I often hear musicians talk about the amount of money certain gigs pay. People chat about the tip jar having to be passed around because club owners pay so little. They might get paid a few dollars here and there for the gig, but hey, at least they get a meal out of it. They…
Read moreI Miss My Kids
One thing I learned from being away from my kids since July 9th is that I’ll NEVER AGAIN take chances on future success. Never again. NE-VER! My days of “hoping things will work out” ended as of right now. I won’t do anything with the hope that things will get better in some unspecified…
Read more“The Temptations Were Our Beatles”
“The Temptations were our Beatles” I stumbled across a series of Behind The Music episodes on YouTube last night and watched the story of Hall and Oates. Wow, I forgot how many hits they had. I loved so many of their songs. But, The Temps… I really didn’t know how much of an influence they…
Read moreA Business Lesson By Frank Zappa
Official trailer: Ain’t Too Proud
Working on this show has been such a great experience. The music is great, the musicians are amazing, the cast is fantastic and the creative team is top notch. This show is a must see! Book by Dominique Morisseau Music and Lyrics from The Legendary Motown Catalog Music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Orchestrations…
Read moreRun- D.M.C. – The Ritz NYC 1985
What a time for rap music. It was the end of the “old school” and the beginning of the golden age of rap music. Run-D.M.C. were one of the pioneers of the “New School” with cuts like Sucker MCs. It was nothing but a beat and rhymes. They took out all of the music and…
Read moreSleeping In
One of the benefits of being away from “home” and being a full time musician and working on a musical is the ability to get rid of the alarm clock. Waking up at the perfect time (10:00AM) is glorious. It’s even better when it’s quiet and sunny when you open the windows. Ahhhh…a preview of…
Read moreChuck Berry
In 1994 I had the opportunity to work with Chuck Berry. I was young and barely knew what I was doing but it was a great learning experience. I had been playing with a pianist named Daryl Davis while I was in Washington D.C. and trying to move to New York City to be a…
Read moreFather Knows Best? Maybe, Mother Knows Best…Or Both
Raising children is fascinating. I can think of only one thing that I would change from the way my parents did with my upbringing. Just one. My father temporarily guided me away from my first love. Music. I have been playing drums ever since I was a little kid. I started out banging on my…
Read moreJanuary-March
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks so far this year. I hung out with a bunch of old musician friends of mine (and some new ones) while filming a song for a new TV show backing up the Delfonics, subbed a bunch of dates at the musicals Avenue Q and The Color Purple,…
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