#448 Wayne Salzmann II- Drummer, Educator, Author, and More!
Photo by Max Crace
This week’s guest is Wayne Salzmann II. Wayne is a Drummer, Educator, Author, and Composer who has toured and recorded extensively with Grammy winning guitarist Eric Johnson. He has also performed/recorded with Steve Miller, Kenny Rogers, Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Cross, Bob Schneider, Joe Satriani, G3, Mike Stern, Joe Bonamassa, Robben Ford, Oz Noy, Chris Potter, Dick Oatts, Bill Watrous, Diane Schuur, Bobby Shew, UT Jazz Faculty, San Antonio Symphony, and many others. He has hundreds of recording credits, including a Billboard no. 1 Jazz record, a Billboard no. 1 Blues record, and feature film soundtracks.
Salzmann taught at the University of Texas at Austin from 2010-2022 as the Drum Set Instructor and has given clinics and masterclasses worldwide. His book Developing Melodic Language on the Drums has received high acclaim from legendary drummers Peter Erskine, Ed Soph, Carl Allen, John Riley, and from Modern Drummer Magazine. He collaborated with the Zildjian Company to create the Zildjian Drumset Method, and his drum studio at UT-Austin was featured in Vic Firth’s Inside the Teaching Studio. His compositions and arrangements can be heard on recordings with his jazz quartet and six-piece funk band, Wayne Salzmann’s Groove Society. He is an Artist/Clinician for DW Drums, Pedals, & Hardware, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, and Vic Firth Drumsticks.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to friend of the show, Colin McNutt. Colin has instructed and arranged for the Star of Indiana Drum and Bugle Corps and the popular stage production Blast! He has also written for and instructed the Crossmen Drum and Bugle Corps, the Glassmen Drum and Bugle Corps, Magic of Orlando, and the Madison Scouts. Colin has served on the faculty of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he is an alumnus and received degrees in Classics and Music Education. Most recently, he was the Percussion Caption Supervisor and then Caption Head for the nine-time DCI World Champion Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps. This past year he became the Caption Head for the Boston Crusaders.
He hasn't only instructed, as McNutt started marching drum corps his junior year in high school in 1988 with the Boston Crusaders of Boston, Mass., then aging out with the Santa Clara Vanguard of Santa Clara, California, in 1992.
McNutt has made a career out of his passion for music and percussion, while in between completing his double major of music education and classics from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1998. When not instructing drum corps, McNutt conducts clinics for the percussion companies Avedis Zildjian Co., REMO, Inc., and Vic Firth. He also writes music for marching bands in the United States, Canada, Thailand & Japan.
Happy Birthday to friend of the show, Gabo Lugo. Born in Puerto Rico, Gabriel “Gabo” Lugo’s production work has been nominated for multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.
Bachelor's degree, Electronic Production & Sound Design from Berklee College of Music From 2008 to 2012. Global Studies International Business Program at Berklee Valencia From 2012 to 2012. Gabo Lugo is skilled in: Sound Design, Audio Engineering education and more! This is the single he produced that came out summer of 2020.
Gig Alerts
The Air Force has music openings and auditions coming up in San Antonio, TX. The drumset audtion is happening on Oct 6th and Pre-screen submissions for Guitar, Piano/Keyboard, Trumpet (Jazz), Drum Set and Audio Engineer are due August 11th.
Drummer’s Night Out is taking place in Huntsville, AL on August 9th at 2211 Seminole Drive RR #7. Friends of the show, Trevor Lawrence Jr. and Teddy Campbell will be two of the featured drummers.
This is finals week for DCI (Drum Corps International). There will be events all week long, and you can even watch in selected movie theaters.
The Blues BBQ Fest is happening at Pier 76 in Hudson River Park in NYC on Saturday August 16th. This is one of the events partially sponsored by the Jazz Foundation of America.
Educational Spotlight
The Thursday night “Jazz Night” artists for this year’s PASIC have been announced. Friend of the show Dafnis Prieto is one of the artists performing.
Product Review
Zildjian and Crayola have made some fun colored drumsticks for kids!
Iconic Recording
Wayne picked “Come Together” by the Beatles from the Abbey Road album as the iconic recording. Richard Starkey (aka Ringo Starr) is the drummer.
Music News
House Republicans want to change the Kennedy Center’s name to honor Trump. Turns out, it’s illegal. -See below for article
You can help PBS and NPR by clicking THIS LINK HERE.
JP Saxe had to cancel his fall tour. To read more about it, the article is below. Shout-out to friend of the show and JP’s drummer, Adam Hanson.
Josh Freese and Ilan Rubin have switched gigs.
Wayne Salzmann II Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “Charmingly Disarming Lee” by Wayne’s group, off the album ‘Groove Society.’
Wayne and Damon met at PASIC a few years back.
Wayne is giving a clinic this fall. He talks about what he plans to present in his seminar.
The concepts from his forthcoming PASIC seminar are the building blocks for his new book.
Damon mentions soloing for the right style. He mentions this Gaylord Birch solo.
Wayne wrote a previous book that you can get HERE, called, “Developing Melodic Language on the Drums”.
He asks Damon about what he will present at his clinic.
Wayne lived in Austin Texas for 15 years and taught lessons at The University of Texas at Austin. He is now currently back in the state he’s from, Wisconsin.
He talks about moving back to WI during the pandemic.
Wayne talks about getting older and priorities shifting.
Wayne started teaching privately at age 16.
Wayne also coaches soccer with his wife.
Wayne talks about his preparation for different artists with and without charts and/or rehearsal.
He uses an ipad and the program forScore.
For those that do not know what a Nashville Number chart looks like, see below.
He also has playlists and runs errands while listening constantly.
Wayne uses Stage Traxx for some of his chart and tempo duties.
Damon brings up the M’Boom performance that will take place at PASIC this year with friends of the show, Thomas Taylor and Stefon Harris.
Damon asks Wayne where he prefers to get cheese curds from. He mentions Culver’s. Damon mentions The Old Fashioned.
Wayne’s dad was a drummer. Milestones peaked his interest.
He tells the story about playing “In A Gadda Da Vida” by Iron Butterfly.
Wayne picks the iconic recording for the week.
Wayne went to undergrad at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
Wayne got his masters at the University of Texas at Austin (where he taught for 12 years).
Wayne mentions some venues to go (in Austin) where you can meet other musicians if you’re new to town. The Elephant Room (specifically Mondays), Monks Jazz, Parker Jazz Club, C Boys, The Continental Club, and The Gallery.
Check out the Austin Chronicle.
Wayne talks about the steakhouse scene.
Wayne uses DW Drums and Hardware, ZIldjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Remo Drumheads, Pro Logix Practice Pads, and SKB Cases.
Shout-out to Greg Thiel, Ryan Korb, Robert Rosen.
You can follow Wayne on his Website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!
The song leading out of the interview is “Manhattan” by Eric Johnson from the ‘Europe Live’ album with Wayne on drums.
