Broadway Drumming 101

In this episode, we discuss: * Growing up in a small town and his path to working for major artists. * What it was like subbing his first show at Saturday Night Fever. * Playing all kinds of gigs in New York City and how that made him a versatile musician. * Landing the drum chair for Diana but eventually working for the musical Mrs. Doubtfire. * What he looks for when hiring subs. https://www.rod...

In this episode, we discuss: * How he landed the drum chair at Moulin Rouge. * What he does to avoid drumming injuries. * Advice he would give to people interested in playing drums for Broadway musicals. * Playing Giant Steps on the oboe. * His experience recording the cast recording for the revival of Pippin. * What are the things a drummer should never do in a Broadway pit. Grammy-Award winning...

Elena Bonomo Is A graduate of Berklee College of Music, where she holds a Bachelors's Degree in Performance. She’s toured across the United States as the drummer for the 1st National Tour of the hit Broadway musical, Waitress , originated the drum chairs for two Off-Broadway shows, including The Hello Girls and A Strange Loop , Elena has performed throughout the Caribbean, South America, Australia...

In this episode, we discuss: * The reasons why he feels subbing can be so stressful. * What he looks for when hiring subs. * How he prepares his subs to play his shows. * What advice he would give to anyone interested in playing Broadway musicals. * What kind of drums, cymbals, and sticks he uses on his shows. * The story of Tony William’s ride cymbal. Rich Rosenzweig  is a veteran of 11 Broadway...

In this episode, we discuss: * What it was like working on the revival of Follies and why he thought it was so special. * His experience playing “Dames At Sea.” * Why he wrote screenplays. * The way he approaches playing so many Broadway revivals. Rich Rosenzweig  is a veteran of 11 Broadway shows and played on many cast recordings.  Rich has been the orchestra's drummer for the Kennedy Center Hon...

Rich Rosenzweig  is a veteran of 11 Broadway shows and played on many cast recordings.  Rich has been the orchestra's drummer for the Kennedy Center Honors for over a decade. He's also played in numerous national and international tours and has been the regular drummer for the  Encores!  series at New York's City Center. Over the years has also recorded and performed in several progressive jazz en...

In this episode, we discuss: * What he looks for when hiring subs for his shows. * What a lock-in period is and what itis expected when starting a new broadway show. * How he landed the drum chair at Come From Away . * What NOT to do in a Broadway pit. * Why he only uses Yamaha drums. * His thoughts on Sabian cymbals. * Why he’s focusing on producing and music directing in the future. Larry Lelli...

Larry Lelli is a veteran Broadway musician. He’s played drums and/or conductor in over 40 Broadway shows.   Some of his  Broadway drumming credits include The Producers .  Assassins ,  How To Succeed In Business,   Million Dollar Quartet .  He’s recorded and performed with  Melissa Etheridge, Josh Groban, Anne Hathaway, Nick Jonas, Vanessa Williams, Heather Headley, The Mamas & The Papas, Anika No...

As a studied musician of several decades, Dena'sversatility has afforded her opportunities to play in various settings - from arenas to rock clubs and Broadway theaters to recording studios.   She has been highlighted in several drum publications, including the  September 2018 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine . ​ Dena has held the drum chair for the following Broadway and Off-Broadway productions:...

Paul Pizutti has over fifty years of experience playing shows. He is a person everyone should listen to when it comes to understanding what it takes to have a successful career playing broadway musicals. In this episode, we discuss: * Sight reading the TONY Awards show. * Leaving the business altogether for a shot period of time. * Being the China club house drummer on Wednesday nights. * Recordin...

Paul Pizutti has over fifty years of experience playing shows. He is a person everyone should listen to when it comes to understanding what it takes to have a successful career playing broadway musicals. In this episode, we discuss: * Working on the musical ‘Candide.’ * How he wound up playing the original ‘Godspell.’ * How he handled playing a show during the New York City blackout of 1977. * Wha...

In this episode, we discuss: * What he learned at Manhattan School Of Music in New York City * His experience being mentored by Bernard Purdie * What’s meant by the saying, “If you're not early, you’re late.” * His time learning Dear Evan Hansen and taking over the drum chair. * Why playing exactly like the chairholder matters when you are subbing a show. * Who are his favorite five drummers of al...

Jesse-Ray Leich is a versatile percussionist and drum set player who received his Bachelor's degree in Music Education and Percussion from the University of Rhode Island in 2017. Raised in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, Jesse-Ray started playing the drums at four years old.  He has played drums throughout the years, achieving multiple All-State, and All-Eastern Division musician rankings.  Growing...

In this episode, we discuss: * His experience subbing at ‘Jagged Little Pill’ on Broadway. * What approval vs. designation means. * Why being confident without being arrogant is important. * The musicals he’s working on next. Today, I’m interviewing educator/Audio Engineer/Synth & Drum Programmer/Composer, fantastic drummer Dennis Arcano. I’ve known Dennis for over 20 years. He was one of my regul...

Today, I’m interviewing educator/Audio Engineer/Synth & Drum Programmer/Composer, fantastic drummer Dennis Arcano. I’ve known Dennis for over 20 years. He was one of my regular subs at tick, tick… BOOM! and Altar Boys, and he later subbed for Follies (the 2001 Revival), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and is now subbing on Jagged Little Pill on Broadway. Dennis is also the resident mus...

Joshua Samuels and I go way back. We met shortly before I left the off-Broadway show Altar Boyz and went to play the Broadway musical Memphis. He was eager to get into the scene and did everything the right way to network his way into playing shows. He eventually subbed for me at Altar Boys and moves on to play several shows afterward. Josh is classically trained, and his experience as a percussio...

In this episode, we discuss: * How he met Cyndi Lauper and got the drum chair at Kinky Boots. * What he looks for in new subs. * What it was like at Pretty Woman. * How he landed the gig at Diana The Musical. * Why he memorizes each show he plays. Sammy Merendino is one of NYC's top drummers. He is currently performing at Diana a True Musical Story on Broadway at the Longacre Theater. He has recor...

I apologize for going so deep into the Cameo story in this episode; the music of Cameo had such a profound impact on my life and my drumming. It’s all part of the story of why I play the shows I play and how I play them. Sammy’s drum programming on the mid-’80’s Cameo records was stellar and set a high bar for drum programming from that point forward. In this episode, we discuss: * Growing up in A...

This is part TWO of my interview with Joe Choroscewski. In today’s chat, we discuss: * Effective ways to contact drummers who are working on Broadway musicals. * Getting the opportunity to sub for Tommy Igoe at The Lion King. * Subbing at Avenue Q on Broadway and securing the off-Broadway chair. * His experience with Heart and Lights at Radio City. * How he landed the chair at The 2021 Radio City...

In part one of my conversation with Joe, we discuss: * His time at the University Of North Texas.  * Working on cruise ships.  * Playing his first NYC production in an off-off-Broadway show. * Being immediately DESIGNATED on his first Broadway opportunity subbing on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. * The difference between being ‘designated’ and ‘approved’ as a sub. * Methods to contact drummers if you wa...

This is part two of my podcast that features Ray Marchica. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College, where he studied percussion with Morris Lang of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Performance. He’s been an in-demand player in New York for more than 25 years, appearing on countless sessions, Broadway productions, and TV shows. One of the most dive...

This podcast features Ray Marchica. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College, where he studied percussion with Morris Lang of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Performance. He’s been an in-demand player in New York for more than 25 years, appearing on countless sessions, Broadway productions, and TV shows. One of the most diverse freelance drummers...

In this episode, we discuss his experience programming early drum machines, landing shows like Seussical, Seussical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Lennon, and I learn why the musical King Kong was so difficult for him to play. We also talk about his experience subbing and sight-reading a show in front of a Broadway audience because the drummer (who had NO subs to count on) couldn’t make the show one n...

Warren Odze is a Broadway veteran. He’s performed in Broadway shows such as: * The Life * Civil War * Kat and the Kings * Seussical * Thoroughly Modern Millie * Lennon * Come Fly Away * The Wedding Singer * Priscilla * Rocky * An American In Paris * Charlie and the Chocolate Factory * King Kong In this episode, we talk about his beginnings, why seeing the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan show was such a...

Sean McDaniel  - I feel he’s one of the most versatile musicians playing on Broadway shows. As a substitute on Broadway, he has performed in 11 different shows at one time. Sean has performed in 20 Broadway shows including  Frozen ,  The Book Of Mormon , and  Spamalot .  He helped develop many other musicals, including  Hamilton .  He has toured the country and played TV appearances with American...