#147 Mike Dawson- Drummer, Podcaster, Managing Editor for Modern Drummer & More!!!
Mike Dawson is managing editor for Modern Drummer, the world’s most widely read magazine for drummers, and he serves as book editor for Modern Drummer Publications, with most recent releases including FUNdamentals of Drumming for Kids by modern country great Rich Redmond and co-author Michael Aubrecht, Stick Technique by rudimental drumming specialist Bill Bachman, and Exercises in African-American Funk by University of Miami professor Steve Rucker and top touring drummer Jonathan Joseph (Jeff Beck, Joss Stone, Richard Bona). In the pages of MD, Dawson has authored dozens of artist features, educational columns, event reports, and product reviews. He is one half of the Mike and Mike podcast team for the Modern Drummer Podcast. An active performer, teacher, and session drummer in the New York City area, Dawson has a bachelor’s degree in music education from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s Senior Lecturer in music journalism at the University of the Arts. Mike also produces drum tracks for artists all around the world out of his home studio in New Jersey.
Gig Alerts for this week…..
Damon will play with Scott Kettner’s Maracatu NY up 6th ave for the Halloween parade. He will also play Cisco Brewers Portsmouth (NH) with Ken Freeman Nov 7-8th, as well as attending Pasic in Indianapolis, IN from Nov 13-16th. While out at Pasic, Damon will visit the Rhythm Discovery Center.
Amazon is hosting a Music festival in December in Las Vegas. You can check out the Dice App or Jambase (dot com) for upcoming festival listings and tickets!
Check out Nation Beat and The Rebirth Brass Band at the Hamilton in Washington D.C.
The Snarky Puppy Europe tour has started as well. Some of those shows are selling out, so if you are on that side of the ocean, get your tickets now! You can catch (friends of the show) Marcelo Woloski and Keita Ogawa on tour with the group for various legs of the tour.
Educational Spotlight for this week…..
How musicians on the road can also run and operate a business. If you have a music project (in the USA), you can apply for a music grant to help with the funding.
Product Review for this week…..
Q Acoustic Concept 20 Bookshelf Speakers can be a substitute for dishing out tons of money on Focal studio speakers. As promised, below is the list of inexpensive microphones (courtesy of Aaron Sterling).
You can also download a free home studio handbook HERE. We also did a three part “setting up your home studio” series in Episodes 26, ep 27 & ep 28.
The Iconic Recording for this week……
“Do It Again” performed by Steely Dan of the ‘Can’t Buy a Thrill’ album. It features Victor Feldman on percussion.
Music News for this week…..
Japanese Fan Travels 6,000 Miles to Cleveland to Meet Bone Thugs n’ Harmony, Gets Robbed Blind by Locals. Musicians Are Ruining Every Disney Event Until They Get Better Streaming Royalties. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its nominees for the Class of 2020. Lizzo Faces Another Plagiarism Accusation — This Time from 90s Singer Cece Peniston.
The song leading into and out of the interview is by Dayan
Mike Dawson and Mike Johnston co-host the Modern Drummer Podcast with Mike and Mike.
Damon and Mike start out talking about Jeff Porcaro and his drumming, including the Pink Floyd tune “Mother” which features Jeff’s drumming.
Maryland is known for using Old Bay seasoning.
Mike got his undergraduate degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown. Mike was fortunate enough to study with She-e Wu on marimba.
Damon mentions the Tempo Slo Mo App for slowing down tracks, but keeping them at pitch. Mike brings up the Yamaha EAD10 app as well.
Mike received a master’s degree in music from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He’s Senior Lecturer in music journalism at the University of the Arts.
Mike and Damon talk about how the Modern Drummer Magazine gets put together in print, as well as its online component. If you are interested in the past issues of Modern Drummer, be sure to check out their ARCHIVE, all the way back to issue number 1. There are different options all available on the SUBSCRIPTION PAGE.
A couple of books that Mike has been involved with are Stick Technique and Rhythm & Chops Builders by (friend of the show) Bill Bachman.
Damon and Mike talk about writing charts. The program Damon uses on his iPad is called ForScore. Damon also uses this BLUETOOTH PEDAL to turn pages. If you need to learn how to use ForScore, here is a TUTORIAL.
Mike got the gig at Modern Drummer from “interning” for Rick Van Horn.
Mike always has a Tune-Bot Tuner in his stickbag for emergencies. He also has a CruzTools Multi-Tool. Tama Drums has one of their own and so does Pearl Drums. Damon has been using the Wing Key.
Things Damon always keeps in his car are the Rock-N-Roller R12 cart, bungee cords, carabiner clips, & packing blankets.
For cheesesteaks, you can choose from Jim’s on South St. , to Tony Luke’s, to Ishkabibble’s.
You can follow Mike on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
