#358 Matt Hankle- Drummer, Grill Enthusiast, and More!
This week’s guest is Matt Hankle. Matt grew up in a musical family in Teaneck, NJ, surrounded by professional musicians. Real life music lessons from attending his parents gigs, private lessons from extraordinary local NYC freelancers, combined with constant heavy doses of MTV, the radio and his fathers select record collection, kept Matt immersed in a wide variety of styles he embraced and grew to function in fluidly and naturally. In the mid/late 90’s, Matt toured the US and Mexico with Ringling Bros Barnum & Bailey Circus, toured Europe with different World/Jazz artists and attended the University of Miami where he performed with their esteemed Concert Jazz Band. In the 2000’s while living in Brooklyn, NY, Matt played for several Broadway Musicals(NYC) including Chicago, Mamma Mia, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Rock of Ages. He toured/recorded with guitarist Kaki King (2006-2010), backed several legendary Singer/Comedy acts at The Theatre at Westbury(Long Island) and started a long performing relationship with the Blue Man Group(2003). Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2013, Matt has toured/gigged/recorded with Soul Asylum, Vonda Sheppard, Tom Morello, Jonny Polonsky, Knee High Fox, John Fogerty and a variety of other bands/artists. He performed a limited run of Mamma Mia at The Hollywood Bowl(2017) and has recorded for several motion pictures. Most recently Matt completed a 1 year tour of Europe & Asia with the Blue Man Group WORLD TOUR. In addition he has recorded with his own bands and has released or is currently releasing new Rock n’ Roll music from Vagabond Society and new Fusion music from Audio Collision.
R.I.P.
Rest in peace to Damon’s high school band director, Jeff Smith.
In lieu of flowers, please donate in Jeff’s name to your local music program.
Jeff, Alan, Peter and Jonathan Smith
If you would like to attend the service virtually, this is THE LINK TO WATCH on Saturday November 18th.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Josh Kiggans! “My general approach is to always serve the song. I try to craft my parts in a way that will showcase the strength of a tune. Sometimes that means fast and loud and sometimes that means slow, low, or nothing at all. With social media there seems to be a lot of focus on over the top playing and a lot of notes but if you really dive into who’s working with a wide range of artists, whether live or in studio, you start to notice the common thread of “playing the song”. To me that’s the highest compliment you can get as a musician. In my playing and in crafting the parts for this record I really was striving to always put the song first.”
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.
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.
Gig Alerts
An Alanis Morissette tour is happening in 2024, with over 30 dates across the United States and special guests, including Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. -Article
The North Beach Music Festival is happening in Miami from December 1st-3rd. You can GET MORE INFO AND TICKETS HERE.
The Rockettes Radio City Christmas Spectacular has started running in NYC. There are between 2-5 90min shows a day. You can GET MORE INFO AND TICKETS HERE.
Damon will be playing on Nantucket for the Christmas Stroll from December 1st-2nd. 8-10pm with Emily Angell at the Brotherhood of Thieves, then 11-1am with Concrete Jungle at the Chicken Box, the hip hop cover band (both days).
Educational Spotlight
PASIC was last week and it was great! You can see some pics and videos HERE. You are encouraged to join the Percussive Arts Society, and get involved on a committee or chapter.
Damon is on the World Percussion Committee and helped set up the new social media pages.
Iconic Recording
Matt chose the iconic recording album and Damon chose the song. It is “Green Earrings” by Steely Dan from the ‘The Royal Scam’ album.
Music News
Got a YouTube copyright claim? The company is making efforts to streamline the process while steering creators toward its Creator Music to mitigate the amount of infringing content that appears on the platform. -Article
You can CLICK HERE to register for the 2024 NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA from January 25th-28th.
Matt Hankle Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “Get Up” by the Vagabond Society, from the album with the same name (Get Up).
Damon is a tea guy, Matt drinks black coffee and Red Bull.
Shout-out to Zach Danziger. Zach enjoys his coffee and has bought a machine and a grinder to put into his house. Zach’s dream machine is the La Marzocco Linea Mini.
Matt brings up the Beatles documentary.
Matt talks through his musical catalog that he grew up with.
Matt picks the iconic recording.
Matt’s dad Bob played trombone and his mom played flute. Later his dad was a high school band director. Later his mom taught at William Patterson University
Matt attended the University of Miami and he and Damon talk about other musicians who went there.
Matt attended Jazz camp at the Manhattan School of Music as well as Skidmore College, where he got to study with Ed Shaughnessy.
Shout-out to Phil Fisher.
Matt and Damon talk about black musicians in rockbands like Fishbone, Bad Brains and Living Colour. Matt also brings up 24-7 Spyz.
Matt was the drummer for the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus at age 17.
Shout-out to Gunther Gebel.
Shout-out to Ronny Zito.
Matt played drums for the Blue Man Group.
Matt was in the band Audio Collision with Dave Archer and Dan Asher.
Shout-out to Vagabond Society.
Matt played with Soul Asyllum for a bit.
Damon had a one handed triangle, created by friend of the show, Doug Hinrichs.
Matt and Damon talk about attention to detail in learning tunes.
Matt is a grill master/enthusiast. He uses Weber grills and charcoal.
The way Damon does his Thanksgiving turkey on the smoker is similar to the way Aaron Franklin does it in these two videos (Video 1 - Video 2).
Matt uses Remo Drumheads, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, and Paiste Cymbals,
Shout-out to Tom, Scott Luna, Jay Dittamo, John Riley, Ronny Zito, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Bappe, George Hooks, Dave Brown, and Bob Hankle.
You can follow Matt on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The song leading out of the interview is, “Don't Change The Love” by Joe Sumner from the ‘In the Night’ album.
