The Drum Shuffle

Dylan Jack and his Dylan Jack Quartet have one of the most unique releases of the year with their Eine Quartett Des Grauens. It is a "spontaneously composed soundtrack to F.W. Murnau's 1922 film Nosferatu." Released just in time for Halloween, (on October 28, 2023) a fully improvised album set to a silent horror film has to be one of the coolest ideas we've ever heard of. On episode 161, Dylan joi...

Bobby Falk is a Louisville, KY native, who grew up in a musical family. Bobby is a graduate of Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS) High school and the University of Louisville jazz studies program, graduating in 2005 with BA Jazz studies (emphasis Percussion). Upon graduating University of Louisville, Bobby started composing music and established the “Bobby Falk group” a contemporary jazz ensemble...

Hailing originally from Tokyo, Japan, Rintaro Mikami is a jazz drummer, percussionist and composer based in New York City. Known for a wide range dynamics, supportive orchestration, and very narrative performance and compositions, Rintaro draws from a jazz tradition to a range of influences from rock to world cultural music such as Brazilian, Argentinian and mid-Eastern.    He started playing drum...

Tina Raymond is making waves in the Jazz drumming world. Her second release as a bandleader, Divinations, will be out on October 6, 2023. She is also the Director of Jazz studies at Cal State Northridge and is president-elect of The California Alliance for Jazz. She certainly has a lot going on. Jamie caught up with Tina to discuss her brilliant upcoming release along with everything else she has...

Cindy Blackman Santana. Need we say more? Cindy took time out of her tours with Santana and the Cindy Blackman Santana Band to discuss her stellar career, the state of music in general, and she offered up some undeniable advice that is pure truth. You would be hard-pressed to speak to anyone who is more thoughtful or insightful into the instrument that we have chosen to pursue. This is a cannot mi...

Nick D'Virgilio's drumming has been been heard with many bands, including Spock's Beard, Big Big Train, Tears For Fears, and most recently on the current Asian leg of Mr. Big's The Big Finish Tour. Nick is also the drum and percussion product specialist at Sweetwater Sound, so he is known around the world as a "drum guy." He is also a fantastic singer and multi-instrumentalist as evidenced in his...

On episode 155, we are joined once again by Mark Poiesz. Not only is Mark a superb drummer, he is also a certified coach. He has mixed together both of these attributes to create The Big Three: Steps to the Big Stage, a multi-part course designed to help musicians advance their careers to the next life-changing gig. If you know anything about Mark, it's that he is always willing to help anyone. Th...

John Sparrow has been drumming for Violent Femmes since 2006. A class-act in every sense of the word, John spent some time with us to discuss the Femmes' recent tour, being in an iconic band, the insanity of the music business, always keeping your bags packed, restoring old drums while off the road, and so much more. This is such a great conversation that will brighten your drumming day, guarantee...

Jamie Wollam has been drumming for Tears For Fears since 2010. After wrapping up the band's North American tour and a promotional tour of Europe, Jamie sat down with Jamie to discuss his backstory, the new Tears For Fears record, his pandemic day job, and they also discuss the difficulty of maintaining sobriety as a musician. This is such an important and educational interview, we know you're goin...

On episode 152, Jamie sits down with Dennis Diken of The Smithereens to discuss The Lost Album, a recording from 1993 by the band that was recently brought out of their archives. A true Smithereens record in every sense of the word, it is a can't miss for anyone that loves the band. Jamie and Dennis also talk about the earliest days of the group, getting back to the sheer joy of drumming, and of c...

Chris Parker has played with almost every artist under the sun in his legendary career. Along with filling the seat in the Saturday Night Live band for several years, he has been a staple of the greater New York music scene since the 1970s. The Chris Parker Trio have just released Tell Me, a brilliant jazz trio record that features his compositions along with his incredible playing. On episode 151...

Mark Kelso joins Jamie on episode 150 to discuss The Dragon's Tail, the newest release by Mark Kelso and the Jazz Exiles and so much more. The album is a must-have for any drummer's musical collection. Mark has played with a who's who in the music world and has been teaching for many years. He is a wealth of knowledge and information. This interview covers a wide range of topics and is sure to ins...

Doug "Cosmo" Clifford stops by The Drum Shuffle once again to discuss another Cosmo's Vault release. This time it's California Gold, a recording from 1978 with Bobby Whitlock and Donald "Duck" Dunn. The fact this record hasn't seen daylight for 44 years is simply astounding. It is a FANTASTIC album that would have certainly been "California Platinum" had it been released back in 1978. Doug and Jam...

Anthony Taddeo is one of Cleveland's busiest drummers, percussionists, and composers. After studying with Jamey Haddad and a stint in the New York scene while studying at The New School, he returned home to Northeast Ohio and settled into a busy sideman schedule. He formed Alla Boara as the vessel to release music that he was truly passionate about. Music that defined him as a person; Italian folk...

Dafnis Prieto is a non-stop music creation machine. His non-stop work ethic finds him releasing his ninth album as a bandleader, Cantar, featuring Luciana Souza on September 16, 2022. Dafnis is well-known as a composer, bandleader, and incredible drummer, but this newest release finds him taking center stage as lyricist as well. On episode 147, Jamie and Dafnis discuss the album, its recording pro...

On episode 146, Jamie is joined once again by the great Peter Kogan to discuss his fantastic new album, Just Before Midnight. Peter discusses the writing and recording process for the album as well as his approach to each step in the creative process. The record hits the streets on June 24, 2022 and should be a part of everyone's collection. Peter always offers a wealth of knowledge when he stops...

Bernie Dresel returns to The Drum Shuffle podcast to discuss his brilliant new album, The Pugilist. This record is a barn-burner of a big band swing album that simply sounds phenomenal and should be on repeat in your library. Bernie's playing is truly at the top of the drumming world. Bernie also discusses a few of his many movie and television soundtracks that he has been working on. Any fan of g...

Dave Potter's resume includes stints with Jason Marsalis and Marcus Roberts. He is one of Atlanta's busiest drummers and educators. On episode 144, Dave and Jamie discuss his latest release as a band leader, Retro Groove. Retro Groove is Dave's interpretation of nine classic tunes ranging from Chaka Khan to Peter Gabriel to Living Color that is absolutely fire-breathing jazz-funk fusion power. Thi...

Dan Schnelle has played with great artists such as Billy Childs, Larry Goldings, Alan Ferber, Sara Gazarek, Laurence Hobgood, etc. His career speaks for itself. Dan is now stepping out as leader and composer on his first album, Shine Thru, available May 13, 2022 via Outside In Music. On episode 143, Jamie and Dan discuss the album, his approach to composing, the recording process, and all his educ...

Jerry MacDonald's 30 plus year career in music is worthy of some best-selling novel or Hollywood blockbuster treatment. Jerry is best-known for his time playing in The Wrens who released what many consider to be one the greatest indie-rock records of all time in 2003, Meadowlands. That also happens to be the most recent release from The Wrens. A full 18 years later, after a few hints of a long-awa...

Simon Phillips needs no introduction. His playing with artists such as Jeff Beck, The Who, Toto, Jack Bruce, and Judas Priest has now spanned six decades. In addition to countless recordings and tours with an A-list of music icons, Simon has been composing and recording his own music under the Protocol banner since 1989. On episode 141, Simon joins Jamie to discuss the upcoming and brilliant Proto...

Rich Wiley is not only a talented guitarist and songwriter, he is also the co-founder of TnR Products, the makers of True Vibe drum isolation mounts. On episode 140, Jamie and Rich catch up on all things TnR, talk about being successful in the music business (whatever that means) and how a guitarist helped invent the best floor tom isolation product of all time.

Simone Prattico joins us for episode 139 to discuss his unique career that is based out of Italy, France, and the US. He has just released his second album as leader, Oriundo. The album is fantastically composed and played and the production is top-shelf. Simone and Jamie discuss not only this great new record, but also Simone's early years as a student of the late Robero Spizzichino, making the d...

Lucas Garcia of Down Again stops by on episode 138 to cover a lot of ground. We catch up on his start into music, the formation of Down Again, and the band's new EP, video, and tour plans for the near future. Lucas is a great up-and-coming drummer in a fantastic band. If they aren't already, Down Again and Lucas should be on your radar!

Russ Kunkel has a legendary list of albums that contain his drumming. It is simply mind-boggling and too vast to list here, but some artist highlights include Warren Zevon, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, Bill Withers...The list goes on and on and on. Russ has been playing and recording with Leland Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, and Waddy Wachtel, for many years on some of these records. That...