#387 Neal Daniels- Drummer for Matchbox Twenty, Educator, Session Musician and More!
This week’s guest is Neal Daniels. Born in New York, raised in Chicago and currently living in Los Angeles, Neal has made a name for himself touring with a handful of major artists all over the world. Some include, LP, Liz Phair, Booker T Jones, Rachel Platten, Léon, Bea Miller, Daya, Christina Grimmie, Darren Criss, Camila Cabello, Post Malone, Dua Lipa (Percussion) and many more. Neal also runs his own recording studio in Los Angeles called Whitefish Studios, where he records remote drum tracks for clients all over the world.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Dr. Alex Casmiro! Alex is the Associate Director of Bands and a lecturer at the University of New Haven, where he teaches the Chargers Marching Band, the Brazilian Drum and Dance Ensemble, and courses in World Music. He has performed with the Austin Symphony, the Omaha Symphony, and the Round Rock Symphony. Alex also served as the Assistant Director of Athletic Bands at Duke University and was the percussion teacher at Creighton University.
Happy Birthday to Ari Herstand! Ari is the author of the best-selling book How To Make It in the New Music Business (Norton / Liveright Publishing | Second Edition November 2019). It remains at the top of the Amazon charts and has been widely adopted by music business schools worldwide.
His music business advice blog, Ari's Take, has become the go-to resource for independent musicians on how to run a successful music career in the NEW music business. Herstand's well-researched, relatable, no BS approach is why so many musicians continue to trust him for advice. He offers encouragement without condescension and maintains a "we're all in it together" attitude not found elsewhere in the space.
Ari Herstand is an independent musician who has played over 700 shows around the country, has opened for or toured with Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, The Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, has performed on Ellen, and has had his music featured in countless TV shows, commercials and films. He currently leads the 1973 funk project Brassroots District.
Herstand has written for many of the top musician trade magazines and websites including Music Connection Magazine, American Songwriter, Digital Music News, Playback Magazine, CD Baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, Roland, Discmakers, ASCAP, Hypebot and others. He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, BBC One's Amplify, ASCAP Music Expo, SF MusicTech, CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference and Berklee College of Music.
As an actor, he has co-starred in TV shows including Transparent, Doubt, Aquarius, Mad Men, 2 Broke Girls, The Fosters, Sam & Cat and Touch.
Gig Alerts
Steve Smith and his group Vital Information is on tour.
Gary Clark Jr. is on tour right now with friend of the show, J.J. Johnson.
Matchbox Twenty has some upcoming dates with this week’s guest Neal on drums.
The Glastonbury festival is happening in Glastonbury England from June 26th-30th.
The CMA Festival is happening in Nashville, TN from June 6th-9th.
The iHeartRadio Festival is happening in Las Vegas, NV on September 20th and 21st.
Educational Spotlight
The University for the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, founded in 1876 is abruptly closing.
The Music Biz conference took place in Nashville, TN from May 13th-16th. Here’s a recap. Next year’s conference will take place in Atlanta from May 12th-15th.
Iconic Recording
Neal chose the two iconic recordings for the week. The first is “Everything Is On The One” performed by George Clinton and Parliament, from the album, ‘The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein’ Here is the personnel for the record.
The second song is “Green Onions” by and performed by Booker T. and the M.G.s, from the album, with the same name. The personnel is: Drums: Al Jackson Jr., Hammond Organ: Booker T. Jones, Bass: Lewie Steinberg, and Electric Guitar: Steve Cropper.
Music News
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is worth $4.7 billion by 2024 estimates. His recent comments on X/Twitter have sparked backlash from artists after saying content creation costs are “near zero.” With Spotify notoriously paying fewer royalties to songwriters and publishers amid its bundling scheme—Ek is now walking back those comments. -Article
To add insult to injury, For the second time in a year – and following ample speculation – Spotify has announced price increases in the U.S. for July. -Article
Netflix is dipping its toe into new entertainment formats with a music competition series to vie with the likes of The Voice or American Idol. Here’s what we know so far.
Netflix has ordered
a new music competition series, tentatively titled “Building the Band.” The series marks a shift of focus for the movie and television streaming giant as it flexes its entertainment muscle in the same realm as major broadcast networks with programs like “American Idol” or “The Voice.” -Article
Live Nation confirms an investigation of a Ticketmaster data breach in which the personal information of 560 million customers has been compromised.
Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation confirms it is investigating a “possible data breach” after a group of hackers claimed to have stolen the personal information of 560 million Ticketmaster customers. The hackers were offering the data for sale on the dark web for $500,000. -Article
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been hit with a $5 billion consumer class action lawsuit in the wake of the DOJ lawsuit to break up the two companies.-Article
Neal Daniels Interview
The song leading into the interview is, “3AM” by Matchbox Twenty, Live in Sydney.
Damon starts the interview with bringing up one of the videos that Neal did with Latin Percussion.
Shout-out to guitar player Ryan Parrino and friend of the show Demian Arriaga.
Neal is originally from New York City then his formative years were in Chicago, Il.
Neal’s favorite cannoli is from the Eagle Rock Bakery and Deli.
Damon and Neal talk about pastrami and rye. His favorite is the #19 from Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles.
Damon mentions pastrami in Montreal.
Damon and Neal talk briefly about the Food on Tour Podcast hosted by friend of the show (and recent birthday boy), Mike Robinson.
Neal’s Dad introduced him to music. Shout-out to John Harshey, one of Neal’s first teachers.
Neal flirted with the French Horn, but went back to drums. Played some guitar as well.
Neal talks about his musical evolution.
Shout-out to David Jennings and The College of Lake County.
Neal attended the Los Angeles Music Academy (now the Los Angeles College of Music).
He studied with Ralph Humphrey and Joe Porcaro.
Neal talks about his move from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Neal talks about subbing.
Neal records from home in his studio, White Fish Studio.
Neal is a big fan of Lars Ulrich.
Neal is also an educator.
Shout-out to Bruce Becker and the Moeller technique.
Neal talks about how to get gigs.
Neal talks about auditions.
Neal talks about money and accepting gigs.
Damon brings up the three “Ms”. Music, Mates and Money. You need two of three to take a gig.
Neal talks about negotiating.
Neal picks the iconic recordings for the week.
Shout-out to David Jennings, Ralph Humphrey, Joe Porcaro, and David Beyer.
Neal uses Gretsch Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Remo Drumheads, Vic Firth Sticks and Mallets, Latin Percussion Instruments, Jerry Harvey In Ear Monitors, Porter and Davies Thrones, Big Fat Snare Drum Accessories, DW Pedals and Hardware, and Universal Audio.
You can follow Neal on his Website, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
The song leading out of the interview is, “Hip Hug-Her” Live with Booker T Jones.
