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Narada Michael Walden: Producing Whitney Houston, How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance | Part 2
Episode 83: Narada Michael Walden Part 2 At this point in the story, Narada has gone from a jazz fusion drummer with Mahavishnu Orchestra, to a major label solo artist with hits, to a Grammy-winning producer with Aretha Franklin. And now... Whitney Houston enters the picture. We kick off this episode with the moment Narada and Whitney’s journey starts together. He gets a call from Arista A&R exec Jerry Griffith, who discovered Whitney, asking him to work with the unknown artist. Narada says yes and immediately produces “How Will I Know.” The song becomes a number 1 hit. Then comes the call from Clive Davis asking for a follow-up. Narada delivers “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” The story continues. We also get into his work with a then unknown Mariah Carey, and wild stories from across his life, including how Narada introduced Jaco Pastorius to Weather Report, giving Jaco his big break! Narada is an incredible soul with a deep story and endless energy. This is Part 2 of our conversation. Let’s go!! ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
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Narada Michael Walden: From Mahavishnu Orchestra Drummer to Aretha Franklin’s Hitmaker | Part 1
Episode 82: Narada Michael Walden. He went from being the drummer of Mahavishnu Orchestra and landing the cover of Modern Drummer Magazine, to producing Whitney Houston’s biggest hits and winning the GRAMMY for Producer of the Year. This interview is the epic journey of Narada Michael Walden. I loved this conversation so much. Narada’s positive, creative energy jumps out at you immediately. We go deep into his drumming career, how he got the gig with his favorite band, Mahavishnu Orchestra, following the great Billy Cobham. How he landed a record deal as a solo artist, almost got dropped, then shifted his focus to disco and scored a hit that saved his career. Then came the call from Clive Davis that launched his producing career and brought him Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and so many more. His story is incredibly inspiring. From super drummer, to successful solo artist to hit producer. We went so deep on Mahavishnu in this convo that we had to do this interview in two parts! I’m happy now to bring you Part 1 with the brilliant and fun Narada Michael Walden. ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
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Kevin Lyman: How He Built Warped Tour, Broke Bands & Brought It Back - The Punk Rock Business Story
Episode 81: Kevin Lyman. The Vans Warped Tour is the longest-running touring music festival in North America, drawing over 750,000 fans every summer at its peak. And it all started with one guy — Kevin Lyman. In this episode, we sit down in person with the man who turned parking lots into punk rock playgrounds, helped break some of the biggest names in music, and built a generation-defining cultural movement. Warped Tour was the first concert I ever went to at 13 years old, and a few years later, I was lucky enough to play the tour multiple times, including full runs, and again in 2010 with Skrillex. It was a big contributor in shaping my life. In this conversation, I finally got to ask Kevin everything I’ve wanted to know for years. This 90-minute deep dive is the ultimate Warped Tour tell-all. We recorded it right after the first Warped Tour returned in Washington D.C. in July 2025 — with Long Beach and Florida still to come. Kevin Lyman is a punk rock pioneer, a cultural architect, and one of the most influential figures in live music. I’m honored to share this one with you. Here’s my conversation with the amazing Kevin Lyman. Let’s go!! ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
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Omar Hakim Part 2: Sting, Miles Davis, Madonna, Daft Punk, Get Lucky, Hybrid Drumming, Live, Tour
Episode 79. Omar Hakim, Part 2! We’re back with the drumming legend Omar Hakim and pick up right where we left off in Part 1. We start with the wild story of how he met Sting while recording Brothers In Arms with Dire Straits… ON AN ISLAND. This story blows my mind. From there, we continue through his career with Sting, Miles Davis, Madonna, and the crazy story of making the Daft Punk hit “Get Lucky.” This episode is full of rare backstories, industry gems, and lessons in creativity and innovation. We talk about Omar being an early adopter of electronic and acoustic hybrid drum setups. As the drummer for Madonna in her stadium-filling heyday, Omar blended cutting-edge sampling, triggers, and MIDI controllers to deliver on recordings’ impossible sounds in a live setting, building custom rigs and using expression pedals for real-time sound bending. This preceded today’s standard in pop touring, marking him as a pioneer for the next generation of drummers. We also get into the business side of touring and recording and where Omar is at today. I hope you enjoy Part 2 of my conversation with the man, Omar Hakim! ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop!
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Steve Smith: Journey Drummer, Jazz Legend, Vital Information, Top 25 Drummers of All Time, Interview
Episode 77: Steve Smith. The incredible, multi-faceted, Steve Smith was one of my favorite drummers growing up. His playing with Journey blew me mind, and the fact that he had a full-on jazz career alongside his rock success made him even more inspiring to me. Steve made Modern Drummer’s Top 25 Drummers of All Time list and won the #1 All-Around Drummer Award five years in a row. His credits are stacked, from early gigs with Jean Luc-Ponty (alongside Allan Holdsworth), Focus, and Ronnie Montrose, to arena-filling hits with Journey, to leading his band Vital Information (for the past 4 decades). He’s done sessions with Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli, Vasco Rossi, Zucchero, Savage Garden, Bryan Adams, and Zakir Hussain. On the jazz side, Steve has played with heavyweights like Steps Ahead, Tom Coster, Ahmad Jamal, Victor Wooten, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Frank Gambale, Stuart Hamm, Dweezil Zappa, Hiromi, and Bill Evans. Steve is one of the greatest to ever do it, and it was a total honor to have him on the show. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the legendary Steve Smith! ‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights. Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
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J-Rod Sullivan: From Viral Drum Videos to Janet Jackson’s Drummer
Episode 76: Jerrod “J-rod” Sullivan. If you’re a drummer, chances are you’ve seen J-Rod pop up in your feed. He’s one of the most exciting drummers to watch, and now he’s holding down the drum chair for Janet Jackson. From uploading his first drum video to YouTube back in 2006 to building an audience of over 700,000 followers, J-Rod is living proof that consistency and passion pay off. We get into everything from his early days playing in church to building an online community of over 700K+ followers with his drum videos and how he creates them. We talk about staying consistent while on the road, and why authenticity is everything. Plus, we go deep into the Janet Jackson gig, talking about how it came together from a DM and the sacrifice he took dedicating 2 months to turn this Janet Jackson opportunity into a closed deal. I had to find out how in the world he plays the infamous “Control” drum fill, his gear setups, how he makes his social media videos (both the cameras, the audio, and the process), creating drumless tracks with the Moises app, his band The 4 Korners, staying sharp, and why it pays to act as if you already got the gig. Here’s my conversation with the incredible, Jerrod “J-Rod” Sullivan!
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