Go with Elmo Lovano

Episode 83: Narada Michael Walden Part 2 At this point in the story, Narada has gone from a jazz fusion drummer with Mahavishnu Orchestra, to a major label solo artist with hits, to a Grammy-winning producer with Aretha Franklin. And now... Whitney Houston enters the picture. We kick off this episode with the moment Narada and Whitney's journey starts together. He gets a call from Arista A&R exec...

Episode 82: Narada Michael Walden. He went from being the drummer of Mahavishnu Orchestra and landing the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine, to producing Whitney Houston’s biggest hits and winning the GRAMMY for Producer of the Year. This interview is the epic journey of Narada Michael Walden. I loved this conversation so much. Narada’s positive, creative energy jumps out at you immediately. We go...

Episode 81: Kevin Lyman. The Vans Warped Tour is the longest-running touring music festival in North America, drawing over 750,000 fans every summer at its peak. And it all started with one guy — Kevin Lyman. In this episode, we sit down in person with the man who turned parking lots into punk rock playgrounds, helped break some of the biggest names in music, and built a generation-defining cultur...

Episode 80: Mike Caren. If you’re in the music industry, you hear the name Mike Caren all the time. He’s one of the most powerful people in music, with a career that’s led to billions of streams, multiple GRAMMY wins, and chart-topping, career-defining hits as both an A&R and executive. He’s signed and/or helped break artists like Bruno Mars, Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, Kehlani, YoungBoy Never Broke...

Episode 79. Omar Hakim, Part 2! We’re back with the drumming legend Omar Hakim and pick up right where we left off in Part 1. We start with the wild story of how he met Sting while recording Brothers In Arms with Dire Straits… ON AN ISLAND. This story blows my mind. From there, we continue through his career with Sting, Miles Davis, Madonna, and the crazy story of making the Daft Punk hit "Get Luc...

Episode 78: Omar Hakim. Today on the pod we’ve got one of the most recorded drummers of all time. The legendary Omar Hakim! We went deep for over 2 hours, and unlocked SO MUCH GOLD, so we’re releasing this conversation in two parts. In Part 1, Omar shares the stories behind some of his most iconic recordings, including his legendary session with David Bowie on Let’s Dance, his deep musical relatio...

Episode 77: Steve Smith. The incredible, multi-faceted, Steve Smith was one of my favorite drummers growing up. His playing with Journey blew me mind, and the fact that he had a full-on jazz career alongside his rock success made him even more inspiring to me. Steve made Modern Drummer’s Top 25 Drummers of All Time list and won the #1 All-Around Drummer Award five years in a row. His credits are s...

Episode 76: Jerrod "J-Rod" Sullivan. If you're a drummer, chances are you've seen J-Rod pop up in your feed. He's one of the most exciting drummers to watch, and now he’s holding down the drum chair for Janet Jackson. From uploading his first drum video to YouTube back in 2006 to building an audience of over 700,000 followers, J-Rod is living proof that consistency and passion pay off. We get into...

Thomas Lang: Drum God Mode, Practice Secrets, Clinics, Social Media Trends with guest Luke Holland! Episode 75: Thomas Lang. Thomas Lang is one of the best drummers of all time. His drive and focused, intentional practice has led to him being one of the most sophisticated drummers, producers, and composers, with the ability to do four-limb separation beyond pretty much anyone else. On top of that...

Episode 74: RedOne. RedOne is one of the most successful producers and songwriters of our time. From Lady Gaga’s Just Dance, Poker Face, and Bad Romance, to J.Lo and Pitbull’s On the Floor, and Nicki Minaj’s Starships — he’s helped shape the sound of modern pop. In this episode, we go deep into RedOne’s story — from being broke in 2008 to producing The Fame with Gaga and changing pop music forever...

One of the best things about being on the road is catching up with friends all over the globe. In today’s episode, we’re in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Tonight is the Formula 1 Grand Prix (you know I love F1), and headlining it is J.Lo! I got to catch up with my longtime friends Charles Streeter, Brandon Brown aka Pastor Funk, and Javad Day. Streeter has been J.Lo’s drummer for many years. Pastor Funk i...

Ash Soan is one of the most sought after session drummers in Britain, who has worked with the likes of Adele, Taylor Swift, Seal, Billy Idol, Tate McRae and so many more. Ash's 5th gig was Woodstock '94 with the band, Del Amitri and then went on to support Van Halen (which was my first concert) and Bon Jovi. Recently, Ash has been touring with Snow Patrol and Tori Amos. Ash has also been collabora...

Tom Stingemore is one of the most knowledgeable minds in music sync licensing. He was President of Sync at Hipgnosis, the multi-billion dollar music catalog fund that owns thousands of No. 1 songs. Before that, he was SVP of Sync at BMG and Creative Director of Sync at Universal Music Group. In this episode, we link up in London to talk about Tom’s new company, Alloy, and his mission to fix one of...

Welcome to the first episode of our new On The Go podcast series — stripped down, run-and-gun, recorded in different cities around the world, and still packed with all the good stuff: behind-the-scenes stories, insights, lessons learned, and more. I’m traveling right now and wanted to keep the podcast conversations going, so here’s what we’ve got for you. For this one, I caught up with my friend D...

Episode 73: Keyon Harrold. Everywhere I turn, I see Keyon Harrold. He’s widely regarded as one of the greatest trumpeters alive today, pushing the new jazz generation forward with power and soul. His solo album Foreverland was GRAMMY-nominated this year for Best Alternative Jazz Album, and his resume is stacked — Jay-Z, Common, Erykah Badu, Diana Ross, Mac Miller, Robert Glasper, the Count Basie O...

Episode 72: William Bowerman. William is one of the most in-demand musical directors in the world, coming out of London. His client list includes Post Malone, Jennie, BLACKPINK, The Kid Laroi, FKA Twigs, Addison Rae, and many more. He's the co-founder of WFB with his wife, creative director Ace Bowerman. Together, they’re building something special. William stopped by my place while he was in LA r...

Episode 71: Harvey Mason Sr. You’ve heard Harvey Mason Sr., whether you realize it or not. From the iconic grooves of Herbie Hancock’s Head Hunters to the GRAMMY-winning “Kiss From A Rose” by Seal, Harvey's drumming has shaped music history across genres, decades, and mediums — albums, film scores, and TV alike. He’s not only a musical powerhouse, but a dear friend, and in this episode, we finally...

Episode 70: Emilio Estefan. The global latin music scene was shaped by this incredible, visionary, and kind man. Born in Cuba and immigrating to the U.S. with a dream, Emilio Estefan built an empire alongside his wife, Gloria Estefan. From founding Miami Sound Machine and bringing Latin music to the mainstream charts to serving as President of Sony Music, where he helped launch the careers of Shak...

Episode 69: The Pocket Queen. Taylor Gordon, aka The Pocket Queen has become one of the most followed drummers on social media. And for good reason—her groove is deep, her performance is engaging, and she’s built a strong brand that goes beyond just drumming. We sat down backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, where she was playing with Willow Smith, and got into all of it—how she came u...

Episode 68: Mohini Dey. Today, we’ve got the incredible Mohini Dey on the pod! We’re coming to you from backstage at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, where she just played an amazing set with Willow. Mohini is absolutely one of the greatest bassists in the game right now. She came up in India, built a huge name for herself, and is now living in the U.S., touring the world. We get into her jour...

Episode 67 – Rex Kudo is one of the most influential producers in modern hip-hop. His big break came when he co-wrote/produced Post Malone’s “White Iverson”, and from there, he’s worked with Lil Uzi Vert, A$AP Rocky, Juice WRLD, J. Cole, DJ Khaled, Skrillex, M.I.A., Mac Miller, Roddy Ricch, Future, Young Thug, The Weeknd, Trippie Redd, and has even produced alongside Rick Rubin. Lately, I’ve been...

Episode 66: Musical Director Week! If you’ve ever wondered what a musical director is, what they actually do, or how to become one—this episode is for you. MDs are one of the most important (and underrated) pieces of the live music puzzle, running the show behind the scenes for some of the biggest artists in the world. I’ve been a musical director myself for years before starting Jammcard and this...

Episode 65: Nate Smith. One of the greatest drummers in the game, a future member of the Hall of Fame—you already know it’s Nate Smith! I had a great time hanging with Nate in this conversation. He’s a brilliant musician, composer, thinker, and such a fun guy. We go deep on how he got the gig with Brittany Howard and his work with her, how the Fearless Flyers became a band and how they make record...

Episode 64: Nathan East. One of the most recorded musicians of all time, and truly one of the greatest humans—that’s Nathan East. I had the best time hanging out with him, diving into his perspective and stories, and cracking up along the way. We talk about his 40-year relationship with Eric Clapton, recording some of the biggest songs ever, and co-writing one of my personal favorite records. His...

Episode 63: Don Was. Don Was is undeniably one of the most influential figures in music. For the past 31 years, he’s been producing The Rolling Stones, while also working with legends like Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, The B-52’s, and John Mayer. Beyond that, he’s the President of Blue Note Records, plays bass with Bob Weir, and now fronts his own band. In this episode, Don sits down with Elmo to share...