In 2015 I launched Give the Drummer Some, a column in which I interviewed some of the greatest and most influential funk drummers of all time on the now defunct Red Bull Music Academy. At the time I was about 3-4 years into learning to play drums and a sponge for information. Listening to and documenting the stories of these greats not only answered all the questions I’d had for up to 30 years as a music junkie, but also helped me immensely in making the hard pivot to my own drumming career and navigating my own path. From “Funky” George Brown of Kool and the Gang; to Steve Arrington of Slave; to David Garibaldi of Tower of Power; to Harold Brown of War; to Steve Ferrone of Average White Band (and Duran Duran, Tom Petty and countless others); to my mentor Leslie Ming of B.T. Express and an accomplished studio drummer, plus many more, get in the groove right here!
Check the full archive of print interviews here.
The show briefly expanded to radio format and one season was recorded in early 2019. Dig the episodes from the first (and only) season of Give the Drummer Some on Red Bull Radio:
Episode #1: Questlove (February 5, 2019)
Epidode #2: Bernard Purdie (February 12, 2019)
Episode #3: Mike Clark (February 19, 2019)
Episode #4: Greg Errico (February 26, 2019)
