The Musicians Mentor

Today on the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with British musician/producer and creative leader - Donavan Hepburn. Donavan is a London based drummer and one of the first call session musicians and fixers within the United Kingdom. Originally starting his music journey within his local church, he has since gone on to work with some the biggest musical names in pop culture history - some of these a...

Today on the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with American musician/audio engineer and studio owner - Joseph Berg. Joseph Berg is a musician/audio engineer/songwriter and studio owner originally from the Twin Cities area of Minnesota but now based out of Wisconsin, who has worked on numerous Emmy Nominated Film & TV projects - including HBO’s Stax: Soulsville USA which also won the 85th annua...

On this weeks episode of the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with American Rock multi instrumentalist - Tod Howarth. Tod is probably best known for his time as keyboardist, guitarist and second lead vocalist for Hard Rock group, 'Frehley's Comet' (led by former Kiss guitarist - Ace Frehley), but has also worked with artists like Cheap Trick and Ted Nugent. Tod originally rose to notor...

On this weeks episode of the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with Wang Chung drummer (and multi instrumentalist) - Joshua Thompson. Josh and I met a few months ago at a gig that both of our bands were on. I was instantly drawn to his power as a drummer and before you knew it we got talking. Turned out that he was/is not only a super talented musician, but also one of the coolest dudes you'd e...

This week on the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with South African born singer/songwriter/producer and Goth/Darkwave band 'The Awakening' founder - Ashton Nyte. Ashton and I first crossed paths at a gig that both our bands were on, when I was probably around 16 years old. 'The Awakening' had recently had a number one single on the Rock charts over there with their cover version o...

This week on the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with American guitarist/manager/record producer and only continuous founding member of the heavy metal band 'Twisted Sister' - Jay Jay French. In addition to his worldwide success as a musician, Jay Jay has also been hugely successful as a motivational speaker, columnist, podcaster and even, an author with his book - 'Twisted Business -...

Today on the Musicians Mentor podcast I speak with a true guitar hero, and woman who (in my opinion) probably inspired more girls to pick up the guitar than anyone had before her. The one and only - Jennifer Batten. Many of you will know of Jennifer because of her years of work with the biggest pop star to ever do it - Michael Jackson but in addition to her with with MJ, she also toured and record...

Today on the show I speak with Steve Vai Drummer - Jeremy Colson. In addition to Jeremy's work with Vai, he has also worked with acts/artists like - Billy Idol, Sebastian Bach, Marty Friedman and Michael Schenker - to name just a few. Jeremy talks to me about his 1995 Guitar Center Drum Off placing, touring, what he defines as success and so much more. For more information on Jeremy Colson, pl...

Dan Lavery is a New Jersey based multi instrumentalist musician, most prominently known for his role as the bassist in 90's Alt/Rock band 'Tonic' - whose breakout hit 'If You Could Only See' was recognized as rock radio's most-played song of 1997. Originally part of the band 'True', Dan decided to relocate to Los Angeles in the mid 90's to try and further his ca...

For today's episode I thought I'd share an archived interview from around twelve years ago, that I did with session drumming legend - Clem Cattini. Based in Stoke Newington, UK - Clem Cattini is an English drummer who was not only a member of 'The Tornados' but so prominent in the 50's, 60's and 70's that he is actually regarded as one of the most prolific drummers in U...

On episode 100 of the show, I’m joined by South African multi instrumentalist/producer and 'Just Jinjer' bassist - Denholm Harding. Denholm began his musical career in Cape Town at the age of 5, when he appeared on a nationally televised talent show open to all ages called ‘Follow That Star’ where he made it through to the finals. By Grade 7, he joined popular kids program K-TV as the ‘K-T...

On today’s episode of the show, I’m joined by the frontman of 'Led By Vultures', multi-instrumentalist, and world-renowned drummer — Brian Tichy. For decades, Brian has been known as one of rock’s most respected drummers, performing alongside some of the biggest names in music including Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Whitesnake, and Slash. He’s also currently a member of the Gene Simmons Solo...

Today on the show I speak with drumming legend - Derrick McKenzie. Derrick is a British based drummer/dj/producer known worldwide for his time with Acid Funk pioneers 'Jamiroquai' - a band who (at this point) he has been with for over 3 decades. In addition to his amazing career with Jamiroquai he has also worked with 'Purple Disco Machine', DR Packer and Matt Johnson (among others...

Today on the show I speak with percussion legend - Lenny Castro. Lenny is an American based musician who at this point in his career is probably one of the most recorded percussionists in musical history, having played on hundreds (if not thousands of records). Some of the artists he has worked with include 'The Rolling Stones', The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Adele, Toto, Red Hot Chili Peppers...

Today on the show I speak with 'The Daywalkers' band leaders - Alex Harris MacDonald (vocals/washboard) + Janson Lohmeyer keyboardist/vocals. This was a tough interview for me to post because unfortunately Janson Lohmeyer tragically passed away, only a few days after we had this conversation. I wrestled with myself as to whether or not I should still put it out, but ultimately decided I wo...

Today on the show I speak with keyboardist/producer/songwriter - Matthew Robert Fink - aka 'Dr Fink. Dr Fink is a Minnesota based musician who rose to a 'Purple Rain' of fame as a member of Prince's band 'The Revolution. He is a three time Grammy Award Winner, three time American Music Award winner and has received numerous RIAA awards for his work as a musician. In addition to his involvement wit...

Today on the show I speak with author/drummer/musician - Joey Cassata. Joey Cassata is an American based author/drummer/musician who gained notoriety as a player in the early 2000's with his Rock band 'ZO2', the band even becoming the subject of a television series called 'Z-Rock' and exposed him to a large audience worldwide. From there, he continued to climb the ladder of suc...

Today on the show I speak with Emmy award nominated British composer/musician - Ruth Barrett. Ruth is currently one of worlds most sought-after film and television composers with just some of her work appearing in projects like  The Terminal List: Dark Wolf ,  The Girlfriend , PBS’s  Victoria , NBC’s  Law & Order: Organized Crime ,  Big Beasts ,  Bloodlands ,  Collateral ,  The Old Guard 2 , (...

On today's Musicians Mentor show I speak with American based drummer/educator/author - Gary Hess. Gary's professional music career began in the 70's playing clubs dates throughout the United States and Canada. In September of 1980 he became the first enrollee at the Percussion Institute Of Technology (P.I.T) and upon graduating a year later was offered a teaching position with the scho...

Today on the show I sit down and speak with Louisiana local (but Canadian born) artist/engineer/musician/producer - Chris Butcher. Many listeners may know of Chris from his work with artists/acts like 'Bonerama', 'Delfeayo Marsalis & The Uptown Orchestra', 'James Andrew nd The Crescent City All-Stars' or even the 'New Orleans Jazz Orchestra' but he is also a thr...

On episode 90 of the podcast - I speak with New York based drummer/songwriter - Aaron Comess. Aaron is a full time 'band guy' and has been drumming with Alternative/Rock band 'Spin Doctors since their inception back in 1988. The band became a huge success in the 90's with songs like 'Two Princes' and 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong' and have continued to release mus...

On episode 89 (and our first for 2026) of the podcast I speak with Italian born (and based) guitarist and songwriter - Dario Parente. Dario is a highly accomplished musician/guitarist who during his career has held various teaching positions, released several albums with his former band - 'Headless' (which featured former Yngwie Malmsteen vocalist) Goran Edman and has been touring as lead...

On this weeks episode of the podcast (and the last for 2025), I speak with American multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter - Eliot Lewis. Eliot is probably best known for his time with the bands - 'Average White Band' from 1989 to 2002) and then #hitmakers 'Hall and Oates, from 2003 to 2023), but was also the original featured musician on the 'Live From Darryl's House series a...

On todays episode of the show I speak with American Rock guitarist/songwriter - Brian 'Damage' Forsythe. Many of you will know of Brian from his time with hard rock band - Kix, who achieved notable popularity during the 1980's with hit songs like 'Don't Close Your Eyes' and 'Blow My Fuse'. Additionally, he has also been part of bands like 'Rhino Bucket' and...

On this weeks episode I speak with Canadian Rock musician/singer/producer - Lukas Rossi. Many of you will know of Lukas from his time spent appearing (and then winning) the CBS reality show - 'Rockstar Supernova, which lead to him becoming the vocalist in a supergroup featuring Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted and Gilby Clarke. Additionally, he has been successful as a songwriter and collaborator in o...