This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater. Check out their deals and prizes for July which is "Drum Month". Damon and Marcos get to talk to Kevin about his beginnings in the Los Angeles area, hanging with other great L.A. based percussionists, tours he's been on, how he's been able to play in multiple genres, getting into T.V. and film as well as how he orchestrates playing all of the percussion parts and much more! There's also an educational spotlight, iconic recording, product review and music news among other things.
Damon and Marcos get to talk to Nick D'Virgilio about his illustrious career as a pro touring drummer from prog rock bands to Phil Collins to Cirque du Soleil as well as helping to revolutionize the drum department at Sweetwater. He talks about that career balance as well as what it is like from the retail side of the musical giant. There's also an educational spotlight, iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to interview Luis and talk to him about the adventure of leaving Cuba and arriving in the USA (via Spain). They talk about the many adventures he has had playing with legends from James Taylor to Madonna, playing film scores from Ocean's 12 to Coco recording his own albums, to teaching. There isn't much Luis hasn't done. There is also educational spotlights, iconic recordings and music news!
Damon and Marcos get to interview Dafnis and talk about his upbringing in Cuba, how he got to the USA, his influences, winning a Grammy, different adventures he's had and much more! There's also gig alerts, iconic recordings, music news and other segments.
Damon gets to interview Jamie Eckert of Umass Dartmouth. They talk about his adventures in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, West Virginia and Massachusetts. They talk about the Cadets Drum Corps, Steel Pan playing and much more. Marcos joins and there is an educational spotlight, iconic recording, R.I.P., Happy Birthday, music news and much more!
Damon gets to interview Michael Compitello and talk about the Percussion Collective and what it is. They also talk about Logistics, Gear, Summer Music Opportunities and more. Marcos joins and there are gig alerts, educational spotlights, an iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon gets to interview Warren and talk about him playing Vibraphone, drums and piano, as well as, his upbringing in Baltimore. They talk about him moving to Boston and other adventures along the way. Marcos joins and there is an educational spotlight, two iconic recordings, gig alerts, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to talk to Joey De Leon about him hosting the We Are Rhythm Podcast (by Latin Percussion), his musical influences in his family, staying healthy on the road, and lots of other adventures along the way! Theres also gig alerts, an educational spotlight, iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to interview Tom Aungst. They talk about the approach to teaching multiple age groups, four decades of drum corps, writing in the digital age, using electronics, balancing family and much more! There's also educational spotlights, product reviews and music news!
Marcos gets to interview "Chembo" and talk to him about growing up in NYC and a lot of the adventures he has had from studying with the greats to playing along side them. They talk about hanging out at Skin on Skin as well as studying at the boys harbor school. From playing in during the Golden Age of Salsa to creating a lane in the world of Latin Jazz. Damon joins and there is an iconic recording some educational spotlights, gig alerts music news and more!
Damon and Marcos talk to Neil Larrivee about his upbringing, some of the places he's taught, his career changes over the years, working directly with Vic Firth (in his house), the future of products, how green the companies are and more! There is also an R.I.P. for Dave Samuels, an iconic recording, gig alerts, educational spotlight and music news.
Damon and Marcos talk with Ben about the Sounds Like a Drum YouTube Channel, Social media tips and tricks, his company Cadence Independent Media, and more. They talk about marketing yourself, video and photo tips as well as why that is important, and how that pertains to drums and percussion. They talk about balance and scheduling multiple careers and tasks as well as other great info. There's also an educational spotlight, iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos (Torres) talk with Javier Raez of Congahead (dot com) and Marcos Lopez about stepping up your video content game for Instagram, YouTube and more. There are also tons of travel tips for various mediums of travel with secrets and hints to make life easier. Other foolishness ensues, but that was to be expected.
Damon gets to interview cajon master Diego Alvarez in L.A. They talk about his travels from Venezuela to Spain and eventually Los Angeles. They talk about him searching out other cajon masters to study with, some of the history of the cajon, and other adventures along the way including managing a great music career with a supportive family. Marcos joins and there's jazz appreciation, music news and a few other segments.
Damon and Marcos interview Andy Moffatt and talk to him about running the Football Eagles Drumline. What their schedule is like, winning the Super Bowl, traveling to England and much more. There's also talk about sports drumlines in general, as well as the long history with drums in Andy's family. Before the interview, there is new music alerts, Women's History Month shout-outs, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to interview the great Eddie Montalvo and talk about the many musical adventures in his life as well as what is to come next. There's also educational spotlights, a 94th happy birthday shout-out to Roy Haynes, an iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to sit down with Giovanni Hidalgo, the G.O.A.T., along with Marcos Lopez and Javier Raez (of Congahead). They talk through a lot of Giovanni's history and upbringing as well as what is to come next for him. There's also an R.I.P. to Hal Blaine, educational spotlights, and iconic recording, music news, and more!
Damon and Marcos get to talk to Brad Dutz and talk about his upbringing, as well as the many adventures from playing with pop artists to film scores, TV sound tracks, leading his own groups and so much more. There's also educational spotlights, festival alerts, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos get to talk to Steve Houghton about his upbringing, his tutelage, as well as the books he's written, the education seminar he put together at PASIC and some of the techniques he uses in teaching at Indiana University (Bloomington). There is also an educational spotlight, festival alerts, an Oscar recap, an Iconic recording, a product review and music news.
Damon sits down with his accountant, Joe Devito, to answer questions on how to do your taxes as a self-employed musician. They keep it simple and explain the dos and don'ts to keep most of your money, avoid getting audited and more. What you can write off, new updates to the laws and more! Marcos joins to talk about an iconic recording, product reviews, a few educational spotlights and music news!
Damon gets to interview Ray Yslas and talk about him growing up in L.A. all the way up to getting the gig with Chicago (the band he idolized as a kid). They talk about staying healthy on the road and other projects he's involved in. Marcos joins and they talk about some educational spotlights, black history month shoutouts (including some new music), the Grammys and other music news!
Damon gets to interview Satnam and talk about how he made the move from Canada to Los Angeles. They talk about how he got involved with playing on film scores as well as how he combines his traditional Indian tabla roots with rock and roll drumset (among other genres), thanks to his siblings. Marcos joins and there is gig alerts, an iconic recording, educational spotlight, listener letters, music new and more!
Damon gets to interview Scott and talk through his life from piano lessons all the way to getting the gig with Kacey. His beginnings in California to Texas and finally to Nashville and all the adventures in between. Marcos joins Damon to talk about NAMM, some recording sessions, educational spotlights and music news among other tidbits.
Damon interviews John Roesch and talks about what a foley artist does (spoiler alert-sound effects in film and TV), how to get into it, and some of the behind the scenes on some of the movies he's worked on. Marcos joins to talk about an educational spotlight, iconic recording, music news and more!
Damon and Marcos interview Paoli Mejias and talk to him about growing up in Puerto Rico, being self taught, playing with Eddie Palmieri, getting the gig with Santana and other adventures along the way. There is also an educational spotlight, product reviews, music news and more!