#464 PASIC Recap Part 1- Feat. Dafnis Prieto, Weedie Braimah, Keita Ogawa & Andy Akiho!
Today’s guests have been on previously. To hear those interviews, check out…..
Dafnis Prieto - Episode #128
Weedie Braimah - Episode #46 and Episode #140
Keita Ogawa - Episode #76
Andy Akiho - Episode #144
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Master Sergeant Glenn Robertson! Glenn is from Spencer, Massachusetts. From a very young age Glenn had a passion for drumming and rhythm. At the age of 4 he started honing his craft by playing on a cheap Sears drum set and mimicking a Simon Philips concert video and Pete Townshend’s Live From the Deep End. During his high school years Glenn won many awards and accolades and decided he should pursue music even deeper.
In the fall of 2000, Glenn went on to study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, Glenn was fortunate enough to be instructed by three of the most influential people in his life: World renowned clinicians and artists Thom Hannum, Eduardo Leandro, and Bob Gullotti. Glenn earned his degree in 2005. During his college years he was rewarded with the International Association of Jazz Educators Outstanding Musician Award and three Down Beat Magazine Awards. In 2004, Vic Firth recognized Glenn's talents as an up and coming artist and offered him an endorsement deal. Smith Drum Company and Samson Technologies were the next to follow and also added Glenn to their artist's roster in 2005.
Glenn performed with the Funk/Rock group, The Bomb Squad, which won an American Music Award in 2003 and has shared the stage with such groups as George Clinton and the 420 Funk Mob, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stefon Harris, Russ Gershon, as well as Ernie Watts, Adam Kolker, and Jeff Holmes. Glenn's comprehensive musical talent can be heard on his past recordings with The Missing Lance Project, and Spirit House Records recording artist, Barry Kingston and the Screaming Souls. He has played with Andrew Jones and Spirit House, an array of jazz groups from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Glenn has also played at Presidential Inaugurations for Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barak Obama, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Glenn is currently Sergeant First Class in the Army Field band where he plays drums as well as a founding member of the Six String Soldiers.
Happy Birthday to Neal Daniels! Born in New York, raised in Chicago and currently living in Los Angeles, Neal has made a name for himself touring with a handful of major artists all over the world. Some include, LP, Liz Phair, Booker T Jones, Rachel Platten, Léon, Bea Miller, Daya, Christina Grimmie, Darren Criss, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, Dua Lipa (Percussion) and many more. Neal also runs his own recording studio in Los Angeles called Whitefish Studios, where he records remote drum tracks for clients all over the world.
Happy Birthday to Mike Bennett! Mike is an internationally recognized drummer, percussionist, programmer, producer & composer working with many of today's top stars as well as legends of the music industry.
His tremendous musicality and high energy performances has led DRUM! Magazine to call him, "a full fledged chameleon, showing restraint or blasting chops when called for, with a clean sound, metronomic feel and a distinctly melodic soloing style." Modern Drummer Magazine agrees saying that Bennett is, "on the fast track... a versatile drummer who has built a reputation as one of L.A.'s finest."
Able to easily cross many contemporary and world genres, Bennett has performed and/or recorded with artists such as Hilary Duff, Richie Kotzen, Steve Stevens, Charlie Wilson, Pitbull, Benise, Andra Day, Mary Mary, Alicia Keys, Bruno Mars, Sabrina Carpenter, Common, Prince, Slash, Stevie Wonder, Marie Digby, Jamie Foxx, Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band and many others all over the globe. He has also made television appearances on programs such as The Tonight Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Good Morning America, The Today show and many more.
Off stage, Bennett is an in-demand producer, programmer and television/film composer for networks including NBC, ABC, FX, HISTORY, DISCOVERY, MTV, VH1, HGTV, DISNEY CHANNEL, A&E, BRAVO, Lifetime, ABC Family and many others.
Mike Bennett proudly endorses Yamaha Drums, DTX Electronics, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Aquarian Drumheads & LP Percussion.
Happy Birthday to Giovanni Hidalgo! Gio was born in Puerto Rico in 1963 and grew up in home filled with the drums, bongos, congas and timbales used by his father and grandfather, both musicians themselves. Gio began playing on a home made conga crafted by his father from a wooden barrel, when he was just eight years old. He also practiced on other percussion instruments, applying his great talent to become one of the top Latin percussionists in the world today.
Happy Birthday to Amy Smith! Amy is a nationally recognized performer and educator. As a member of the percussion group, The Caixa Trio (www.caixatrio.com) she has performed in France, Puerto Rico, Korea, Mexico, Brazil. In addition, Amy has performed with many orchestras including the Nashville Symphony, the Evansville Philharmonic, the Boulder Philharmonic, and the Sewanee Festival Orchestra. She is a sought after clinician and has presented workshops and master classes throughout the United States. A former resident of Tennessee, Amy was a band director for the Murfreesboro City Schools and the director of Steel de Boro, an elementary steel drum band. Under Smith’s direction, Steel de Boro performed at prestigious events including the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the National Staff Development Council, and the Housing and Urban Development Conference. Amy was the national winner of the 1996 MTNA Collegiate Percussion Competition. She was a marimba soloist with the Boulder Bach Festival in Colorado and was also a member of the 1994 Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps. In 2001, Smith studied African Music and Dance abroad in Ghana, West Africa. Amy holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a Performer’s Certificate from Pennsylvania State University. She received her Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where she was awarded a Chancellor’s Fellowship. Her former teachers include Frank Giguere, Dan Armstrong, Cort McClaren, Doug Walter, and Paschal Younge. Amy is an endorser of Innovative Percussion, Pearl/Adams Musical Instruments, Evans Drum Heads, and Grover Pro Percussion. Currently Amy is the orchestra. mariachi and percussion director at Young Women's Leadership Academy. She lives in El Paso, Texas with her husband, percussionist Andy Smith, and their two children.
Gig Alerts
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is happening in NYC on Thursday November, 27th.
If you are going to be in NYC and want to check out some music, slide over to the Tapped In (dot Live) websites.
If you want to catch a Broadway show, then CLICK HERE.
Or visit one of the many Christmas Markets.
Educational Spotlight
Friend of the show, Stefon Harris has released his Harmony Cloud Pro app that is dedicated to ear training and strengthening your harmony and pitch recognition.
Virtual PASIC starts Monday December 1st. You can get more info from the guide book app.
Iconic Recording
Damon chose the iconic recording for the week. It’s the same one he chooses each Thanksgiving, Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant Massacre”.
Music News
Shout-out to Olivia Dean who lambasted Live Nation/Ticketmaster in an Instagram story this afternoon, after tickets for the North American leg of her Art of Loving Live tour went on sale to the public. Scheduled to kick off in April, the 54-concert series had previously sold out several of its European dates. -Article
Shout-out to NPR (PBS and CPB). NPR will receive approximately $36 million in grant money to keep its interconnection system operational amid the fallout from Trump’s executive order. -Article
PASIC Booth Interviews - Part 1
The song leading into Dafnis’ interview is '“aprichos Cubanos”, from the album, '3 Sides of the Coin' by the Sí o Sí Quartet.
One of the thing Dafnis talks about is his new book, “What Are The Odds”.
You can get more books and educational tools from his website HERE.
The song leading into Weedie’s interview is, “Weediefoli” by Weedie Braimah, 'Petit Adama' Diarra, Bassidi Kone, Hatouma Sylla, Mumu Fresh from the album, ‘The Hands of Time’.
Weedie regularly takes groups to Africa. You can keep an eye on the Djapo Arts page for updates.
The song leading into Keita’s interview is “It Stays With You (cond. Jules Buckley)” performed by Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orkest from the new album, 'Somni'.
The song leading into Andy’s interview is, “Pentalateral I” by Andy Akiho, performed by (friends of the show) Sandbox Percussion.
