This week’s guest is Teddy Campbell. For ten seasons, from 2004 to 2016, Teddy Campbell was seen by millions as the drummer on FOX's hit show, American Idol. He made history serving as the drummer and lead singer on the final three seasons of NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

After honing his talent at an early age on the gospel scene, this Chicago native relocated to California in 1998. It was there that an impressive resume began to evolve. He served as musical director and drummer for Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. He has recorded with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Kelly Clarkson, Mary Mary, and many more. He's toured with Bette Midler, The Backstreet Boys, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, Queen Latifah, George Benson, and others. He's played on movie scores such as Dreamgirls, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Pitch Perfect 3, American Sniper, and more.

Some of Campbell's television credits include "The Grammy Awards," "The NAACP Image Awards," "BET Awards" "BET Celebration Of Gospel" "The Billboard Awards," "VH-1 Divas" and "VH-1 Save the Music." In addition, Teddy has co stared in 5 seasons of WeTV's hit reality show Mary Mary.

A combined joy of drumming while singing led Teddy to form his own band, The Teddy Campbell Band. As the frontman of this soul/rock unit, Teddy had the opportunity to further utilize his gifts, while having fun, and leaving crowds mesmerized in the process. As a husband, father, musician and singer Campbell wears many hats, but he attributes it all to Gods grace.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Ray Yslas! Ray is one of modern music’s most accomplished percussionists, appearing frequently on major concerts, recording sessions, music festivals, and on television. He has performed on international tours with platinum artists including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Willie Nelson, Idina Menzel, Colbie Caillat, Patti Labelle and the Backstreet Boys, and his network TV appearances include The Grammy Awards, Saturday Night Live, Oprah, American Idol, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, and VH-1 Storytellers. Ray is distinguished in the industry by his intuitive musicality and consummate professionalism, and through working with an astonishing spectrum of signature vocalists, he has developed a truly orchestral approach to building his percussive arrangements, by treating each song as a story. Ray developed his musical instincts in the burgeoning Latin music community of Los Angeles, and he has worked with superstars like Juan Gabriel, Luz Casal, Pepe Aguilar, Joan Sebastian and Alejandro Fernandez.

Happy Birthday to Brian Potts! Brian is a versatile performer and dedicated educator with a passion for Brazilian percussion. Under the tutelage of Dr. Ney Rosauro at the University of Miami, he became enamored with the sound and capabilities of modern pandeiro techniques. His degrees culminated with a doctoral essay based on an interview with the great Marcos Suzano, which has become an invaluable reference for pandeiristas the world over. Also, Brian works closely with the Pandeiro Repique Duo, comprised of Bernardo Aguiar and Gabriel Policarpo, with whom he founded the Brazilian percussion supergroup PRD Mais in 2016. In addition to his love of Brazilian music, Brian has sought to help make the pandeiro an international and limitless phenomenon by adapting the instrument to a wide variety of styles, including jazz, funk, soul, Latin, and classical music. In his clinics, Brian strives to relate the versatility of the pandeiro by utilizing modern techniques that allow students to approach the instrument in a creative and interactive fashion. He also teaches at Barry University in addition to online (i.e. Skype, Zoom, etc).

Happy Birthday to Joshua Simonds! Previous to the Percussive Arts Society, Joshua Simonds was the Executive Director of Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestras. He holds a Master of Arts in Arts Management from American University in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Arts in Percussion from California State University, Long Beach.

During his tenure, CYSO has more than doubled its programs, built strong relationships with world-class composers resulting in numerous world and local premieres, and initiated groundbreaking artistic collaborations, including performances with Ben Folds, My Morning Jacket, The Second City, My Brightest Diamond, the Chicago Bulls, and multiple performances at the legendary rock festival Lollapalooza.

His passion for percussion has always been at the forefront of his work at CYSO. During his tenure at CYSO, the organization built one of the largest youth steel pan programs in the midwest, performed multiple times with Chicago’s Blue Man Group in Chicago’s Millennium Park, engaged Third Coast Percussion on multiple occasions including a 2014 year-in-residence resulting in a New Music USA grant for a video recording of David T Little’s Radiant Child for Percussion Quartet and Orchestra, and most recently secured Glenn Kotche as CYSO’s 2016-2017 Composer in Residence. These are just a few examples of Joshua’s life-long commitment to percussion performance and education.

While at California State University, Long Beach, Joshua studied percussion with Raynor Carroll, Principal Percussionist of the LA Philharmonic, Dr. Dave Gerhart, and the late Dr. Michael Carney. Joshua is also a proud alumnus of the Velvet Knights Drum and Bugle Corps.

Happy Birthday to Jordan Rose! Native of Houston, Texas, drummer Jordan Rose has performed at festivals and venues throughout the US, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Asia, and the Middle East. From 2012-2014 Jordan toured extensively with multi-Grammy award winner, Joe Louis Walker. He now resides in Brooklyn, New York where his talents as a session drummer have given him the opportunity to collaborate with musicians Charlie Puth, Jeff Coffin, Nona Hendryx, Bakithi Kumalo, Louis Cato, and many others. This year Jordan is touring with Theo Katzman of Vulfpeck, The Blues Brothers, and Caleb Hawley, and is scheduled to perform across the US, Europe, and Russia.

From 2007-2010 Jordan fought a battle with a growth in his right ear which caused him to lose almost all hearing. Due to modern medicine and miraculous healing, his hearing was restored. From this three year period of trial and uncertainty, Jordan gained an even deeper love, appreciation, and excitement for music and a greater understanding of the intense power it has to impact lives. As he shares his talents in drumming, he hopes that he can bring the same life-changing positivity to the world that music has brought to him.

Happy Birthday to Alan Evans! Drummer Alan Evans began playing as soon as he could hold drumsticks, helped by his father, an amateur drummer who made his living as a high school gym teacher. Evans’s father loved music of all types, and it was through his music collection that Alan and his brother Neal were exposed to jazz greats John Coltrane and Miles Davis, as well as classical music and opera. Growing up in Buffalo, New York, Alan first played drums in a marching band. As adults the Evans brothers settled near Woodstock, New York, which had a thriving music scene. After playing in different groups, Alan came up with the idea for Soulive as a “live soul groove” group. Alan is a multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer and owner of Iron Wax Studios as well as an owner of a record label in, Vintage League Music.

Happy Birthday to Aaron T. Smith! Aaron is a freelance percussionist in Southern California, where he has performed with such groups as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the L.A. Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Opera and the Pacific Symphony. He served as the principal timpanist of the New Mexico Symphony. In addition to orchestral music, Mr. Smith plays contemporary music and is an active chamber musician. He has performed as a soloist in Los Angeles and New York City, and has given solo recitals throughout Southern California. Mr. Smith has participated in the world-premieres of many works, some of which were written specifically for him.

Outside of LMU, Mr. Smith serves as a clinician and adjudicator. Aaron attended the University of California at Los Angeles (BA, MFA), where he studied with Mitchell Peters, Principal Timpanist (ret.) of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and has also studied with Raynor Carroll, Principal Percussionist of the LAPO. He has studied riq and frame drums with Randy Gloss (CALARTS) and drum set with Michael Packer (L.A. Music Academy) and J. D. Blair (Nashville studio and touring musician).

Happy Birthday to Jim Ancona! Jim is an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Delaware. He is the Assistant Director of the Blue Hen Marching Band, Director of the Basketball Pep Band and Co-Director of the Symphonic Band. James received his Bachelor's Degree in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his Master's Degree in Performance from Indiana University where he was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate. His former teachers include Gerald Carlyss, Thomas Hannum, William Roberts, Peter Tanner, and Leigh Howard Stevens.

James has over 20 years of experience as an arranger and instructor for world class drum and bugle corps including The Cavaliers, Star of Indiana, Santa Clara Vanguard, The Glassmen, The Crossmen and Carolina Crown. He is currently a consultant with the 2011 DCI World Champion Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. James' honors in the activity include having been a member of the 1990 DCI World Champion Cadets of Bergen County, having been on the instructional staff of Star of Indiana's (1993) and Santa Clara Vanguard's (2004) World Champion percussion sections and having served as the Percussion Caption Head for the 2006 DCI World Champion Cavaliers. His Vanguard Percussion Ensembles and Mixed Ensembles (with brass) have won at the Drum Corps International Individual and Ensemble Championships. Several of his percussion arrangements appear on Star of Indiana's "Brass Theater" and "BLAST" (the Tony and Emmy Award winning Broadway show) compact discs and are published by Tap Space Publications. James is the co-author of Up Front: A Complete Resource for Today's Pit Ensemble. He is an endorser and clinician for the Avedis Zildjian Company, Remo, Inc., Pearl Drums and Adams Percussion, and a Signature Artist for Innovative Percussion, Incorporated.

Gig Alerts

Cirque du Soleil and Universal Music Group Nashville present a new theatrical show, Songblazers, a country-themed show featuring Sam Williams, grandson of country pioneer Hank Williams. - Article

If you would like to audition for a Cirque du Soleil show, CLICK HERE!

Alicia Keys has a new theater show at the Public Theater at Joe’s Pub called Hells Kitchen.

Friend of the show, Victor Pablo performed on the soundtrack.

The Jazz Foundation of America has its “A Great Night in Harlem” fundraiser and gala on Thursday March 28th.

There will be a live-streaming option that you can watch from HERE.

Educational Spotlight

The educational spotlight are mixing headphones. Now that recording setups can be totally mobile and remote, headphones have become a much more important tool for indie musicians, producers, and engineers. Here’s an article that will review some of the best mixing headphones and how to mix on headphones. -Article

Iconic Recording

The iconic recording was chosen by Teddy. It is “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye. To see the personnel on this album, CLICK HERE. Damon mentions the documentary, “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”.

To see the clip of Questlove breaking down the stems of this recording, click below.

Music News

Spotify is testing a new video learning feature in the United Kingdom after partnering with educational tech companies including BBC Maestro, PLAYvirtuoso, Skillshare, and Thinkific. -Article

Spotify has finally introduced a miniplayer to improve the desktop experience as a Premium feature for users—featuring two different designs. -Article

A terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall has left more than 130 people dead. Gunmen stormed the complex and set the venue on fire. The terror group ISIS-K has claimed responsibility for the attack. -Article

Tennessee passes the ELVIS Act, becoming a nation leader in voice and likeness protections in the AI era. -Article

Damon mentioned seeing this first posted by the Artist Rights Alliance.

Teddy Campbell Interview

The song leading into the interview is, “It's A Shame” performed by Paul Jackson Jr., originally written by Steve Wonder.

The interview starts with a bit of history on Teddy’s first name Glendon and also his last name Campbell.

Teddy went to Morgan Park High School in Chicago.

Shout-out to Jeral "Scooter" Gray.

Shout-out to the Chicago Mass Choir and Calvin Rodgers.

Teddy talks about working with Oscar Seaton Jr.

Teddy talks about how important the Dave Weckl instructional videos were to Gospel drumming.

After that, he talks about the Yellowjackets with Will Kennedy.

Teddy talks about his approach to backing up different artists of different styles.

Teddy talks about how he learned to read and the help he received from David Delhomme.

Damon mentions some of the different gigs Teddy has played as part of the band that Rickey Minor has put together, including friend of the show, Kevin Ricard.

Damon brings up the Zildjian 400th anniversary event in Los Angeles.

Teddy talks about the pressure of constantly being recorded to get him to always produce quality performances.

Teddy talks about some of the duties and workflow when working on American Idol.

Teddy talks about how vocals became a part of his toolbox.

Shout-out to Nisan Stewart.

This is the Buddy Miles and Buddy Guy video from 1969. He also mentions “Them Changes” as an inspiration.

Teddy talks about the Gospel stage play by Michael Matthews. The woman he couldn’t remember is Alyson Williams.

Shout-out to Wayne Linsey.

Teddy talks about the show Motown Live!

Teddy picks the iconic recording for the week. The Questlove video Damon mentions is above.

Teddy uses Yamaha Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, ProMark Drumsticks, Remo Drumheads, sE Electronics, and Toca Percussion.

Shout-out to Ron Ellerson, Jeral "Scooter" Gray, Oscar Seaton Jr, Kenny Jackson, and Rickey Minor.

You can follow Teddy on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The song leading out of the interview is “A Song for You (feat. Christina Aguilera)” by Herbie Hancock and Christina Aguilera from the album “Possibilities”.