543 - Scott Williamson: Playing the Song, Not the Drums, The Good and Bad of Home Recording, Working with Producer Bob Ezrin

Antonio Sanchez has become one of the most sought-after drummers in the international jazz scene. Following 18 years and 9 albums as one of the most revered collaborators with guitarist/composer Pat Metheny, he also has recorded and performed with many other most prominent artists like Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Michael Brecker, Charlie Haden and Toots Thielemans. In 2014 Sanchez popularity soared when he scored Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman which ended up winning 4 Academy awards (including best picture) and for which Antonio won a Grammy award. He currently has many recordings as a leader and solo artist. Some recent recordings include Beatrio w/ Bela Fleck, Edmar Castaneda as well as his own group Migration. You can hear Anotino’s masterful compositions and drumming on the award winning show The Studio on Apple TV In this episode, Antonio talks about  Why he calls Barcelona, Spain his home Creating a strong reputation The realities a seasoned pro has to contend with Antonio’s journey into jazz and notoriety  Staying artistically and creatively curious  Using your own voice when making music Composing for the movie Birdman & the TV series The Studio Creating a counter culture to social media ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Bryan Carter is a Grammy and Tony Award-winning drummer, vocalist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, and bandleader. After completing his training at The Juilliard School, Carter played with legendary artists including McCoy Tyner, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Barron, and Kurt Elling. In addition to working in the worlds of film, television, and Broadway, Bryan founded "Jazz at Pride," a non-profit organization dedicated to curating performances and educational engagements featuring world-class artists from the LGBTQIA+ community. Bryan most recently served as co-orchestrator for Broadway's “Some Like It Hot,” for which he and his co-orchestrator Charlie Rosen made history as the first orchestrators to sweep all three major awards in a single season: the 76th Annual Tony Awards for Best Orchestrations, the Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Orchestrations. Rosen and Carter continued their streak of success at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, winning the title of Best Musical Theater Album as producers on the recording. In the fall of 2024, Bryan premiered “Rustin in Renaissance,” a seven-movement oratorio on the life of civil-rights pioneer Bayard Rustin. The premiere was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Appel Room and coincided with the 20th anniversary of “The House of Swing.” In this episode, Bryan talks about: Playing multiple instruments and musical roles since early childhood  His orchestration role on “Some Like It Hot” that garnered him a Tony and a Grammy His experience at Julliard, and feeling like the curriculum put him in too small a box Looking around for “who was hiring” in New York and what that looks like on that scene The New York tradition of older established artists seeking out younger musicians and giving them a platform Writing and playing for George Clooney’s Broadway production of “Good Night and Good Luck” How using piano for composition has made him think of drumming from an arrangement standpoint  Welcoming how different performers offer different interpretations of what he writes ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Born in Mississippi, Bryan Owings moved to Nashville in the late 1980's to pursue his career as a session drummer. His discography is vast, spanning decades and boasting credits with artists like Buddy Miller, Iris Dement, Tony Joe White, Wanda Jackson, Sue Foley, Delbert McClinton, Lucinda Williams and Emmy Lou Harris Bryan, was also included in the 2013 Muscle Shoals documentary soundtrack, playing drums for Grammy award winning artist Alicia Keys. In this episode, Bryan talks about:     Bryan’s origin story with drums     The draw to Nashville     Embracing your sound and being true to yourself     Finding the best monitor mix for the performance     Working with Iris Dement, Shelby Lynne     The reality of getting hired and fired, re-hired, fired…..     Playing drums in the Muscle Shoals documentary with Alicia Keys     Revisiting applicable technique ⁠⁠⁠ Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Jano Rix is best known as one third of The Wood Brothers. His dad Luther's drumming career spans half a century and ranges from Bob Dylan's "Rolling Thunder" tour to Rent and Tommy on Broadway. Their new album, Legacy Vol. 1 is an exploration of their shared history and musical connection. In this episode, Luther and Jano talk about: Luther’s start at Indiana University and on the Indianapolis scene, and quickly moving to New York How playing with the Wood Brothers inspired Jano to record him and his dad playing together  How the record gave them their first real opportunity to sing together Including a live track on the record The ways they trusted and relied on each other’s strengths in the recording and mixing process Getting out of the weeds of mixing and zooming out to focus on the “big gestures” of a song The moment you start to “hear yourself think” ⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Scott Williamson has been leaving his creative footprint on the Nashville musical landscape since 1990. He has drummed and/or produced for numerous artists including Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Kip Moore, Lady Antebellum, Franchesca Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Lincoln Brewster, Alice Cooper, Danny Gokey, Casting Crowns, DC Talk, Bob James, The Gaither Vocal Band & Michael W. Smith. In this episode, Scott talks about:     The differences between Nashville and L.A.     Playing the song, not the drums     Maintaining a healthy work / family balance     The pros and cons to home studio recording     Working with legendary producers like Bob Ezrin     Recording with Alice Cooper     Staying healthy     The inspiring Gregg Bissonette ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Jordan Rose is a New York drummer whose most recent activity includes a tour with Maggie Rogers, multiple Broadway shows including the run of "Boop", Theo Katzman, and countless recording projects. What went into his decision to accept the Maggie Rogers gig Being open to an opportunity that doesn’t necessarily align with your stated goals What he learned from the large scale of the Maggie Rogers tour Treating show days the way a quarterback treats game days  Playing with a lot of energy and volume with controlled effort Experiencing being a Broadway chair holder on “Boop” and working with producer David Foster  His new recording space in Brooklyn  Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage

Tim Buell is a Nashville-based drummer who has toured with several artists like Michael W. Smith (three time Grammy winner, 45 Dove awards), Cody Fry (two time Grammy nominated), Gloriana, Jana Kramer, Jerrod Niemann, Remedy Drive, and many others. He also records drums for clients all over the world from his home studio and other Nashville-based studios. In 2022, Tim received his first Latin Grammy nomination for his work on the album Alfa Y Omega by Athenas. In addition to touring and recording, Tim is passionate about creating educational resources through courses and eBooks (available at his website) and maintains a roster of private students virtually through Zoom and in-person at his studio in Nashville. Tim has also spent many years transcribing drum parts from iconic songs and drum solos and his transcriptions have been featured by Zildjian, Vic Firth, Drummerworld, and the Percussive Arts Society. He has created educational resources with Benny Greb, Ash Soan, Aaron Sterling, Aaron Spears, Stanton Moore, and many others. To view his transcriptions, learn more about lessons, or download free drumming resources - visit his website: https://www.timbuellmusic.com Email - [email protected] Podcast - https://www.timbuellmusic.com/podcast Instagram/TikTok - @timbuell YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/timplaysdrums In this episode, Tim talks about:     Building community in the drumming world     Basing decisions on your own desires     Having a healthy relationship with your instrument     Graduating from drummer to musician who plays drums     The importance of communication     Learning to record yourself one mic at a time     What the term “raw tracks” really means     Assigning value to your work ⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Sam Webster is a drummer and percussionist based in his hometown of LA. Floating between a wide variety of disciplines and genres, he has amassed an impressive list of credits both live and in the studio. His mentors include Mike Englander and Jeff Hamilton, and he is active with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, several groups at Disneyland, and many other projects around town. In this episode, Sam talks about: His love for vintage Ludwigs  The value of a gig that allows you to be a full time musician  Being inspired by LA’s variety and humbling himself to people on the scene who did what he wanted to do Going to the right teacher for the right reason and knowing what kind of lesson you’re signing up for  ⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

⁠Narada Michael Walden ⁠is an EMMY and multi-GRAMMY winner who has produced hits for artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, Wynonna Judd, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand, Lionel Ritchie, Lisa Fischer, Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, The Temptations, and many others.  His music flows freely from pop, rock and soul, to the rarified realms of jazz, fusion and world music. With Jeff Beck, Narada wrote and played drums on the seminal album “Wired” that earned them both their first Gold Album.  His drumming credits also include his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra (1974-76), Journey, Allan Holdsworth and many others. In this episode, Narada talks about:     Joining Mahavishnu Orchestra     Performing without judgment     Drumming on Allan Holdsworth’s album Velvet Darkness     Embracing new technology     Working with Sir George Martin       His producing style and being prepared ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage

Narada Michael Walden is an EMMY and multi-GRAMMY winner who has produced hits for artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin, Steve Winwood, Ray Charles, Wynonna Judd, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Mariah Carey, Barbara Streisand, Lionel Ritchie, Lisa Fischer, Stevie Wonder, Tom Jones, Jeff Beck, The Temptations, and many others.  His music flows freely from pop, rock and soul, to the rarified realms of jazz, fusion and world music. With Jeff Beck, Narada wrote and played drums on the seminal album “Wired” that earned them both their first Gold Album.  His drumming credits also include his work with Mahavishnu Orchestra (1974-76), Journey, Allan Holdsworth and many others. In this episode, Narada talks about:     Joining Mahavishnu Orchestra     Performing without judgment     Drumming on Allan Holdsworth’s album Velvet Darkness     Embracing new technology     Working with Sir George Martin       His producing style and being prepared ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Youtube⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Here's our Homepage