Drum Dog Podcast
The Drum Dog Podcast goes deep on the instrument we love. In our interviews, we sit down with world-class drummers, from session players to festival headliners, for honest, unhurried conversations about their playing, their careers and the craft behind the kit. Guests include Bill Bruford, Gavin Harrison Antonio Sánchez, and Mel Gaynor.
On 'The Back Beat', our weekly format, Dan talks spotlights drummers worth your attention, goes through albums that are must-listens, worthwhile gear, and think-pieces to ruminate on.
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Episodes
45 episodes
BLACK SABBATH DOCUMENTARY: A Brief History
Four working-class kids from one of the roughest corners of Birmingham picked up guitars, bass and drums with no plan beyond getting out of the factories - and ended up inventing an entire genre. This is the story of Black Sabbath: the blues cl...
Pat Garvey (Ozric Tentacles) Interview: Teaching Drummers, Touring Etiquette, & Portfolio Careers
Had a great chat with Pat Garvey ahead of Ozric Tentacles' UK tour to talk about 32 years as a working drummer. He tells us how he landed the teaching gig at BIM, how he went on to start the Brighton Drum School, and what it was like recording ...
Bernard Purdie: The Hit Maker Who Played Less Than Anyone
Video essay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHajaWKSomo&tBernard Purdie reckons he has played on 4,000 albums for 2,500 artists, and the striking thing is that almost nobody in the business thinks he is exaggerating by much. Aretha...
Simon Phillips at UK Drum Show 2026, Hiromi's Voice & Why Drummers Rush
Simon Phillips is one of four people we're interviewing at the UK Drum Show 2026 in Liverpool, so this week I'm digging into why his Voice record with Hiromi is on repeat, plus the four culprits behind rushing and how to fix them.00:00 ...
Meg White: Drumming Defiance
Video essay - https://youtu.be/Lbf0SU994QgWith the White Stripes, Meg White tore rock’n’roll down to its bare bones. Alongside Jack White, she created some of the most exciting music of the past 25 years, with a fiercely elemental drummi...
Mark Guiliana, Travel Drum Kit, and Why You Should Record Yourself Drumming | The Back Beat #11
This week on the pod, we're covering a strange new track from Angine de Poitrine that just debuted on Fallon, why Mark Guiliana might be the best case study going for drummers who think "feel" and "precision" are opposites, and a proper look at...
Mark Guiliana: "Sound Is More Influential Than Vocabulary"
Video essay - https://youtu.be/GS0ZG8os8WwEveryone calls Mark Guiliana the drummer who fused jazz and electronic music. He played on David Bowie's Blackstar, he's toured for years with St. Vincent, he made a duo record with Brad Mehldau,...
Adam Balasco (The Empty Pockets) Interview: Joining the Band, Groove Over Chops, & Abbey Road
Was very excited to chat with Adam, drummer for Chicago blues-rock outfit The Empty Pockets, ahead of their new album Dear Billionaires. We got into joining a band that already had years of history and a married couple at its core, why he strip...
Why Is Chris Dave Referred to as the ‘Most Feared Drummer’ in the Session World?
Video essay - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlWzjU8OVv8&tYou've probably heard Chris Dave play drums without ever knowing his name. He's contributed grooves to Adele's ‘21’, D'Angelo's ‘Black Messiah’, and Justin Bieber's ‘Purpose’...
The Best Jazz Venues in London | The Back Beat #10
Blue Note's opening a London venue, so Jochen's back for his second appearance and we're running through the London rooms that actually matter for jazz. Ronnie Scott's, the Jazz Cafe, Steam Down, Cafe OTO, and a fifth slot we gave up on and tur...
Stephen Morris: Human Machine Music
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PptKcRhw4MMMost drummers would be lucky to have played a part in just one era-defining band, but with New Order and Joy Division, Stephen Morris did it twice. His early post-punk style matched...
Anna Fettes Interview: $120k Berklee Scholarship, World Pipe Band Championships & Steve Gadd Sticks
We sat down with Anna for a video interview just days before she competed in the World Pipe Band Championships with the City of St Andrews Pipe Band. At 17, Anna's already earned a $120,000 scholarship to Berklee starting September 2027, delive...
Ian Paice: Deep Purple’s Drumming Genius
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V93JXlGXLV4&tOften overshadowed by his louder peers, Deep Purple’s Ian Paice quietly shaped the sound of hard rock drumming. Combining swing-era finesse with unmatched speed and precision,...
Steve Gadd, Miguel Lamas & Does Practice Pad Time Actually Work? | The Back Beat #9
Steve Gadd gets the spotlight this week because, honestly, how could he not. Plus a fusion find on Vincen García's Ventura, the Meinl Marshmallow Pad in the studio, and a Gavin Harrison clip that might change how you practice.00:00 - Co...
How Keith Carlock Built a Sound No One Can Copy
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tot2osqBPFQ&tKeith Carlock might be the most quietly influential drummer working today: jazz educated, delta raised, and impossible to pin to a single genre. This video essay traces how he...
Ralph Rolle (Nile Rodgers & CHIC) Interview: Auditioning for Nile Rodgers, D'Angelo & Biggie Stories, & The Rocketman Soundtrack
We sat down with Ralph Rolle at the Drum Dog studio during his latest visit to the UK. Ralph talks growing up in the Bronx, the high-pressure audition that landed him the Nile Rodgers & CHIC gig, and the stories behind sessions with D'Angel...
Elvin Jones: The Art of Playing Against Yourself
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUzdxo3c00gIn 1966, Elvin Jones walked out of the John Coltrane Quartet, the band that made him famous, because Coltrane hired a second drummer. This is the story of the man who reconceived th...
Dennis Chambers, Los Cabos & Is Your Drumstick Actually 5A? | The Back Beat #8
Dennis Chambers holds down one of the tightest live records in the catalogue, Steely Dan's Alive in America. This week: his playing on that record, a look at Los Cabos sticks, and a question that's been bugging me, are your drumsticks actually ...
Why Does Everyone Get Dennis Chambers Wrong?
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvbY2Y5LLegDennis Chambers is filed, almost universally, under chops. The speed, the impossible fills, the gospel-schooled hands that half of YouTube has spent thirty years trying to copy. But...
Spike T. Smith (The Damned) Interview: Joining The Damned, Touring With Morrissey, & 50 Years of Punk
We chatted with Spike over a video call ahead of his masterclass at the 2026 UK Drum Show, marking 50 years since the birth of punk. Spike talks joining The Damned twenty years after watching Rat Scabies first inspired him to play drums, tourin...
Peter Erskine: The Art of Playing for the Music
Video essay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV1ZIAFhEvcFor over fifty years, Peter Erskine has sounded like no one but himself, whether he's driving a big band, anchoring Weather Report, or whispering through a jazz trio. This is the st...
Fuyu Murata (EXILE, MISIA) Interview: One-Take Drumming, a Jazz Childhood, & Turning Down Berklee
We sat down with Fuyu Murata, calling in from Tokyo, for a conversation that runs from a jazz-soaked New York childhood to one of the most distinctive drum channels on YouTube. He talks about growing up around Jimmy Smith, Ron Carter and Grady ...
Why Spotify Is Killing Music Discovery (Guardian Article) ft. Jochan Embley | The Back Beat #7
A Guardian music journalist realised Spotify had quietly smoothed the hard edges off his own taste, so he quit. This week I'm joined by my oldest friend, journalist Jochan Embley, to dig into algorithms, streaming payouts, why he swapped Spotif...
Mark Mondesir (John McLaughlin, Jeff Beck) Interview: Lessons from Elvin Jones & Manifesting Gigs
We sat down with Mark Mondesir for a wide-ranging conversation about a career spent behind some of the most revered names in jazz, fusion and funk.Mark talks us through meeting John McLaughlin, the session for The Promise that put him i...
Steve Gadd, Levon Helm & the Underrated Bands Debate | The Back Beat #6
I put on Chick Corea's My Spanish Heart this week, sat there marvelling at the drummer, and only then realised it was Steve Gadd. This week: Levon Helm's genius behind the kit and the mic, the Eezee Sticks throne holder, and a question about th...
