Two years strong! The Du-Rites weekly improv jam at Penny Jo’s began as a residency playing our own catalog. At some point someone couldn’t make it, so we started jamming with locals and our musician friends who were available instead. This gig has showed me that while the big stages and Jumbotrons get all the likes, it’s great to have a small spot to sharpen iron every week. Whether the place is packed or there’s 3 people in there scrolling their phones and it’s on you to pull something funky outta thin air and make em look up. I swore in 2020 to never take playing live for granted again, and it’s dope to know regardless of whatever’s going on in life (or the world), there’s some playing to look forward to every week with the crew: Pablo, Billy, Ike, Sami Buccella, Chef Seth, Melvin (our MVP on ) Ola and countless folks who’ve sat in with us thus far. We appreciate your musicianship and anyone funky always got a place uptown to play with us. Salute to the regulars. Every Wednesday 9-11PM (Broadway & 163rd), see ya uptown.

A cover of a cover: Soul Supreme & I re-visit the great organist Dr. Lonnie Smith’s cover of a Blood Sweat & Tears classic, breaks and all. Speaking of breaks, HIGH praise for Joe Dukes, the drummer on the Lonnie Smith cover who is also on my personal Mt. Rushmore of 4 favorite drummers. I discovered him through his work with Lonnie (Drives and Live at Club Mozambique) and then in 2014 I took a deep dive into his years with Bro. Jack McDuff. Equally inspiring and terrifying. Watch Jack McDuff Live, 1964 (in France) and…yeah. His name isn’t mentioned often but reading that Jab’o Starks, Al Jackson Jr., George Benson and Maurice White all spoke highly of him made sense.

There’s rightfully a “Can I Kick It?” nod in here as well; to A Tribe Called Quest on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Well deserved.

Session anecdotes: One cut that stood out for me from the four days of sessions recording Kelly Finnigan’s A Lover Was Born LP was “His Love Ain’t Real”. We hit this 11PM at the end of day two and we’d been in there 13 hours, but figured we’d get one more in before the night was up. It took a lot longer to get down than the other songs. I managed to get an acceptable take each time until about the 14th take, when we all played the PERFECT money take and I rim clicked that drum fill you hear a few seconds in. Kelly gave me the Mutombo finger wag and I nearly put my stick through a drum head.

I’ll never hear that fill again without recalling how mad I was that I blew it . We decided to quit for the day and try again next morning, but Jimmy James was on his way from the airport and time was short. We got it on the first try. Sleep cures all (unless you’re Joe Crispiano, who rarely slept ). Cutting this song alone made me a better musician. Hat tip to Kelly and everyone on those sessions for a great experience!

The soul lord of the Soul Supreme and I back at it one time for Uncle L, Marley Marl…and everyone jingling I suppose! ( Central Line / “Scorpio” / Grass Roots)

I’m honored to be a session drummer on soul singer-songwriter Kelly Finnigan’s A Lover Was Born album, which came out Friday on Colemine Records. I played on all but two of the tunes (Kelly himself is on “Be Your Own Shelter” and Joe Crispiano on “Count Me Out”), surrounded by musical heavyweights, including the aforementioned, guitarist Jimmy “Scratch” James, Sergio Rios and Max and Joe Ramey. I’d never played with anyone on the record before and didn’t get any demos to learn. I flew to the Bay Area and we got it done off the cuff, all in the same room, over four straight 12 hour days. It was what I envisioned sessions being like from looking at the back covers of my favorite soul, funk, rock and jazz albums growing up, before technology allowed us to create in pieces and in solitude. Cig butts and beer cans everywhere – half finished black coffee cups, water bottles and a bag of peanuts that’s probably still by the drum set for me because I’m old and square – and we recorded to a reel to reel. Everyone on these sessions was pro and made me a better musician in that short trip. If you made a mistake, we all started over. Nobody wanted to be that guy. Especially not at 11:52 PM and we’d been there since 10 AM. You better find the bacon fat at that point. The rest of the band still had energy to spare at quittin’ time every night and hit the bar – I went to sleep completely spent. Middle age ain’t for the soft! If you dig gritty and pretty soul music that references a specific time (late 1960s) but is still 100% authentic in its own thing, give it a spin on Spotify or wherever you buy records/stream music. Or just let the YouTube link above play the whole record. 

Another one with Soul Supreme on keys – a piano for the first time in all our collaborations – and special guest Skratch Bastid returns for turntable action. Shouts to Mr. Walt and Evil Dee of the Beatminerz who produced the original cut from circa 1995.

I spoke with musician/journalist John Vogel for Talking Writing podcast (listen here).

We got into my ups & downs as a working musician/artist over the past 30 years (mainly the last 13) – toeing the line of it working or falling apart…pretty much the whole time. And the perception vs. reality of: 

* learning to play drums in my mid 30s as a live-in caregiver for my grandmother

* trying (and flunking) in various 9 to 5s between music careers

* the rift nostalgia creates between artist and audience

* playing drums for huge crowds and small bars days apart and why both matter despite optics 

* how the super indie DIY/ jack-of-all-trades thing in all its raggedy punk rock glory burned me out 

+ more.  

I’m weary of podcasts post-Covid’s IG Live/YouTube boom, but this was one I enjoyed that hopefully can help fellow long haulers navigate their paths. Enjoy!

Met the very talented guitarist/singer/songwriter Rudy De Anda in my days touring with Ben Pirani and played on stage with him at Austin City Limits with Adrian Quesada, but just recently got to work on some music together. “83” is what we got and it’s out now on all DSPs. The 45 drops in November on Karma Chief Records [pre-order here] – produced by Will Corduroy and me on drums. A psych soul funk ballad for your stereo (or media player equivalent). Catch Rudy on tour now as well

Back at it with the great Soul Supreme on keys and special guest Skratch Bastid on the cut! Paying homage to one of my favorites in this business, Large Pro aka Extra P aka Large Professor.

I was a 15 year old intern at Power Play Studios in Queens in the summer of ’92 watching him work on Akinyele’s album, and seeing that lit a fire. Then 20+ years later he gave me the encouragement to pursue drums full time when I was just getting started and trying to figure out what was next. His Instagram posts cutting up sections of music we never thought to explore and finding the groove within a groove is a testament to having one of the best ears in the game and it’s one of the FUNKIEST things you’ll see/hear. Salute to K Cut and Sir Scratch…Main Source. John Bowne’s finest!

I drum covered this tune six times in six years and retired it, but then the maestro Soul Supreme came in to play the actual wah wah man (synth/vocoder parts). Ha! This is the last time I cover this…and it is the funkiest. Salute to Mr. Isaac “Redd” Holt, one of my greatest inspirations on the set. And Eldee Young. “Baby, You Nasty,” “I Luh Huh,” “Keep It Koming” and the whole nine yards. Wah Wah Man out…