I’m excited to begin this year for a few reasons. I’m going to be traveling to South Africa. I was asked to play drums for the Swarthmore College Alumni Gospel Choir. We have a South Africa Performance Tour in collaboration with First United Methodist Church of Germantown. We are traveling to Johannesburg, Soweto, Bedfordview, Pilanesberg National…
Read moreAfter playing the top of the line drums in Berkeley at the show “Ain’t Too Proud” for 4 months, it’s hard to play drums that are 25 years old. There isn’t really anything wrong with these drums but I LOVED playing on brand new Yamaha Absolute Hybrid Maple drums. Those drums just sing! It’s time…
Read moreThis is one of my favorite tracks from this record. I remember during the session we used a really deep, almost marching band sized snare and put a lot of muffling on top to get that 1970’s snare drum thud. It was a lot of fun laying down tracks for this project. The song is…
Read moreHere is a video of me working with one of the greatest performers of all time – Audra McDonald. I was fortunate to have played this show on Broadway. She is a force of nature. So good!
Read moreThis is one night I’ll never forget. Being on the stage of Radio City Music Hall? Playing on national TV in front of millions. Seeing 6,000 people in the audience in the audience? Looking in the first row and seeing Beyonce and Jay-Z? Mmmmm, mmmm, mmmm. I almost got distracted by her when I glanced…
Read moreIn January of 2014, I got a call to work on a new musical about Billie Holiday that would feature Audra McDonald. I had no idea just how huge the show would be—what an experience. Audra is a force of nature and was on top of her game every single night. It was amazing to…
Read moreI 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 moreClayton Craddock is a stay-at-home father of two children in New York City. He has a B.B.A from Howard University’s School of Business and is also a 17 year veteran of the fast paced New York City music scene. He has played drums in a number of hit Broadway musicals including “tick…tick…BOOM, Memphis the Musical…
Read more“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 moreEight years ago, Memphis the Musical opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theater. It was an amazing three years in my life. It was a time or personal and professional growth for me. I had so much fun and I am still friends with most of the people I worked with. What a run…
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