Photo: Kimberly Adamis Fongheiser
Just to start off, take us back to how you first discovered music and why you ended up a drummer!
A few things. I always liked rhythm. I was a tap dancer as a kid. We always had music on in the house. My parents loved to dance. This was the sixties. I always had a transistor radio to my ear. I thought it would be great to be a radio DJ. They got to listen to music and make people feel good. My older brother is a drummer. So I started playing on his drums. I also would listen to drums on TV and in movies a lot. It went from there…
Can you remember the first groove or drummer that really made you want to sit down and figure out what was going on?
Two come to mind: “Twenty Five Miles” by Edwin Starr. Drummer was Uriel Jones from Motown’s Funk Brothers. “Spinning Wheel” by Blood, Sweat & Tears. Drummer Bobby Colomby.
You’ve been a mainstay on the session drummer scene for a long time now. Early on, what helped you break into that world and start getting calls?
I wanted to make records since I was a kid, seeing credits by Jeff Porcaro, Harvey Mason and others’ names on so many different albums. I thought it would be so great to help create the feel and play on so many different songs. As a teen playing club gigs in the SF Bay Area, I would pretend I was playing on the recording session of each song. When I was 20 years old, I moved to LA with a band. We did well. Typical story. Got a record deal. Lost the record deal. Ha! The band disbanded about a year later. My dad encouraged me to stay in LA and give it a good try. Fortunately, the band had a good musical reputation. So I just began playing with anyone and everyone. Setting up and tearing down two to three times a day. Only getting paid for some. There were always sessions going on around town and kind people began recommending me. I began meeting producers. I gave and still give 100% to each and every session. No session is less than another. I also feel a deep responsibility. Someone is hiring you to help them with their music! Their baby! What an honor that is! It was also the beginning of drum machines. A lot of drummers were not interested. I was also into electronic drums, so I learned all the machines out at the time. I would get hired to program as well as play on top of the programmed drums. Usually replacing with live hi-hat, snare or snare & tom fills. It got me in the rooms and really helped my time.
Your discography spans artists and records of virtually all styles – from Tracy Chapman and Counting Crows to Heart and Ricky Martin. Is there a genre you prefer over all others? If you just sit down to play from the heart, what comes out?
I used to joke that someone would call and say, “You’re what we need, it’s a heavy rock groove record.” The next call would say, “We’re calling because we need a ‘sensitive singer-songwriter brush-type track.’” Then a “jazz-type film track.” Some would think of me for multiple things. I used to think, “I don’t care what you think I am or can provide, I’m just happy you think of me.”
I love playing music. In general, I don’t really think in genre. I think about what the artist and song need. I grew up studying and playing many different styles of music. I believe in order to play these styles or genres correctly, you need to know where they originated. Listen deeply. There is an attitude and reason for all of them. For me, it’s about attitude, touch, sound and feel. What does the melody need to support it in the best way possible? How is the singer phrasing their lyrics? Is it a dark or bright lyric? Focus in on the song. I don’t think too much about my own part or technique. That is for the practice room. I focus deep and listen intensely to the song/singer.
“I had the opportunity to truly learn how to support and follow an artist.”
Looking back on all the records, tours and projects you’ve been part of, are there one or a few that really stand out on either a personal or professional level? If so, why?
There are so many! I have learned from every session and tour. And I am grateful for each and every one. Here are just a quick few.
Tracy Chapman – her first record. Playing amazing songs. Producer David Kershenbaum guided us. I had the opportunity to truly learn how to support and follow an artist. This was done with no click, at a time when everything was machine-like time. So it gave me the opportunity to truly learn both sides.
John Paul Jones – He asked me to tour after he produced and arranged Heart’s The Road Home live acoustic record, which I played on. It was with Diamanda Galás (vocals, piano, organ), John and I. It was an amazing experience. He was so giving of his incredible experience and knowledge. John and I would do these funk-type jams at soundcheck. We had a great time. R&B is both of our main influences. After the tour he had a record he was going to release. He called me and wanted to come to LA to record him and me doing one of those funk soundcheck jams and call it “Bass and Drums” for his record and to also have me play djembe on a song. I was, of course, so incredibly honored. He also brought in Brian Foraker to engineer, who engineered the Heart record.
Boy Meets Girl – Real Life record. Playing such well-written songs with great singing. Working with the great Arif Mardin was an incredible experience. He was kind and gracious. Much like JPJ in that way.
Heart – “Love Alive” Tour. The band sounded great! Toured with my wife as band photographer. My kids came to the Hollywood Bowl show.
Ann Wilson – Producing a song, “Walk With Me,” for Heart of Gold (The Songs of Neil Young) tribute series. Getting to produce one of the greatest singers ever and a friend was an amazing experience. Ann and everyone involved delivered beyond!
This is truly just a few of many.
To you, what is the number-one quality a good session drummer needs – and why?
Openness! The ability to be open to whatever the moment or session brings. Listen to everything going on and find your place. Be open to suggestions. Willing to reach out of your comfort zone. Hopefully you can give them something more than they were even thinking. Maybe in a different way than they were even thinking. And that doesn’t necessarily mean more playing. Ha.
How do you generally prepare for a session? Do you practice until you know every beat and bar by heart, or do you leave room for some spur-of-the-moment improvisation?
Connection. Sit and talk with the artist and producer about the song and what their hopes, wants and needs are. Also, a little about life itself. Get a connection. Usually that’s when magic happens. I usually don’t hear the song until we are there ready to record. I like to hear a stripped-down version of the song unless they have something specific in mind. This way I can get in the middle of the feeling of the song itself. Of course this can change with different sessions. I usually write out a quick chart in my own style. In a way that gives me the important structure, hits & stops. Maybe quickly write out a basic groove for sections. But when I sit down to play, I may not end up doing those grooves. I react. I let the song and singer inspire. Also, I listen to what others are playing as well.
Having tracked countless records, do you still get that “recording light fever” when the engineer says, “We’re rolling”?
Yes! If you don’t, you don’t care. You’re only as good as today. With that said, it’s not as intense these days with all the fixing and editing that can be done. I do miss that intensity. I try to get it in other ways now. Before Pro Tools, we needed a few deeper skills. Especially drummers. You had to basically get a perfect take all the way through. Very little ability to punch in. Also, they usually had a more expensive studio for drum sounds. That definitely brought an intensity. But regardless of any change, extreme deep focus is still 100% necessary. Dig deep and go. The drummer has an extra responsibility. Usually the conductor guiding the track through feel and dynamics.
What’s your best-ever moment in the studio?
The best is when a magical overall feeling happens. When you’re done with a take and don’t really know what just happened, but it felt good. This is what we strive for. That “record take.” Especially when we are able to track full band together. Sometimes it happens in a chorus and hopefully in the full song. There have been times when we hadn’t heard the song yet, the artist might be playing piano and singing. They start the song and we start joining in. Luckily “RECORD” was pressed! Because everyone was focusing on the song and not themselves, something magical happened. We would listen and of course think we can do better, but when we went to do it “better,” it wasn’t. Maybe more perfect technically. But it didn’t have that “thing”! A magical feeling that grabs you to listen, be engaged and be taken for a ride!!
One of your kits was sampled for Niko Bolas’ LA Sessions SDX. To you, what’s special about this set? And why do you think Niko chose this particular one?
I love that kit! It has a beautiful sound to it. It can also go many ways in the mix. I used it on a session with Niko, and I think he likes the “vintage-ness” it has. It sounds warm but not dark. And I guess it helped fit into what he was looking to put together. When he called and said he would like to have it in his pack, I was ecstatic. Niko is great. What an honor! Of course, he made it sound GREAT! The Koa Rogers kit is my first drum set. The Ludwig Supraphonic is also my first snare drum. There’s also a DW/PDP wood-hoop snare and a ’50s WFL Club Date bass drum. The Zildjian cymbals are mostly vintage.
“I love that kit! It has a beautiful sound to it. It can also go many ways in the mix.”
After all these years behind the kit, is there still something in your playing you’re actively working on? Do you keep a regular practice routine?
I try to evolve as a musician/person by soaking in life and being aware, experiencing, listening to new music. To me, that all feeds new things to express with our instruments. I’m always looking at new gear. Whether drums, percussion, electronics gear or audio recording or mixing gear. Even if I don’t purchase something, it helps me look at doing things a different way; take a different approach in playing and creating. When things are busy, we don’t get time to practice, but when I do, I’ll work on keeping up deep focus. One thing I do is set a tempo, using either a metronome or just in my head. I’ll just start playing something. No matter what it is I play, I keep it going as consistently as possible for five minutes. No variation. Then I shift tempos and do something new. I never really think about what I will play. I just play. Whatever it is, it is. That’s just one example, of course.
“I love the way Superior Drummer is laid out and sounds. I have used it with great producers who love live organic recordings. But they now also love this process as well.”
Which Toontrack tools make it into your workflow, and how do you use them in your work?
I use Toontrack when I am doing a session or overdubs using virtual instruments. I trigger Superior Drummer with pads or other controllers. When 2020 hit and we were not able to go into the studio together, this became a great way to record remotely. I love the way Superior Drummer is laid out and sounds. I have used it with great producers who love live organic recordings. But they now also love this process as well. When I’m mixing a record, I’ll sometimes use this if an overdub is needed. Such a wonderful wide range of sounds.
Walk us through a typical “day in the life” for you – whether you’re in the studio, at home or out on the road.
Studio: All depends. Usually, get to the studio around 9 a.m. Make sure the drums are the right ones for the room. Adjust if needed. Get some sounds and begin the process of the session as I mentioned above.
Home: Make coffee, have a morning conversation with my wife. Then she will work on her art and I will work on mine. Hopefully text, talk to or see the kids or grandkids, meet a friend for lunch or dinner. Take a walk. Watch a movie.
Tour: Go to the venue for soundcheck in the afternoon. Have dinner. Start focusing at least 1.5 hours before the show and stretch a lot. Play the show. Get on the bus. Head to the next city.
And finally, what’s the best part of making music and playing drums for a living?
Connection with the people you are working with and whomever is listening. Being a small part of giving that feeling to others. Making them feel something. Similar to what the radio DJs and music I listened to did for me. Also, being able to do what you love. I believe we can design our own lives. We are all individuals. There is no one way to live life or make a living.
Get Denny on your songs. Check out his MIDI pack here.
