Jim was the director of marketing at Ludwig for 36 years and was the right hand man to Bill Ludwig II, aka "The Chief". He shares amazing stories about his time he had with the chief, and his four decade career in the drum industry with Ludwig, and also Premier and Slingerland.

North drums are some of the most unique looking drums ever made. They are horn shaped fiberglass drums that were made between the late 60's through the early 90's and were created by my guest, Roger North.

Joe Morello was one of the most innovative and masterful drummers of the last century, but did you know he was playing Violin with the Boston Symphony at age 9? Learn about how the iconic "Take 5" Drummer made the switch to drums and became the legend we know today.

Learn the origins of this iconic book that is the most thorough and extensive resource for all things cymbals! Hugo tells us how he gathered all the information for the book and we learn tons of valuable tips and tricks along the way.

John Sparrow is the drummer for the Violent Femmes and a die hard Slingerland enthusiast! This is a fun episode where we talk about Slingerland high points in the history of this great American brand, and also some low points through the decades as the company evolved and tried to keep up with the constantly changing world of music.

Rob and Tony are the founders of the iconic American drum brand, GMS Drum Co. They were one of four custom-shop companies that started in the 1980's, well before the boom of boutique brands in the mid 2000's. It is a great story of an underdog brand exploding in popularity and how they kept up with demand!

We talk about Ajax, Carlton, Hayman, Beverly, and Premier - just to name a few! We discuss pre and post war drums made in England, and the many similarities and differences between British drums and the classic American brands.

Rudimental drumming first appeared in in the Swiss Army in the 1300's to set the tempo and communicate commands during battle, and then spread around Europe where it evolved and was eventually documented in 1588 as the first form of drum notation. It then continued across Europe, and eventually made it to America and evolved into the 26 Rudiments that we have today. This is just scratching the surface of what we learn from Mark Beecher in this episode!

Jeff takes us back to the ice age where drums were made of turtle shells that were flipped over, had skin stretched over them, and then dried in the sun for tension, Learn about this and much more from master drum tuner Jeff Davenport.

Barry James is the last living student of George Lawrence Stone who still teaches the Stone technique. Barry is 81 years old and took lessons with Stone in 1957 in Boston College. He has had an amazing career and still teaches via Skype to people around the world.

Charlie Watts is one of the most important drummers in Rock and Roll History. Mike Edison is the author of "Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters" and he gives us a great in depth look at the importance of Charlie and the Rolling Stones on popular culture..

Did Premier secretly produce Ludwig Supraphonic shells in the 70's? Listen to find out! Founded in 1922, Premier is the most famous brand in British drum history and has a fascinating story. Mike Ellis is an expert on Premier and an avid restorer who shares the complete history with us plus tons of great stories along the way.

Beginning with the Revolutionary War, we learn the role of drummers in the Military and the purpose they served as a form of communication and a way to keep the troops unified. Then we take a deep dive into the Civil War and learn all about the importance of the Fife and Drum Corp on both sides in the war that divided the country.

Rob tells us the story of the postponed 2020 Chicago Drum Show and what we can expect in 2021. He also tells us about the 30 year history of the show going back to year one with some great stories along the way. We also chat about drum legend George Way and fill in some gaps in his history that has been covered in previous episodes on Way.

(You do not need to have listened to part 1 to enjoy this episode) Part 2 covers the role of working drummers starting in the 1960's with session drummers, then Rock and Roll superstar's, through the 80's monster drumsets and up to modern times.

Andy Zildjian is the president of Sabian Cymbals and takes us on a very fun journey through the history of the company that dates back to its founding in 1981 by his father, Robert Zildjian.

We talk about celebrities who are also drummers such as Chevy Chase, Bob Crane, Johnny Carson, Andy Kaufman and many more.

Uli is the Ludwig Marketing and Artist Relations Manager and shares the complete history of the iconic Black Beauty snare drum. We discuss how it originated as the 1919 "Inspiration Model" and then evolved into Black beauty we know today over the next 100 years.

Dom Famularo teaches us about Billy Gladstone, Sanford A, Moeller, and George L. Stone - the godfathers of drumming technique.

Bill shares the full story of C&C Drums that began with the first kit he made for Carl Palmer, and then later grew to be one of the most popular boutique drum brands in the world.

CEO of Modern Drummer Magazine, David Frangioni is this weeks guest. We discuss the history of Modern Drummer and talk about how drummers can make the best of the current "Stay Home" situation, plus we learn about his long and exciting career in the music world.

Gary is a historian and expert on all things Ringo Starr. He has curated Ringo's collection of original Beatles drum kits and is full of great stories about Ringo that you won't hear from anyone else!

This James Brown song from 1969 made a very small splash at first, until it's beat was re-discovered in the 80's and changed the world of music forever. We take a deep dive learning everything about Clyde Stubblefield's Funky Drummer beat including how and where it was recorded with James Brown, the gear he used, the impact on music, and Clyde's legacy.

This very special episode takes a deep dive into the history of New Orleans Jazz and features multiple interviews that I did in New Orleans while I was there to see the Rolling Stones and meet Charlie Watts in July, 2019. I was lucky enough to sit down with Stanton Moore and get the full history of Nola Jazz, and also backstage with Walter Harris and Joe Lastie at Preservation Hall Jazz Club, plus even more information from Greg Lambousy of the Nola Jazz Museum.

Sezar teaches us the full History of Istanbul Agop, dating back to its origins in the Zildjian K Factory where Agop Tomurcuk learned how to make cymbals. We discuss how hand hammered cymbals are made and why Turkey is so special for cymbal making.