Ben Hilzinger

Drummers on Drumming

Music EN ↓ 289 episodes

A podcast for drummers who think too much. Ben Hilzinger talks to the greats about creativity, identity, staying sane, and finding purpose behind the kit. Powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. For more inforamtion, check out  www.bigfatsnaredrum.com  and follow us on  Instagram .

Author

Ben Hilzinger

Category

Music

Podcast website

thedrumclick.com

Latest episode

Jul 8, 2026

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Episodes

Big Fat Five: Logan Baudean's Top 5 Influential Records 06.07.2022

This week’s guest Logan Baudean…a New Orleans-raised, now LA-based musician. He can do it all. I don’t even remember how I first heard about Logan, but I’ve been following him for awhile now I was really excited to have him on. He certainly identifies as a drummer, but he’s also a sought-after guitarist, bassist and keyboardist and I’m sure the list goes on and on. Recently, he’s toured the world...

Big Fat Five: Petar Janjic's (Cory Wong) Top 5 Influential Records 29.06.2022

This week’s guest is Petar Janjic…a Serbian-born, Nashville-based drummer by way of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s one of the funkiest groovers out there today and is THE drummer for one of today’s funkiest guitarists / bandleaders, Cory Wong.  Before passing away, Prince himself even asked Petar to play on his record and…well…that’s that! He’s involved in a bunch of happenings, including his own pr...

Big Fat Five: Matthew Pretty's (@thebucketboy) Top 5 Influential Records 22.06.2022

This week’s guest is Matthew Pretty a.k.a. @thebucketboy on social media. He’s an incredible, world-renowned street percussionist based out of Las Vegas. We get into everything from his setup, to why he chose street performing and eventually stagger into the 5 biggest influences that made him into the extremely-unique player he is today. Cheers! A few of Matthew’s street performances: https://yout...

Big Fat Five: Eric Somers-Urrea's Top 5 Influential Records 15.06.2022

This week’s guest is Eric Somers-Urrea…a Chicago-based drummer, educator and producer who I very-much admire both on and off the kit. His main project is a band called Marina City and his sincerity / kindness as a person matches his incredible prowess on the drums. I just can’t say enough good things about him. I love his drumming and this is episode is LONG overdue. Please enjoy our chat about th...

Big Fat Five: Aaron Haggerty's (Willow, Al McKay, Kool & The Gang) Top Influential Records 08.06.2022

This week’s guest is Aaron Haggerty…a California-based drummer who played for Al McKay (Earth, Wind and Fire) and his ‘Al McKay All-Stars’ for 11 years. Aarons also recorded and/or toured with Kool & The Gang, Eric Gales, Gary Clark Jr, Wicked Wisdom and many more with his current gig being Willow (Smith). He’s just a badass drummer and I think you should know about him. His pocket is deep and his...

Big Fat Five: Nick Baglio's (aka @nickybagzz) Top 5 Influential Records 01.06.2022

This week’s guest is Nick Baglio (aka @nickybagzz). I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to get him on the damn podcast. If you follow Big Fat Snare Drum on Instagram (@bigfatsnaredrum), he’s literally our most-reposted account because A) he’s an amazing drummer / insanely creative and B) he captures a very powerful recorded sound and it’s super inspiring. We get into his backstory right off th...

Big Fat Five: Big Fat Five: Rory O'Connor's (Tycho, Nitemoves) Top 5 Influential Records 25.05.2022

This weeks guest is a Rory O’Connor…the New York-based drummer for the Gramny-nomninated band Tycho. He also finds time for his own electronic music under the name Nitemoves. Before joining Tycho, Rory played with Com Truise (another legend in that world of music). Rory brings the world of Tycho to life both in the studio AND figuring out how to re-create his own (often-chopped up) grooves for a l...

50 Simple Yet Effective Drum Grooves (you voted!) 18.05.2022

Alright so…if you listened to the ‘70’s Drum Sounds’ episode, you know that we sometimes do a little questionnaire/poll thing about a certain topic on the Big Fat Snare Drum Instagram. Recently, I asked “What are the simplest, yet most effective drum parts”. Of course, drummers are a bunch of smartasses so many of you answered with “tension rod, nylon washers, the snare strainer…” to which I chuck...

Big Fat Five: Greyson Nekrutman's Top 5 Influential Records 11.05.2022

This weeks guest is the Greyson Nekrutman. He exploded on Instagram and YouTube over the last few years by picking a lane that he saw was lacking representation on the platforms…jazz drumming. If you can, go check out his pages below before listening to this episode so you really grasp how truly amazing Greyson is. That being said, he certainly doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as just a jazz drummer...

Big Fat Five: Kyle Crane's (Daniel Lanois, Neko Case, Maddison Cunningham) Top 5 Influential Records 04.05.2022

This week’s guest is Kyle Crane…a drummer I’ve been following and looking up to for years. He’s a highly-sought after independent drummer based in LA who’s worked with Daniel Lanois (look him up), Neko Case, Kurt Vile, Brad Mehldau, Bill Frisell, and Conor Oberst (plus many more), but is currently out with Maddison Cunningham. He was also a drum double for the movie ‘Whiplash’ and is the principal...

Big Fat Five: Josh Dion's (Paris Monster, John Scofield) Top 5 Influential Records 27.04.2022

This week’s guest is the incomparable Josh Dion (of Paris Monster and a million other rad things). He’s a busy New York cat and I’ve wanted to get him on for a long time. If you don’t know of Josh, he’s an independent drummer for than one reason (and yes there’s a dad joke coming); he’s played with sooo many including John Scofield, Jim Campilongo, Wayne Krantz, Bill Evans, Chuck Loeb, Ulu, and Es...

Big Fat Five: Aksel Coe's Top 5 Influential Records 20.04.2022

We are back to our regularly-scheduled programing with this week’s guest, Aksel Coe. I first learned of Aksel via Instagram thanks to a shoutout by our good buddies at Nelson Drum Shop (Nashville). I was hooked right away. Seriously, check him out before listening to this episode. Aksel is the epitome of a modern drummer and has collaborated with Homes at Night, The Sisterhood Band, Cody Jinks, K....

5 Records That Will FINALLY Get You Into Jazz 13.04.2022

This week’s guest is Anthony Fung…an incredible talent drummer based in Los Angeles. I brought him on to discuss the 5 records (and subsequent drummers) to FINALLY get you into jazz. He definitely did not disappoint. Cheers! --- Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today! 🎯 Click here to order now! Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that s...

Records That Define the 70's Drum Sound 06.04.2022

This week’s episode is going to be a little different. I’m starting a new, perhaps self-indulgent series where I pose a question on the Big Fat Snare Drum Instagram and make an episode out of your responses. Maybe it’ll stick. Who knows?…but these are the conversations I have with my musician friends anyways, so now I’m just pushing record. The first question posed was “which records helped define...

Big Fat Five: Blair Sinta's (Alanis Morrisette, Chris Cornell, Annie Lennox) Top 5 Influential Records 30.03.2022

This week’s guest is Blair Sinta. Blair’s drumming resume includes touring and/or recording with Alanis Morrisette, Ringo Starr, Annie Lennox, Gwen Stefani, Stevie Nicks, Chris Cornell, John Fogerty, Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard, Lisa Loeb, Better Than Ezra, Josh Groban, Damien Rice…I mean that’s basically everyone right? He’s based out of Los Angeles and runs his own studio where he records himself...

Big Fat Five: Donnie Marple's (Guitar Center Drum-Off Champion, Lee Brice) Top 5 Influential Records 23.03.2022

This week’s amazing guest is Mr. Donnie Marple. Donnie was (still is) the 2007 Guitar Center Drum Off Champion and has been the new guy in Lee Brice’s band for over 10 years. He is a monster soloist who can really hold it down. Donnie is the exact drummer you want in your band and his career is gonna keep going and going. He’s played on numerous #1 hits and is a gentlemen through and through. I ki...

Big Fat Five: David Raouf's (aka rdavidr) Top 5 Influential Records 16.03.2022

This week’s guest is Mr. David Raouf aka rdavidr. I’ve been a fan of his YouTube Channel for years and, with his seemingly-endless offering of videos featuring drum tips, tricks, hacks and DIY projects, David has combined a love of craftsmanship and drums into a beautifully-hilarious melting pot of education and entertainment. The dude knows his way around a garage and his beard gives mine a run f...

Big Fat Five: William Goldsmith (Sunny Day Real Estate, Foo Fighters, Assertion) Top 5 Influential Records 09.03.2022

This week’s guest is THE William Goldsmith. William has been a member of two incredibly influential bands with Sunny Day Real Estate and Foo Fighters in addition to The Fire Theft, his current project Assertion, and many others. William’s emotional and bombastic-yet-dynamic grooves have been in many previous guests top 5. If you listen to the show, especially recently…you’ve heard his name quite a...

Big Fat Five: Stella Mozgawa's (Warpaint, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett) Top 5 Influential Records 02.03.2022

This week’s guest is Stella Mozgawa…drummer for the band Warpaint. In addition to her band, she’s also collaborated with Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Flea, Adam Green, Regina Spektor, The xx, Sharon Von Eaten and many, many more. It’s basically a list of all the cool kids…but like that actual cool kids. I’m truly a fan of Stella, so having watched and read many of her interviews before this chat,...

Big Fat Five: Martina Barakoska's Top 5 Influential Records 16.02.2022

This week’s guest is Martina Barakoska….a Macedonian drummer / educator / composer and clinician. I heard about Martina via Instagram and was hooked immediately. She’s just starting her career and I’m really excited to see how it unfolds. All in all, she’s a badass drummer and I wanted to chat. Go give her a follow at @iamthe_m on Instagram and Tik Tok and go to school. Today, we discuss the 5(ish...

Big Fat Five: Erin Tate's (Minus The Bear, Kill Sadie) Top 5 Influential Records 02.02.2022

This week’s guest is Erin Tate, founding member of the Seattle-based indie-rock, Minus the Bear, but he’s played with many great bands throughout his career including Kill Sadie (from Minneapolis), Ghost Work, Time Pieces (etc.) in addition to running Indie Drummer Collective…which we get to right off the bat. Erin has an incredible ability to weave his way through odd time and syncopated phrases...

Big Fat Five: Joe Bagale AKA Otis McDonald's Top 5 Influential Records 26.01.2022

This week’s guest is Joe Bagale, a San Francisco-based producer, artist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and educator. Now, I know that might seem like he’s a jack of all trades and a master of none, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As Joe’s bio states on his website, his sound is “fresh, but tangibly rooted in nostalgia” and I think that’s the perfect way to describe it. Joe is also...

Big Fat Five: Connor Denis' (Beartooth) Top 5 Influences 19.01.2022

This week’s guest is Connor Denis…drummer for the rock band Beartooth. Connor has been touring since he was 15…making sure that live rock n roll music still rocks. Seriously, he’s a basher, but has all the technical prowess in the world to back it up. He’s got an insanely long career ahead of him and has already accomplished so much at such a relatively young age. I rarely get young, hard hitting...

Big Fat Five: Dave Elitch's Top 5 Influences 12.01.2022

This week’s guest is Dave Elitch and this chat is long overdue because he’s one of the most-mentioned drummers on this podcast…behind Levon Helm, of course. Dave has played with The Mars Volta, The 1975, Miley Cyrus, Justin Timberlake…and countless others, but a lot of drummers know him as a “teacher’s teacher”. He’s helped many of the best drummers (and instructors) fine tune their own playing su...

Big Fat Five: Matt Johnson's (Jeff Buckley's album 'Grace', St. Vincent) Top 5 Influences 05.01.2022

This week’s guest is Matt Johnson...one of the most-respected drummers to a handful of the guests I’ve had on this podcast. He is probably most-known in the drumming community for playing on ‘Grace’ by Jeff Buckley. He was also the touring drummer with St. Vincent for a handful of years and played with many, many other artists (you can look them all up), but the two I just mentioned are enough to...

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