

Drummers on Drumming
Ben Hilzinger
A podcast for drummers who think too much. Ben Hilzinger talks to the greats about creativity, identity, staying sane, and finding purpose behind the kit. Powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. For more inforamtion, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 31, 2022 • 32min
5 Things to Avoid on a Session When You're Playing Drums For an Artist
Today’s episode is part one of my conversation with Dan Bailey on the topic of 5 Things To Avoid When Working on a Session For An Artist".Dan is a Drummer / Music Director / Engineer / Multi-Instrumentalist who’s played with Father John Misty, First Aid Kit, Reignwolf and many more.He also has a handful of very useful online courses known as ‘The Bailey Method”. He covers everything from tuning, to recording, to engineering with a very boots-on-the-ground approach. I’ve learned a lot from them myself and they're great. I promise.---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 24, 2022 • 1h 13min
Big Fat Five: Ilan Rubin's (Nine Inch Nails, Angels and Airwaves) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Ilan Rubin. He is currently the drummer for Nine Inch Nails and Angels and Airwaves, but has collaborated with Paramore, M83, Beck, Phantogram and many, many more throughout the years. He’s also the co-owner of Q Drum Co and a prolific solo artist with releases under his own name (Ilan Rubin) and 'The New Regime' where he writes and records everything himself. He’s...incredible. We discuss A LOT of different topics, but I hope you enjoy a conversation built around the 5 records that shaped Ilan into the drummer he is today. Cheers!Paiste Roto Sound:https://youtu.be/eoqBlMVyn6A---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 17, 2022 • 48min
Big Fat Five: Rob "Beatdown" Brown's Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Rob “Beatdown” Brown. If you haven’t heard of Rob, it means you’re the perfect drummer and don’t need to work on anything. You’ve won drums. But if that’s not you (also ME!), and you’ve ever searched YouTube for literally anything drum education related…you’ve seen Mr. Beatdown. He is, hands down, my favorite YouTube instructor and one of the reasons I am lucky enough to still be a full-time drummer today. Here are the 5 records that shaped him into the player he is today. ---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 10, 2022 • 58min
Big Fat Five: Eddie Burns' (Clairo) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Eddie Burns…a Chicago-based producer / drummer who is currently out with the artist ‘Clairo’. He’s an incredible drummer with an old soul and a VAST knowledge of the Chicago music scene. I hope you enjoy the top 5 records that shaped Eddie into the drummer he is today. WATCH - 'Questlove talks Drums, Dilla, and D'Angelo | Red Bull Music Academy' HERE---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aug 3, 2022 • 56min
Big Fat Five: Thom Sonny Green's (alt-J) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Thom from the band Alt-J. He’s one of the most creative drummers out there today and the band, as a whole, are young legends. It was truly an honor talking with him and, if you don’t know Alt-J, they’re crafted a unique blend of folk, indie, electronica, and rock; it's their own genre, really. I hope you enjoy the 5 records that helped shaped Thom into the drummer he is today. He truly is a singular player and it's conversations like this that made me want to switch to this format. Cheers!---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 27, 2022 • 37min
Big Fat Five: J-rod Sullivan's Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Mr. Jerrod “J-rod” Sullivan…a bada$$ drummer, programmer, arranger, producer and educator. He’s incredibly clean with both his beard trimming skills and his playing, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg of the things I love about him. He’s incredibly prolific…posting all the time on his socials, which currently sit at almost 90,000 on YouTube and nearly 230,000 on Instagram. I’m sure it’s laughably beyond that if you’re listening to this a few years from now. He’s currently the drummer for Jeffrey Osborne / Avery Sunshine and The 4 Corners. Please enjoy the 5 records that shaped J-rod into the playe he is today. Cheers!Follow J-Rod on Instagram HEREFollow J-Rod on YouTube HERESign Up for his newsletter HERE---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 20, 2022 • 48min
Big Fat Five: Rajeev Maddela's (Currency Audio) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Rajeev Maddela. He’s a drum set artist, electronic music composer, DJ, computer programmer, and rudimental percussion instructor based in Brooklyn, NY. Under the name Maddela, he has released a host of singles and EP’s. His production work spans the genres of experimental drum and bass, future bass, and UK garage, with a focus on live performance elements and wide sonic palettes. The project I heard from him was CURRENCY AUDIO, which is an improvisational performance project exploring jungle, IDM, UK garage, dubstep and their various offshoots.Rajeev holds a degree in Computer Science from New York University. His career as a software engineer spans nearly two decades. Let’s just say he is a go-getter and it was truly an honor to talk to him. Big shoutout to Ian Maciak for introducing Rajeev to me, and yeah…let’s learn about the top 5 records that shaped Raj into the musician he is today. Cheers!Star of Indiana Drumline ‘93https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZF3tFhUPT4---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 13, 2022 • 47min
Big Fat Five: Jessica Burdeaux's (@jburdsbeats) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Jessica “The Hoot” Burdeaux. She’s a former guest of the show before we switched to the current format so I knew I had to get her back on. I’m confident you’ve seen her on either social media, Drumeo, YouTube or Reverb.com (for whom she’s sorta become the face of drumming). She’s extremely powerful and plays with a conviction that is undeniably fun to both watch and listen to. Her creative, syncopated rhythms have caught the attention of the entire drumming community and I’m very happy to call her a dear friend. You know her. You love her. I hope you enjoy my chat with Jessica Burdeaux on the 5 records that shaped her into the now-full-time drummer she is today. Cheers! Follow Jessica on Instagram HEREJessica’s (now-archived) first time on the podcast - LISTEN HERE---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTokArtwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jul 6, 2022 • 57min
Big Fat Five: Logan Baudean's Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest Logan Baudean…a New Orleans-raised, now LA-based musician. He can do it all. I don’t even remember how I first heard about Logan, but I’ve been following him for awhile now I was really excited to have him on. He certainly identifies as a drummer, but he’s also a sought-after guitarist, bassist and keyboardist and I’m sure the list goes on and on. Recently, he’s toured the world as the drummer for Barns Courtney and bassist for Palaye Royale. He’s just a cool guy. His perspectives are cool. His hair is cool. You won’t be able to see it, but his SHIRT was cool. Anyways, there’s a lot of great insight in this one. Truly. I hope you enjoy the 5 influential happenings that shaped Logan into the consistency-working hired guy he is today. Cheers!---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jun 29, 2022 • 45min
Big Fat Five: Petar Janjic's (Cory Wong) Top 5 Influential Records
This week’s guest is Petar Janjic…a Serbian-born, Nashville-based drummer by way of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He’s one of the funkiest groovers out there today and is THE drummer for one of today’s funkiest guitarists / bandleaders, Cory Wong. Before passing away, Prince himself even asked Petar to play on his record and…well…that’s that! He’s involved in a bunch of happenings, including his own project called ‘Heavy Chevy’. Please enjoy the trip 5 influential records that shaped Petar into the drummer he is today…CHEERS!Petar Janjic – Wanna Be Starting Something (Michael Jackson)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3FfziDlztU---Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today!🎯 Click here to order now!Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s packed with candid interviews and personal insights. Whether you’re just starting out or have been playing for years, this book is here to inspire you to sharpen your skills and find your own voice behind the kit.For more information on Big Fat Snare Drum, check out www.bigfatsnaredrum.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.Artwork by Trevin Frame Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


