#91 Nate Werth- Percussionist for Ghost Note, Snarky Puppy and More!

The photo taken of Nate is by Michael Weintrob.

Grammy-award winning musician, Nate Werth, is one of today's most innovative and versatile percussionists. Hailing from Dyer, Indiana, his approach to diverse musical styles, as well as an inventive use of traditional and non-traditional percussion, defines his unique sound. Nate's musical career began at age 8 while taking orchestral percussion lessons. Soon after, he developed a love for all worlds of percussion. After years of practice, Nate decided to pursue a career in music. He subsequently attended the prestigious University of North Texas from 2001 to 2006, where he refined his technical skills and studied with legendary musicians and educators, including Poovalur Sriji, Jose Aponte, Gideon Alorwoyie, Paul Rennick, Christopher Deane, and Mark Ford.

After his formal studies, Nate quickly became a staple in the Dallas-Fort Worth R&B and Gospel music scene. Over the next 11 years, he formed intimate musical relationships with Grammy Award Winners Robert "Sput" Searight, Shaun Martin, and Bernard Wright. In 2013, Nate moved to New York City to further immerse himself in a wide array of musical cultures.

A Meinl Percussion, Meinl Cymbals, Tama Drums, and Vic Firth endorser, Nate has been actively recording and touring world wide for the past decade. He has worked with internationally acclaimed artists such as Snarky Puppy, Screaming Headless Torsos, David Crosby, Q-Tip, Lalah Hathaway, Susana Baca, The Lee Boys, Turkuaz, Myron Butler and Levi, Jamison Ross, and The Metropole Orchestra.

This episode starts with an educational spotlight…….

PASIC is coming up November 14-17 in Indianapolis, IN. Damon will not be there because he will be playing in Europe with Morgan James. Marcos will not be there because he will be playing in Mexico.

Also, Scott Kettner’s Maracatu, NY has some events coming up that you can join in on. One of them being the Halloween Parade in NYC. There are more video lessons up on the World Drum Lessons (dot com) website.

For the product reviews……

Damon talks about the DW Ultralight stands, and the iseries SKB cases (also known as the Flyer Series). He specifically talks about the rolling carry on case that he uses and mentions the Instagram video showcasing the cases he has. Discmakers introduces business cards with flashdrives on them for all of your promotional materials.

The iconic recording this week is by Paul Simon. Congratulations to him on the completion of his “Farewell Tour” and also retirement. Special shoutout to friend of the show, Jamey Haddad.

The song chosen is “The Coast” off of the ‘Rhythm of the Saints’ album. You can click to see the PERSONNEL on the album.

Music News this week…..

The Music Modernization Act passes through the Senate with unanimous support. It was renamed the Orrin Hatch Music Modernization act because he is retiring and has contributed to a platinum album. Shoutout to everyone who helped get this passed, especially the fine folks at SONA (Songwriters of North America). The USA memory champion shows you how to memorize like a champion. This can come in handy when trying to learn music and more. J. Cole’s Dreamville festival has been postponed to April 2019 due to hurricaine Florence. Maroon 5 is set to perform at the halftime show of the 2019 NFL Super Bowl.

Sunday October 7th, at The Acoustic in Black Rock (Bridgeport), CT is the benefit show for one of Marcos’ family members who needs medical attention.

The song leading into the interview is called “Weedie B. Good” by Ghost Note off of their new album ‘Swagism’.

Nate just finished recording album number 12 with Snarky Puppy. in El Paso Texas at the Sonic Ranch Studio.

Nate mentions that he and his older brother Nick Werth were both involved with music at a young age.

Nate mentions the Yamaha DTX pad for use with his samples.

The music camp Nate tried to remember is Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin.

Nate mentions being introduced to Richard Davis James (aka Aphex Twin) and the influence he’s had on him.

Nate was a member of the North Texas drumline under the instruction of Paul Rennick.

Nate talks about the south Indian instrument the Redundam and going on tour as well as studying that style of music, including the instrument Kanjira.

For this latest Snarky Puppy album, many instruments were used including Michael League’s Daf frame drums from Turkey (similar drums can be found in Iran).

Nate is part of the percussion section for Snarky and two of the other percussionists that were part of the album were Keita Ogawa and Marcelo Wolowski.

Ghost Note is going on tour. See if they are coming near you by clicking THIS LINK for the US dates. You can also see the European dates below.

If you are interested in checking out the album, you can get it on iTunes, Bandcamp, or Amazon, as well as stream it on Spotify. All of those links can be found when you CLICK HERE.

Nate will also be involved in the one day music festival called Brooklyn Comes Alive.