Luke Zajdel: On Tour w/ Walker Montgomery, Posture, Professionalism, & Peart

Welcome Pittsburgh native, Luke Zajdel! Luke is currently the touring drummer for country artist Walker Montgomery. A lifelong Rush fan, Luke shares why Clockwork Angels is his favorite record, memories of seeing Neil Peart play 5x, and his emotional reaction to Rush’s return announcement. He explains adapting the note-for-note prog mindset to Nashville’s more flexible country and session culture, learning charting after a last-minute Whiskey Jam call, and developing stage presence by loosening up. Luke shares how important mentors and teachers have been in his development, specifically studying with Mark Poiesz, who has helped with stage presence, mindset, and meditation. We touch on other influences like David Garibaldi, Morgan Rose, and Danny Carey, touring routines, fitness, meditation, home recording, and of course, Luke's seemingly perfect posture behind the kit. We hope you enjoy!


Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:17 Welcome, Luke! 
2:23 On Tour w/ Walker Montgomery 
5:39 PPG Arena Homecoming 
5:52 Rush Roots and Favorite Album 
12:23 Six Months To Obsess 
13:53 Garibaldi Rabbit Hole 
15:09 Rock Showmanship Chops 
17:24 Seeing Neil Peart Live 
18:25 Nashville Grind and Purpose 
26:38 Rezo Custom Drum Heads (Sponsor) 
27:38 Looking the Part 30:23 Move to Nashville 
31:52 Early Gigs and First Kit 
34:50 Drum Box (Sponsor) 
38:39 Rush to Country Mindsets 
44:29 Mentorship & Meditation 
49:24 Low Boy Beaters (Sponsor) 
50:06 Touring Habits and Fitness 
54:09 Perfect Posture 
59:58 Lesson Routine and Teachers 
1:00:38 Overqualified For The Gig 
1:03:34 Tour Culture and Temptations 
1:09:36 Drum Supply (Sponsor) 
1:10:33 Home Recording Goals 
1:13:42 Rapid Fire Questions 
1:21:22 Outro

Thank you to our Episode Sponsors:

Rezo Custom Drum Heads
https://rezoheads.com

Drum Box
https://drumbox.space

Drum Supply
https://www.drumsupply.com

Low Boy Beaters
https://lowboybeaters.com


Connect with Luke:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lzajdelmusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/2112rushfan1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lzajdelmusic

Music Featured in this Episode:
"All Night Long Left" - Walker Montgomery
"Outlaws & Outsiders" - Cory Marks

Transcript

Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:01

The drums is like, aside from family loved ones, it's like the one thing in my life that has given me all the love back that I've put into it.

SPEAKER_04 0:18

Welcome everybody to Nashville Drummers Podcast, episode 90. Today's guest is Luke Zidel. Not Zajdel, not Zajjadel, Zydel. It's Polish. Look it up. Luke plays with a variety of artists, including Walker Montgomery and my friend Derek Allen. Shout out young Dirk, the youngest man in America. We get into conversations about crying happy tears at the return of Rush and the lessons that he got from Neil, the things that he could and couldn't bring to his country gig. Listening to a new album every day this year. And, of course, if you've seen him play, his epically perfect posture. We hope you enjoyed this episode of the National Drummers Podcast. Hugo Kisses.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

That's awesome.

Welcome, Luke!

SPEAKER_00 1:17

Okay, how do you say your last name? Zydell. That's that. So it's a silent J.

SPEAKER_02 1:21

It's like the A is a Y, the J is silent, D E L. Something like that. We're Polish. We like to make things complicated. We're all that. So I get that a lot. It was always fun growing up playing Little League baseball. Get up to the plate and they announce your name. Now come into the plate, Luke, Zaj, Zajdale. Yeah, right. Fuck close enough.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

See if you said if you just set in a vacuum without actually having spelled it, it's Zadell and the J is silent. You're like, get fucked.

SPEAKER_02 1:52

Like, what does that even mean?

SPEAKER_04 1:54

What are you talking about? There's a J in it at all? Yeah, it's already. Yeah, it's just unnecessary.

SPEAKER_00 1:59

So how is it being last in line growing up in school? Dude.

SPEAKER_02 2:03

Yeah, I got used to that bad day. I went to uh my high school, we had like 600 some people in our graduating class. So graduation day, man, I'm just sitting there looking at my waiting to get called up. Like, man, can we just want to go home? Like, spend enough time in this school to get out. But nah,

On Tour w/ Walker Montgomery

SPEAKER_02 2:23

it's all good.

SPEAKER_04 2:23

Yeah, dude, you said you just you just got home. You're like, I didn't even have time to shave.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Where were you? We were out. Um, we hit kind of the east coast this weekend. We started out in Norfolk, Virginia, and went over, got to do a little hometown show in Pittsburgh, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Another hometown show.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Yeah, man. It's like two in the last two months.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Yeah, we'll get into all that. Give the good listeners just a quick overview, maybe who you've been playing for recently.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Yeah, man. Uh, so I play for a guy named Walker Montgomery. He's a country artist. Uh might know his dad, guy named John Michael Montgomery. He's got the I think I've heard of him. Yeah. Play some stuff of that down Broadway. But uh yeah, man, Walker's uh Walker's been doing the thing now for he's been here six or seven years, and I just started with him. It was like November 2024. I got picked up with him. Cool. Uh and man, it's been on a good trajectory. He uh he just started with a label at the beginning of this year. It's Red Street Records, which is J. Demarcus. He's one of the Rascal Flask guys. Yeah, sure. It's his label. So they're like a mid-sized label, but they seem to be taking putting good, you know, effort into him.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

It's a good company to be with.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Yeah, you know, he he was getting offers from some the bigger ones, but was just worried about you know fighting for so long for a deal just to get shelf. Like didn't uh didn't want that to happen. So these guys uh seems like they got something good going on, and I'm here for it, man. Yeah, you know, so we're doing this uh it's kind of his first promoted headline tour, the save and the honky tonks tour, we're calling it. And uh checking out saving. They do, they do, man. I tell you what, man. But it's been going good. We're just kind of like testing out a lot of these markets. We've been doing these like opening slots and seeing how we draw, and you know, shit. Maybe people will show up, maybe they won't, but it's been it's been good so far. Solid, yeah. It's been, yeah, it's it's been pretty good. It's uh you never know what you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

But so last year you you guys were opening for Cody Johnson.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

We had that was the first hometown show?

SPEAKER_02 4:19

We did that, yeah. That was just last month. And so that show was it was funny. It was supposed to be back in October, and uh we a few of these shows actually were supposed to be back in in the fall, and we were at the time doing a show down in New Braunfris, Texas, uh, and it was on it's like a Thursday show, and then we had Friday off to fly up and do a Kojo show in Columbus, and we had just gotten getting ready for the show on Thursday, and we got a call from management that Kojo was sick, had to cancel the weekend, so it was like fuck, we're all gonna fly home. Hopefully, everything's good because the Pittsburgh show is the next month. Yeah, and then like two weeks later, we get a call like, hey, things aren't looking good. He has to have surgery, he like blew his eardrum somehow, rupture. It was something that caused him to cancel the whole rest of his year. So I was like, fuck, man, excited. I was, man, and I'd already like booked a flight to go home early and hang with fam and all that. And I still I still went home because like I I only really get home for Christmas, otherwise. Yeah. So I'm like, any chance I get to take off and see the people, I'm like, may as well just stick with that.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

So uh, but yeah, man, it all worked out. I was a little worried we weren't gonna be on the makeups, but sure as shit, it was uh it was it was good to see that on the master tour at the beginning of the year, and then they threw us a threw us another one

PPG Arena Homecoming

SPEAKER_02 5:39

or so.

SPEAKER_00 5:39

So where was that? I remember seeing like the the pictures or the posts from it and and how special that obviously was for you. Um was that was that an arena? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:48

It's PP PPG Paints Arena. So that's uh that's where like the Pittsburgh Penguins

Rush Roots and Favorite Album

SPEAKER_02 5:52

play. And man, seeing my see my first concert there, which was was Rush back in 2010. Whoa! Yeah, man, that's we are uh my whole family, we're we're diehard rush fans. Well, that's my my uncle and dad have seen them every tour since 2112, back in 76.

SPEAKER_04 6:10

That's impressive, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Yeah, we've got I've got like bootleg cassettes that my uncle, you know, recorded back back in back in those days. And what's your favorite since yeah, we're down here, yeah. Yeah, what's your favorite rush record? Oh and why? I I can say that pretty confidently. It's the last album they did, Clockwork Angels. Yeah, which I mean most people probably wouldn't say that. You'd probably usually say the classics, but like at that point, it was that came out in 2012, and that's when I was just just like really starting to get into music heavily, and I'd uh I'd been drumming for a year or two at that point, and all I was listening to and playing was was rush. That's I was just that's all it was. Yeah. So like something about your favorite band ever releasing new music when when you're young and like just obsessed with it at that point is like the coolest thing. So I remember, you know, when those singles were coming out, getting like listening to those before I'd go to whatever, sixth, seventh grade in the morning, and then that album came out that summer, and it's just like it it like you could tell it felt like it was the last record, just the whole it was like it's like a concept album, yeah. And just it there was something, there's something in it, man, that like I don't I don't even listen to it that much because I'm afraid of wearing it out. Like it's like sacred, it's literally like yeah, that's how it feels.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Well, yeah, especially those formative years, you know, like anything that happened in like early middle school, high school years, like especially musically, yeah. It's it's it's everything.

SPEAKER_04 7:41

Well, I feel like with a band like Rush, when you've put up so first of all, just put out so many albums. Yeah. But when you're coming into it at at 2012, you're like Yeah. Or or like slightly before that, because you you're you're into them before that, but you're that you're like, now I'm into it. I'm playing drums, I'm learning these things. Yeah. I bet that feel feels kind of like again, sacred, kind of holy and untouchable. And like, well, they're they're kind of they've done the thing. They don't they don't have to do any more things. Well, they put out a new record, yeah. And it's badass. You're like, oh my god, how can this even be a thing?

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Yeah, man, it was so exciting. Like, yeah, like again, I knew it was like this is probably gonna be the last time I'm ever gonna get to hear new music from these guys, which was a bummer because I was like so young and just like getting into it then. But you can go see them with Annika? Oh, I was gonna ask what you're gonna do. I cried, I cried that day, man. Yeah. That was and that's funny too. The the day they announced that they were coming back was the day that we got the call that the Kojo tour was canceled. Oh, so I had this like weird mix of emotions. I was like fucking so excited about this, and then two hours later I'm like, fuck, I'm gonna miss doing these cool shows. But uh either way, it was it was a treat, man. And uh, I haven't gotten tickets for it yet because I'm just waiting to see how it works with my schedule.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

But yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

A lot of those shows they've announced are like some Tuesday, Wednesday shows. So I'm like, fuck it. If I got to fly to Fort Worth on a Tuesday, I'm gonna do it. Yeah, man. I won't miss it.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

So you've seen Neil play multiple times.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Five times I got to see him. What is that like?

SPEAKER_00 9:10

Because I've only I mean a lot of us have just seen the videos and yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

I mean, it's been I guess over ten years since I seen him last. I saw the last tour in 2015. Yeah, like I just it was just all all I would watch the whole concert. I mean, I'd be air drumming everything.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yeah, like I was like everyone and every other drummer.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

I was like every other fan there, man. And it's like I just couldn't take my eyes off of it. The kit, and it just the sound was so massive, and I it's it's so it's so hard to explain. And I I wish I could remember all of it more clearly. Yeah, because it's been so long.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Did he rip a solo every every show?

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Yeah, what and what was cool, like the first two times I saw him was the it was the time machine tour where they did all the moving pictures. Uh I actually got to see the one that they filmed in Cleveland, no way, which was which was really cool. I get to have that, you know, like but uh that that tour was the last time he did like his like nine-minute solo. And then after that, I think I don't know this for fact, but I think he started cutting them. He'd he would do like two shorter ones the next tour. I I think because he was getting older and I mean fuck playing that show for three hours, I couldn't fucking imagine at that age, like how physically demanding that is.

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

So yeah, I can understand why he would probably cut a nine-minute solo in half and do two separate ones. Um, but yeah, I I got to see that. It just always gives me chills, man, just thinking about it. And like, I'm not one of those guys that's gonna be like Neil's always gonna be my favorite drummer, but I'm not gonna be like those old school guys. It's like Neil's fucking the best, and if you don't believe that, you're wrong. Like, yeah, I I I love him, I love everything about him, but I'm like there's some things that I got from his playing that didn't translate so well, moving to Nashville and like some mindset stuff. But at the end of the day, Neil will always be my guy, yeah. And I'm I'm glad I grew up obsessing over that stuff because it was it was good learning that first, getting that side of the chops and understanding you know, weird time signatures and at a young age when your brain is developing and just absorbing that so so quickly that uh it was a lot fucking harder learning Danny Carey stuff like the last two years, man. Yeah. It's uh I don't I don't know if you as you get older, it's like harder to absorb stuff as quickly, but it feels like it sometimes it definitely gets harder.

SPEAKER_04 11:39

Also, you have less time. That's a it's a double whammy as as you're well, well, my uh my neuroplasticity isn't what it used to be, and I don't have the time to just obsessively listen to and just hit these things over and over and over like I used to. Man, I wish I did.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

I do too, man. Like I could, you know, I I wish I could go back to the days of just spending hours and hours in the house and just shitting and learning stuff, but we didn't realize how good we had it, you know. We did we really did, man.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Now we're like adults, and we got rent to pay. Adult thing's tough, isn't it? Was that adult things tough? Adult and younger, yeah. It's you are young, you are horrific. We don't use that term because it actually sucks.

Six Months To Obsess

SPEAKER_04 12:23

Okay, here's here's a I just random question out of my own curiosity about about you, my friend. Yeah. Let's if you had six months right now to just be obsessive with and be like a kid with your instrument, what would you what would you mess with? What would you work on? What would you play around with?

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Wow, man, that's that's a loaded question. I could take that I could take that so many different directions, I feel like. Totally.

SPEAKER_04 12:53

Um that's exactly why I want to hear where you go with it.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Yeah, man. Like one of my things this year, um, a little bit of a New Year's resolutioner, is like I made a thing that was I was gonna listen to a new album that I've never listened to every day for the whole year, and just see what I can dive into and find. It's like some stuff's gonna stick, some stuff won't, but just see you know, see what comes up and what what what sticks with me. Um so that's kind of been where I've been laying with that and finding new stuff, stuff that I probably should have already listened to, but now I'm like Are we talking uh across genres or absolutely into a certain lane? Yeah, any anything, anything.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

With the intent to purposely go beyond obviously the gig you're on and country music. Like are you listening to like an EDM album or the top top song?

SPEAKER_02 13:41

I listened to like a little Wayne album last week, something that had not no real drums in it, but I was like, why not? Yeah, but I mean obviously leaning mostly into into into drumming and and all that, just trying to be as well around

Garibaldi Rabbit Hole

SPEAKER_02 13:53

as I can. That being said, sorry to dabble around the question. Um I love the Tower of Power stuff and the Girobaldi, like that's such a rabbit hole.

SPEAKER_00 14:01

Yeah, that you're spending your whole life doing just that.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Literally, man. Like I've been starting to go down that more the last year or two and just obsessed over that stuff, man. That's uh I mean, I think that's something I wish I'd gotten into earlier. Um but now it's like any chance I can to shed some of that stuff and dive into a little bit of the books and whatnot. Are you do you mess with future sounds? Do you have you messed with that book? Um, I have I don't know if I have that one. I have one this one that's like it incorporates like a second hi-hat thing. I forget which one it's called. Um I have that book if you want to borrow it. I would be into that for sure.

SPEAKER_04 14:42

That's one that a lot of my um yeah, a lot of my friends have been like, yeah, you gotta get into future future sounds. And it's all it's all about displacing rhythms. Yeah. So and that's Garibaldi is just he's the king of that. He's the absolute king, man. It's just disgusting.

SPEAKER_02 14:58

Like him, him and Gad for me are like I'm just like absorbing so much of that stuff. Yeah, they're they're different in their own ways, but yeah, I mean, so that to answer your question, that's that's kind of part of

Rock Showmanship Chops

SPEAKER_02 15:09

that. Um man, as far as like the rock side of things, I really just got into fucking seven dust lately, man. Morgan Rose, like um you guys know Mark Poise, right? Yeah, Mark's been like one of my closest mentors, I'd say, since I since I moved to town, especially the last couple years. I've worked pretty extensively with him on like the the lesson side and the coaching side of things getting me where I need where I want to be and where I need to be mentally and just all around in the game. But uh when I was getting ready for uh for a tour last year with I was dude going out with a guy named Corey Marks, and he had some pretty like it was like a rock country gig, but it was a rock band, like we were all pretty metal-influenced guys, and we wanted the band to kick ass. And uh I'd already done a few shows with him back in 2024, but for this tour, I was like, I really wanted I was already playing the parts, like the parts were there, you know. I had those down, but I was like, I just like I want to figure out how I can take it up a notch and like be the best rock drummer I can for this because it's it's what it needs, and what's gonna separate me from just playing the parts. And Mark kind of got me into watching some Morgan Rose stuff and Will Hunt also from Evanescence and just like the showman side of things. And Mark too, just like you guys have seen him play, he's just uh like I watch him play and my testosterone level goes up. It's it's it's insane, man. The physicality of that, but like how um, but how effortless and like correct, if you want to call it it is, the way they the way he plays, uh just using as little energy as possible. And yeah, and uh man, so getting into that stuff and trying to get those chops down and like flashy yet efficient. Flashy yet efficient, yeah. That's a great way to put it. Yeah. It's like I want to have the the cool stick tricks. Like, I mean, I'm not I'm not as good as Kinka kicking. Kinka's like a he's a stick trick guy. Him and Jordan are like, but I just wanted to have a couple things in my back pocket to like incorporate into slamming. Yeah, man. And uh that uh that kind of raised that level up for me a bit. Um so that's kind of those are kind of my main two,

Seeing Neil Peart Live

SPEAKER_02 17:24

but I could I can keep going on that for dude.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

I love that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

I uh Danny Carrie was another one I really got into the last last couple years. I I wouldn't really get into tool at all growing up. I think it's kind of acquired taste, and then I kind of learned like if you don't like it, you should acquire some taste.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

That kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

But uh so going down that rabbit hole just to like make sure I still had some of my progressive chops, if you want to call it, from the Neil days after after playing country and natural style of playing for you know the last four years. Like the first two years were actually we'll come back to this. I'm kind of getting off track now.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

But like go off the track, like jumping all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Easy. It was like anything naked needed to get us off the rails.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

You don't want to be on rails? Great, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 18:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

I'm all for it. I'm here for it, Lady.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

We go.

Nashville Grind and Purpose

SPEAKER_02 18:25

No, but it was like my my first year or two here were like it was all about finding the work and and working as much as I could and trying to get to the level I wanted to, which was having a steady touring gig on somebody that's like another you know, an up-and-comer and on the right trajectory. So I was my first two, two and a half years were just about fighting to get that and whatever I had to do, networking, being around people I needed to be, whatever, to get that was was the main job. And once I kind of landed into that, I felt like a lot of weight off my shoulders to finally put more of my time into the things that I really care about, which is drumming, really. Like that's I just I love the instrument so much. Like I it feels like more than anything, it's like my life's goal and purpose to be as good at the instrument as as I possibly can be. And I'm the will never try to compare myself or say I'm gonna be, I want to be like this person, or I'm ever gonna be as good as this person, but whatever I can do to be the best version of myself behind the instrument, uh you know. Yeah, the drums is like, aside from my family and loved ones, it's like the one thing in my life that has given me all the love back that I've put into it.

SPEAKER_00 19:40

I feel like that's beautiful to hear. Yeah, and that kudos for you to have that mindset. And I mean, you're you're one of my favorite drummers in town. Like I love watching you play. Thank you, man. I mean, I don't think I've seen you live, but like from you know, from video, I will have to change that. Yeah, I mean you can tell. You you you just have a way about you, like you're you're smiling, you're you can tell it, like this is your thing, like you're very comfortable.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

Thank you, man. That's uh I try to try to put that out there when I when I'm playing, just I want to look positive, happy, and confident in what I do, and that's uh that's really what it's about. But yeah, so once once I got into having the kind of work I wanted, it was I got back into taking lessons, man, and just practicing as much as I could and trying to get and I'm still I'm still like that now, like as much as I can. I just want to practice and get as good as work on the things I need to. And yeah, um, so that's that's really what it's been about lately. Um yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

I love that. It's like a never never settled mindset. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

And it's it's really amazing to feel. And I even felt this way this past weekend, like things have been a little bit hectic this past month with getting the tour ready and rehearsals and whatnot, so I didn't have as much time in the practice room. But I had a couple hours before we we left this past week to to shed out a bit. And uh the next show we played on Thursday, it's just like everything just feels so good. Like it's like everything clicks. So when when when you get in the in the grind of things and you're you're shedding consistently, like it uh it really really pays off and and feels good. Yes, it does. It really does, man. Yeah, you know that.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

You guys both know that. Especially you know, you guys both know that.

SPEAKER_04 21:22

I know that uh something I've I I read in a manga once. It was uh what not everyone who works hard is successful, but everyone who is successful has worked hard. That is a fact. So I'm like, well, I can't I can't guarantee that I'll be a success, but I can guarantee I'm gonna work my ass off. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 21:45

That's all that's what I'm gonna do. Whatever things I can control, I'm gonna do whatever I can to you know. Yeah. And after that, you know, like they say in this town, you kind of create your own look. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 21:56

So you might remember this, maybe not. Uh our our past um Roundtable, uh live podcast. We had Ethan Harb and the crew. I heard you know, we're I think the topic in this clip I made was about picking sub drummers and they went around the room. And I think Ethan gave you a shout out. He did, man. I was listening to that episode. Yeah, it was a reason like Luke is my my go-to, and that as soon as your name came up, they were everybody in the panel was like, Oh, we love Luke. That was uh that was really nice. Yeah, I heard that. Again, like to to coming back to like moving into this town, it's like all you can control is being the best version of yourself, and that hopefully that is the perception that's uh you get, you know. Yeah, that's all you can ask for.

SPEAKER_02 22:33

Absolutely, man.

SPEAKER_00 22:33

So kudos to you for being to be a professional.

SPEAKER_02 22:36

It's uh likewise with both you guys. You guys are just absolute forces in this town, each in your own ways and deserve every bit of success. Just uh thank you. It's it's uh appreciate that. It's great just to sit in a room with you guys and nerd out about stuff. So we're just getting started. Yeah, we're just dorks, yeah, as we all are.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Well, I want to go back to so Neil Pearr and Rush, because you mentioned you had a good line, like you said, Neil's like my favorite, but yeah, man. You appreciate that not it's not everyone's favorite, and you can there's things from Neil specifically that you have not taken to Nashville. Yeah. I mean, what was the mindset coming to Nashville and and maybe what were those those things from Neil? And yeah, where have you found those inspirations from other drummers?

SPEAKER_02 23:16

Yeah, man. I mean, honestly, a a good bit of that was like almost like a a visual thing. Like Neil, when you watch Neil, he's very um focused, locked in, which is a good thing, but like straight faced, very serious. Yeah, very serious.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

Because he's probably not counting, but he's playing 17 and 18, so that's why I get it.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

So I that kind of I think uh rubbed off on me a lot as a kid, and I just kind of always had that same sort of look when I was playing for a lot of years. Stoic. Yeah, yeah. But like and it kind of I feel like over time led to a bad habit of me just being like a little too tense and not breathing a lot. So like I had to do some work to kind of let go of that and get comfortable with looking like a dumbass, even like let's go. That was literally, dude, like dumbass maxing. I'm about it. I'm so here for it, dude. Like and I remember after one of my lessons with Mark watching some of those Morgan Rose and Will Hunt clips. I like getting ready for that tour. I went into the bathroom mirror with my sticks and airdrumed along to the set and tried to look as stupid as I could and get comfortable with it.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

Yeah, that's so happy because you can always dial it back. You know, if you go to the extreme, then maybe maybe during the show you just like five percent back of that. Yeah, honestly, do you want to do that? To know that limit.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Yes, yeah, and it was brutal because I'm like, God, I this looks so fucking corny.

SPEAKER_00 24:43

But I mean that's something I still struggle with. I mean, like yeah, I think I've always been a very like focused, serious player.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

Yeah, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like there really isn't, but it was it felt like again for that that gig and that tour, and even just in general, it it's translated into playing these country gigs now. Like it helped to just loosen up and look like I'm having fun.

SPEAKER_04 25:08

You know, I I wanna in that mindset, I I've I've struggled with that that same thing and kind of like uh at my heart, I'm a I'm a very goofy and like I'm my thing is I want to I really want to make people laugh. I really enjoy that experience. You're good at that. Thank you. Thank you. Uh but uh when it came to performing on stage, I felt like not free within that thing, which makes your story really resonate with me. Yeah, man. Uh I did a couple things. I started like, um, have you ever heard of Tim Ferris does these things called like fear inoculation, where he would just do something ridiculous like be in a line at you know, some store and then just lay on the ground for 10 seconds and then just get up and don't and he's like you cannot explain why you did it. Yeah, just and once you start doing a couple of those things, you realize this doesn't matter at all. It doesn't, man. I can just do whatever the fuck I want. And nobody's gonna stop me. Nobody's gonna stop me. Probably not. Hopefully not.

SPEAKER_02 26:08

But if they if they do, then I'll probably never see them again anyway.

SPEAKER_04 26:11

So we're free. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:15

I love that. You can't do that. The line isn't the other as it is. Yeah, well, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:22

I mean, that's that was a problem. You should have gone to Princess. Uh anyway. Anyway, we're gonna do that. We can do it. We'll get there later. Yeah. Oof, that's a hot take.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Hot take, yeah. Yeah, it's okay. I respect it.

SPEAKER_04 26:37

Let's

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SPEAKER_04 26:38

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Looking the Part

SPEAKER_04 27:38

It's kind of like that Jacob Collier thing too, is you're like, well, try to look as ridiculous as possible. He said, he's like, you should start, you should write a song that's the worst song you could possibly write on purpose.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Yeah. I've heard that. Damn it.

SPEAKER_04 27:50

It's brilliant. Well, it's it's hard to make yourself do that though.

SPEAKER_02 27:54

Yeah. Yeah. I mean I've never written a song, but I can imagine. Just put a bunch of bullshit in garage band and it's horrible.

SPEAKER_04 28:03

Yeah, it probably doesn't feel good, but I mean, as you're like doing that in the mirror, is there a moment when you just go, This like, even if I did this, like I'm not gonna be punished by the universe for doing this?

SPEAKER_02 28:14

Right, right. Um yeah, I I realize that, and that's kind of where it started to click. Like it's it's really I think it's just a self-conscious thing more than anything. Yeah, you know, yeah, like just kind of let your ego down a little bit, like yeah, it's gonna you're gonna be fine. People are gonna like this more, honestly. You're gonna you're gonna resonate with people more.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

Really, for I mean for the audience.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

100%, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:37

You know, I mean it sounds like you've obviously you have those goals to play bigger stages, and as Mark will say in his his course, you know, the uh he talks about looking the part, playing the part bigger person. Exactly. Um, you know, big three looking the part is like not looking serious, and like how how do you actually perform? Yeah, I mean that is a factor, and it's a lot, some people a lot of people don't want to talk about it, right? It's like uh 100% I got fired, or why is this guy on the gig? He can't play these chops. Well, yeah, the live show is probably awesome and he probably fits in great.

SPEAKER_02 29:07

Yeah, he's the the whole package, it's gotta be the whole package, yeah. So it was it was about figuring that out and uh you know, I but also not wanting to be associated as like a basher or like the rock this guy's just a rock drummer, like you know, I care about you know, coming from a lot of different influences and backgrounds. I don't want to be known as just like a guy that hits hard and you know, you know the rock drummer stereotypes. Like I wanted to I want to look effortless, I want to look like uh how do I say it?

SPEAKER_04 29:40

Um Well, I want to focus on a feel smooth, yeah, maybe smooth feeling you have the some I mean I've said this, and I think I even said it that night when you came up, like you've he has the best posture I've ever seen. Yeah, we're gonna get there. Yeah, you really do.

SPEAKER_02 29:55

It's crazy. That's yeah, we'll get into that. That's I appreciate I always appreciate hearing that. That's nice. Yeah, man. But uh, I just I just wanna I just want to look and sound professional uh in in the best way possible, yeah. Uh whatever that means. But yeah, man. Seems like you're doing it. I'm trying, man. I'm trying my damnedest. Yeah. But uh it's it's a journey, man. That's what that's what this is all about, and that's why we do what we do and we keep keep doing it.

SPEAKER_00 30:22

Yeah, yeah.

Move to Nashville

SPEAKER_00 30:23

So take us into that move to Nashville. When was that? Where were you kind of coming from? From school or from the Pittsburgh area?

SPEAKER_02 30:30

Yeah, yeah. So I was uh just just over four years ago now. I moved April 1st, 20, 2022.

SPEAKER_01 30:36

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 30:37

And uh man, I had I'll take it back to out of high school. I was accepted. I was accepted to uh musicians institute out in Hollywood, like the music school out there, and wanting to get out there. And my drum teacher at the time had uh he was like a LA drummer for for some years and had some connections and just want to see how that was gonna play out there. And uh at the time I was I was in a relationship with with a girl and she was she was in it too to go out to go out to Hollywood and she was accepted to a school there to do her thing. And uh we were, you know, it was like a month before graduation, we were getting ready to take a trip to sign a lease on an apartment or find it, find a place to live and all that. And uh she was she was getting she was having some health issues at the time that they weren't really sure what was going on. So basically, long story short, we cut off the move. She had to get that stuff taken care of. So I backed out of that and looking back at now, I'm like that was the best thing that I could have I could have done. I would be in a completely different I don't know where I'd be right now. Yeah, I would be in a lot of debt. I would I mean that's cool, that'd be great. I would be in $300,000 of debt. Yeah, it probably yeah would s would definitely suck. But um,

Early Gigs and First Kit

SPEAKER_02 31:52

yeah, so I'd I'd ended up staying around uh around Pennsylvania. Just I just wanted to play as much as I could. So like I I had been playing in bars since I was I guess 12 at that point. My dad and uncle had a band since they were teenagers, the local, they were like a they were popular back then, like a local cover band. They did like an AC DC tribute, a rush tribute, and just all around like that 70s, 80s rock stuff. And uh they were still going at that point. So uh I was yeah, around 11, 12 years old and starting to go in and sit in with them times, and uh eventually led to their drummer kind of wanting to back out, and so I would I stepped in and started learning these three-hour rock cover gigs and playing uh getting snuck into dive bars and fire halls and whatnot.

SPEAKER_00 32:40

Foreshadowing your Broadway years, huh? Very much, man. That's uh and just quick because we ask every guest, what was that first kit for you? First drum shirt.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

First kit was um actually came from that said drummer, my dad's band. I still have it today. It's um it was a custom all keller shells, they're all custom ordered through a company up in New York, I think called Precision Drum. Um it was like three racks, one floor, it's like 1012, big deep size, pretty deep sizes, like 10 by 10 or 11, like you know, rock drummer sizes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh 22-inch kick drum with this like cool old uh vintage, like satin flame, orange flame finish.

SPEAKER_00 33:18

Okay, I think I've seen that in different videos.

SPEAKER_02 33:21

Exactly. And that's like still a killer kit, man. Like I'll use that if I'm doing like in a remote session at home, like that kit has this really like vintagey sound to it compared to my other kits.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:34

So I'm gonna I I actually, well, going back even more, I uh after I left left my middle school to go into high school, I donated that kit to my middle school because they needed a better, they needed a better kit at the time. Um, so they they they had that for however many years, six, seven years, and then it's like fall of 2023. I'd came back to Greensburg for the weekend, catch up with the family, and uh my middle school band director reached out to me, said that the school was gonna be shutting down and closing in the next year, and she wanted to get that kit back to me. So I'd got to got to get that kit back into my possession, which is which is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 34:12

Pretty special.

SPEAKER_02 34:13

Yeah. Wow. That is special, man. Yeah, it really was. Now, I mean, at the time I didn't care about getting rid of it because I was just like I was a kid, I didn't have that much.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

Yeah, I'm gonna get the I'm gonna get the next thing, and that's exactly the next thing is what I want anyway.

SPEAKER_02 34:25

Exactly. Yeah, I but now I like have that sentimental value of it.

SPEAKER_04 34:28

Damn, I'm so jealous.

SPEAKER_02 34:29

Yeah, I even have the original 10-inch head that was on the drum from the day I started started playing on it. I'd played it on that tour. Now you're showing off.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

I played it on that tour last year. You're gonna be framing that at some point.

SPEAKER_02 34:41

Yeah, I'd maybe, man. It's cool though, man. I I still love that kit, but uh yeah.

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SPEAKER_00 35:31

Then okay, so yeah, take us into when did it um move to Nashville? Talk us through like that transition. Yeah, deciding that.

SPEAKER_02 35:38

So that said girl I was in a relationship with uh ended up getting out of that in like fall of 2021 for whatever reasons. And I was at that point, you know, I had been in that relationship for five and a half years, all of my high school life, basically. And this was my first time being uh being a young adult and having the world to myself, it felt like. So I was like, I, you know, I was already very antsy about I wanted to get somewhere to play music full time. I was, you know, there's only so much work I could do around around Pennsylvania, basically just playing Fridays and Saturdays, and and that was cool, but that wasn't gonna make make me a living.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

You wanted more. Yeah. You knew you were capable of more.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

Yeah, yeah. So I just a couple weeks later I took a trip down to Nashville and man, I was instantly sold. I was like, yeah, it's it's happening. So that was like October 2021. Then I came back uh in January of 2022 to find the apartment, sign that lease, and just seal the deal, man. And it just rest history. That yeah, it was this is basically like a six-month turnover from this stage of my life ended and next chapter started. Yep. And it was uh it was very overwhelming, man. It was like very it was an emotional time in its own way. Yeah, you know, because I had I had so many memories growing up in my hometown, and I my I'm just very close to my family and and my friends there. Um, but it was like all good things gotta come to an end, and I had to do what I gotta do. I'm not good at anything else. I'm like, I gotta play to my strengths, man. I gotta I don't have much else going on.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

You'll never you lose those those friendships and family. And as you said, you go back a few times a year, and yeah, that's probably even more meaningful once you're back.

SPEAKER_02 37:18

Yeah, man. Exactly. It's it's always it's always a trip, man.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

Ah, Lucas and town, let's go, guys.

SPEAKER_02 37:23

Yeah, it's and at this point, it's more about the family because a lot of my friends have moved away and gone about to do their lives, but it's uh, you know, I'm I'm just I'm a very nostalgic person, so like anytime I go home, I'd drive around the old hoods and see uh see all the old spots and take it, take it in, man.

SPEAKER_04 37:40

Does it feel like there's enough time when you're back, or does it feel like no?

SPEAKER_02 37:45

Never, no, it never does. No, I'd I'll go back. I always go back for Christmas because I'm like, there's nothing going on here. Yeah, it's Broadway's dead, touring's over. So I'm like, why why why would I stay here when I don't have any any family here really? Like, I'm just I gotta go home.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

Some East Coast snow, I'm better too, right?

SPEAKER_02 38:01

That's Chris Christmas in the north. Something about that, yeah. Christmas in the north is way different. And I love living in the south. Honestly, like more I feel like I fit in better down here, but I will say I going home for Christmas is is goaded. Yeah, the snow, the way everyone decorates, and like Christmas spirit is real there. But uh yeah, man, it's it's always special.

SPEAKER_04 38:25

Yeah, you get you actually get a white Christmas out there.

SPEAKER_02 38:27

Yeah, uh sometimes, but even just just the spirit of it all. Yeah, like it's it's the snow's hit or miss, but yeah, it it just feels feels different. Where were we? I forget.

SPEAKER_00 38:38

Well, let's

Rush to Country Mindsets

SPEAKER_00 38:39

let's talk mindsets. Yeah, because you mentioned back to Neil Peart. Moving to Nashville again, so obviously Neil's style of drumming very different than the the pro-working country drummer. Yeah. How did you go about that? And and let's dive into some of those mindsets and what obviously you have found success in in a lot of those ways.

SPEAKER_02 38:57

Yeah, man. It's um well, just before getting into Nash, and I was starting to get into some more of the country stuff and started filming with some country bands up in up in Pennsylvania to to dive into that. And uh, you know, I I I I understood that like I understood the idea of serving the song and playing the parts because my whole thing was you know, like learning Neil's parts, like if you're gonna play a rush song, you have to play it like that. Like you can't those songs aren't meant to be improved over, so that's what you know, like you learn those note for note. At least that's how I did it, and I feel like they'd they deserve to be that done that way. So I'd I had always grown up with the mindset of whatever song I had to learn, didn't matter who it was for, like I'll learn it note to note for the record.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

Well, as well, as someone who's covered Todd Zuckerman's uh Tears of Joy, that's I agree. I I still love that you did that. It was so good. Like if I just played over it in 13, like, okay, cool, that's that's not exactly and because that stuff was that stuff, you know, at least from Neil's perspective, was was written to be that way.

SPEAKER_02 40:04

He he thought that stuff out. Yeah and it took me a while to understand that Nashville doesn't really work that way. Those session players just can shit all that stuff out on the spot and it's and it's awesome. It's they're not doing take over take, thinking, oh, this fill will be better here, this or this phrasing's will be better. It's it just comes out that way. So I kind of had to adjust to learning that language and getting into that side of things where I will getting comfortable with not always learning every little thing note for note. Like I understood some things had to be note for note, fills certain fills and parts and and beats have to be the right way, but uh a transition fill, like in country, that's that's kind of that can kind of be whatever sometimes. Like that you can you can phrase that any different ways. Yeah. Whereas like, you know, learning a rush song, this it's it's it's a people airdrum that fill. Right.

SPEAKER_04 41:00

You know, it's it's uh that is more akin to or at least that the sp the spirit of what you're talking to is more akin to like how classical players. Yeah, exactly. You're not gonna you're not gonna improv around something that kind of sounds like this and and call it like this isn't that the thing that Mozart wrote. This isn't you're not this isn't yes, I'm not playing these major scales and this is Bach now. Like that's exactly either playing it or you're not playing it. Exactly. Yeah, I don't yeah, and I've got I've got opinions on that too, but sure, but I don't I don't want to, we're gonna I can't rabbit trail this too much.

SPEAKER_02 41:36

I I'm here for it. No, I got I got you. Yeah, man. So it it's it uh it took some learning to get out of that mindset of having to do everything like the and then I would be spending hours and hours of time just trying to beat things into my head because I wasn't really charting for my first couple years here. I would just listen to things over and over in my head till they were to were messing with it. Yeah, worked for him. I mean, uh it worked for me for up until I did a whiskey jam last year that was last minute, yeah, like a last minute call. And I tried to cram everything in in three hours and it didn't, I didn't bomb on it, but didn't go as well as I'd thought. It didn't feel as strong as you would have wanted.

SPEAKER_04 42:15

No.

SPEAKER_02 42:15

So then I was like, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna learn charting. And that saved me massive, massive uh amounts of time and headaches. Yeah, I think that's fair. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:24

Well, would you say that shift of again like learning parts note for note and fills to be I mean, it sounds like maybe that shift has helped with your identity, right? Because you're kind of it forces you to like, well, what would I play here? Yeah, doesn't have to be what anybody else has played or what's on this recording.

SPEAKER_02 42:39

Yeah, absolutely. It starts to, I guess, make you kind of dig into your own language and how you how you speak on the kit.

SPEAKER_01 42:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

How you know, and that's where I kind of start to see all my old influences, how they how I how they speak through me, how that comes out, and uh, and then the importance of of getting new influences and how those can affect that.

SPEAKER_00 43:01

Uh but Yeah, it's it's always evolving.

SPEAKER_02 43:05

Yeah, if like a phrasing or style of playing, I feel like isn't like is a little native to me, or is it all not comfortable to me, like I I understand like I can understand where it comes from and the homework I need to do to get that to be part of my language and and and change my my presentation on the kit.

SPEAKER_04 43:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 43:25

You know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 43:26

So I think I think that's just uh that's and that's kind of what I feel with Rush, because I don't I uh you know, we'll play I would like to play Time Sorger a little bit more more accurately than I have played it downtown. But that's that's uh and I'm not hating on that by any means. I think it's no no I oh I know you're not. I mean yeah um but I my uh my thought has always been start by learning it as close to exactly as possible. And then once you once you're really deep, like that's what What I call like diving deep into it. Like you have to get understand the spirit of the thing. And that's how you that's to me, that's how you serve the song.

SPEAKER_02 44:08

Read why it worked. Exactly. You understand that drummer's language and the influences that they came from. Right. And how that translates into their how they speak on the kit. And that sounds like what you're doing. I'm trying my damnedest. It's uh yeah, that's that's what it's about that I feel like. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:28

Um

Mentorship & Meditation

SPEAKER_00 44:29

is there anything you you would do differently um in terms of your first year here or moving here, like either to be more prepared or like networking or you know, doing Broadway gigs?

SPEAKER_02 44:39

That's a good question, man. Um I don't know if I don't know if I would. I th I I do feel like everything's meant to fall into in place. Yeah, you know, everybody's got their own journey inside of things. And you know, I I was I was a little self-conscious for a while around the around early 2024, where like I s I saw, and I wasn't jealous or upset in a bad way, but but like a lot of the people I was coming up with were like doing some really cool shit, and I was like still struggling to get there. And that's that's a that can be a tough thing on your ego at first. I was always happy for those people and they'd uh defend them to the day I die, they deserve those jobs, yeah. Yeah, every one of them. But uh I was struggling to get to where I wanted, and uh and that's kind of where I working with Mark kind of came into play. It's because I was I was in a bot kind of a bad mindset, it felt like, and I wanted to see where how I can snap out of that and what I needed to how I needed to readjust my thinking and approach all around. Dude, tell me.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

I feel like, you know, that's I mean I went to Mark as well. Yeah, he is the sense saying to preach, yeah. I hear you, brother. Yeah, he really is. Like we're all going through that at different levels and oh so much. And a lot of especially with social media, like we won't we don't see that, you know. We just we see the wins, we don't see exactly the struggles behind that.

SPEAKER_02 45:58

And yeah, everybody's got a man, and that's uh I think that's an important thing for new people of town to uh to understand is everybody's dealing with something in their own way, whether they know it or not, or whether they show it or not. Um both. Yeah, exactly. Uh absolutely. Um, so you know, nobody's alone in that. And uh I'll always say, like, as long as you stick to your guns, keep showing up, being a good person, doing all the right things, like things will fall into place in a matter of time.

SPEAKER_00 46:28

Good good things will come. Always, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:29

Yeah, it's this, yeah, this time.

SPEAKER_00 46:31

I mean, like I said earlier, it's no guarantee of a certain level of success, but sure. You would hope that good things would come.

SPEAKER_02 46:37

Good good things will come, absolutely. Whatever that means, and that can be up to each of their own, but uh, things will fall into place. Yeah. So yeah, Mar Mark kind of got me to snap out of the snap out of things for lack of a better term, and get me uh, you know, I got into some meditation stuff and like just different different practices to just get my mind a little more positive and and forward thinking and just overall just improve my quality of life, it felt like that was a how do you meditate? Man, I'm a little out of practice right now, I'll be honest with you. But I I do gotta get back into that. But it you know, for me, it was just taking five to ten minutes every morning sitting down and closing my eyes and just kind of one thing we did was like any any kind of thought that would come to my head, I just note it in my mind. And just to just to get present with your mind and know where your thoughts are going. It's like I don't know how to explain it, man, but just little stuff like that that adds up with with practice and makes such a difference. Yeah. Uh I I it's I don't understand it the way he does, but I've practiced that stuff a bit and it's it it uh felt like it made a difference for me.

SPEAKER_04 47:44

Would you would you say or I what would you say it moved the needle on for you personally, if if anything, like if you can if you can quantify?

SPEAKER_02 47:53

Yeah, I mean just my overall attitude, I feel like, and being less self-conscious, I think, uh less judgmental of myself, most of all, I think. I think that's uh that's a big thing a lot of people deal with is just a lot of self-judgment, and that will weigh you down more than more than you know until you until you know, until you start to feel that that weight kind of come off your shoulders and it uh and then that affects every every aspect of your life on the stage, behind you know, behind the scenes, whatever it might be.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Yeah, so relationships, everything, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:27

Absolutely, absolutely. So I uh I that's that's why I give a lot of props and credit to Mark for just kind of getting me into a better place uh mentally, and then that just kind of things kind of took off from there. It felt like Wow, that's awesome. Well, I mean whether or not whether or not that's what caused everything to fall into place, I don't know, but it to me that was yeah that uh that that that made a big difference. So it's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 48:50

Dude, I I used to have a great meditation habit, and I've been so out of it for so long. And I've just been telling myself over and over that I need to get back into it, and just hearing you say that just has me re has reaffirmed that need for me. So thank you.

SPEAKER_02 49:05

We should uh we should figure something out together, man. We should get it, we should get a little routine going, see what trade trade ideas, see what's going on.

SPEAKER_04 49:11

Yeah, I love that idea.

SPEAKER_00 49:12

You know? Yeah, a little padding, a little meditation.

SPEAKER_04 49:15

Oh, let's go. Yeah, absolutely. Dude, a post-meditation pad time sounds like everything, man. Everything. I love it.

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SPEAKER_04 49:24

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Touring Habits and Fitness

SPEAKER_00 50:06

I was gonna ask more about touring next, kind of a maybe a good segue. Yeah. In terms of um, you know, mindsets on the road and mental health and and pre-show habits, rituals besides maybe meditation. Yeah. But um, because it sounds like that's the you know, this has been the most extensive touring you've done since growing up and playing the weekend bar gigs. This is kind of a new thing for you.

SPEAKER_02 50:28

Definitely is, and you know, um I'm still at not not a level of a lot of people's, you know, what uh I'm not doing these extensive stadium tours and two-week, three-week long tours, but like we're doing a lot of we're I think I did between somewhere between 80 and 100 shows on the road last year on across these different between Walker and yeah. So it's I'm starting to find get in the swing of things and figure out how uh how that side of things works. Um just like mentally and stay staying sharp in that way, I feel like, and getting into good habits. Um it's uh it's a learning curve, man, and it's different for everyone, I feel like. But you know, before going on stage, just getting in a good practice routine, just a warm-up thing and going through just I just do some basic rudiments and warm-ups and you know, try to get my body moving in general, do some running around or goofy looking fit nail arm waves and whatnot. But uh that side of things, and then don't get keep.

SPEAKER_04 51:30

What what kind of arm movements are you doing?

SPEAKER_02 51:32

Oh just moving my arms in a circle, anything, anything just good.

SPEAKER_04 51:37

Anybody who has at who whose playing looks as good as yours, I want to know what yours. I want to know.

SPEAKER_00 51:45

I appreciate that, man. I'm curious.

SPEAKER_02 51:46

Yeah, maybe we've kind of talked about it before, but yeah, fitness in general is like a definitely a solid hobby and passion of mine. Like if I'm not at home practicing, my one hour of the day is always going to the gym and trying to just keep myself as healthy as I can. And this year, another one of those resolutions was getting my cardio kind of back up because I've neglected that way more than I should. Yeah, and it's brutal at times, yeah. Yeah, man. So that and uh stretching too, man. I'm like, oh wait, my body's so tight, man. Which is I've uh which shouldn't feel that way for as as young as I am. Yeah, but you're like are you into correct me if I'm wrong, are you into yoga or like you're a pretty flexible guy from what I'd like to do?

SPEAKER_04 52:31

I am a I grew up doing I grew up doing grew in uh uh martial arts, so I did a lot of people. Oh, thank you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:39

You you're the real deal then.

SPEAKER_04 52:41

But I I that's yeah, I'm actually, I'm really I'm I'm loving this conversation. I'm I really am relating to so much that you're saying, and I'm I'm really working on my cardio and my flexibility this year. I'm like, okay, yes, I'm gonna get this, because I'm like, I'm still people are like, dang, you're flexible. I'm like, y'all don't even know.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

You don't know the hat, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 53:00

You don't even know.

SPEAKER_02 53:01

You should have seen my prime.

SPEAKER_04 53:03

Yeah. Yeah. It's give me, give me, I'm on it right now, so give me, give me three months, and and you're gonna be like makes yeah, dang.

SPEAKER_02 53:11

Makes a big difference. I started getting into just like a little bit of a like a lower body stretching routine lately, and just still trying to keep to that. Is can be difficult on the road and and whatnot, but just stretching your hips. Hips, my yeah, hips, my hips are awful, man. Like my my lower back, my hips, like it's I mean, it's not like I'm you know, it'll be really bad in 40 years if I don't do anything about it now. That's how it feels. Like I'm fine, but like it's gonna be bad if I don't do something about it now.

SPEAKER_00 53:40

Do you regular regularly see a chiropractor or anybody?

SPEAKER_02 53:43

Um not so much chiropractor, but physical therapist. I'm starting to starting to get back into that a little bit. Um, my girlfriend actually is a physical therapist too. So that is all the better. Is a huge cheap code. Bullshit, I'm out of here. Huge cheap. Yeah, she so she will kick my ass if I don't do my stretches. She, yeah, she's she's really good with that stuff. So having that uh in my back pocket helps.

SPEAKER_00 54:08

Yeah, yeah.

Perfect Posture

SPEAKER_02 54:09

Dang, man.

SPEAKER_00 54:09

So yeah, but back to posture though. I'm not gonna get a I'm not gonna let you know we're not. Oh, not off the hook.

SPEAKER_04 54:14

We went all we went all around it, but we're going right in there. Let's stop.

SPEAKER_00 54:18

Has your posture always been pretty good? Has that been a focus recently? I mean, have you taken I mean I I personally had a lesson with Dave Ealich this year. Yes, which was interesting. Um I'll be curious to hear about that sometime. Yeah. It's okay. No, he's good. Yeah, you know, he's he's doing a lot of good things, I think, for for the community. Definitely, definitely. Yeah. But yeah, what everybody's got their opinions on that for sure. What has your process been? Because I mean, I think you know, you you can attest to this. Most, I just know, like seen comments on a lot of your videos, it'd be like, dude, this guy's got one of the best postures out there.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

Yeah, that's always a nice, nice thing to hear, man. Um it's I was I was thinking about this earlier because I had a feeling I had a feeling this was gonna be brought up. So I had to go back and think about it. Say, damn it, they're gonna talk about I remember in like when I was in middle school. This is this is this is so funny and like young and immature of me. But I was like, I was really in a Motley crew at the time, and uh uh Mick Mars, their guitarist, has a crippling disease, like a crippling disease where he's like bent over, but I thought he was so fucking cool, and I like wanted to lean into that, and I opened it.

SPEAKER_00 55:32

You literally wanted to lean into that.

SPEAKER_02 55:34

It's so bad, man. And I and I I used to kind of walk hunched over because I just like oh my god. It's incredible to be like that. It's so bad.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

I just think you broke me.

SPEAKER_02 55:53

Oh, incredible. Thank you. That's gold. I was just young and like wanting attention and then my grandpa was like, Don't do that. You're gonna mess your stuff up. So I he said it sternly enough that I snapped out of that. And then I started walking normal again.

SPEAKER_04 56:11

It's like it's like your dad telling you not to make that, don't make that face because it's gonna stick that way. Right. I mean, this this is true. If you stand like that all the time, you are going to look like that. And you don't want that. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 56:23

No, it's it's it's not cool to have a crippling back disease. There's nothing that's uh so wonderful. Anyway, that's started there, I guess. And then I think uh once I got into high school being in marching band, I was I played snare. That'll do it. I uh I think I like overcorrected it a bit where I was like always like leaning way back.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

Yeah, probably like not more than I should. Well, especially having a a carrier and like a freaking heavy drum.

SPEAKER_02 56:51

I mean, yeah. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 56:54

You'd probably be a a skinny guy back then.

SPEAKER_02 56:56

You probably walked to that weight balance. Exactly. So like I knew I I wanted to have good posture, and I think I just kind of took it a little too far and like had this big lean back. So then I'd I guess I had that, I brought that onto the kit too, and I never really do that till I eventually took a lesson with Twiffe Elich in like 2020 or something like that. Yeah, uh that kind of started because from some grip issues, honestly. I'm still crying from that last bit, man. Gotta wipe these tears away, man. That's positive. Yeah, it was an emotional moment. But uh I was having some grip issues at the time, like my arm was locking up something terrible, and I was like, this isn't right. I'm 19 years old. Here's this guy I've been seeing advertised all over Instagram who seems to know what to do about this. Let me take a lesson. And and he fixed that very quickly, and it that made a difference. But then other thing he he pointed out was was my posture, and that I was like sitting a little low and leaning back like this a bit. So he he corrected that and got me sitting what felt like was way too far forward, but was really, I guess, upright. Yeah, yeah. Um, and that just kind of I just kind of stuck with that.

SPEAKER_00 58:07

So just the one lesson we did.

SPEAKER_02 58:08

Yeah, honestly. Just uh is that a real I did, I think I might have done two. Okay. I can't remember, but uh that was the main really the main takeaways that and the grip issue.

SPEAKER_00 58:16

Yeah, I mean you know, a lot of these things aren't hard just having that awareness, having someone point it out.

SPEAKER_02 58:21

That's that's why I'm so passionate about having a teacher, like still to this day. Like, uh if you're not aware of something, then you'll you'll never know how you'll never know.

SPEAKER_00 58:32

And yeah, as you know, habits are really hard to change.

SPEAKER_02 58:35

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 58:36

Yeah, they are it's just valuable to have uh an outside perspective from someone that you respect. Oh, yeah, it's just it's just having somebody and allowing them that input into your life. Like and because nothing that these people tell you is like, well, this is this is the gold standard, it me like it means it's gospel because they said it, it is true across the board, like it's that doesn't exist. But what does exist is some somebody who can look at you from outside of you and go, Well, you say you're experiencing this. Oh, like so-and-so said their elbows hurting. Well, I'm watching them play the snare drum and they're playing it like this. Yeah, yeah. Oh, oh, your elbow hurts? I wonder why no shit. Yeah, yeah. Funny how that works. Like, I'm sure if I talk to this person, I'm like, uh so you know.

SPEAKER_02 59:29

Do you know you're doing this?

SPEAKER_04 59:30

Because they don't know. They don't know. You just need a another human person.

SPEAKER_02 59:34

And it'll change your life. It'll literally change your life overnight. 100%. So that's I I'm such an advocate for education all around and studying with a mentor. It's anybody who can offer you something that you're that you're looking for or don't even know you're looking for.

SPEAKER_01 59:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 59:52

Um, yeah, it's I think I'll probably take lessons to the day I die as far as I'm concerned. I think that's all

Lesson Routine and Teachers

SPEAKER_02 59:58

about it.

SPEAKER_04 59:58

So how how often are you doing that, grabbing lessons?

SPEAKER_02 1:00:01

Right now, usually once or twice a month, I'd say. Uh I I was with Mark for a good bit of last year, and I started doing some stuff with Kevin Murphy lately. Cool. Um absolute beast, man. I've heard he's got a big right foot. He has a mat. Well, it's a little injured right now. Is it? Yeah, did you see that? No. Yeah, those he uh he had some sort of infection in his right leg and had to play some uh some of these recent party gigs left footed. Oh my gosh. Like and just still crushed it. Yeah, sure. Of course. Because he's just a beast. Yeah. But uh, yeah, Kevin's uh Kevin's been great to

Overqualified For The Gig

SPEAKER_02 1:00:38

work with. He's a he's a chops monster, but he like uh we don't we don't really work on that stuff. It's like we're we're doing a lot of stuff that's practical to what we're doing in the real world right now, and trying to make what I do for my job as easy and effortless as possible, and being as uh overqualified for the job as we can get. That's what it's all about. That's a good way to put it. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:01

Yep, you want headroom.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:02

Oh, exactly. And it feels great like going into a gig and just feeling the old the cruise. Like that's that's the best feeling. I remember we did um we did a tour back in November with uh Justin Lynch to know you guys had Billy on recently. He was one of my absolute favorite guys out there, man. Dude, I love that guy.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:22

Just just I just grabbed coffee with him the other day.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:24

It was nice, yeah. That's awesome, man. Yeah, see, he's with you guys now, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:28

He is, he sure is. Yeah, he is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:30

Yeah, but uh, you know, I would I would watch Billy every night on that tour and just God, just obsess over everything he was doing, man. And uh, and just we would we we hung out a lot a while backstage after and just had some great talks and you know that um without diving spilling too much tea, that that crew likes to have a good time. Like they have not a bad, not nothing like you know bad.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:55

Yeah, yeah, but like it's okay. He already spilled the tea on his episodes. Yeah, oh yeah, that's right. He did.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:59

Like they have their they have their warm-up an hour before showtime where they they start having drinks and all that and yeah and getting loose, and we we always partook in that too, and that's kind of how we all got along so well. But um, but he's like, Yeah, man, like we we do we can do this because we put so much time and effort into rehearsals and getting this as effortless as possible so that yeah, we can that's the payoff.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:24

Yeah, we we we we have a little bit of a difference. They're not just slacking partying, they're professionals overly so they can do both, so they can still party and be free on stage.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:35

Exactly. And that band is so fucking good.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:37

Yeah, it's I just saw them play. Well, I didn't see him, but I saw he posted from Red Rocks with the beautiful pearl kit. Oh, it's it's sharp. It's all decked out, it's really good. Looks sick, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:47

But uh honestly, that that concept is why bands like Pantera are like so terrifying to me. Like, they would get smashed and then get up and just destroy it. How it's scary were you guys in rehearsal? Yeah, right, exactly. It's so fucking scary, dude.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:03

That's a great example, too. Uh that's a really good example. And uh yeah, man. So I kind of have a little bit of that mentality. Not that I'd want to dive into being a part, like I don't I'm not trying to be an alcoholic on the like my job is everything. I will never sacrifice what I do. Like, I'm never gonna be the guy that's gonna get blackout drunk on a gig and fumble everything. Like that's that's everything. Um, but we still like to have a good time out there, and yeah, that's kind of that's that's part of the industry,

Tour Culture and Temptations

SPEAKER_02 1:03:34

man. It's it is, and uh, you know, I could I could dive into the side of things too. I on a more serious side of things, like it is it's everybody has a different relationship with that uh side of things, and I think if you're getting into the touring side of the industry, it'll be something you come across, and some people won't have an issue with it, or they will be unaffected by it. Some people like that side of things can uh can test you a lot. You know, there's a lot of temptations, if you want whatever you want to call it out there, that you have to be on a be on your best and know how you're gonna handle because at the end of the day, you're there for a job, and uh that's that's the most important thing. Don't want to sacrifice that or your reputation in the town. So it's uh it's just something I think new people in the town should always be be aware of where where you sit with it in your relationship with those those kinds of things.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:28

Yeah, it's great, great advice. Yeah, kind of know your limits, and I mean you'll discover your limits. Yeah, you know, because when you're new, you don't necessarily have that context, or maybe you do, but yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:40

It's yeah. Broadway, Broadway sure, sure did that to me my first first couple uh first year, and then after that I was burned out. Yeah, it's uh yeah, you have to figure it out somewhere or another. I mean uh as long as you don't don't don't fuck it up too bad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:57

But uh I feel I feel that I I honestly I don't drink and play. I just can't I just can't, my hands don't work.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:05

Uh I made uh yeah, I think that's great. I made a res another resolution for this year that I was done drinking on Broadway. Yes, and I'm I've stuck to that. I have no interest next it sucks. Same thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:17

You feel so sluggish and heavy. Like, dude, in four hours, I'm like, man, forget it. How can you how do people do this? I actually don't understand. But it's it's that same thing where some people are like, well, they've and that you know, whatever. If you've got a if you can do that and be healthy and whatever, then that's you know, that's no judgment. But yeah, yeah, but I can't do it. I know I can't.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:36

Yeah, man. And I'd I respect the shit out of anybody that goes into it with that, you know, clean mindset and can do it, can do it at that the level you do. Oh, you don't need to respect me.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:47

I'm I just can't handle it.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:49

No, dude, I think it's uh it's inspiring. It really is. On a personal level, like it's a it's a thing for me that's like I can sometimes feel like when we all if we all go to a show like All straight, like things can feel a little like even if we are well rehearsed, like I don't know if you just stay in your head a little more, like don't always feel as as smooth as if we are like one or two for sure, one or two deep. And like I that's been a that's been a mindset thing. Again, I've like had to figure out how I feel with that 'cause like I care about my health as we you know as I mentioned and like I like I wanted I wanna prioritize that, but like also this the side of playing that if I go back and listen to board tapes, like I I can tell sometimes I do play more confidently, it sounds like if I am one or two deep. And that's like that didn't always sit right with me. Yeah, because like I I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:42

Because you want to just be able to get there. Yeah, yeah. Why can't why can't I just access that that headspace without this thing?

SPEAKER_02 1:06:51

Yes, yeah. It's it's that's so that's why again I say to young people like figure out where you sit with that.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:57

Yeah, it's uh because the jazz dudes, their solution to that, like well, couldn't get in the headspace without heroin. Literally. Well, it's Charlotte Parker's like, I gotta get my head straight, gotta go outside for a minute, like, yo, that's crazy. That's crazy, and then come in and just destroy. Like, right. Well, the results are great, but uh getting there was like yeah, I don't know so much. Right. I don't think heroin's for me personally. I don't know. Yeah, um uh me neither. Um I'm definitely with you there. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:26

I appreciate you bringing that topic up. I think it's really a deeper thing to all of that than I didn't mean to turn into an AA because that's you know, in terms of like kind of activating that sort of calmness to you to any to before you go on stage. I I think alcohol is is just one mechanism, but I think there's other I think that can manifest in other ways. Yeah. Especially with like, you know, I just use the word vibes and hanging with your your crew beforehand. Yeah. I just had this recently because I was filling in for an artist this weekend, and and I think I'm normally someone that gets maybe a little bit more, you know, rigid right before it's a little bit tense. Yeah, absolutely. I was super prepped, and we uh had a lot of downtime, so we went to see the new Michael Jackson movie actually. We went to the theaters, it was in I thought it was pretty good. I thought I didn't even know it was out, so but I was like, you know, I was being like, well, shit, well, what time do we gotta go to the venue? This movie's two hours long and there's trailers. I was like getting like a little bit rigid, and then we went and it was I played probably probably the best show I've ever played as as a fill-in position. Like I crushed it. Funny how that works. And I felt so, and I think it's because like we were all just having so much fun. We just went to the movies, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:36

Everybody's got their back, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:39

And so I think you know, in that sense, it wasn't the alcohol, it was going to the movies, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:43

Just team chemistry kind of stuff. That's a great point, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:47

Yeah, yeah, interesting.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:49

And being being in a camp that y'all can share the same sort of vibe in that way, and yeah, like that, that makes a difference because it's it it can be it can be tough being the lone person in in a in a camp where you don't know exactly where you fit in and in whatever way that might be. And yeah, um, so that's you know, again, if you I always say if you can find a gig or land a gig where everybody's just all homies and yeah, all vibes, then that's worth a lot.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:15

It sounds like you had that with with Walker. We do, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:17

I'm really uh I love those guys to death, man. And it's and it's it's growing too. We just added a sound guy in for this tour in front of the house, and it's just uh it they're just great guys, man. We we don't get tired of each other. That's uh that's what it's all about. Incredible, yeah.

Drum Supply (Sponsor)

SPEAKER_04 1:09:36

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SPEAKER_00 1:10:32

I

Home Recording Goals

SPEAKER_00 1:10:33

think the only thing I haven't that we haven't discussed is maybe just home recording, and that's something that you've been getting into more in the past few years.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:39

A little bit, yeah. Yeah, not I uh just it's it's been nothing too serious, just got a little little home.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:46

Humble abode, as we all call it. Oh, humble abode. You all start somewhere, you know. Exactly. Um you may get some good sounds though. I mean, especially that rock, yeah rock drum set. Like you checked, you've got it, like I said. Yeah, that's I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:58

That's I uh trying to find where exactly my niche fits in with that side of things. Yeah, and uh so I but I I might shoot. I think last year I might have done 20 some tracks out out of the house, which was which is always nice. Any any kind of work in that side of side of things is great.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:14

That's not zero.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:15

Yeah, absolutely, man. Take white. Pretty significant. Yeah, yeah. I uh this year I've been doing a little more out stuff outside of the house and going some other studios and working with a guy named uh Justin Eckert, produces a band called Old 60. Uh we go to White House to his to his spot, and he's uh he's working with some like some TikTok artists that he that he finds and uh that are that are good and want to develop them and grow them a bit. So go in and do some tracks with him and some of my buddies. And so that's been uh kind of kind of the thing going on this year and haven't been doing as much around the house besides that. But yeah, man, I'm always happy to do it.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:51

Yeah. Would you say that's kind of a long-term goal of yours to develop that more?

SPEAKER_02 1:11:56

Definitely so, man. It's one of those things too. Like, yeah, I'd I I want to build more of a setup, but knowing that I'm not gonna be in this house that I'm living in now for another year, like I wanna want to buy a place I'm renting right now. So I uh I'm like, man, I may as well just hold off till I start building that up somewhere that's I can really build out and get into how I want it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:20

100%. So dude, you're you're well on your way. I mean, I'm trying, man. You got the right mindset as you talked about and the right attitude, and yeah. I'm excited to to get you back on here in a few years and thank you, man. See everything else that you've accomplished.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:35

I always say, and y'all had Dango on here recently too. He was another one of the guys I've I've first met when I moved to town and got got coffee with. And uh some of the best advice he ever gave me was that what basically what he does, he just spreads his, he doesn't have all his eggs in one basket, man. He's teaching lessons, he's got a great touring gig, he's playing Broadway, and he's doing sessions. Like that's that's that's all I really wanted to do, man. Same, same thing he does. That's that's my like ideal. Yeah, man. Yeah, a diverse portfolio. Absolutely, absolutely, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:09

Yeah, I mean you might as well plant see all those different seeds and see how they blossom. Yeah, see what differently, and you know, one year, as he said, one year it's it's this tree, it's it's the touring gig. The next year it's Broadway, or that touring gig's gone, but now I have lessons. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:23

Yeah, yeah, you never really know. Exactly, man. It's uh it's it's it's an exciting time, man. Just uh, you know, still being you know, I guess four years in the town, if you want to call that new, but less than ten years is you know, still got a lot of a lot of things to accomplish and room to grow. Yeah, love that. Yeah, can't wait to see what you do with it, man. Oh, well, likewise, likewise

Rapid Fire Questions

SPEAKER_02 1:13:42

with you guys, man. Well let's do let's do some wrap-ups then.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:45

Yeah, you want to start?

SPEAKER_00 1:13:47

Why don't you start?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:49

Hmm. What do you think the best non uh non-business card item would be, or best or funniest uh non-business card item to put a QR code on? That's a good question. Like if you saw this a QR code on this object, and then and you would be like, okay, I gotta find out what that is. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:16

Oh man, that's a great question. I feel like I've come across something like that recently. It's I'm trying to think.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:22

I only ask because I was recently thinking about lasering a QR code to like Instagram or whatever onto some some potatoes and passing them around downtown and just seeing if that works.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:34

Honestly, I love that. It's just the most random thing you can think of.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:38

What uh but of what item, you know, what do you what would you put it on? I feel like oh man.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:43

I feel like a golf ball would be great. Oh yeah, okay. I like that. That's cool. Yeah. I don't know, man. Like you find them everywhere if you're if you're out golfing or something.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:51

Uh oh, and then you could like you could I wouldn't want to hit it through someone's window, but if they if they had like an open window, right, right. You could just like throw it in there and they'd be like, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:00

This is so random. Yeah. It's a Q art code, right? Something you could put in a mailbox, I feel like. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:07

Like a like a uh grenade or something.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:09

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. That's totally what I was thinking.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:12

Oh, yeah, the first like there's something in my mailbox that's not mail, I'm immediately like mail bomb. This is a mail bomb. Someone's trying to kill me. Who's trying to assassinate me?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:22

Exactly. Just a Whataburger coupon or something?

SPEAKER_04 1:15:26

I'd rather I'd rather have someone try to assassinate me.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:28

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:29

Not a Whataburger fan?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:30

Oh. Oh no. Okay, good segue. Yeah, my question. We touched on the fried chicken earlier. So what are your uh what are your go-to spots for food, drinks, coffee, whatever?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:40

Yeah. Uh Hattie Bees for the chicken. Hattie bees, not princes, okay. Um Hattie Bees for the chicken. I um what's your spice level?

SPEAKER_00 1:15:49

How hot?

SPEAKER_02 1:15:50

I can't handle the heat, man. I'm I'm a baby, dude. Um I I don't have that dog in me. I really don't. So I'm I'm just there for the I'm there for the flavor. Just the chicken. They got I think they have great chicken. I like the I like the the bun, whatever you call it. Yeah, good size too. Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:07

I think they've got a I think they've got a uh yeah, a good a good seasoning going there.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:12

Yeah, absolutely. Um besides that, I'm not a coffee drinker, so I I can't speak much to coffee. But one thing I'll say, I've I I haven't found much good Chinese food around here. I'll say I we had so many options in Pennsylvania, right? Like they're in every plaza.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:32

Literally before I was on a phone call right before coming in here. Like, there are two things I want in life. And I'm like, like good communication and some goddamn decent Chinese food in Nashville.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:43

Dude, well, I have something for you. If you're willing to make the trip, I live out in Laverne, you know, down 24 towards towards Borough.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:50

There's a place by my house called Mexicana. It is a crossover of Mexican restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. So you can get a margarita, chips and salsa, and some general clothes chicken.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:02

Oh my god, that sounds awesome. I want to we should I want to go there with you. Yeah, that sounds good. It's so good.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:07

Can we um go and make uh content there together?

SPEAKER_02 1:17:12

I think that would be awesome, dude. I think I think we should. We're just gonna we're just gonna talk about the food as we eat it.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:19

Totally. Set set up cameras and and and mics at the table and have them be very confused. Yes, and get all this food bloggers? No, no. This is a drumming podcast. In an ASMR thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:31

We make sure we get all the exactly, yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:34

I just all the sounds in there. They want the sounds of the chip and they want to see all the salsa in my beard, which it will be. Oh, yeah. No shame in the game.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:43

All part of the game. Uh that was my question, so in your up next.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:48

Oh, uh, well. No, I'm gonna bring back a classic for this one. Yes. Um what is your favorite noodle?

SPEAKER_02 1:18:01

Um have you ever had pants it? It's a um, okay, well that's not a type of I guess it's technically an egg noodle in it, but it's a Filipino dish with I guess I think it's egg noodle and like chicken, uh I don't even know what else is in it. I got an uncle that cooks it and it's fucking awesome.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:21

Is he Filipino?

SPEAKER_02 1:18:22

Yeah, sick. Yeah, but um it's yeah, it's awesome. Great cooking.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:27

Dude, yeah. Big Olympia fan.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:30

Yes, huge Olympia and uh chicken adobo. Oh yeah. Big on that, man. Okay. So I I would say I would say egg noodles, probably my favorite. Great, great. All right, you can stay. Good.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:41

What's your what's your current favorite uh drumming accessory item in the stick bag or that's in the backpack on the drum riser that you you need, or you have that every time?

SPEAKER_02 1:18:53

Man, I'm gonna do a little shameless shout-out. I've got a thing called a quick key that I work with endorsers. Uh it's a little drum key. You just put on the lug, but it's got like a cylinder on top that you can put your finger in and just spin like this. And it's super quick and easy. Just a quick way to change a head. I mean, if I'm just tuning a drum, I use it regularly, but if I need to change a head quickly, whatever it might be, you throw two of them on, just do this motion all around, and you're done in like a few seconds.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:24

Wow, that's okay. Yeah, it's awesome. I just bought the new the Dario, you know, the Evans. That thing's cool too. They pull and key the pull pull rod key, pull cord drum key. Yeah. Those things are those things are wild. The lawnmower starter. Exactly. That's what it is. It looks like it.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:38

Um I have to try that, but it looks like so the company's called Quick Key.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:42

Quick key, yeah. You and you have an endorsement with them.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:44

Yeah, yeah. Tony and uh Steven. Hell yeah. Down in uh down in Texas.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:47

Do they exhibit at the drum show ever?

SPEAKER_02 1:19:49

That's a good question, man. Um I'll have to look into that. I have to look into that. I just kind of started working with them late uh late last year. So gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:57

Yeah. Okay. Sick.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:58

Any any other endorsements? Um nothing on the books right now, but um uh symbol company Turkish Turkish Symbols. Um, kind of in talks with them. I'm supposed to go down and meet them. They're in uh just outside of Atlanta. I'm gonna go see them on Tuesday. Nice uh said they want to bring me on, just wait for some budget things to kind of clear up. And I love what they do, man. I've been playing their stuff for for almost a year now, and they got a bunch of great options and just super rich sounding cymbals. And I don't know, man. I'm like if I like it, I like it. I'm gonna stick with it. I've been I've been playing Mapex a lot of my life, and I have a bit of a relationship going on with them too, and but nothing, nothing on paper, nothing like that. But uh I love you're building it, man. Yeah, man. I'll uh you know, like I said, I'm if I love the product and I love what it is, man. I'm gonna I'm I'm gonna play that. That's I have uh that's how it should be.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:50

Believe in that and stick with it.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:52

And uh last one, where do you want these nice people listening to find and follow you?

SPEAKER_02 1:20:56

Yes. Uh you can find me on Instagram at I should spell this L Z A J D E L Music. It's L Zidell Music. Um, Facebook, Luke Zidel Music. I think I have a YouTube account too nowadays. I've had that for a while. Luke Zidel Music there as well. And uh I think El Zidel Music on TikTok too. That's uh I think all the socials. Let's go.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:21

Yeah.

Outro

SPEAKER_00 1:21:22

Dude, well, this has been awesome. Man, this has been a real treat. Appreciate you uh finally coming on and good to learn more about your journey here.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:28

Oh well, thank you guys for letting me share that. This is this has been a real treat and looking forward to it for a while, man. It's been a pleasure. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:47

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Nashville Drummers Podcast. If you liked it, please consider leaving us a review on the Apple Podcast app. Please consider supporting us on Patreon. For five dollars a month, you can help support this dream and keep the ball rolling for us. Believe it or not, it's not free or even necessarily cheap for us to make this thing go. To sign up, go to patreon.com slash Nashville Drummers Podcast or click the link in our Instagram bio. All of your help is greatly appreciated.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:15

Visit our website, Nashville DrummersPodcast.com, where you can listen to all past episodes, learn more about myself and Nate, and buy all your favorite Nashville Drummers Podcast merch, including t-shirts, tank tops, sweatshirts, hats, and drum heads. Connect with us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube at Nashville Drummers Podcast. Thank you for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.