PODCAST – Sean McDaniel – The Vinnie Colaiuta Of Musical Theater

Sean McDaniel – I feel he’s one of the most versatile musicians playing on Broadway shows. As a substitute on Broadway, he has performed in 11 different shows at one time. Sean has performed in 20 Broadway shows including Frozen, The Book Of Mormon, and Spamalot. He helped develop many other musicals, including Hamilton. He…

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How To Network And Become A Successful Musician – Part II – “Social Media”

In my last post about networking for musicians, I wrote about how to be assertive and just ask. If you are a monster on your instrument but can’t seem to gather the strength and courage to talk to people you don’t know, you may be that amazing musician that no one knows about. That’s generally the…

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The cast of AIN’T TOO PROUD performs at the Tony Awards

This was a whole lot of fun!   Clayton Craddock is an independent thinker, father of two beautiful children in New York City. He has written about fatherhood, societal change and parenting over many years and is currently finishing a memoir. Clayton is also the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud. He earned a…

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Five Things You Need To Know About Playing Drums On A Broadway Show

If you are at all interested in finding work as a musician playing drums on a Broadway musical, I can certainly give a few tips. I’ve been fortunate to have played in several over the past 20 years and I’ve learned a  little from each one I’ve been in. Each of the shows I’ve done…

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Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill Dog Auditions

I remember how great our little dog was during this show. I enjoyed how Roxie licked Audra’s face and drank from her cocktail on cue every night. What an amazing show. If you haven’t seen it, check it out on HBO. It was one of the best shows I’ve done on broadway.   From Theatermania:…

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Behind The Scenes: Memphis The Musical Recording Session

I never knew this existed! Wow, is this fun to watch. This recording is by far, my favorite cast recording I’ve done. I like what I played, how the recording sounds and I really like the songs. The whole Memphis The Musical experience was fantastic. I remember when David Bryan, the keyboardist for Bon Jovi…

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Single Fatherhood in New York City

In 2012, I was contacted by a graduate student who was looking for stories about single fathers. I think she found me from an old blog I used to have. It’s so interesting to listen to this recording eight years later. Very little has changed with my relationship to my kids as well as my…

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Ain’t Too Proud at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

I wasn’t at this performance. I chose to spend time with my family in Connecticut on Thanksgiving. One of my amazing drum subs, Andrew Atkinson, was there to take my place. Even though I wasn’t there physically, it is me on the recording that you are hearing. I had so much fun laying down the…

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