This week’s guest is Andy Kruspe! Andy Kruspe is a freelance percussion instructor and bodhrán player from Huntsville, Alabama. He has performed with several groups throughout the southeastern United States, including Black Market Haggis, Mithril, David Coe and Friends, SlipJig, Candace Corrigan, the Liminal Duo, and 2nd Breakfast.

Andy is also active as a bodhrán teacher and clinician. He has taught at several workshops and clinics in the United States and Ireland, including The O'Flaherty's Irish Music Retreat (Midlothian, Texas, USA), The Fiddle and Pick Irish Music Weekend (Pegram, Tennessee, USA), and Craiceann (Inis Oírr, Ireland). Andy has also written four method books for the drum- First Steps: A Beginner's Guide to the Bodhrán, The Bodhrán Primer, Playing the Tune: Techniques for Accompanying Irish Traditional Music on the Bodhrán, and In Session + One (with Scottish bodhrán player Martin O’Neill).

Outside of his involvement with Irish traditional music, Andy is active as a percussion instructor at the high school and college level. He coordinates the front ensemble for the Sparkman High School (Harvest, AL) Marching Band and Indoor Drum Line and teaches adjunct at the University of North Alabama (Florence, AL).

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Little Johnny Rivero! Little Johnny has performed all over the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Caribbean and the South Pacific. Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Rivero, as young boy, was drawn to Latin jazz and the sounds and rhythms of the rumbero players in the NYC area. At age 10, Johnny began practicing percussion and joined his school band. Soon after, he took dance lessons, which eventually led to performances on stage with the bands of the era at such famous venues as the Manhattan Center, the Colgate Garden, the Copacabana, and the Palladium. At age 14, Rivero joined Orquesta Colon, the youngest Latin band in New York City, and recorded two albums with them.

In 1973, Rivero moved to Puerto Rico with his parents, and joined La Sonora Ponceña in 1974. After playing bongos with them for a year and a half, he switched to congas, which rekindled the love he had with the instrument as a small child. Rivero attributes the rhythms and professional conduct he learned from Quique Lucca and his son, Papo Lucca, as qualities that have made him what he is today. During the 16 years Rivero played with La Sonora Ponceña, he traveled worldwide and made 18 highly respected albums with them. - Read more

Happy Birthday to David Stanoch! David has drummed professionally since age 12. A student of masters Elliot Fine, Alan Dawson, Max Roach, Jeff Hamilton, Chad Wackerman, Ignacio Berroa, and others, he has built an eclectic musical reputation performing with artists from the worlds of jazz, rock, R&B, Broadway, motion picture and television including the Airmen of Note, Jackson Browne, Hiram Bullock, Charo, George Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Richard Davis, Herb Ellis, Robert Goulet, Colonel Bruce Hampton, Scott Henderson, Freedy Johnston, Shirley Jones, Stanley Jordan, Shari Lewis, Jack McDuff, the Minnesota Orchestra, Keb’ Mo, New Kids On The Block, Bob Newhart, Christine Ohlman, Regis Philbin, Bernard Purdie, Bonnie Raitt, Walfredo de Los Reyes, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Danny Seraphine, Doc Severinsen, Ed Shaughnessy, Martin Short, Ben Sidran, Jab’o Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, Timbuk 3, Butch Vig, Fred Wesley, and The Supremes’ Mary Wilson. He is currently musical director for Emmy-winner, Shaun Johnson’s Big Band Experience.

David served on the faculty of McNally Smith College of Music for 27 years and has guest-taught at the Berklee College of Music. He regularly gives clinics and masterclasses around North America including NAMM, PASIC and KoSA events. David is an advisor to the Percussive Arts Society Drumset Committee, and Drumset Editor for the PAS Percussive Notes magazine. David is member of the Modern Drummer, Remo, and Vic Firth Educational Teams and was presented the Legacy in Education Award by the YAMAHA Corporation of America in 2018. In 2020, he was one of four renowned drummers selected by the NAMM Foundation’s Percussion Marketing Council to participate in their 25th Anniversary Lesson With a Master Contest.

David has authored Mastering the Tables of Time (“#1 Edu Book,” Modern Drummer 2009 Readers Poll), co-authored The 2 in 1 Drummer (2014 Modern Drummer & DRUM! Magazine Edu Book Nominee), both available in print from Alfred Music Publishing. Mastering the Tables of Time is also available digitally from Hudson Music and was recently named one of their 10 best selling titles of 2020. David was also “Drumming History and Analysis Consultant” for Jim Berkenstadt’s book, The Beatle Who Vanished~The Unsolved Mystery of Jimmie Nicol, currently being made into a major motion picture.

David proudly endorses the premier percussion products made by Yamaha, Paiste, Remo, Vic Firth, Latin Percussion and Prologix.

Happy Birthday to James Williams! James Williams began his music career at the very young age of 6 years. It was in a local church in south Georgia, where his father was head pastor, that Williams would later develop his abilities while serving on the music ministry. Having participated in music programs offered during his public school education, James tested other instruments but settled on drums as his main interest. Later - when his family moved to Monterey, California - Williams joined the jazz band at Monterey High School. With the support of the Monterey Jazz Festival, he would receive his first international touring experiences and be set firmly on the path toward continued musical development. He began his collegiate studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and would later go on to complete his studies and receive his Bachelor and Master degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp in Belgium.

Williams has toured North America, Europe and Asia regularly over the years performing at blockbuster festivals such as Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Field Trip, PukkelPop, Umbria Jazz Festival, Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival, and the Tokyo Jazz Festival amongst many others. He’s made a career performing a wide variety of music with artists from across the globe spanning several genres. James has backed many artists including GRAMMY award winners and nominees Gary Burton, Burt Bacharach, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Wynton Marsalis, Emily King, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Jewel, Talib Kweli and others both onstage and in the recording studio. Williams has also broadened his performance scope to include theater, having been an original cast member in the Off-Broadway, Off West End, and West End productions of "Bacharach Reimagined" in New York City and London afterward a collaborator with Antwerp's Theater De Spiegel in Belgium.

In 2021, Williams helped to launch Inspired By Berklee, a global collaborative project between Berklee College of Music and Inspired Education, a group of 64+ K-12 schools around the world. The main component of this partnership is to send Berklee artists to Inspired Education schools to enhance their current performing arts programs and ignite creativity in their students. Williams also guests occasionally as drum instructor in the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp's Jazz department.

James has recently toured with Europe’s TheColorGrey , Robin McKelle, Portland; North America’s Amos Lee, Emily King, Joey Dosik, and South Africa’s Tutu Poane. His playing can be heard on recent and upcoming releases from recording artists Cory Henry, Milo Meskens, TheColorGrey, Mooneye, Mizuho, and Emily King to name but a few.

Happy Birthday to Roland Dénes! Roland is the timpanist for the Budapest Festival Orchestra. Roland was born in Szolnok, in 1974. He started his music studies in his hometown, then continued them in Budapest under Gábor Madarassy. In 1989 he was admitted to the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music, where he studied with Oszkár Schwartz. In 1993 he won a prize at the National Percussion Competition and started his studies at the Franz Liszt College of Music, where he earned his degree in 1997. From 1996 until 2006 he was a member of the BM Duna Symphony Orchestra. As of 1998 he has been involved in the productions of the BFO. From 2009 he regularly gives master classes in Hungary (Franz Liszt Academy of Music, College of Music, Pécs) and abroad (University of Maryland, USA, Columbus, USA). As of 2011 he has been invited to work with foreign orchestras (Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester, l’Orchestre Symphonique de Radio France). Since 2010 he has been an official representative of the Fromme Company in Vienna. He has been a regular guest artist at the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra since 2015.

Happy Birthday to Ed Fast! The acclaimed Latin jazz ensemble Ed Fast & Congabop delivers a high-energy performance featuring some of the most celebrated names in the Northeast jazz scene. Blending the rhythms of Afro-Caribbean traditions with straight-ahead jazz improvisation, Congabop promises a powerful and joyful performance not to be missed. Drummer, composer, and founder Ed Fast leads the ensemble with a driving sense of rhythm and purpose. A veteran of symphonic, Broadway, and jazz stages, Fast formed Congabop to explore the crossroads of Latin percussion and hard bop jazz. His original compositions and arrangements have earned acclaim for their spirit, sophistication, and irresistible groove.

Gig Alerts

The Giggs (dot live) website has a job opening for a country drummer. The audition is in Nashville.

Friend of the show, Jeffrey Barudin, has a tab on his website for job openings. They range from University to non-collegiate teaching as well as live performance. Sign up for the newsletter for bi-weekly updates!

The iHeart Music Festival is happening in Las Vegas, NV from Sept 18-19.

The Sea.Hear.Now! Festival is happening in Asbury Park, NJ on Sept 19-20. Damon will be there performing with Ziggy Marley.

Educational Spotlight

Andy is teaching a bodhrán for beginners class at Burritt on the Mountain in Huntsville, AL on Sept 19th from 1-3om.

The Netherlands Day of Percussion is hosted by the Dutch chapter of the Percussive Arts Society on Sat, Oct 10th. #SaveTheDate

Iconic Recording

Andy chose, “The Sound Of Muzak” by Porcupine Tree, from the album, ‘In Absentia’, with Gavin Harrison on drums.

Music News

Musicians union AFM Local 47 celebrates the passage of California’s SB 186, which it says will save hundreds of its 5,000 members’ jobs across the entertainment industry. -Article

Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has signed the ‘Taylor Swift Law’ to protect fans from the abusive resale of tickets and to provide free drinking water at large events. -Article

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The Music Industry Therapist Collective launches an industry-funded occupational health program for artists and crew on small- and mid-scale tours. -Article

Andy Kruspe Interview

The song leading into the interview is, “Concertina Reel Set” by Black Market Haggis, from the album, ‘Better Than It Sounds’.

Shout-out to friend of the show, Jeremy Wade for the introduction to Andy.

Andy teaches privately, does clinics/masterclasses as well as at the University of Northern Alabama.

Andy was born in North Carolina, but traveled around a bunch as a kid. Most of his formative years were in South Florida.

He got his undergrad at the University of Central Florida, with a music ed degree. Shout-out to Jeff Moore.

He got his masters at Louisiana State University.

He now resides in Huntsville, AL.

Andy and his dad were both in the Marine Corps. He talks about his path in the military.

Andy talks about his path to the bodhrán by way of marching percussion and percussion ensemble.

Part of this path were because of a genealogy result.

Shout-out to friend of the show, Rónán Ó Snodaigh.

Damon talks about his first bodhrán experience.

Andy talks about other percussion instruments that can be a bridge to the bodhrán.

Andy explains Jigs and Reels as well as Polkas and Slip Jigs.

Andy talks about what he will present at PASIC.

Damon mentions his odd meter playlist for his students.

Andy explains his home teaching setup. He also uses Legos. You can get a license.

Andy marched the Magic of Orlando 1995-96, and Madison Scouts 1997.

Damon talks about the instrumentation and orchestration of Irish ensembles.

Aside from the bodhrán, there’s the Ulian Pipes, Fiddle, Tin Whistle, Irish Flute, Guitar, Irish Banjo, Bouzouki, Mandolin, Celtic Harp, and Button Accordion.

Damon also mentions the Welsh Crwth and the Chinese Sheng.

Andy won a bodhrán competiton. He talks about the requirements to compete.

Andy has some books that he’s written. First Steps - The Bodhrán Primer - Playing The Tune - In Session + One - Karagadamu

Andy and Damon discuss stickings and tempos.

Andy picks the iconic recording for the week.

Damon’s iconic recording is “On Fire” by Michel Camilo with friend of the show Joel Rosenblatt (also on the same album are Dave Weckl and friend of the show Marvin “Smitty” Smith). Andy mentions “Caribe” on the album ‘One More Once’.