Contraption Podcast Michael Kassel

Memphis based drummer and drum educator Tom Lonardo has a wonderful approach to drums - play fearlessly and realize the drums are a place of peace. The son of a bass player and music store owner, much of Tom's life has been devoted to music. Learn about his path to the drums, his own drum education and his thoughts on approaching the drums. Deep stuff here, I promise!

When I started the podcast back in October of 2018, I had a list of people I really wanted to talk with. One of those at the top of the list was this episode’s guest, Stanton Moore. Whether you know him as the drummer for Galactic, or with other bands and projects covering a wide range of styles, as a drum educator and founder of the Stanton Moore Drum Academy, as a clinician, or for his signature Crescent cymbals by Sabian or his own Stanton Moore snare drum, he is a drummer’s drummer.
Stanton's excellence and passion in all things drums – and all things life in general, I’m sure – make Stanton the perfect musician for the new and returning drummer to listen to and explore. In this interview, we talk about a wide variety of subjects, from high school drum programs to equipment to some wonderful tips on timing, the jazz ride pattern and, for the first time anywhere, as far as I know, anyways, a definition and demonstration of “playing in the cracks.”
Special note: Now that I've been back at drums for a couple of years, I decided to record the signature outro jazz ride pattern that has become our theme song.  So that's me you hear on the kit at the very end of the episode.  Let me know what you think - unless you don't like it.  After all, as Stanton advises in this episode, we've got to be kind to ourselves.
 

Ulysses Owens Jr. has firmly established his place in drums, from his work as a jazz drummer, educator, and author of his upcoming Hal Leonard publication on brushes. Lauded in publications like Jazz Times, All About Jazz, and The New York Times, Ulysses reputation is well deserved and firmly secured. 
Keeping a busy schedule of touring, workshops, recording, producing and teaching, the Grammy award winning Owens, well known for his work with the Christian McBride Trio, remains gracious and humble, always looking to help his fellow artists, giving back the lessons he’s learned.  Case in point – Owens is artistic director for Don’t Miss a Beat, Inc., a youth-empowerment non profit founded by his family in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. 
We caught up with Ulysses on the same day he was flying to a gig in the UK.  He happily shared with us his thoughts on drum education, his new Hal Leonard book on brushes, his upcoming book on the music business, and thoughts on the importance of becoming a good listener and taking the time to get back to the basics.

Artist, writer, musician, drummer and filmmaker, Cindy Goldberg is getting great reception for her new feature length documentary, "Beat Keepers: Women with Rhythm." Exploring the challenges and prospects women face in the drum community. Cindy was kind enough to talk with us about her film, her path to drums, and her own empowering ideas for new and returning drummers. 

Toronto based drummer, Sarah Thawer, has been bringing Indian rhythms, infused with her incredible talent and energy, to numerous stage and recording projects.  Her love of the instrument is seen in every video and performance she graces, proving once again that those with the greatest passion for the instrument make the greatest drummers.
 
Sarah studied jazz and world music at York University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She received the Oscar Peterson Scholarship, the highest award given by York. For all her academic achievement, Sarah, like so many of the drummer’s we’ve talked with this first season, started playing at a very young age and never touched a drum book--technique or otherwise--until college, developing a very natural style inspired by the Indian music her father performed and listened to.
 

He's been the drummer for the best of the blues, from Albert Collins to Albert King to the "King of the Blues" himself, B.B. King.  Tony TC Coleman, this episode's guest, talks about how he came to appreciate the blues and how aspiring drummers need to approach playing it. A self-confessed natural, Tony has mastered the "less is more" style, placing groove above all and making it pay off in a wonderful career that continues to keep him one of the busiest blues drummers around.  A living legend we can all learn from in an amazing "no holds barred" interview!