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Drummers on Drumming

Drummers on Drumming

Ben Hilzinger

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1 Creator

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1 Creator

DRUMMERS ON DRUMMING dives deep into the groove, quirks, and ingenuity that define some of the world’s most innovative drummers. Hosted by Ben Hilzinger (Cannons, Eve 6) and powered by Big Fat Snare Drum, this podcast brings together a unique blend of personal stories, raw insights, and surprising perspectives. Each episode unpacks what makes a drummer's voice their own—whether it's through Big Fat Five, where guests reveal the five albums, moments, or influences that shaped their style, or The Drum Panel, a spirited roundtable tackling the instrument's most polarizing debates. Expect bold opinions, unexpected connections, and an authentic look at the drumming life—on and off the kit. --- 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.
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Top 10 Drummers on Drumming Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Drummers on Drumming episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Drummers on Drumming for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Drummers on Drumming episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Drummers on Drumming - Big Fat Five: Anika Nilles' Top 5 Influences
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09/01/21 • 52 min

This week’s guest is Anika Nilles. She doesn’t really need an introduction because there’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said, but she’s a German drummer who took the drumming world by storm in 2013 and has solidified time and time again why she’s one of the best drummers in the world. I’m continuously blown away that I have the opportunity to chat with people that I admire every week and I can honestly say drummers are the best group of people. I love my job....so please enjoy the top 5 influences that shaped the playing style of Anika Nilles.

P.S. I want to get to know you! Please email me at [email protected] or DM me on Instagram @benhilzinger and tell me a little bit about yourself! Cheers!

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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

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This week’s guest is my good buddy, E-MAN - drummer and recording extraordinaire. His main project these days is Andy Grammer, but he’s always busy recording out of his home studio near. Over the years, he’s worked with many amazing artists and producers including Gwen Stefani, Cody Simpson, Steve Lukather, Tommy Page, Tyler Johnson, Rabbit and it goes on and on and ON. He’s performed on SNL, David Letterman, The Tonight Show – basically all the shows 😊 But, at the end of the day, I consider him a dear friend and he’s just got a genuinely good and playful soul. I hope you enjoy the five records that shaped E-MAN into the drummer he is today. Cheers!

Check out his loops pack HERE

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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.

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Drummers on Drumming - Drum Shop Showcase - Jim Pettit of Memphis Drum Shop
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01/29/20 • 10 min

Today’s Drum Shop Showcase is the Memphis Drum Shop. While on a recent tour, Ben had the chance to sit down for a quick conversation with Jim Pettit, who co-owns the shop with his wife Nancy.  Through talking with Jim, we learn that, while Memphis Drum Shop is certainly still going strong, the priority has slowly shifted towards mycymbal.com which you’ll hear Jim describe shortly. We also discuss how their third venture, Memphis Gong Chamber, gives back in the name of health. Enjoy my short little conversation with Jim Pettit of Memphis Drum Shop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This week’s episode is payback for the boys from the podcast Working Drummer forcing me to take time out of MY damn day a few weeks ago to bump up THEIR podcast numbers. Now I’m totally using them.

All kidding aside, I absolutely love Matt and Zack. Their podcast (Working Drummer) highlights real stories of the every day “working drummer” and features guests, sometimes with a less recognizable name, but always with an impressive and distinct body of work. These conversations can help us all feel a little better about our own “path”. Please check it out. In this joint episode, I chatted with the boys about the top 5 influences that shaped their playing style. Aside from being amazing podcast hosts, Zack and Matt are incredibly accomplished drummers and VERY different players than me. I learned a s*$t ton in this episode and I know you will too.

Also...I created a Spotify playlist for all the songs played and/or mentioned in this episode. Just search for 'Big Fat Five Podcast - Working Drummer'

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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

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This week’s guest is the ever-energetic Nate Morton, drummer for NBC’s The Voice. His career spans multiple decades and performances with some pretty damn good artists such as Paul Stanley, Madonna, Chaka Kan, Natalie Cole, Vanessa Carlton, Miley Cyrus, Poe and many, many more. Nate is a monster player who knows exactly how to match the playing-for-the-song element with his own unique and powerful creative voice...no pun intended. This was such a fun conversation and we talked for HOURS so this is a very condensed version for the sake of focus, but I guarantee you will be hearing more of our chats in future episodes. Enjoy my hang with the one of my favorite humans...Nate Morton.

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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

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Drummers on Drumming - 5 Ways To Get and KEEP Your Drumming Gig
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03/25/20 • 25 min

Today’s guest is Mike Sleath…a Canadian-based drummer currently touring full-time with pop artist Shawn Mendes. Before getting the gig with Shawn, Mike hustled as a drummer for years in the Toronto scene and certainly paid his dues so I wanted to get him on the show to talk about “5 Ways to Get and Keep Your Drumming Gig”. Some of this stuff might be self-explanatory, but even the most obvious points have nuance and can always use a little re-enforcement. In addition to being an incredibly powerful drummer, Mike is one of the nicest dudes in the world and it was a blast having him on the podcast. Enjoy the show! This episode is brought to you by www.clearsoundbaffles.com. Enter the code BIGFATDISCOUNT at checkout for 10% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Drummers on Drumming - I get interviewed...

I get interviewed...

Drummers on Drumming

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02/28/23 • 53 min

This week’s guest is...me! I’ve been getting a lot of questions from new listeners regarding my time in LA and asking for any advice on how to make strides in their drumming career. While I certainly don’t think I’m an authority on that matter, I still welcome these conversations. That being said, I wanted to upload this episode for a good reference as to what I tend to say time and time again. I also acknowledge that my favorite podcasts ARE my favorite podcasts because I feel like I know the host and, while I try to keep these conversations as causal as possible, I don’t really talk about myself and my history too much. Sooo a few months back, I interviewed Ryan Seaman for Big Fat Five, but Ryan has his own show as well on Idobi Radio called ‘Ryan Seaman and Friends’. After our chat for this podcast, I hopped on his show to talk about MY story as a drummer and offer some advice of varying credibility. I hope you enjoy getting to know me a little bit better and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming soon! Also, please email me at [email protected] at any time to offer suggestions for the show e.g. comments, concerns, guest recommendations, congratulations on being such a great host - whatever you want! I’ve had some really kind people reach out as of late and it truly means the world. I don’t take any of it for granted. Anyways, enough about me. Here’s an episode all about me! Cheers.

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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.

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Welcome to the Big Fat Snare Drum Podcast. Today Ben sits down with Preston Parsons of Vessel Drum Company. They discuss the basics of drum construction and why boutique drum companies are such an essential niche in the drum community.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This week’s guest is THE Sam Merrick, drummer for ‘& Juliet’ on Broadway at the Sondheim Theater in New York City. We’ll learn more about that show later on in the episode, but Sam just got done with a 1200+ long run as the drummer for the national tour of Hamilton: An American Musical. In addition to live theatre, Sam has played with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Charlie Wilson, Charles Bradley and his Extraordinaires...and many more. He’s also got an amazing sample pack series called Break Habits (available exclusively at The Drum Broker). He’s a stud; people want to hire him and he can teach all of us a whole hell of a lot. I wanted to find out what he focuses on from a drumming perspective that’s formed him into such a professional, consistent player. Please enjoy my chat with Sam Merrick about the 5 records that shaped him into the drummer he is today. Cheers!

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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.

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Drummers on Drumming - Jojo Mayer: Clarity > Perfection
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07/21/21 • 88 min

My guest this week is Mr. Jojo Mayer...a mind-blowing player who helped pioneer the drum n bass movement in New York City by “reverse engineering” programmed drum loops and applying them to the drum set. He is also revered for his exceptional technique, which he dissects in the wildly-popular instructional series titled “Secret Weapons For The Modern Drummer Parts 1 & 2”. He is also the leader of his own band, Nerve, which he founded back in 1997. We don’t necessarily stick to the normal format in this one; Jojo is a great storyteller. We start off with a few anecdotes about a cymbal once-owned by Billy Higgins that Jojo picked up by happenstance AND Jojo’s time spent “studying” with Freddy Gruber, but we certainly touch on a lot of Jojo’s opinions / perspectives regarding accepting influences, but knowing when they’re actually a detriment to your personal growth on the instrument. He’s a very philosophical man and he shares quite a few nuggets of slap-you-in-the-face style wisdom. Please go check out all of his projects and, if you’re interested, check out Nerve’s Patreon HERE. I hope you enjoy my talk with Jojo Mayer.

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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

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FAQ

How many episodes does Drummers on Drumming have?

Drummers on Drumming currently has 264 episodes available.

What topics does Drummers on Drumming cover?

The podcast is about Music, Podcasts, Music Interviews and Music Commentary.

What is the most popular episode on Drummers on Drumming?

The episode title 'Big Fat Five: Anika Nilles' Top 5 Influences' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Drummers on Drumming?

The average episode length on Drummers on Drumming is 53 minutes.

How often are episodes of Drummers on Drumming released?

Episodes of Drummers on Drumming are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Drummers on Drumming?

The first episode of Drummers on Drumming was released on Oct 29, 2019.

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