The Drummer’s Perspective Podcast

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