Broadway Drumming 101

As we bring our special three-part series to a close, we want to express gratitude for your interest in the podcast. We started a few weeks ago by introducing you to Michael Aarons , an industry veteran, whose invaluable insights have broadened our understanding of the many facets of musical production—from Broadway stages to recording studios, live events, and beyond. With a career that's been bo...

In the second installment of our special three-part series, we're showcasing Michael Aarons, a veteran with an extensive background encompassing Broadway, live events, recording studios, television, film, and national tours. He's been instrumental in assembling top-notch pit orchestras for numerous Broadway shows and over 15 national tours. Outside the theater, his multifaceted talents shine throu...

While we frequently spotlight drummers who have made enduring contributions to Broadway and touring stages, it's just as essential to get the inside scoop from the influential figures orchestrating things behind the curtain. That's why today marks the launch of a special three-part series. We're ecstatic to start by introducing you to Michael Aarons, a seasoned Music Coordinator whose portfolio sp...

https://cartermclean.com Carter was born in San Francisco and shortly thereafter moved to Connecticut. This is where McLean listened to and fell in love with music and especially the drums. At age 10, he started his journey as a musician. Broadway wasn’t even on his radar when he started working at Manny’s Music in Manhattan just prior to 9/11. The self-taught musician had just wrapped up his stud...

Dan has been making music most of his life.  While attending East Carolina University's School of Music, he auditioned and was hired at age 19 to join the cast of the Off-Broadway show "STOMP".  After performing in the New York company, he joined the national tour, eventually playing the lead role and becoming the Rehearsal Director. During this tour, he had the opportunity to perform on stage wit...

Gregory Landes is a versatile musician, excelling as a drummer, percussionist, composer, educator, and arranger. His impressive orchestral credits include serving as a timpanist and percussionist for esteemed ensembles such as The New Jersey Symphony, Garden State Philharmonic, The New Haven Symphony, The American Symphony Orchestra, New York Chorale Society, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Princeton S...

Jordan Rose is the drummer for Theo Katzman , Cory Wong , Caleb Hawley , Darren Criss , Charlie Puth , Pomplamoose , Charlie Hunter , Jeff Coffin , Joe Louis Walker , Louis Cato , sub for Dear Evan Hansen (on Broadway), Rufus Wainwright , Ruel , SZA , Maddie Poppe , and held the chair for Only Gold (Off-Broadway). Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscri...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Greg Joseph is an in-demand drummer who has been a fixture on  the NYC music scene for over 25 years. He has played with such diverse musicians as Kevin Hays, Chris Potter, Steve Wilson, Ira Sullivan, Ted Kooshian, Michael Blake, Chiara Itzi, Tony Scherr,...

Grant Braddock is a freelance drummer, percussionist, and educator based in New York City. Broadway credits include A Beautiful Noise - The Neil Diamond Musical, Caroline, or Change, Tootsie, Escape to Margaritaville , Amazing Grace . Grant has toured as a performer with Green Day's American Idiot, The Great Moscow Circus , and Blast! . He holds a B.M. from The University of Oklahoma and a M.M. fr...

Based in Atlanta, Zack is currently on the national tour of the hit Broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud: The Life & Times of the Temptations and is also the co-host of Working Drummer Podcast. Over his 20-year career, Zack has played many musical roles and built a reputation as a tasteful craftsman behind the drums. His professional path began on the rich and vibrant jazz scene in Kansas City where h...

Peter Saleh is a multi-faceted percussionist, drummer, and teacher. Other notable performances include Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Brooklyn Metro Orchestra, Bay Atlantic Symphony, “Distant Worlds: Final Fantasy”, and a solo recital tour of Taiwan and Korea. He was drummer/percussionist for the world premiere Productions of "Mystic Pizza", "The Nutty Professor", and "Mr Holland's Opus" as well as t...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Damon DueWhite (drums, percussion) a native of Twin Oaks, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb, learned to play the drums at the age of six from his father. At fourteen, he played in local bands in the Philadelphia and the New York Tri-State area. Prior to...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Internationally renowned Percussionist Roger Squitero was born in Washington, DC. He began playing congas in the sixties and was influenced by the unique mixture of music from that decade. Rock, Pop, R&B, Jazz, and Latin music were all influential in his m...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Sam is a Brooklyn-based drummer currently holding the drum set chair at & Juliet on Broadway at the Sondheim Theater in New York City. Previously, he spent nearly five years and played over 1200 performances with the national tour of Hamilton: An American...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Eric Brown has subbed on Memphis The Musical, Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar And Grill, and Ain’t Too Proud. He also held the drum chair on the recent revival of Smokey Joe’s Cafe. His album “U MATTER” comprises 11 R&B/soul tracks featuring Eric on vocals and d...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Javier Diaz is a percussionist, educator, and composer active in New York City. Javier regularly plays with the American Symphony Orchestra, chamber music groups, and Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban folkloric groups in the New York area. He has performed with the Lo...

Thank you for reading Broadway Drumming 101. This post is public so feel free to share it. Joshua Priest is the drummer for Broadway’s hit musical Beetlejuice. Joshua has also subbed on several Broadway and off-Broadway musicals since moving to New York City, including: * Ain’t Too Proud * Matilda * Mamma Mia * A Night with Janis Joplin * Groundhog Day * King Kong * Wicked * Moulin Rouge * Company...

Emma Ford’s passion for drumming began in her high school years and was later accepted as one of only two drummers into the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Australia’s leading music University, where she gained her qualifications as a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance). She has a breadth of experience across a number of musical genres, including Jazz, Classical, Latin, Pop, Rock and...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Steve Bartosik has had the good fortune to have held the drum chair on 16 Broadway shows, 14 Off-Broadway productions and an additional 7 National Tours. Unfortunately, none of them lasted very long; but a nice collection none-the-less for someone whose pr...

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Michael is the owner of Yellow Sound Lab, a recording facility that serves as the musical home of Sesame Street on PBS, on which Michael plays drums and percussion and is the music mixing engineer. He owns the record company, Yellow Sound Label, for which...

Buddy Williams is one of the best drummers in the music world. Buddy started playing professionally at the age of eight years old and attended the prestigious High School of Music and Art (along with Noel Pointer, Tom Browne, Dave Valentine, Marcus Miller, and Bernard Wright) and, later, the Manhattan School of Music. Buddy William's credentials list as 'Who's Who of the music industry: Tom Browne...

John Redsecker is one of New York City’s finest musicians. He has decades yof experience playing on broadway musicals  and is one of the inspirations for this podcast. He was one of four drummers featured in the Broadway Drummer’s Roundtable in the June 1981 of Modern drummer and I’m honored to have as guest on my podcast. Shows he’s done include Barnum, Anything Goes, Meet Me In St. Lous, My Favo...

Dan Berkery is a New York City-based Freelance Drummer/Percussionist with a Master's Degree in Jazz Studies from Philadelphia's University of the Arts. ​Dan currently subs on multiple Broadway Drum/Percussion chairs including Hamilton, Moulin Rouge, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, and Dear Evan Hansen. In the past he has worked on ​show like Frozen, Mean girls, Bandstand, Tootsie, and The Cher show. ...

Steve Singer grew up in a suburb of St. Louis. He started playing drums at eight years old and later became the drummer in the U. City High School Jazz band. While studying photography and media in college, Steve began working at Street Side Records, a venerable store in the Loop area. He started taking private drum lessons from Michael Epstein and Sonny Igoe and started touring for many Broadway...

Thank you for reading Broadway Drumming 101. This post is public, so feel free to share it. Born in Manhattan and raised in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, Clint de Ganon was six years old when he started drum lessons. Clint studied drumset with many great teachers in high school, including the great Sonny Igo and Gary Chester. After moving to NYC, Clint met bassist Gordon Edwards at a jam session at Mike...