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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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Thomas Lang: Drum God Mode, Practice Secrets, Clinics, Social Media Trends with guest Luke Holland!
Episode 75: Thomas Lang. Thomas Lang is one of the best drummers of all time. His drive and focused, intentional practice has led to him being one of the most sophisticated drummers, producers, and composers, with the ability to do four-limb separation beyond pretty much anyone else. On top of that ability, he is musical! He’s also a great human, impressive entrepreneur, and a fun guy to hang with. In this episode, we dive deep into his story, how he became the Thomas Lang we see today — both in his skill sets and his success. We talk about how he throws his drum camps, his insane clinics (he did the biggest clinic tour of all time), how to practice correctly, what to do and what not to do. You’ll also get a glimpse into his great personality and mindset. Luke Holland jumped in and joined us in this interview as well, which was fun since we’re all friends. Together we talked about something you all want to know — our least favorite social media drumming trends lol. More importantly, keeping the inspiration to continue drumming, and so much more. Here’s my interview with the awesome Thomas Lang, and special guest Luke Holland, 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. Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW
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RedOne: Producing Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, J.Lo, Pitbull, FIFA, Real Madrid, & Creating Global Hits
Episode 74: RedOne. RedOne is one of the most successful producers and songwriters of our time. From Lady Gaga’s Just Dance, Poker Face, and Bad Romance, to J.Lo and Pitbull’s On the Floor, and Nicki Minaj’s Starships — he’s helped shape the sound of modern pop. In this episode, we go deep into RedOne’s story — from being broke in 2008 to producing The Fame with Gaga and changing pop music forever. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from iconic sessions, how his producer tag came to life, and how he creates hits from demo to final mix. We talk about his work with FIFA and how he is now their Head of Music Entertainment, producing the album for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as well as writing the official anthem song for his favorite team, Real Madrid, We also talk about collaborating with Jung Kook and Red’s close friend, Cristiano Ronaldo, We discuss his passion for elevating music from the MENA region, all about his life in Dubai, as well as the future of AI in music, and the love he shares with his wife Laila Aziz. This episode is full of inspiration, heart, and real talk from a global hitmaker. 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. Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop!
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On The Go: Saudi Arabia! Javad Day, Charles Streeter & Pastor Funk | J.Lo, Megan Thee Stallion, F1
One of the best things about being on the road is catching up with friends all over the globe. In today’s episode, we’re in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Tonight is the Formula 1 Grand Prix (you know I love F1), and headlining it is J.Lo! I got to catch up with my longtime friends Charles Streeter, Brandon Brown aka Pastor Funk and Javad Day. Streeter has been J.Lo’s drummer for many years. Pastor Funk is playing bass with her, and has also played bass and/or music directed for everyone from The Jacksons to Stevie Wonder. He also leads his own band, The Brandon Brown Collective (aka the BBC), which was actually the first band to play at the JammJam! Javad Day, aka Mr. Klynik, is playing keys with J.Lo, and this same week, he’s also musical directing Megan Thee Stallion at Coachella. Javad’s worked with Beyoncé, Mac Miller (that’s him on Mac’s Tiny Desk), Ella Mai, Mustard, Ciara, Tyler, the Creator, and more. I love these guys and had such a great time hanging in Saudi with them, right before they crushed it for a huge crowd with J.Lo (and then immediately hopped on a plane back to the U.S). We found a hut, popped up a camera, and filmed this one ON THE GO. So here it is, my convo with my brothers Streeter, Pastor Funk, and Javad!
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