#194 Blair Sinta- Drummer, Educator, & Recording Specialist!
This week’s guest is Blair Sinta. Blair is a drummer in Los Angeles. He has toured and recorded with Alanis Morissette, Melissa Etheridge, Chris Cornell, Annie Lennox, Stevie Nicks, Dave Stewart, Glen Ballard, Damien Rice, John Fogerty, Gwen Stefani, Better Than Ezra and many others. Blair engineers, drums and writes music from his studio “Donkey Den”. He has developed a course to learn recording drums and engineering in the age of home studios called Sticks and Wires.
Happy Birthday
Happy birthday to Elvin Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004). Elvin is the younger brother of pianist Hank and trumpeter/composer Thad, Elvin came to NYC in the mid-50’s, and his unorthodox playing raised many eyebrows, although he was hired almost immediately by Bud Powell, J.J. Johnson and Stan Getz. Jones’ originality finally blossomed to its full potential when he joined John Coltrane’s band in 1960, and we’ll remember him with an early Coltrane masterpiece and then with a sample of his own excellent band from later years.
The suggested listening list can be found by CLICKING HERE.
The recording Damon mentions is called “Agenda” from the Poly-Currents album, also featuring Candido Camero on percussion.
Gig Alerts
There will be a Cajon Festival in Valencia, California on September 26th at 7pm via Zoom. More details to come!
Educational Spotlight
Pasic (Percussive Arts Society International Convention) has new artist updates for their virtual convention. If you need to get registered for PASIC, CLICK HERE. For more information on PAS (Percussive Arts Society), like how to join, CLICK HERE.
The two musical insurance companies Damon recommends checking out are Music Pro Insurance and Clarion Musical Instrument Insurance. If you are new to making spreadsheets in Excel, CLICK HERE.
Todd Bishop, aka the Cruise Ship Drummer, has released an E-Book of some of Elvin Jones’ transcriptions. He also has a ton of other goodness on his website.
Iconic Recording
Friend of the show, Marcos Lopez, added this song to the collaborative playlist of Iconic Pop Percussion tracks, that was started on Spotify. The song is called “Style of Life” by The Jacksons. The song was produced by Gamble and Huff and the rhythm section was made up of members of MFSB, later known as TSOP. The drummer is Earl Young and the percussionist was Larry “Bongo” Washington.
Music News
President Trump has indicated that there’s “$300 billion ready to go” for second stimulus checks, but it’s unclear whether Congress will agree to distribute the funds in a new round of economic assistance payments. -Article
Late last month, Digital Music News reported that residents of 32 states were approved to begin receiving federal unemployment checks once again. Now, the figure has increased to 47, and the roll-out timetable is much clearer. -Article
In an interview with Israeli financial newspaper Globes, former Spotify exec Tristan Jehan explained why artists receive notoriously low royalty payments from Spotify and other streaming music services. -Article
Natural Disaster Help
If you are in an area in danger of the west coast wildfires OR you just want to help someone who may be affected, here are two articles with plenty of information on ways you can provide assistance.
Article 1 - Article 2
There are currently 8 storms that are either hurricanes or tropical storms forming in the Caribbean. If you are in the area where one of those storms may hit your area, you can click this website (below) to get prepared for surviving the storms.
Storm Prep Website
The song leading into the interview is called “Promiscuous Existence” by Jeremy Bieber from the album, Evolution Imminent (which can be found on Bandcamp).
Blair Sinta Interview
The interview starts with Damon reminding Blair of a Loop Loft event they were both at.
Then they moved on to talking about Covid times and the lack of traffic and smog in L.A. Below are two pics, one from sunrise and the other mid-day.
Blair talks about how since the lockdown started, people have been asking for his help in the studio. One place you can seek out his help is his Sticks and Wires Patreon Page.
Damon and Blair talk about trying to figure out what you want to hear and how to achieve that in your studio set up.
The video Damon refers to of Questlove unpacking Marvin Gaye tunes can be seen here:
Blair’s website and patreon page are mentioned above. Blair’s YouTube channel has tons of info as well.
If you are interested in the loops Blair has created with the Loop Loft, you can check those out HERE.
Blair’s father is Donald Sinta. Saxophone professor and performer.
Blair attended the University of North Texas and then moved out to Los Angeles.
Classical percussion lessons were what his parents help provide him with, and playing drumset to records was what he did on his own as first.
Blair spent several summers attending Interlochen Summer Music Camp. You can find out more about Interlochen in the interview done with friend of the show, Keith Aleo.
Shout-out to Tariqh Akoni.
Blair’s first instrument was piano and then he moved to the saxophone before ending up with drums.
Knowing the music business has changed over time and now-a-days, there are more outlets and resources to figure that out. Like Ari Herstand’s book. One skill Blair mentions is playing with a click. This is definitely a must to succeed in music these days, especially any high profile tour. There are some other skills Damon and Blair discuss, including how to control your presence on social media.
Blair originally shied away from educating, but he has grown to become great at it. Both on drumming, and the studio.
Alanis Morissette was one gig that helped Blair feel secure with his career, but there are plenty of moments that keep him on his toes.
The educational program Damon brings up is called Go React. The podcast program Damon uses is called Zencastr. The program Blair brings up is called Audiomovers.
Blair splurged on buying a house after having a successful gig. He was given this idea hearing about the drummer Toss Panos. After he got the house, he then started to splurge on the drums.
A purchase that Blair has made where the end result was less than stellar was the Firchie snare drum.
Some drummers on Blair’s “Mount Rushmore”.
As a kid: Alex Van Halen, Neil Peart, Stuart Copeland, John Bonham, & Dave Weckl.
In college: Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, Tony Willams, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, & Zigaboo Modeliste.
Modern day: Matt Chamberlain, Abe Laboriel Jr., Curt Bisquera, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, & Steve Gadd.
Blair uses DW Drums, Shout-out to the Jazz Series. Istanbul Agop Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Gon Bops Percussion and Innovative Percussion Sticks and Mallets.
You can follow Blair on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or Patreon.
The song leading out of the interview is “Ghost in my Machine” by Annie Lennox from the album, Songs of Mass Distruction.
