#110 Satnam Ramgotra- Percussionist for Hans Zimmer, Galactic Booty Co., Alien Chatter and More!
The photo of Satnam was taken by Ganesh.
Today’s guest is drummer/percussionist, Satnam Ramgotra. He has a studio at Hans Zimmer’s studio “Remote Control Productions” where he writes and plays on many block buster movie scores. Inception, The Amazing Spiderman 2, Man Of Steel, Kick Ass, Rush, Captain Phillips and The Dark Knight Rises are just a few of the films he’s worked on recently, and they also happen to be some of the biggest movies of the past few years. His most recently wrote and played on the score to the new movie “The Last Knight” He has also toured playing kit and tabla with artists such as Sting, Beck, Seal and has his own groups like the Galactic Booty Co and Alien Chatter.
Satnam has a percussion library with The Loop Loft. The Loop Loft is a company created by (friend of the show) Ryan Gruss. You can listen to Ryan’s interviews HERE for part 1 and HERE for part 2.
Groundhog day just passed and you can get more info on how to attend the events for next year by clicking HERE.
The Superbowl happened and Gladys Knight performed the Star Spangled Banner while Chloe and Halle performed America the Beautiful. Maroon 5, Travis Scott and Big Boi performed the Halftime show. Meanwhile, Marcos watched Velvet Buzzsaw instead.
Damon was in a music video with the artist Caleb Hawley….
Damon was also a guest on the Disposable Heroes Podcast while he was out at NAMM. More details on that to come soon!
Damon is playing with Morgan James in (eastern) Canada.
The Congahead video featuring Jeremy Bosch’s new single “Una Noche Mas” is out featuring a few “friends of the show” including co-host, Marcos Torres.
You can also catch Marcos performing with Jeremy and his band at Rockwood Music Hall (stage 2) on Friday Feb 8th for FREE.
Marlena Fitzpatrick is hosting an event at the Local 802, Musician’s Union in NYC on Feb 20th called, Playing Together: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion in Music. Feb 20th is World Day of Social Justice.
In honor of Black History Month, the movie “Black Panther” will be heading back to theaters for free (for a limited time). The song list mentioned for Black History Month can be found by CLICKING HERE. Here is the DIscussions in Percussion official Black History Month Playlist.
The Iconic Recording this week is an Afro-Beat tune called “Zombie” from the album with the same title by Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, (more familiarly known as Fela Kuti).
The educaional spotlight features this rhythmic guide…..
As well as, the book Teaching Rhythm by David Newell and the rhythmic stylings of Justin Wilson II, aka Baby Boy Drummer.
More festivals to keep your eye on are the Great Day in Harlem concert at the legendary Apollo Theater hosted by the Jazz Foundation of America. Also, the DIY Musician Conference will be in Austin Texas this August and the early bird tickets are still available. Here are some things you’ll get from attending the conference.
Music News for this week is……
Apple admits (and still hasn’t fixed) the Facetime bug where you can call and listen to people without them actually picking up. Seven options as “side hustles” for musicians that won’t take away from their primary art. There is a new shower curtain liner for your phone or tablet so you can use it without worry of it getting wet. YouTube Music Finally Adds Sonos Speaker Integration. Lord of the Rings Director Peter Jackson Will Oversee the Upcoming Beatles Documentary ‘Let It Be’. NY Attorney General Declares War on Fake Followers, Likes, Hidden Endorsements, and ‘Online Deception’.
In addition to all the creative practice tips mentioned in the episode, here are two more articles that help you be creative with your practice and stay inspired. Article 1 and Article 2.
The song leading into the interview is “When Worlds Collide” by Alien Chatter.
Satnam grew up in Saskatoon, Canada where both Joni Mitchell and Gordie Howe are from.
Damon first saw Satnam play in a video talking about percussion used in the movie “Man of Steel”
After learning traditional Indian music on the Tabla, Satnam also took interest in the drumset and rock music.
John Fisher was one of Satnam’s teachers who got him started on the right path with drums. Other inspirations for getting Satnam to leave Canada and move to L.A. to pursue his musical career were the late Steve Adelson and Vinnie Colaiuta. The instructor that helped Satnam narrow down his vision was Casey Scheuerell and even Efrain Toro.
Satnam talks about Ustad Allarakha Qureshi as the father of Zakir Hussein and was one of the people that made the Tabla a more soloistic instrument rather than just accompaniment.
Here is a list of vocabulary that goes along with playing and learning the Tabla. This is a VIDEO that breaks down some of the basic Tabla bols. Damon finally looks up the spoken word rhythms, which are called Konakkol, and you can see the VIDEO HERE of the young girl and her teacher.
This is the scene in Black Hawk Down where Satnam used his mouth for some of the soundtrack which was his introduction to the world of Hans Zimmer. Here is the soundtrack to Dunkirk that was mentioned in the episode.
If you would like to see the whole concert, you can GO HERE and watch it on Netflix. You can also check out the encore of the Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl by CLICKING HERE.
Marc Brickman is a lighting designer who works with theatrical shows, concerts (like Pink Floyd) and even the Empire State Building.
Below is a photo of the Hammersmith Apollo in London.
Some of the artists in Satnam’s music rotation are: Massive Attack, Joni Mitchell, Radiohead, Neil Young, Little Dragon, The XX, and various Jazz artists.
Kiss Destroyer, was a life changing album for Satnam. He was also influenced by classical Indian music and bollywood music along with Indian love songs known as Ghazals. John Bonham and Led Zeppelin, The Ramones and Devo, U2, Spandau Ballet, & the J. Giles Band were all influences from his brothers and sisters. His band teacher introduced him to Billy Cobham and Spyro Gyra.
Satnam uses Blue Microphones, Zildjian Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, ProMark Sticks, DW Drums and Hardware, & Latin Percussion.
You can follow Satnam on IMDB, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
You can pick up Satnam’s percussion library from the Loop Loft as well!!!
The song leading out of the interview is “Evidence” a Thelonius Monk cover performed by Alien Chatter.
