The Short Version: Music, art, architecture, history, commerce, travel, people, science, Film Noir movies... pretty much anything but television and sports. The Long Version I'll get to one of these days...
In the meantime, here are some drummers I think are cool:
Clyde Stubblefield, John Bonham, Lloyd Knibbs, Steve Jordan,
Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Jack DeJohnette, Sly Dunbar, Tony Thompson, Bernard Purdie, Tony Williams, Gene Krupa, Al Jackson.
My teachers are definitely a big influence as well: Kenny Aronoff, Shawn Pelton, Billy Ward, Dane Clark, Diana Valdez-Santos, Rebecca Kite, and Eric Deggans.
I definitely must include my Indiana drummer homeboys: Pete Wilhoit, Adam White, Kevin Leahy, Jimmy Coleman, Mark Cobb, Taylor Floreth, Gerry Porter, Ryan Fitch, and Micah McClain.
The short version
I'm a professional drummer living in Hoboken, New Jersey. I've played a few thousand shows across the US and Europe, recorded a bunch of albums, appeared on TV, MTV, radio, in the movies, and in Modern Drummer magazine. I'm working with several bands currently in the NYC region, and have a bunch of endorsements.
Performing with Josh Charles, Lion's Den NYC March '07
Performing with Kirsten Thien, Crash Mansion NYC April '06
Performing with Skidmore Fountain, Birdy's (Indianapolis IN) May '07
The long version
I'm a professional musician living in Hoboken, New Jersey. I've been making a living through drums for the past fifteen years, and I can't think of a more difficult yet more rewarding way to go...
Johnny Socko In the 90's through 2002, I was on the road pretty much non-stop with Indiana-based Rock/Ska indie legends Johnny Socko. We played over two thousand shows coast to coast, at every kind and level of venue imaginable, sharing the stage with such acts as Kid Rock, The Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Fishbone, and Maceo Parker. The band recorded five studio discs and a triple-live album, selling over 26,000 units independently.
Socko's 2002 self-titled release debuted at No. 18 Top Add on the college radio charts, peaking at No. 102 in seven weeks on the charts, and charted in the Top 25 on Album Network and Top 20 on R&R. The disc was awarded "Album of the Year" by the Indianapolis Star. Tracks from the group's 2000 effort Quatro appear on MTV's "Undressed", in Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, and in the film Goat on Fire and Smiling Fish, which premiered at Sundance 2000. The album was also cited in New York's Village Voice 2000 Critics Poll.
Current Projects Socko took a break from the road in 2003, and I relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey. I've since found myself involved in a very wide variety of top-notch projects.
I joined Skidmore Fountain in late 2004, after an open audition on Craig's List (where everything seems to happen in New York City). We've since been very hard at work writing material for an upcoming release later this Fall, and have been making quite a name for ourselves around NYC, with headlining shows at the Knitting Factory, Bitter End, and Crash Mansion recently. The band has been featured in AM New York (circulation 350,000) and charted on Radio Crystal Blue.
I've been playing with NYC legends The Niagaras for about the same amount of time, and found them the same way. One of the biggest and longest-running bands in New York, it's an insane live show that must absolutely not be missed. "Stars fall for the Niagaras," says Vogue Magazine, and you will too!
I began playing with Soul/Blues singer/songerwriter Kirsten Thien in late Spring 2005, and we've since toured up and down the Eastern seaboard several times with a top-notch band. ASCAP Playback writes, "with a beautiful voice, poignant songs and a driven spirit, Thien is headed for even greater exposure."
In 2004 and 2005 I recorded with and toured the US and UK with Welsh singer/songwriter Julia Jones. including travelling across America at 45mph in an old British double decker bus for the BritBus Tour. We appeared on Good Morning America, FuseTV's website, and on network news nationwide.
I'm also doing recording sessions. In addition to six discs with Johnny Socko, I've cut tracks for American Idol Tatiana Ward and Josh Charles with producer Ken Lewis (Kanye West, Usher, Beastie Boys). For producer Paul Shellach at Capture Sound Studios in Brooklyn I cut a full-length album for Paul Howe. Finally, I've recorded full-length records with Chris Coolidge and the Las Vegas Bodysnatchers.
Press I've appeared twice in Modern Drummer magazine, the "World's ..1 Drum Magazine." I've been interviewed in many articles throughout the Midwest with Johnny Socko (here's the cover article from NUVO Newsweekly, circulation 50,000), and was featured in a 30 minute live interview with Julia Jones on BBC Radio Kent.
Background Drums have been in my blood almost as long as I can remember. I was your typical hyperactive child, banging on pots and pans (not much has changed...). Very early on, I was inspired to play drums by stories of my great-grandfather Clarence Stout, who was a professional songwriter and vaudeville drummer way back in the 20's through the 50's. My uncles had a set of blue sparkle drums that I wasn't allowed near when I was a child (probably for a good reason), which definitely inspired my selection of drum finishes for a long time thereafter. And the rich record collection of my parents, which I largely destroyed from overuse, set me up as a lifelong fan of soul, R&B, rock, and way-out jazz.
Education Growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, I was fortunate to study percussion with local residents Kenny Aronoff (who's recorded and performed with just about every major name in popular music) and Shawn Pelton (Saturday Night Live, Sheryl Crow, David Byrne, and a zillion others). I was exposed to nearly every style under the sun, through a stint in Indiana University's School of Music as a Jazz Studies major, performing with Grammy-Nominee Mariano Morales' Salsa Orchestra, and countless pickup gigs in rock, jazz, and funk bands. I ended up with a degree from IU in French, which sadly I'm not doing much with these days (anyone in Paris need a drummer?).
Philosophy All of these experiences taught me that my goal as a drummer is to get people to move. I don't care if it's a Polka, Death Metal, or straight up Getting Down - if people aren't up and dancing around, I feel I'm doing something wrong. From so many years spent on the road and in the studio, under just about every kind of circumstance imaginable, I've learned to be flexible and adaptable, and certainly try my best to be easy to get along with. It counts for a lot in the 23 hours a day on tour when you're not on stage!
Hey Dylan, so good to hear from you. I've been away in Australia but am back now. Let me know when you will be in Rome. Would definitely love to come to the concert and say hello!
Dig the song, man! Love to join you, but my wife is having a baby in November, so lots to prepare for! Talked to Pete Wilhoit and he just had a baby also. Glad to hear you're in high demand, Europe will be a blast!
holy crap! i totally spaced the fact that you are in jersey, too. and i was *just* talking about johnny socko this weekend. was back in bloomington for a visit, reminiscing. i've been in the nyc area since sept. 1, so, certainly still we behind the ears.
i'm moving in with a friend in the city this weekend, but i'll see if i can make the show friday. if not, keep me posted on the next one, fo' sho'.
Absolutely! I will come in New York the next 10 october with my wife for vacancy I'll be honored to meet you if you want...excuse me for my english....let me know CIAOOO!!!!
Hey man! Can you sub for me on a Sunday in 2032? it's a 4-19 piece band that plays afropoet/emo-metal. The gig pays pretty well, that is if you like fried chicken. Oh by the way, it's at CBGBs.
