Hopkins
Album - Immunity
Release Year - 2013
Key Track - “Abandon Window”
Drummer - No drummerIf you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen!
Got a question for The Drum Panel?
[SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION HERE]
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: The Rockefeller Center Method
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Brendan Buckley and Luke Adams. Brendan has toured and recorded with Shakira, Morrissey, Tegan and Sara, Perry …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Brendan Buckley and Luke Adams.
Brendan has toured and recorded with Shakira, Morrissey, Tegan and Sara, Perry Farrell, and many others. Luke is an LA drummer, producer, mixer, and studio owner who works across touring, recording, and remote sessions.
In this episode:
- Why freelancers often confuse a busy calendar with personal worth
- How turning down the wrong gigs can also make the phone stop ringing
- Why time away from the drums can sometimes improve your playing
- Learning to practice the skills your actual work demands
- Why playing slowly may be harder and more useful than playing fast
- Finding the strongest time feel in a band, even when it isn’t the bass player
- The subtle ways drummers guide a band through breakdowns and tempo changes
- The difference between developing a good sound and creating a gimmick
- Why a live drum track should offer something programming cannot
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen!
Got a question for The Drum Panel?
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: The state of feel
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Fred Eltringham and Sterling Laws. Fred is the longtime drummer for Sheryl Crow and has also played with The …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Fred Eltringham and Sterling Laws.
Fred is the longtime drummer for Sheryl Crow and has also played with The Wallflowers, The Chicks, and k.d. lang. Sterling is a drummer, producer, and musical director whose credits include Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Kim Gordon, and Liz Phair.
Highlights from this episode:
- The danger of treating a hired gig like you have ownership in the project
- Why loyalty and hard work never make a touring musician fully irreplaceable
- Loving certain drummers even when their influence never appears in your playing
- What’s the state of feel?
- Why the list of great drummers is much longer than the list you would trust to represent you
- How recording yourself can prepare you for the pressure of a major session
We also work through a listener question about measuring success when you’re a hired player. If you have something you’d like us to discuss on a future episode, submit it below.
Got a question for The Drum Panel?
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen!
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: What you don't know is part of your voice
Have a question for The Drum Panel? [SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION HERE] This week on Drummers on Drumming, we're back with another installment of The Drum Panel with my co-host Eric Urrea and guest Ben Masters. Ben …
Notas del episodio
Have a question for The Drum Panel?
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we're back with another installment of The Drum Panel with my co-host Eric Urrea and guest Ben Masters.
Ben is a drummer, producer, and songwriter here in LA who's worked with artists like Grace VanderWaal, LÉON, and friend of the pod Chance Fameghetti, AKA Free Arlo. He's also someone whose musical instincts I've really come to admire, especially when it comes to knowing what a song needs and what it doesn't.
In this episode:
- Why the music you haven't listened to might be just as important to your musical identity as the music you have
- How percussion can completely change the momentum of a song without changing the drum groove
- Why playing the same songs hundreds of times might actually make you a more attentive musician
- Being happier than ever with your career while questioning whether you can sustain the pace
- Practical ways to deal with nerves, physical tension, and losing focus onstage
- What actually makes someone a “good hang”
- Why audiences might notice something without ever realizing it.
We also answer our first listener-submitted questions! If you've got something you'd like us to discuss on a future episode, please write in via the link at the top of the shownotes.
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen!
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel Needs Your Questions!
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I'm taking a quick break from our usual format to ask for your help! First, a huge thank you to everyone who filled out the recent listener survey. Your feedback has already …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I'm taking a quick break from our usual format to ask for your help!
First, a huge thank you to everyone who filled out the recent listener survey. Your feedback has already helped improve the show, and I want to keep that going.
I'm officially introducing Listener Questions as a regular part of The Drum Panel. The idea is simple: You submit questions, and I'll bring them to the panel for discussion.
Have a question for The Drum Panel?
Nothing is too simple, too obvious, or too ridiculous. You don't need to be a professional drummer, either.
Some ideas to get you thinking:
- Motivation, practice habits, and getting out of a creative rut
- Navigating gigs, band dynamics, and the music industry
- Technique, gear, and developing your own sound
- Balancing music with work, family, and everyday life
- Opinions, frustrations, or anything you've always wanted to ask other drummers
You can submit anonymously, and the link will be available in the show notes of every episode moving forward.
Thanks again for listening and helping make this show better. I'll be back next week with a regular episode and some great guests on the way!
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Tantric drumming...
This week on Drummers on Drumming (powered by Big Fat Snare Drum), we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Mark Stepro and Chase Elodia. Mark plays with The Wallflowers and has worked with …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming (powered by Big Fat Snare Drum), we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Mark Stepro and Chase Elodia.
Mark plays with The Wallflowers and has worked with artists like Butch Walker and Brett Dennen, and Chase plays with Hudson Freeman and is getting ready to release his new record, Real Ones, on October 23rd.
Check out Chase's music HERE
We continue putting the new Drum Panel format to work, using a few loose categories to give the conversation some direction without keeping us from going down whatever rabbit holes come up.
In this episode:
- What people are actually getting when they hire you beyond someone who can play the parts
- Knowing a song well enough that you don’t need the usual safety nets
- Adding drums to a song without ruining what already makes it great
- Getting so good at serving other artists that your own music gets neglected
- Whether music actually needs to be released to feel finished
- Translating what an artist says they want into what they actually mean
- Records that gave us permission to make different choices behind the kit
- Finding creativity inside really simple drum parts
- Whether “serving the song” can become an excuse for not making an interesting choice
- Touring, having a family, and accepting that there might not actually be such a thing as balance
Plus, Tom Petty, Steve Ferrone, Brian Devendorf, Alan Myers, Stewart Copeland, Vinnie Colaiuta, and a lot more.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: did someone leave shoes in the dryer ?
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and William Goldsmith. William is the drummer for Sunny Day Real Estate and was also the original touring …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and William Goldsmith.
William is the drummer for Sunny Day Real Estate and was also the original touring drummer for Foo Fighters. I’ve had him on the podcast before, and he’s incredibly funny, down to earth, and always really thoughtful about this stuff without taking any of it too seriously.
We continue putting the new Drum Panel format to work this week, hitting questions from The Work, The Playing, The Why, Drummer Problems, Records + Drummers, The Hang, and Hot Takes.
In this episode:
- The stuff we leave out when people ask how our careers are going
- Who first made us comfortable enough to sound bad in front of them
- Getting out of your own way when coming up with drum parts
- How much of our taste was decided when we were kids
- Why certain drum sounds just feel right to us
- What to do when you hate the programmed drum part you’re being asked to play
- The difference between playing the part and figuring out what somebody actually wants from it
- Drummers people assume influenced us who really didn’t
- Hitting too hard in the studio
- Playing the record exactly versus capturing the spirit of the original drummer
- Some pretty fucking great stories involving David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate, and more
As always, we also end up talking about creativity, influence, ego, and all the shit we should probably be paying therapists to listen to.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: be where your pigfeet are
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and Gunnar Olsen. We’re continuing with the new format for the Panel, using a few loose categories to …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and Gunnar Olsen.
We’re continuing with the new format for the Panel, using a few loose categories to give the conversation some direction without keeping us from going down whatever rabbit holes come up.
A lot of this one ended up being about how your relationship with drums changes the longer you do it.
In this episode:
- The gigs you would've killed for ten years ago that you might not take now
- Separating being busy from actually feeling successful
- What happens to your playing when you get nervous
- How much technique actually matters if what you’re doing sounds good
- Knowing when a song actually needs a fill
- Why constantly recording and analyzing yourself can sometimes take something away from playing
- Leaving a band when you still love the people in it
- Drummers we understand completely differently now than we did when we were younger
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: The kickflip of drums (NEW FORMAT)
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and Cain Daniel. This episode is also a test run for a new format for the Panel. After going through the …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel with Eric Urrea and Cain Daniel.
This episode is also a test run for a new format for the Panel. After going through the listener survey, I wanted to give these conversations a little more structure while still leaving plenty of room for us to go wherever the conversation takes us.
In this episode:
- What actually makes you recommend another drummer for a gig
- What we’re listening to while we play that has nothing to do with the drums
- How we choose the right gear for different gigs
- Taking a gig you really want when the money sucks
- Famous drum parts we might not understand the hype around
- Horrible gigs that somehow led to something good
- Having your own voice versus being adaptable enough to make a living
- Whether you actually need to read music to be a professional drummer
- A few Hot Takes to finish things off
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Can I practice having better taste?
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel. I’m joined by Eric Urrea, an independent drummer from Chicago who plays with Marina City and La Armada, and Adam …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel.
I’m joined by Eric Urrea, an independent drummer from Chicago who plays with Marina City and La Armada, and Adam Christgau, who has toured and recorded with artists like LP, Troye Sivan, MARINA, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Angel Olsen, Kacey Musgraves, Tegan and Sara, and more.
I had just finished a week of rehearsals where we were recording everything, listening back, and picking apart what was actually working. So I came into this one with a bunch of thoughts I wanted to throw at Eric and Adam.
In this episode:
- Why the best-sounding snare might not be the most fun one to play
- Tuning drums for the microphone versus the room
- Shells vs plugins
- Why dynamics might matter just as much as timing
- The painful importance of recording and listening back to yourself
- Why a great-feeling show doesn’t always sound great the next day
- Whether you can actually practice having better taste
- Learning the difference between what you think you’re playing and what’s actually coming out
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The tests results came back...
Thanks again for filling out the survey! --- Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today 🎯 Click here to order now! Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the …
Notas del episodio
Thanks again for filling out the survey!
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Five-ish records that might finally get you into jazz
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I’m bringing back a re-edited 2021 conversation with my friend Anthony Fung. The premise was simple: five-ish records and drummers that might finally get you into jazz …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, I’m bringing back a re-edited 2021 conversation with my friend Anthony Fung.
The premise was simple: five-ish records and drummers that might finally get you into jazz.
Anthony explains what makes each drummer distinct, from Tony Williams’s fearless choices to Roy Haynes’s light touch, Elvin Jones’s rolling feel, and Billy Higgins’s unmistakable swing.
We also talk about Anthony’s path from discovering drums through Drumline to studying at Berklee and the Herbie Hancock Institute.
If jazz has ever felt hard to enter, this episode offers a great place to start.
Artist - The New Tony Williams Lifetime
Album - Believe It
Release Year - 1975
Key Track - “Fred”
Drummer - Tony WilliamsArtist - Miles Davis
Album - My Funny Valentine: Miles Davis in Concert
Release Year - 1965
Key Track - “Stella by Starlight”
Drummer - Tony WilliamsArtist - Miles Davis
Album - ‘Four’ & More: Recorded Live in Concert
Release Year - 1966
Key Track - “Walkin’”
Drummer - Tony WilliamsArtist - Chick Corea
Album - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs
Release Year - 1968
Key Tracks - “Steps–What Was,” “Matrix,” “Windows”
Drummer - Roy HaynesArtist - John Coltrane
Album - A Love Supreme
Release Year - 1965
Key Track - “Part I: Acknowledgement”
Drummer - Elvin JonesArtist - McCoy Tyner
Album - Supertrios
Release Year - 1977
Key Tracks - “Moment’s Notice,” “Blues for Ball”
Drummers - Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnetteTony Williams plays on “Moment’s Notice.” Jack DeJohnette plays on “Blues for Ball.”
Artist - Lee Morgan
Album - Cornbread
Release Year - 1967
Key Tracks - “Cornbread,” “Ceora”
Drummer - Billy HigginsThe album was recorded in 1965, which explains the year mentioned during the conversation. It was released in 1967.
Artist - Max Roach
Album - We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite
Release Year - 1960
Key Track - No individual track named
Drummer - Max Roach---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I Need Your Help With What Comes Next
PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS SHORT LIL EPISODE: Click HERE for the Listener Survey. Or HERE. Or even HERE. What about HERE you ask? Hell yeah HERE too. --- Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today 🎯 …
Notas del episodio
PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS SHORT LIL EPISODE:
Click HERE for the Listener Survey.
Or HERE.
Or even HERE.
What about HERE you ask? Hell yeah HERE too.
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
YOU VOTED! Your favorite cymbal intros...
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. Today, I’m joined by my trusty co-host Eric Urrea, and one of my best friends, Kris Mazzarisi, owner and founder of Big Fat Snare Drum, and …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
Today, I’m joined by my trusty co-host Eric Urrea, and one of my best friends, Kris Mazzarisi, owner and founder of Big Fat Snare Drum, and drummer for Winnetka Bowling League.
Over on the Big Fat Snare Drum Instagram page, we asked our followers to name their favorite cymbal intros. Here are the results plus a few honorable mentions from the peanut gallery.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Full belly dry diaper
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re jumping back into part two of my conversation with Brendan Buckley, Zack Albetta, and Eric Urrea. In this episode: How much production a live show actually needs The …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re jumping back into part two of my conversation with Brendan Buckley, Zack Albetta, and Eric Urrea.
In this episode:
- How much production a live show actually needs
- The modern skills working drummers are expected to have
- Keeping your identity while adapting to the gig
- Why space can sound bigger than layers
- Whether a live show is for the artist or the audience Why a quiet crowd doesn’t always mean a bad show
- Winning over a room that didn’t come to see you
- Stories involving Rage Against the Machine, Van Halen, Damien Rice, and bucket percussion
If you haven’t heard part one yet, I’d recommend starting there.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Fifty shades of grey to leave your lover
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel. I’m joined by Brendan Buckley, drummer and producer for artists like Shakira and Tegan and Sara; Zack Albetta, Broadway …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel.
I’m joined by Brendan Buckley, drummer and producer for artists like Shakira and Tegan and Sara; Zack Albetta, Broadway drummer and co-host of the Working Drummer podcast; and Eric Urrea, an independent drummer from Chicago who plays with Marina City and La Armada.
This is part one of our two-part conversation.
In this episode:
- Why changing your mind can be a good thing
- Getting through creative slumps
- How making drums your job changes your relationship with playing
- Vulnerability in music and performance
- Backing tracks and modern live shows
- When polish starts removing the human element
- Strong opinions, disagreements, and plenty of gray area
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big Fat Five: Richard Spaven
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re revisiting a conversation with Richard Spaven, originally recorded in early 2021. Richard has worked with artists including José James, Flying Lotus, Gang Starr, The …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re revisiting a conversation with Richard Spaven, originally recorded in early 2021.
Richard has worked with artists including José James, Flying Lotus, Gang Starr, The Cinematic Orchestra, and Jameszoo. His solo work blends acoustic drums with the feel and texture of hip-hop, drum and bass, dubstep, and electronic music.
In this episode:
- Teaching with honesty and helping students find their own voice
- Treating dynamics as another layer of coordination
- Creating programmed precision on an acoustic drum kit
- Keeping complex grooves soulful and easy to feel
- How the Amen break changed modern music
- Living inside a music scene instead of simply studying it online
- Learning from electronic beats without separating machines from musicians
- Why smaller, higher-pitched kick drums can leave more space for the bass
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen.
Richard also has a chapter in Volume One of the Drummers on Drumming book, where he goes deeper into several of the records discussed here.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Clarity creates opportunity
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel. This is part two of a two-part conversation with myself (Ben) Eric Urrea, and Kyle Adams. Kyle plays drums for …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel.
This is part two of a two-part conversation with myself (Ben) Eric Urrea, and Kyle Adams.
Kyle plays drums for Cartel and does a ton of session work from his studio outside of Seattle.
In this episode:
- Posting from purpose instead of chasing likes
- Building a small, loyal audience over going viral
- Where a drummer’s sound truly comes from
- How different gear can change the way you play
- Removing the small barriers that kill creative momentum
- Balancing music, family, work, and social media
- Making your career goals clear to the people around you
- How genuine connections led Kyle to Cartel and Gretsch Drums
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: I didn’t pay for flams on four!
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel. This is part one of a two-part conversation with myself (Ben) Eric Urrea, and Kyle Adams. Kyle plays drums for Cartel …
Notas del episodio
This week on Drummers on Drumming, we’re back with another installment of The Drum Panel.
This is part one of a two-part conversation with myself (Ben) Eric Urrea, and Kyle Adams.
Kyle plays drums for Cartel and does a ton of session work from his studio outside of Seattle.
In this episode:
- Why tempo can feel different on stage
- Trusting, and questioning, your internal clock
- Big cymbals, smaller cymbals, and changing taste
- Shedding old influences
- Mike Portnoy, Elon Rubin, Josh Freese, and Taylor Hawkins
- Drumming identity and imposter syndrome
- Fitness and longevity behind the kit
- Posting from purpose versus pressure
If you enjoy the show, please rate and review it wherever you listen.
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Are we just musical sperm donors?
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. Today, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea (Marina City, La Armada) and returning guest Zack Albetta (Broadway's & Juliet , Working Drummer …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
Today, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea (Marina City, La Armada) and returning guest Zack Albetta (Broadway's & Juliet , Working Drummer Podcast) for another installment of The Drum Panel.
In this episode:
- The problem with ranking drummers
- Playing the gig you are meant to play
- Learning from teachers who do not gig
- Technique versus musicianship
- Why “proper technique” is not always one-size-fits-all
- Listening to your body behind the kit
- Click tracks, backing tracks, and modern live shows
- Whether rock has become too polished
- The difference between consistency and humanity
- Why the drummer’s voice still matters
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big Fat Five: Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White, PJ Harvey)
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, I’m joined by Carla Azar for a new installment of Big Fat Five. Carla is the drummer, a vocalist, and a creative force behind Autolux. She has also worked with artists like …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, I’m joined by Carla Azar for a new installment of Big Fat Five.
Carla is the drummer, a vocalist, and a creative force behind Autolux. She has also worked with artists like PJ Harvey, Jack White, T Bone Burnett, Jim Keltner, and more. But as you’ll hear in this conversation, the résumé is only part of the story.
Carla’s playing has a rare kind of tension to it. It can feel mechanical and human at the same time. Heavy, strange, precise, loose, hypnotic, and deeply musical. She does not talk about drums as a way to show off. She talks about them as tone, shape, feel, texture, and response.
In this episode, we get into the records and drummers that helped form her voice.
CARLA'S BIG FAT FIVE:
Artist - James Brown
Album - Star Time
Release Year - 1991
Key Track(s) - "Funky Drummer,” “Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud”
Drummer - Clyde Stubblefield, Jabo Starks
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Artist - Can
Album - Tago Mago
Release Year - 1972
Key Track(s) - “Mushroom,” “Halleluhwah”
Drummer - Jaki Liebezeit
-
Artist - The Beatles
Album - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Release Year - 1967
Key Track(s) - “A Day in the Life”
Drummer - Ringo Starr
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Artist - Jimi Hendrix
Album - Are You Experienced
Release Year - 1967
Key Track(s) - “Manic Depression,” “Fire,” “Are You Experienced?,” “The Wind Cries Mary”
Drummer - Mitch Mitchell
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Artist - Aphex Twin
Album - Come to Daddy
Release Year - 1997
Key Track(s) - “Bucephalus Bouncing Ball,” “Come to Daddy - Mummy Mix”
Beat Architect - Richard D. James
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HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Charley Drayton - The first person Carla met and saw play in person and thought, “I want to play exactly like him.” He turned her onto the Star Time box set and the soul music that helped shape her playing.
-
Arist - J Dilla
Album - Donuts
-
Artist - Timbaland
Key Track(s) - Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Nigga What, Nigga Who”
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Terry Keating on the Mystery, Feel, and Gear of John Bonham
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. Terry Keating of the Bonzolium YouTube channel joins the show for a deep, hilarious, and wildly passionate dive into the world of …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
Terry Keating of the Bonzolium YouTube channel joins the show for a deep, hilarious, and wildly passionate dive into the world of John Bonham.
This is a re-airing of an older episode that originally centered around five less obvious Bonzo tracks. And yes, we do get there. But with Terry, the joy is in the detours. This conversation moves through Bonham’s feel, the mystery of his gear, Led Zeppelin’s live chemistry, the obsession around Ludwig drums and Paiste cymbals, the difference between human time and perfect time, and why Bonzo still feels almost impossible to fully explain.
Terry is one of my favorite sources for anything Bonham-related. He brings the kind of energy that makes you want to go back and listen to Led Zeppelin with fresh ears.
In this episode, we talk about:
• Why The Song Remains the Same was Terry’s gateway into Bonham
• Bonham’s swing, feel, and natural sense of time
• Why Zeppelin likely never needed a modern click-track mindset
• The difference between human time and quantized perfection
• Why Bonham felt like the conductor of Led Zeppelin
• The strange magic behind Bonham’s snare sound
• Why drummers are still obsessed with his exact gear
• Ludwig, Paiste, 26-inch bass drums, and the mystery of the 15-inch depth
• Terry’s friend George Fludas and the art of playing Bonham correctly
• The “Bonham engine” and why his physical approach still feels unique
• Five deeper Bonzo tracks, including:
• “I’m Gonna Crawl”
• “In the Light”
• “Darlene”
• “No Quarter” live
• “Dazed and Confused” liveThis one is loose, nerdy, funny, and full of the kind of Bonzo talk only true Zeppelin heads can provide.
Check out Terry’s work on the Bonzolium YouTube channel.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Cynicism, Gimmicks, and Angine de Poitrine
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. Today, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea (Marina City, La Armada) and returning guest Zack Albetta (Broadway's & Juliet , Working Drummer …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
Today, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea (Marina City, La Armada) and returning guest Zack Albetta (Broadway's & Juliet , Working Drummer Podcast) for another installment of The Drum Panel.
In this episode:
- Angine de Poitrine and the rise of microtonal math-rock weirdness
- Masks, costumes, performance art, and the word “gimmick”
- Why musicians can be so quick to dismiss what they don’t understand
- Cynicism as both a shield and a trap
- The danger of bonding through negativity
- How touring can breed complaints if you let it
- Choosing to be positive without being fake
- Why “I don’t get it” is sometimes enough
- Art, context, and the death of context
- Whether success in music is ever really linear
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
YOU VOTED! Your favorite worst sounding snare drums...
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. Today, I’m joined by my trusty co-host Eric Urrea, and one of my best friends, Kris Mazzarisi, owner and founder of Big Fat Snare Drum, and …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
Today, I’m joined by my trusty co-host Eric Urrea, and one of my best friends, Kris Mazzarisi, owner and founder of Big Fat Snare Drum, and drummer for Winnetka Bowling League.
Over on the Big Fat Snare Drum Instagram page, we asked our followers to name their favorite worst-sounding snare drum.
What does that even mean?
Who the hell knows.
But people had opinions. Strong ones.
So I took the most popular and most repeated answers, made a list of the top 16 picks, and today, we’re going to talk through them.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Chick Corea's cheap but good advice for playing music in a group PART TWO
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. This episode is a new installment of The Drum Panel, and it’s Part TWO of TWO of diving into Chick Corea’s Cheap But Good Advice For Playing …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
This episode is a new installment of The Drum Panel, and it’s Part TWO of TWO of diving into Chick Corea’s Cheap But Good Advice For Playing Music in a Group.
I’m joined by good friend of mine Rafa Vidal, who also plays with the band Almost Monday, who are currently killing it, and of course Eric Somers-Urrea is back on the panel.
In Part One, we covered numbers 1 through 6. Today, we’re finishing the list with numbers 7 through 16, which get into some really good stuff: balance, intention, taste, space, relaxation, ego, and what it actually means to serve the music.
As always with The Drum Panel, we’re not pretending to have all the answers. We’re just using these ideas as a jumping-off point to talk about playing music, being in bands, staying creative, and trying to become better musicians without losing our minds.
———
Chick Corea's Cheap But Good Advice For Playing Music in a Group.
- Play only what you hear.
- If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.
- Don’t let your fingers and limbs wander. Place them intentionally.
- Don’t improvise on endlessly. Play something with intention, develop it or not, then end off and take a break.
- Leave space. Create space. Intentionally create places where you don’t play.
- Make your sound blend. Listen to your sound and adjust it to the rest of the band and the room.
- If you play more than one instrument at a time, like a drum kit or multiple keyboards, make sure they are balanced with one another.
- Don’t make any of your music mechanically or just through patterns of habit. Create each sound, phrase, and piece with choice, deliberately.
- Guide your choice of what to play by what you like, not by what someone else will think.
- Use contrast and balance the elements: high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, tense/relaxed, dense/sparse.
- Play to make the other musicians sound good. Play things that will make the overall music sound good.
- Play with a relaxed body. Always release whatever tension you create.
- Create space. Begin, develop, and end phrases with intention.
- Never beat or pound your instrument. Play it easily and gracefully.
- Create space, then place something in it.
- Use mimicry sparsely. Mostly create phrases that contrast with and develop the phrases of the other players.
We also get into a Rafa's new endeavor called Touch Grooves. Check out more information on that HERE
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Check your Self 1 before you wreck your Self 2
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. This week on The Drum Panel, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea, an independent drummer from Chicago who plays with Marina City and La …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
This week on The Drum Panel, I’m joined by my co-host Eric Urrea, an independent drummer from Chicago who plays with Marina City and La Armada, and Steve Durham, who is new to The Drum Panel but returning from Big Fat Five.
Steve has worked with artists like Louis Tomlinson, Mumford & Sons, Foals, Wolf Alice, Aurora and a bunch of others. But the reason I wanted him in this conversation is because we’d recently been talking about that voice in your head when you’re playing. The one that judges your ideas before they even come out.
So that became the jumping-off point.
We got into the inner critic, why creativity can feel scary when there’s no structure, what changes when you stop trying so hard, how tension shows up in your body, playing to a click without becoming stiff, and whether being in a band is still worth it.
It’s a good one. Very Drum Panel.
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Big Fat Five: Tosh Peterson (Lady Gaga, Alkaline Trio) breaks down the records, mentors, and moments that shaped his drumming voice
What is up? Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. This week I’m re-airing a classic Big Fat Five episode with Tosh Peterson. Long before playing with Lady Gaga and …
Notas del episodio
What is up? Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. This week I’m re-airing a classic Big Fat Five episode with Tosh Peterson.
Long before playing with Lady Gaga and Alkaline Trio, Tosh sat down with me to break down the records, mentors, and moments that shaped his drumming voice. We talk about discovering Thomas Pridgen at 10 years old, learning how to command a stage from Tommy Lee, what Snoop grooves taught him about making people move, and the lessons he learned touring with Nick West at just 16 years old.
Inside this episode:
- Meeting Thomas Pridgen for the first time and eventually studying with him for years
- Why groove and making people dance mattered more than playing perfectly
- Learning confidence, leadership, and stage presence on tour with Nick West
- Tommy Lee, pyrotechnics, and why Tosh believes drummers should steal the spotlight
- The influence of Tosh’s dad and the roots of his playing style
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: E-MAN is not a collector ok
What is up? Ben here. Another Drum Panel this week powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. This one’s with Eric Urrea and E-MAN. We got into studio vs live drumming, why some players obsess over the grid, and whether …
Notas del episodio
What is up?
Ben here.
Another Drum Panel this week powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
This one’s with Eric Urrea and E-MAN. We got into studio vs live drumming, why some players obsess over the grid, and whether modern editing has actually made people more musical…or just safer.
E-Man had a great point about how at a certain level, everybody can already play close to the click. What actually separates people is sound. The way the drums feel in the room. The way the snare reacts in the verse versus the chorus. The weird little details that actually make a performance feel human.
We also talked about:
- Why a little ugliness in drumming can actually make things feel better
- Punching in takes vs forcing full performances
- The reality that basically everybody is getting “fixed” in modern recordings
- The one cymbal E-MAN would steal from jazz history if he could
- Goosebumps moments from Nicole Scherzinger, Blink-182, and Dagny
- Whether any of us ever really stop trying to sound like our heroes
- Kenny Aronoff’s weird tom setup and the chaos of panning it in the studio
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Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: His mouth time can finally relax on a bullet train to Iowa
Ben here. On this week’s episode of Drummers on Drumming (powered by Big Fat Snare Drum), we’re back with another round of The Drum Panel. Joining me: Gunnar Olsen: Currently out with Puscifer Eric Urrea: One …
Notas del episodio
Ben here.
On this week’s episode of Drummers on Drumming (powered by Big Fat Snare Drum), we’re back with another round of The Drum Panel.
Joining me:
Gunnar Olsen: Currently out with Puscifer
Eric Urrea: One of my favorite drummers to talk shop with because he somehow makes existential drum conversations feel practical.
This episode starts with Gunnar talking about completely losing the plot during a fill in 5… accidentally playing it in 6… then having to find his way back into the song in real time while thousands of people watched.
From there, things spiraled beautifully.
We talked about:
- Why messing up live might actually make a show feel more human
- The weird pressure of trying not to visibly “count” on stage when you’re hearing a click track
- The difference between “giving” a great show and actually having a great show
- Whether your real musical voice only shows up when you’re alone
- The strange mental game of joining an established artist and figuring out how much of “you” should show up in the parts
- Why some of the best gigs happen when nobody notices the drummer at all
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Drum Panel: Jessica screams at Ben to shut up.
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. I’m Ben Hilzinger, and this is another segment of The Drum Panel. Joining me: Jessica Burdeaux (@jburdsbeats) Touring drummer …
Notas del episodio
Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming, a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum.
I’m Ben Hilzinger, and this is another segment of The Drum Panel.
Joining me:
Jessica Burdeaux (@jburdsbeats) Touring drummer (Covet, City Mouth) and content creator balancing real-world gigs with online presence.
George Martinez (@skinnygeorge) Former full-time studio drummer turned educator, content creator, and all-around thoughtful voice on longevity.
In this episode:
- “It’s complicated” — how your relationship with drums changes over time
- The weird shift from loving music more than drumming itself
- Why chasing constant growth can actually burn you out
- Letting students (or bandmates) make their own mistakes
- The difference between chaos on tour vs. stability later in life
- Content creation vs. real life: what actually matters
- The pressure of the algorithm and why it messes with your head
- Posting what you should vs. posting what’s actually real
- Why documenting your own growth beats chasing views
- The moment Instagram stopped making sense for everyone
- Touring, playing live, and why that still beats the internet
- The balance between being a musician and being a human
- Saying no to gigs, content, or work that drains you
- Why stepping away actually makes you better when you come back
- The quiet insecurity of band feedback (trash can endings, anyone?)
- Being your own worst critic… and why that never really goes away
- What each of us is secretly proud of in our playing right now
- Groove, touch, and making simple parts feel really good
- Being easy to work with vs. being flashy
- Why feel, energy, and stage presence still get you hired
---
Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!
🎯 Click here to order now!
Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.
For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Confírmalo con una entrada en tu feed: aquí recibes un código, lo añades como podcast:txt en el canal de tu feed y nosotros lo comprobamos. Después tu podcast aparecerá como «verificado» en SoundNode.