Stanton Moore on Adapting to a Digital World, Clave in New Orleans Music, My Playing, and More

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When I got Stanton on the line, I was expecting we’d talk all about his core passion and expertise - New Orleans music. And we did get there.

But it turns out Stanton is also fascinated with the world of online drumming and content creation. I hadn’t realized this, but he’s taken the transition to the “influencer economy” very seriously, and even assembled a production team that helps him produce high quality courses and constant YouTube content.

As such we “nerded out” about content creation for a good 25 minutes. If you came to hear Stanton talk Johnny V and Tipitina’s, you can skip over the “online” stuff, but there are gems in there.

Eventually we do get to New Orleans music, and Stanton gives a masterclass in how rhythms that sound like clave ended up in a riff his organist Robert Walter played for him in 2010 - hint: because there is clave in New Orleans music.

And of course Stanton responds to my playing on his most famous tune, Pie Eyed Manc. If you’d like to see the entire video of my journey to learn that, that’s below.

Dana Hawkins on The State of The Music Industry, Students These Days, and More

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Anyone who came up listening to drum youtube in the 20-teens is familiar with Dana Hawkins. His collabs with Evan Marien started appearing in 2010. Every few months, there would be a new one, and it was pure drum-fusion crack.

I actually met Dana in person before I discovered those videos, however. He was playing with two of my friends on a live gig on the Lower East Side.

In any event, I had zero idea how this conversation would go, because I’ve never before spoke to Dana at length. I’m happy to say it went to territory I never anticipated. Dana’s takes on things like the word “jazz”, the music industry, and “kids these days” are deep, surprising, funny, and at-time firey.

I’m going to have Dana’s thoughts and this conversation on the brain for some time to come, and I hope you do too.

Steve Lyman - Inventing a New Drum Language

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I’ve followed Steve Lyman’s journey for at least a decade.

He was a promising young jazz drummer, playing with people like Nir Felder, and appearing several times on Drumeo to talk about jazz drumming.

After a stint teaching college in Utah, Steve is back in New York, and if you haven’t checked him out in a few years, it’s…different. From a promising jazz drummer, Steve’s developed into one of those rare players who also completely changes the idiom.

He calls his new language The Vector System, and if you’re familiar with Ari Hoenig, Dan Weiss, Mark Guiliana, and Marcus Gilmore (all of whom Steve says are huge influences), you’ll recognize elements. But The Vector System is its own new language.

I wanted to speak to Steve about the process of developing your own language, and the courage it takes to be radically individual - as indeed many of the guests on this pod are.

In the process we touch on creativity and inspiration writ-large, teaching, learning and more.

I really enjoyed this conversation with Steve, and hope you do too.

Nate Wood on Radical Creativity, Performance vs Practice, and More

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Nate Wood might be the ultimate “drummer’s drummer” of the current age.

Speak to practically any drummer who cut their teeth in the 20-teens, no matter what their genre, and it’s a fair bet you’ll find a Nate Wood fan.

Many innovators end up sounding “mainstream” by virtue of everybody imitating them, but if you can your mind back to 2006, those of us listening to illegal Kneebody bootlegs smuggled at great personal peril on VHS tapes, were like “whaaaaaat’s up with this drummer.”

The sound. The textures. The risks. The aggression. The whimsy.

Fast forward, and now a there are a lot of imitators.

I first sat down with Nate in 2016, and we only had 20 minutes for that convo, so I was excited to “run it back” - this time for a much longer and wider-ranging conversation.

Nate talks about:

How fatherhood affects creativity

How he prioritizes his time in his life, and in the shed

When he realized Kneebody was becoming “a thing”

Whether the internet is a net positive or net negative for drummers today

What I’ve been calling “radical creativity”, an approach of complete trust of your musical instincts in the moment

…and more…

He also critiques my performance of a Kneebody song called Greenblatt, from their record The Line.

If you haven’t seen the video about that process, it’s below.

Mike Johnston - The Godfather of Online Drum Lessons Talks Flow States, Social Media, and More

Mike Johnston is the godfather of online drum lessons. Back in the early 20-teens, when I was starting the channel, practically everything was Mike’s Lessons.

Fast-forward 10 years, and Mike’s figured out a niche that sees him teaching drum camps, doing clinic tours, working with sponsors to develop new products, and making only the content he wants to make.

In this wide-ranging interview, Mike shares about what’s changed in the drum ecosystem since we were both in college, his favorite gear, and what he’d tell a brand new creator about the bare minimum to get them started. He also dishes about whether there’s room for every drummer to be a personal brand.

I’ve enjoyed speaking to all my guests on the podcast so far, and MJ is no exception.

==

Show Notes

Sony FX3 (15:00) - https://electronics.sony.com/imaging/cinema-line-cameras/all-cinema-line-cameras/p/ilmefx3

Red Camera (15:00) - https://www.red.com/

color rating index (15:00) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_rendering_index

Amran lights - https://shop.aputure.com/collections/amaran

C Stands - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-stand

Filmic Pro app - https://www.filmicpro.com/

Hope you enjoy,

N

Jharis Yokley on Playing Fearlessly, Vibing with The Audience, and Creativity

Last week I sat down with one of my drum heroes, on Mr. Richard Spaven, for the inaugural episode of the 8020 Drummer Podcast.

(Well, the inaugural episode of the “comeback”. There are some old episodes from 2015.)

Because you’re on my list, I’m giving you access to the interview a day before I publish it on YouTube.

Jharis Yokley generously donated some of his time to enlighten me about how his practice routines have changed over the years, the true difference between “MCing” your own performance and a self-critical voice, whether they should being back the Guitar Center Drumoff, what excites him about young players, and more.

Hope you enjoy,

N

Richard Spaven on Finding a Creative Voice, Flow States, and Social Media

Last week I sat down with one of my drum heroes, on Mr. Richard Spaven, for the inaugural episode of the 8020 Drummer Podcast.

(Well, the inaugural episode of the “comeback”. There are some old episodes from 2015.)

Because you’re on my list, I’m giving you access to the interview a day before I publish it on YouTube.

Richard and I discuss…

• The origins of several of his songs, and his songwriting process in general

• The ephemeral nature of flow-states, and how to achieve them (hint: there’s no magic bullet)

• “Kids these days”, and whether social media has been a net benefit or a net harm for drumming

• The importance of studying jazz, and why we both like “full takes”

• and more…

If you haven’t yet seen the video of me submitting to Richard’s critique playing one of his most famous songs, check that out below.

Hope you enjoy,

N

Episode Three - Arthur Kam

Worth noting - the audio is almost twice as long as the video, and contains the unabridged interview and unabridged drumming audio clips

Arthur's a legit celebrity on Youtube, where, arguably, it matters most. I first discovered him while doing my daily drum-video-full-immersion experience, and found his drum cover so captivating, I made a reality show episode about it.

When I learned he was moving to town I jumped at the chance to interview him in person. When he finally showed up at "80/20 Headquarters" under the BQE in Gowanus, I knew I was in for a chop-fest. What surprised me was the intensity of his pocket - the videos hadn't done it justice - and the pacing and taste with which he played. (Not unlike my previous guests, Colin and Kassa.)

I was curious to know Arthur's mental approach, to when it was time to interview, I dug in. Here are just a few of the things we covered:

• Arthur's earliest influences while growing up in Malaysia, and the differences between watching videos and seeing live performances.
• Arthur's philosophy on chops versus musicality.
• The "secret" to getting better Arthur discovered early in his life that I only discovered a few years ago.
• The usual 80/20 Drummer question - what does he look for in young players that indicates they'll be good. Also...
• What up-and-coming players most need to work on.

Really hope you enjoy! It goes without saying that if you dig this episode, the best way to "thank" us is to share (with one of the handy buttons below). In fact, if you tweet this and tag me (@8020drummer), I'll mail you popsicle.*

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Finally, I hope you'll subscribe on iTunes and write us a review! There's still time to beat my mom to it, but as of the publishing date that window's closing.

*Not Really

Episode Two - Kassa Overall

Worth noting - the audio is almost twice as long as the video, and contains the unabridged interview and unabridged drumming audio clips

I first became aware of Kassa Overall when a friend recommended me to sub for him on a gig. Needless-to-say it was humbling to try to fill his shoes (and man would I like another shot at that now that I've figured out a few more things about the drums/music - such is life), and the Youtube Deep Dive the gig sent me down unearthed some gems. 

"Who is this be-afroed bohemian who gives zero fucks?"

Welp, he's now the drummer for a little band called Steve Coleman and the Five Elements, a group that influenced me a ton growing up. It was serendipity when, in the process of filming an episode of my reality show, I happened to be back home visiting Montana, shedding at the house of a local drummer named Dick Ostheimer. It turned out Kassa had visited and hung with Dick as well just months earlier when he was in town with the Five Elements. On Dick's recommendation, I started checking out the Alan Dawson Rudimental Ritual again, and it was to Kassa that Dick sent me for advice . As you'll see in the video, we didn't talk much about the Ritual. (He showed me some "secret shit" at the beginning, with cameras off, though.) (Don't worry I'll disclose all when I finish the Rudimental Ritual Episode of the reality show.)

If you dig this episode, please share it!

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Finally, please subscribe in iTunes and write a review! Back soon with Dan Weiss and Nate Wood, among others.

Episode One - Colin Stranahan

I've been a fan of Colin Stranahan ever since I saw him perform in a band with my friend Jake Saslow, Matt Stevens, and Harish Raghavan years ago in Williamsburg, while he and Jake were on a break from the Monk Institute (they were roommates).

Since then Colin's "blown up", touring with his and my hero Kurt Rosenwinkel, finishing in the final 3 in the Monk Competition, and not incidentally leading an award-winning trio of his own. As soon as I decided to launch the 80/20 Drummer podcast, I knew I wanted Colin on as one of the initial guests because he quite simply does everything right. Feel, musicality, originality. Like a friend who makes you feel interesting because he's the one with the social chops, Colin has a knack for making everybody he plays with sound great, and pushing the band to new and interesting places.

This week Colin invited me over to his apartment to play some drums and talk about his journey with the drums and his approach to music and life. You can watch the video above or listen to or download the audio-only version below. (To play on a smartphone, click "download".)

Here are the main things I learned in this interview, for which the complete transcript is here:

• What attracted Colin to music initially, and how he balances technique and musical instinct.
• How he copes with the many "high pressure" situations he's performed in, and a mental hack you can make work for you (that's much simpler than you'd expect).
• The biggest single predictor of future success in young drummers he hears and coaches.
• The biggest single mistake Colin sees young musicians making, and a new mindset to help break out of that.
• The biggest misconception aspiring players have about "success", and what "success" looks like in real life.
• How Colin keeps centered in his life and his playing.

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Resources and links for this episode

Check out Colin's new record, Limitless, from Capri Records, here.

If you dug this interview and want to get more like it please click the button below to subscribe in iTunes, and if you want to do the show a solid, leave a rating and review so iTunes will rank it more highly! See you back next week for Episode 2.