Percussionist, composer, producer and Grammy Award-winning artist, multiple Grammy nominee, and the founder of the indie rock band Run Downhill, whose newest album just came out last Friday, after they put out two new singles two weeks apart. Not only has he performed alongside the likes of Pete Townshend, Billy Idol, and numerous other notable names in music, but he has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals of traditional and contemporary music worldwide. When he’s not touring, recording, or performing live onstage, he conducts masterclasses, creates online performance video works, and his original compositions continue to gather international acclaim. He even presented classes and workshops to students worldwide and has developed musical curriculum concepts for school-age children for use in the United States and China.
“I was going to make an entirely instrumental album and then the other EP that I was assembling was going to be all vocal-driven songs and as time went by, I kind of was whittling down and making choices about which songs to include and there were a few that I canceled and moved into the To Do pile for works in the future; you know, some songs that either I wanted to spend more time with or that just didn't fit with the rest of this collection.”
“A friend of mine … former bandmate of mine… started a writer's consortium and named it ‘Song a day for a Month.’ And so, it was a group of singer-songwriters. You start with the fresh new song idea every day for a month… I asked him if I could be part of the group and he let me in… I was part of ‘Song a day for a Month’ from 2019 through I think 2022 or ‘23 was the last time that I actively participated.”
“In my home studio, I've got a broad collection of instruments that are basically ready to go when I'm tracking.”
“As we're playing back through all the mastering gear, which kind of sweetens it with a special EQ setting and you're really hearing it through beautiful monitors, the hair on the back of my neck starts to stand up. And you know that you're onto something when even listening to your own song, you're getting that corporeal reaction where the body itself is speaking back to you that this is something special.”
“When I did come to California, there was a time where it dawned on me that the best way for me to start moving forward as an artist – not only as a session and live player for hire within the Los Angeles music community, but also as an artist in my own right as a songwriter, lyricist, etc. – I really needed to be able to record my own music.”
“Primarily, I write and record with acoustic or electric plugged in instruments. I don't use a lot of samples, but I'm not opposed to using them. When it's the right call for the right song, I absolutely have used drum loops and synthesizers to trigger different samples. When those are the sounds that I'm after, I will absolutely employ those.”
“My songwriting chops and especially my arrangement chops really were honed and tightened throughout these experiences with that club.”
“There was moments where I felt conflicted because should not my career focus be on what I've trained to do as a classical contemporary percussionist, a drum set player, and now hand drum specialist. Should I not spend my time pursuing this rather than pursuing songwriting? And the more that I grappled with this, I think the more interesting the material became.”
“That can actually begin to emerge into a fully flushed out song. And those are the times that I really enjoy, is, the song begins to take over. And I forget what time it is. I forget to eat. I forget how long I've been in the studio because the idea is so fresh, I have a rule that I stay with the song until I've reached a stopping point that I can't creatively or intellectually move past. And that's the only time when I'll say, ‘Okay, it's time to put this down and come back to it another day’.”
“Originally, I wanted to make a catalog of material that I could license for film and television, as a lot of players and writers in Los Angeles want to do with one of the few remaining elements of the music industry that can generate royalty-based income. And that can help out a lot over the course of a multi-decade career.”
“For me, the grind never stopped. I lived the life of a freelance musician where you're starting to work with a band, and you'll get busy for a period and then that band will taper off because those people move on in their lives. And I've also been in other groups where I've had a tenure of 20 years or more.”
“There was some bucket list guys I got to see perform. I got to see Paul McCartney play live. I saw AC/DC perform live. Annie Lennox perform live. Like, just these wonderful musicians that I've loved and admired.”
“Gone Are the Days When it Rained”
“This is Us, In a Play”