Great Drummers Don't Suffer From This, But Beginners Do

First things first - download your free transcription here.

Many drummers suffer from the “if a tree falls in the woods” conundrum.

Sound great by ourselves, then turn a camera on, or take the stage, and…we can’t find it.

Beyond the fact that this is normal, and not a sign you’re a “bad drummer” - indeed, “good in private” is a necessary first step before “good in public”…

…it’s also something we can use in the practice room.

There’s something I jokingly call the “3am test” with my students. Sometimes people will ask “when do I know when I’ve truly mastered this exercise?”

The answer: “when you can play it at 3am, fresh out of bed, in the rain.”

The experience of finding our performance lacking in public or on camera can be a tool we take back to the practice room, to inform the level our playing needs to reach. Which is why it’s so important, in my opinion, that drummers seek opportunities to perform in public, or on camera.

Onstage, not only are “people watching”, but acoustics are weird, setups feel different, and umpteen little factors all add up to take us out of our element.

Our favorite “pros”, obviously, don’t suffer the same falloff of their performance as we do. Beyond “making our best so great that 80% of it is still good”, there are things we can do to make sure the public performances are 80%, instead of 50 or 60. Then 90. Then 101.

Sure, there’s no substitute for raw experience. But “experience” doesn’t mean on tour with your favorite band. It can mean coffee shop performances, or jam sessions. It can even mean recording yourself and posting it on Instagram. Or, for the more industrious with fewer local ordinances, busking in a local park or square.

Finally, I share some experience from my past in which I’ve had that “in public falloff” of my playing, and how I moved on from it.

Hope you enjoy!

P.S. did you know you can sign up to be the first to hear when we open up new slots for Impossible to Fail, my flagship 1:1 coaching program? Just click here to sign up for the waitlist.

April 25 2026 Clinic Announcement + Thowback

You can grab early bird tickets to my clinic at CHBO Music in New Paltz on 4.25 at this link.

For folks who can’t make it, enjoy the throwback video!

In that video, I promise an uncut video of my Montana clinic from 2023. You can find that here.

And the complete West Coast Drum Shop clinic is here.

Be good, and see you soon!

Should Drummers Boycott AI?

First things first - download your free transcription here.

The “bad future” is here.

AI tools can now write songs for you, replace band members in a DAW, quantize your drum parts without any fidelity loss, and transcribe songs for you.

(That last one…needs a few tweaks.)

And the internets are awash with critics, decrying the new generation of music tech.

But what if you’re a drummer who just wants to make some songs to play along with?

Does that make you the equivalent of somebody buying factory-farmed meat instead of free-range? Or, worse, burning coal in their back yard?

In this video, I attempt to separate the “society-wide” arguments from the personal ones. We take a hopefully-sober look at the tools that are actually available to drummers, through the lens of a bunch of feedback I received from Instagram, Reddit, and members of my private Discord.

Then we ask “would even the most shrill critics of AI music tech decry this use case.”

And, short answer: maybe.

You’ll find people impugning any use of AI because of “ick factor”. You’ll find plenty on the polar opposite side, opening shilling it. And between the two polls, some arguments we ought to consider, like “de-skilling”.

Are drummers who use AI at risk of stunting their brains?

Well, color me skeptical.

To me, the much more clear and present danger has almost zero to do with private use, and much more to do with the large companies that stand to adopt - and are already adopting - AI in cases where they could have, and would have, afforded human creators.

And, in my opinion, it’s these cases we should be most concerned about.

Can we split our brains in 2? Go easier on individual drummers who just want a fun song to accompany them, and harder on big companies replacing human producers, drummers, and composers?

We’ll get into it.

P.S. did you know you can sign up to be the first to hear when we open up new slots for Impossible to Fail, my flagship 1:1 coaching program? Just click here to sign up for the waitlist.

Cinque "Ignabu" Kemp - Macklemore/Ana Tijoux' Drummer Joins Me Live

Cinque “Ignabu” Kemp is someone I’ve been trying to schedule for the podcast for ages.

Beyond his creative approach to the drums, Cinque has a million stories and a unique outlook. And he’s lived multiple lives. As a drummer for people like Macklemore, Flatbush ZOMBiES, Ana Tijoux, Melanie Charles, a producer, and - not making this up - a model. Google him.

But Cinque is also “the guy upstairs” from the days when I used to have a secondary studio on the other side of the labyrinthine complex of studios in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. From time-to-time, I’ve shared walls or floorboards with somebody who made me think “damn, they’re heavy”. I’d hear somebody shredding upstairs, and it turned out it was Cinque.

From time to time we’d bump into one-another on the elevator and say “we should do an interview.” When Cinque finally had time in his busy schedule to swing by 8020 HQ, I had to jump on it.

You’ll enjoy this interview as well if you want to see a less-”produced” side of me. What can I say - Cinque brings it out of me.

In this engaging conversation, Cinque weighs in on flow states, the role of practice in his life these days, his almost mystical appreciation of creativity, how the “non-drum” creative hats he’s worn have informed his approach to drums, tour stories, and more.

Hope you enjoy!

P.S. did you know you can sign up to be the first to hear when we open up new slots for Impossible to Fail, my flagship 1:1 coaching program? Just click here to sign up for the waitlist.