This week’s guest is Doug Perkins. Doug Perkins specializes in new works for percussion as a chamber musician and soloist. His performances have been described as “terrific, wide-awake and strikingly entertaining” by the Boston Globe and he has been declared a “percussion virtuoso ” by the New York Times. He has appeared at venues of all types including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Millennium Park, the Alaskan Tundra, Central Park Lake, and countless others.

Over the last 15 years, Doug has commissioned and premiered over100 pieces works and with such composers as David Lang, Steve Reich, Paul Lansky, John Luther Adams, Nathan Davis, Larry Polansky, Christian Wolff, Glenn Kotche, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Tristan Perich. He founded the percussion quartet So Percussion and the Meehan/ Perkins Duo, and performs regularly with Signal, eighth blackbird, the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW, and others.

Doug’s critically acclaimed recordings as a soloist, conductor, producer, and member of the Meehan/ Perkins Duo and So Percussion can be heard on the Bridge, Cantaloupe, Harmonia Mundi, New Focus, and New World labels. They have been called “brilliant” by the New York Times and named to numerous Top10 of the Year lists. He produced John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit and it was named one of 2013’s top records by NPR, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the New Yorker, New Music Box, and Time Out New York. His latest record of Tristan Perich’s Parallels was named one of Rolling Stone’s 20 Best Avant Records of 2015.

Lately, Doug has been organizing large-scale events that encourage a sense of community and new ways of experiencing live music. His production of Iannis Xenakis’ Persephassa in and around Central Park Lake and John Luther Adams’ Inuksuit in New York City were named Top Ten Performances in 2010 and 2011 by the New Yorker, New York Magazine, and Time Out NY. Alex Ross called Inukuit at the Park Avenue Armory, “one of the most rapturous listening experiences of my life”. He also recently directed the premiere of John Luther Adams’, Sila, at Lincoln Center. Most recently, Doug premiered Tristan Perich’s, Drift Multiply, at the Red Bull Festival in New York and recorded it for an upcoming release in the fall of 2020.

Doug is an Associate Professor of Music and the Director of Percussion at the University of Michigan. He is additionally an Associate Professor of Music at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Previously, he was the Founder and Director and founder of the Chosen Vale International Percussion Seminar, served with eighth blackbird as an Artist-in-Residence at the University of Chicago, and was previously on the faculty of Dartmouth College where he taught percussion and directed the Contemporary Music Lab and the concert series The Way to Go Out.

Doug received his Bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Masters and Artist Diploma degrees from Yale University, and his Doctorate from Stony Brook University. His principal percussion teachers were Jack DiIanni, Jim Culley, and Robert Van Sice.

R.I.P.

Rest in peace to Johnny Almendra. Timbalero Johnny Almendra has gone on to become one of the leading bandleaders in Latin music today, founding and fronting the exceptional Charanga group Los Jovenes del Barrio. Louie Bauzo has also gone on to a stunning career as bongosero/ composer/ arranger and all-around authority on "la musica latina". Nearly a quarter century later, Johnny and Louie co-lead an orchestra located in Spanish Harlem, known for its exceptional talent and drive.

Johnny Almendra has been playing drums professionally for over twenty-five years. Almendra started with little conjuntos in Brooklyn. He went from band to band meeting other musicians along the way. Johnny Almendra:

"I started with a guy who had a band by the name of Mike Y Su Conjunto Ritmico. It was a real jibaro band with an accordion, guitar, and timbale. Every weekend when they paid me twenty-five bucks it was like, "wow, I get paid for this?" So, it made me want to do it even more since it came so easy."

From there he got to play with other bands in Brooklyn. Almendra got a chance to play with this band Orchestra Dicupe with which he recorded for the first time. From there he went on to better bands like Conjunto Melao, and eventually Charanga 76. The list kept on growing. There were stints with Novel, Broadway, and Tipica Ideal.

In Tipica Ideal Milton Cardona and Johnny Almendra first got together. Almendra use to watch Milton when he played with Flamboyan. Almendra: "I was with Dicupe then. I would never talk to him because he looked like a tough guy. I use to think, "Man, that guy looks mean."" Eventually he got to play with Willie Colon and Ruben Blades. He was with Willie for about eight years. Then he went with Mongo, after which he went back with Willie. In between he also played with Hector Lavoe.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Giovanni Hidalgo! Gio was born in Puerto Rico in 1963 and grew up in home filled with the drums, bongos, congas and timbales used by his father and grandfather, both musicians themselves. Gio began playing on a home made conga crafted by his father from a wooden barrel, when he was just eight years old. He also practiced on other percussion instruments, applying his great talent to become one of the top Latin percussionists in the world today.

Happy Birthday to Glenn Robertson! Glenn Robertson is from Spencer, Massachusetts. From a very young age Glenn had a passion for drumming and rhythm. At the age of 4 he started honing his craft by playing on a cheap Sears drum set and mimicking a Simon Philips concert video and Pete Townshend’s Live From the Deep End. During his high school years Glenn won many awards and accolades and decided he should pursue music even deeper.

In the fall of 2000, Glenn went on to study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. There, Glenn was fortunate enough to be instructed by three of the most influential people in his life: World renowned clinicians and artists Thom Hannum, Eduardo Leandro, and Bob Gullotti. Glenn earned his degree in 2005. During his college years he was rewarded with the International Association of Jazz Educators Outstanding Musician Award and three Down Beat Magazine Awards. In 2004, Vic Firth recognized Glenn's talents as an up and coming artist and offered him an endorsement deal. Smith Drum Company and Samson Technologies were the next to follow and also added Glenn to their artist's roster in 2005.

Glenn performed with the Funk/Rock group, The Bomb Squad, which won an American Music Award in 2003 and has shared the stage with such groups as George Clinton and the 420 Funk Mob, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Stefon Harris, Russ Gershon, as well as Ernie Watts, Adam Kolker, and Jeff Holmes. Glenn's comprehensive musical talent can be heard on his past recordings with The Missing Lance Project, and Spirit House Records recording artist, Barry Kingston and the Screaming Souls. He has played with Andrew Jones and Spirit House, an array of jazz groups from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Glenn has also played at Presidential Inaugurations for Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barak Obama, the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and the Montreal Jazz Festival. Glenn is currently Sergeant First Class in the Army Field band where he plays drums as well as a founding member of the Six String Soldiers.

Happy Birthday to Randy Gloss! A protégé of renowned percussion vanguard John Bergamo and longtime student of tabla maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Randy Gloss is a percussionist whose background performing several modalities of hand drums, contemporary percussion, and drum set has led to his involvement in many innovative ensembles that fuse world music with new music and jazz.

Most notable for his work with Hands On’Semble, a percussion group devoted to the art of hand drumming created by John Bergamo in 1997 (with Randy Gloss, Andrew Grueschow, and Austin Wrinkle).

Hands On’Semble also garnered the attention of acclaimed film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who recruited the group to provide percussion for his soundtrack to the Disney film Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. The following year, he brought Hands On’Semble back to provide the percussion for the Universal/ Dreamworks film Cowboys and Aliens.

In addition to being a founding member of Hands On’Semble, Randy was a driving force in the ensemble, having written many of the group’s compositions, organizing, producing and arranging tours, albums, grants, endorsements, and projects throughout the group’s extensive history. Ultimately, taking leave from the ensemble in the Fall of 2021. In those 24 years though, Hands On’Semble accomplished a tremendous amount out of very little, and afforded Gloss the percussion adventure of a lifetime on a global scale.

Other percussion music endeavors include Gloss’ solo percussion albums “…The Ayes Have It” Vol.I - Self Portraits in Percussion in 2015 and it’s follow up companion “…The Ayes Have It”, Vol. II - Self Portraits in Percussion in 2022, both released as double LP vinyl records on Orenda Records, in addition to a percussion duo album with Pete Lockett (Stones In the Yard) in 2020.

Randy has also worked with an extensive array of world renowned artists including: reggae superstar Ziggy Marley (on the Grammy winning album Fly Rasta); violin icon L. Shankar (Shenkar); pianist Larry Karush; The Lian Ensemble (including the Pangea Project with Djivan Gasparyan and Swapan Chaudhuri; and the 2009 UCLALive production of Medea starring Annette Bening); percussionist Adam Rudolph’s “Go: Organic Orchestra” and world percussion group Vashti; projects with slide veena virtuoso Chitravina Ravikiran (including a concert tour of India that also featured Brazilian pianist Jovino Santos Neto and master Ghanaian drummer Alfred Ladzekpo); a Balkan/Indian collaboration with maestros Aashish Khan, Swapan Chaudhuri, Miroslav Tadic, Vlatko Stefanovski; Romanian pan flute virtuoso Damian Draghici; overtone singer David Hykes; Turkish musician Latif Bolat; Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble; pianist Ardeshir Rohani; flautist Nicole Mitchell, pianist Dan Siegel, and South Indian percussionist Poovalur Sriji to name only some. Randy has also contributed percussion for film soundtracks by composers Danny Elfman, Harry Gregson-Williams, and Gary Chang; for television series’ such as Fear Factor; video games such as Uncharted 3 for Sony Play Station; recorded music for the American Conservatory Theater; Southwest Chamber Music (Lou Harrison); and has recorded several extensive percussion sample libraries for software companies such as: Apple (Garage Band), Ilio, and Native Instruments.

Gloss has performed worldwide at international music festivals such as: International Oud festival of Jerusalem; Tahiti Guitar Festival; PercPan, Ritmos de Terra, the International Music Festival of Belo Horizonte, and Encontro Internacional de Percussão in Brazil; World Drum Festival in Hamburg Germany; The Taiwan International Drum Festival, the Tainan Chi-Hsi Int’l Arts Festival – Int’l Drummers Gala and the Hsin Chu International Folk Drum Festival in Taiwan; Percussive Arts Society International Conventions (PASIC); Angel City Jazz Festival; Seattle World Rhythm Festival; Watts Tower Day of the Drum Festival; the Different Drummer Festival, and numerous PAS “Days of Percussion” including New York City, Southern California, Central California, Northern California, Southern Oregon, Utah, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Nevada. As well as performances at venues such as: Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco; Royce Hall, Skirball Cultural Center, Getty Center, and Ford Amphitheater in Los Angeles; Siri Fort Auditorium and National Center for Performing Arts in India; SESC Sao Paulo and Sergio Magnani Music Hall Fundação de Educação Artística in Brazil; and in Canada at Outremont Theatre in Montreal and Convocation Hall in Toronto.

Randy Gloss is faculty at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in Valencia California where he has taught since the late 90’s, overseeing the MFA World Percussion Program (since 2007); from 2015-2020 was the Director of World Music Performance Programs; and 2018-2021 the recipient of the Michel Columbier Performer-Composer Chair at CalArts. Additionally, Randy has taught at UCLA and LA Music Academy (LAMA), and has been a visiting artist/lecturer/clinician at many universities, music schools and conservatories in the U.S. and abroad.

Happy Birthday to Nick Angelis! Nick has been involved in the drum corps activity since 1979. Throughout 15 seasons, he marched with The Satellites from Leicester, MA from 1980-87, The Spartans from N.H. '88 and '89, The Boston Crusaders '90-91, The Santa Clara Vanguard 1992, The Star of Indiana 1993, Brass Theater 1994, and aged out of The Blue Knights from Denver, CO in 1995. As a performer, he was crowned The 1992 Drum Corps International Rudimental Snare Drum World Champion, 1993 Drum Corps Midwest Champion, and was a part of the 1993 Star of Indiana World Champion Percussion section.

Nick has taught and/or written, for numerous marching bands and drum corps all around the country including: Blue Knights, Boston Crusaders, Crossmen, Spartans of N.H., Troopers (Caption Head/Arranger 2005), Spirit of J.S.U. (Co-Caption Head and Co-Arranger, 2004-05), University of Massachusetts at Amherst, three-time BOA Finalist and AAA National Champion, Kennesaw Mountain H.S. (Percussion Arranger), BOA 2004 Atlanta Regional Finalist Harrison H.S., and BOA 2005 National Semi-Finalist, Bellbrook H.S. In 1994, he performed as a soloist in Star of Indiana's Brass Theater Featuring The Canadian Brass. He was an Original Featured Star performer for The Tony and Emmy award-Winning Show, Blast! From 1999-2003.

He performed in London at The Hammersmith Apollo Theatre, opened in New York City at The Broadway Theater, and was in The 1st National Tour performing in over 40 cities. Nick attended The University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Music Education. He is currently the Assistant Band Director for the University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands under the direction of Dr. Terren Frenz, and the Caption Head and Percussion Arranger for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa.

Happy Birthday to Luis Conte! His genius stems from his ability to integrate the powerful rhythms of his native Cuba with the American necessities of American pop music. His long and varied career has included numerous Hollywood film scores and mega-successful albums with Madonna, Ray Charles, Phil Collins, Santana, Shakira, Jackson Browne, Sergio Mendes, Cachao, and a multitude of other artists too numerous to mention.

Born in Santiago, Cuba, Luis spent the first 15 years of his life soaking up the rich musical heritage of “El Son” and Carnival. "Life in Cuba is all about enjoying life, and music is central to that lifestyle," Luis says. "Music is almost like food to Cuban people.” While immersed in the music of his native Cuba, Luis also developed a passion for Rock & Roll, R&B soul music, jazz, and the Beatles.

At 15, looking for freedom, Luis emigrated to Madrid, Spain. He soon had another opportunity to travel, this time to Hollywood. In California, Luis stayed with a cousin and attended Hollywood High School, playing guitar in numerous rock bands throughout his teens.

After high school, Luis met John Monteallegre, who reunited him with Cuban drums at LA City College. By the time he was 18, Luis was intensely interested in drumming and took every opportunity to play and to learn, drawing his inspiration from a deep source of rhythm absorbed during his youth in Cuba.

Since then, Luis has become one of the most respected and recorded percussionists in the world.

Gig Alerts

You can study with (friend of the show) Eduardo Leandro at Stony Brook Univeristy. Masters and doctoral degrees in a music department that includes amazing faculty (Emerson String Quartet, Gil Kalish etc etc etc), robust new music and orchestral programs, and it’s an hour from NYC. Write Eduardo at: Eduardo.leandro@stonybrook.edu for questions. Tuition waivers and teaching assistantships are available!

Sonido Solar is playing at the Blue Note (in NYC) all week.

It features:

Louis Fouché - saxophone
Jonathan Powell - trumpet
Luques Curtis - bass
Zaccai Curtis - piano
Jimmy Bosch - trombone
Ivan Renta - tenor saxophone (Nov 22-23)
Jeremy Powell - tenor saxophone (Nov 24-27)
Camilo Molina-Gaetán - drums
Marcos Torres - percussion
Special Guests:
Donald Harrison - alto saxophone (Nov 22-24)
Pedrito Martinez - percussion, vocals (Nov 24-27)
Nelson Gonzalez - tres cubano (Nov 25-26)
Little Johnny Rivero - percussion (Nov 22-27)

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The Blue Note at Sea is happening in January 2023. A jazz cruise program that combines thousands and thousands of blue notes, all of which are at a "slightly different pitch from standard" and creates a musical oasis where great music is the only rule! -GET TICKETS HERE!

Educational Spotlight

Virtual Pasic was last weekend. You can check out all of the virtual sessions online beginning Friday, November 18, 2022 through Saturday, December 31, 2022 via the Guidebook app and web browser. Access to all PASIC 2022 Virtual Sessions is included in your PAS Membership. There is a $40 registration fee for non-members to access PASIC 2022 Virtual Sessions.

Master percussionist (and friend of the show) Pete Lockett presents a complete method to getting started on one of the most intriguing and complex instruments in the world with Tabla: A Beginner’s Guide. Lockett covers all the basics of these drums and the underlying Indian rhythmic system to give you insight into how to get started and reveal, as he puts it, the “mysteries and marvels” of tabla and the Indian system of percussion.

Iconic Recording

The first iconic recording for the week is, “Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III) (1974) Movement 4: Myth” by George Crumb. This version was performed by Thomas Feng and Evangeline Werger, pianos Brandon Baker and Caitlin Cawley, percussion. The original was performed by Raymond DesRoches, Richard Fitz on percussion and Gilbert Kalish, James Freeman on piano.

The second iconic recording is “Triangle” from Tigue’s album 'Strange Paradise'. Tigue is Matt Evans, Amy Garapic and Carson Moody.

Music News

The first part of music news is the article posted a couple of weeks ago, were The White House Promises to Crack Down On Concert Tickets’ ‘Hidden Junk Fees’ as Live Nation Posts Double-Digit Revenue Hike. -Article

The next part is that Justice Department Opens Investigation Into Live Nation Over Monopoly Concerns -Article

The reposted article that has been getting steam is from the Toronto Star, where reporters went undercover as ticket scalpers — and Ticketmaster offered to help us do business

Posing as small-time scalpers, Star and CBC reporters talked to representatives of Ticketmaster’s resale division who said the company wants to share in ticket resale profits by facilitating mass scalping — in direct violation of its own terms of use. -Article

You can SIGN THE PETITION to Tell the Department of Justice to Investigate Ticketmaster!

Senators Blumenthal, Klobuchar & Markey Urge DOJ to Hold Ticketmaster-Live Nation Accountable for Failing Consumers -Article

Live Nation Reportedly Faces Justice Department Antitrust Investigation After Multiple Lawmakers Criticize Ticketmaster Business Practices -Article

Taylor Swift Responds to Ticketmaster Debacle — ‘We Asked Them Multiple Times If They Could Handle This.’ She goes on to say, “There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets, and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them multiple times if they could handle this kind of demand, and we were assured they could,” she continues. “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.” -Article

And finally, how its going is that Live Nation Stock Plunges Following Taylor Swift Ticketing Imbroglio -Article

Doug Perkins Interview

The song leading into the interview is, Michael Gordon's “XY” (1997), which is a piece about rhythmic interaction. It is performed by Doug.

The interview starts with a reference to the “other” Doug Perkins’.

Doug teaches at the University of Michigan.

Both Damon and Doug are on Grammy Nominated albums. Doug is nominated for Best Orchestral Perfomance: Adams, John Luther: Sila - The Breath Of The World
Doug Perkins, conductor (Musicians Of The University Of Michigan Department Of Chamber Music & University Of Michigan Percussion Ensemble)

Damon talks about the submission and voting process for the Grammys.

Doug was a founding member of the So Percussion Group.

Doug talks about the performance of Persephassa in the Central Park Lake.

Damon mentions the African water drumming.

This is the boat building video Doug mentions.

This BLOG POST talks about some things to think about when deciding to move to a different city.

Shout-out to Matthew Duvall of Eighth Blackbird.

Doug was at PASIC showing support. Shout-out to Michael Udow and Nancy Zeltsman.

Damon mentions that TikTok Just Ended Google's 15-Year Reign as the World's Most Popular Web Domain. -Article

Damon and Doug mention Adam Tan.

Doug talks about how he teaches for the future.

Shout-out to Clara Warnaar.

Shout-out to friend of the show Jason Trueting. Doug mentions Jason’s work with Taylor Swift.

For nine years, Doug directed a summer percussion program where 40 talented percussionists came together from around the world to take up residence at a Shaker Village in Enfield, NH. It was an immersive two weeks where they all lived, ate, and made music together.

Shout-out to Round Top, Texas where Doug will be trying to host a new improved version of the summer music camp.

Doug is the host of the “5 Days with Doug” Podcast, which he will hopefully bring back!

Shout-out to Primanti Brothers, and Wings, Suds and Spuds.

Doug picked the iconic recordings above.

Doug uses Black Swamp Percussion Instruments, Pearl/Adams Instruments, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets and Zildjian Cymbals. Doug teaches at the University of Michigan.

Shout-out to Jack Diani, John Beck, Steven Schick, Nancy Zeltsman, and Robert Van Sice.

You can check out Doug on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vimeo.

The song leading out of the interview is “n Economy of Means”, by Robert Honstein, performed by Doug Perkins.