Broadway Drumming 101

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. She Was 11 Years Old at a Santana Concert. That Was It. From the vault: one of my favorite conversations on the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast. Picture a stadium in Mexico. Bigger than Madison Square Garden. Open air. Packed. Santana is on stage with a humongous band — three per...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Mackenna Tolfa grew up in Green Bay with a blue sparkle drum kit called “The Rock Star.” Decades later, she’s touring North America as the first featured female Rockstar character in Blue Man Group’s history. The name on the kit was foreshadowing nobody knew about until recentl...

Mackenna Tolfa is the first featured female drummer in Blue Man Group history. She plays ‘The Rockstar’ on the current North American Tour — the character she originated on the World Tour in 2021 after performing in more than 20 countries. Before returning to Blue Man, she held the drum chair on the national tours of Mean Girls and The Book of Mormon . She’s also the orchestrator and arranger for...

Dizzy Gillespie didn’t hand his name to just anyone. Karl Latham played in the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars. Then he played in the Dizzy Gillespie Afro-Latin Experience alongside Paquito D’Rivera. Two different bands carrying one legend’s name, and Karl had a chair in both. We recorded this conversation back in February 2022. It’s been sitting on the Broadway Drumming 101 YouTube channel for a...

There’s nothing quite like watching your colleagues light up a TV stage. The cast of Cats: The Jellicle Ball performed “Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” on The Tonight Show last night. Every time I see something like this, I get excited. They always look and sound great, and there’s something special about watching people you work with get that kind of shine. I’ve been lucky enough to be on that si...

Karl Latham played in The Fantasy Band alongside Dave Valentin, Dave Samuels, Chuck Loeb, Noel Pointer, and Roy Ayers. Five names that don’t usually end up on the same bandstand. Karl made the cut for all of them. We recorded this conversation back in February 2022. A lot has changed for Karl since we sat down, including new credits that weren’t on his resume yet when we hit record. Karl’s reach g...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Jared Shaw has held the drum chair on national tours of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and The Book of Mormon. He’s subbed on Broadway including Tommy, one of the most demanding drum books out there. He’s performed at the Kennedy Center and Ghana’s National Theater, and he...

Jared Shaw didn’t build his career on one big break. He built it on being ready. National tours of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and The Book of Mormon . Broadway sub credits on Tommy , Boop! The Musical , Beaches , and more. Four years as the drummer for Billy Mira & The Hitmen on the Howard Stern Show. Percussion guest with the National Symphony of Ghana. First drum chair of the NYU Broadwa...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Gary Seligson: The Grammy-Winning Broadway Drummer Phil Collins Refused to Work Without Phil Collins snuck into a performance of Wicked one night without telling Gary Seligson he was coming. The next morning, he walked into Tarzan rehearsal and told the producers he didn’t care...

He showed up to watch. 9:28 AM. Carroll’s Rehearsal Studios. The Tina Turner Broadway show is about to start. Jared’s a college student at NYU. He’s not there to play. He’s there to observe — to see how a real Broadway drummer handles a real Broadway rehearsal. He’s looking at the chart on the stand. Not touching anything. Just studying. 9:30 hits. The drummer isn’t there. Contractor John Miller s...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. When I recorded this in February of 2022, Rodney was in his drum room. Blue Pearl kit behind him. Meshell Ndegeocello shirt on — second album, Peace Beyond Passion . We both agreed it's her best record. If you've never heard it, fix that before you do anything else today. Now h...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. I chatted with Rodney Howard in February of 2022. He was in his drum room — blue kit behind him, Meshell Ndegeocello shirt on — and what started as a podcast felt more like a conversation between two guys who just happened to both live in this world. I had a great time revisiti...

Morgan grew up in a small town in Kansas. No blueprint for this. No obvious path to musical theater. She found her way to NYU, studied West African music under Valerie Naranjo — which rewired the way she hears everything — and started building relationships one sub at a time. Now she’s 600 shows into the national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. And the way she talks about this...

Morgan is the drummer on the national tour of A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Six hundred shows in. Almost quit drumming in high school. Grew up in a small town in Kansas with no real map for any of this. Found her way to NYU, subbed MJ and Yiddish Fiddler simultaneously, and landed a tour that’s run nearly two years. Her path is not the one anybody draws up. And the way she talks abo...

This is the video of last week’s podcast — and another one in the Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Episode Series. This episode takes us back to January 2022 with one of the most respected drummers in both Broadway and jazz, Jared Schonig. Since we recorded this conversation, Jared has moved into the drum chair for Just in Time at Circle in the Square Theatre, but this episode still holds up because...

This is a clip from my upcoming Broadway Drumming 101 conversation with Morgan Parker, currently holding the drum chair for A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical. Morgan dropped a lot of wisdom in this episode, but this part really stood out to me. One of her mentors told her that you’re going to feel overwhelmed when the phone won’t stop ringing… but you’re also going to feel overwhelmed wh...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is another one in the Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Episode Series. This episode takes us back to January 2022 with one of the most respected drummers in both Broadway and jazz, Jared Schonig. Since we recorded this conversation, Jared has moved into the drum chair for Jus...

Noah Hadland Is Subbing Seven Broadway Shows at Once. He didn’t get there by sending cold emails and waiting. He got there by running after a stranger with a stick bag outside the Book of Mormon stage door. By sight-reading act one of MJ on Broadway with 45 minutes of prep. By buying the right person a beer in 2019 and not asking for anything until 2023 — when that same person handed him a Broadwa...

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. He came out of NYU convinced he should already be playing Hamilton. He isn’t playing Hamilton. He is subbing seven Broadway shows at once. That didn't happen because he sent the right email. It happened because he ran after a stranger with a stick bag outside the Broadway stage...

Noah Hadland on the Broadway Drumming 101 podcast, saying the thing I wish someone had told me when I was coming up. He was hungry. Eager. Doing everything right — and still couldn’t figure out why Broadway wasn’t happening faster. What he landed on isn’t a hack or a contact or a shortcut. It’s this: our careers are long. Play your first Broadway show at 50? That’s still a Broadway show. There’s n...

In this clip from my conversation with Noah Hadland on the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast, we get into something most drummers don’t think about. I asked him what the hardest part is about subbing multiple shows at once. Most people would say the music. It’s not. If you’ve done the work, the notes aren’t the problem. The real challenge is touch. Every drummer you sub for plays differently. Some dig...

Like I said I would, I want to show you what it’s really like to build a Broadway show. Not the opening night photos, the red carpet, or the reviews. I’m talking about the early days. The first speeches. The moment when everyone realizes what they’ve actually signed up for. On the first day of Cats: The Jellicle Ball at New 42 Studios, we had our official meet and greet. The cast, creative team, a...

Thank you for being a longtime listener of Broadway Drumming 101. I’ve been thinking about doing more solo episodes for a while, and I’m finally starting today. Over the past week, I’ve been deep in rehearsals for Cats: The Jellicle Ball , and this version is even stronger than what we did at PAC. Everything feels sharper and more focused. We officially open on April 7th, and I’m excited for peopl...

Guest: Elena Bonomo , drummer for SIX. Originally released January 14, 2022. This is one of those conversations that still holds up years later. In this episode, Elena Bonomo talks through what it actually looks like to build a career in theater music from the ground up. Elena shares how early musical experiences with her family shaped her connection to music, why drums always felt like fun instea...

Joe Bergamini on Subbing, Broadway Reality, and Building a Real Music Career In this episode of the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast, I sit down with Joe Bergamini —drummer, educator, author, and one of the most thoughtful voices in the drum world. Joe has subbed on more than 15 Broadway shows, toured nationally, taught for decades, and written some of the most respected drum books out there. But wha...