The Lightning Thief
/Happy to be back at the Winspear Opera House with everyone's favorite retractable chandelier! I'm here subbing for the esteemed Jeff Fernandes on The Lightning Thief tour. Bring on the monsters!
Join my mailing list to receive blog updates straight to your inbox! I rarely write more than once per week, so emails will be kept to a minimum.
Happy Opening, American Morning!
/Timothy Huang’s American Morning opened last night at ART/New York Theatres. The show runs for the next two weeks and is presented by Prospect Theater Company. It has been fun, challenging, and rewarding to develop this drum book. Special thanks to our fearless MD, Julianne Merrill, for her patience and guidance!
Hathaways @ Pine Box Rock Shop
/Last week I played at Pine Box Rock Shop with Hathaways in celebration of the release of their new EP, Hologram. Give it a listen! Here’s a little clip from the gig. This song is about the spectral classification of stars. They also have one about Clara Schumann. That’s the kind of nerdiness I can get behind!
My New Kit in the Wild
/
I finally got to take the new wheels out for a spin! I am very happy with my new Yamaha tour custom. Isn't she a beauty, especially with the Catskills in the background? Thanks for having me, Shirori and Hanah Mountain Resort.
That's a Wrap: Hundred Days
/What a journey the last seven months have been. I’ve played Hundred Days 120+ times and I would be happy to double that number! This show and the people in it have changed my life in ways that I'm just beginning to process. Thank you especially to The Bengsons for embracing me and bringing me into their family. And thanks to the AMAZING all-female/POC crew at the Arsht Center for this spectacular chalk drawing!
143bpm
/Here’s a little clip of the drum part from the song “Hundred Days.” It cooks! It’s one of my favorite moments of the show to play.
Welcome Home!
/Give a big welcome to the family to my new set of Yamaha Tour Custom drums. Aren’t they pretty? I can’t wait to get these tubs on a gig!
100 Shows!
/
Last night I played my 100th show of Hundred Days! It’s been a pleasure to work with such an awesome group of people on and off the stage. Special shoutouts to acupuncture, Zicam, Kick Ass, CBD, Biofreeze, and Advil for keeping me going. That said, I’m looking forward to not hitting drums for two weeks before we take our talents to South Beach.
Interlochen!
/I recently reunited with one of my cabin-mates at Interlochen from NINETEEN YEARS AGO! We haven’t seen each other since that amazing summer, but I still feel like we are and will continue to be lifelong friends. Here’s what Andrea — an outstanding horn player and music teacher — had to say:
This is a little late, but on Valentine’s, Ryan Vella and I went to see “Hamilton” at the Straz in Tampa. And if you know me, you know how much I love it, but that’s not why I’m writing this post. The best part of the night was when I first opened the playbill, and to my complete surprise, it flipped open to a photo of one of my cabin-mates from Interlochen Arts Camp ‘00, Ashley Baier who is performing in “Hundred Days,” which is running next door to “Hamilton.” So, after 19 years (seriously, how has it been that long!?) and yet again, thank you to Victoria Guyre, we got to see Ashley’s performance last Friday. Even though we could only chat for a little afterwards, it was wonderful and surreal to see you, and like you said, I hope we don’t wait another 2 decades until we see each other again! Congratulations on a beautiful performance - you all certainly give the Hamilton casts in Tampa (and NYC) a run for their money. If you’re reading this and in the Tampa Bay area, go see “Hundred Days!” They’ll be there until the end of March. ❤️
Here are some pics Andera shared as well:
I’d never seen this picture before! Me in the center with Erin to the left and Andrea to the right.
Our awesome cabin! So many amazing ladies in this group. Can you spot me?
Andrea and I outside of the Straz after the show. It was so nice to catch up and meet her husband.
Back at it: Hundred Days
/
The latest version of Hundred Days is up and running at the Straz in Tampa. We had two days of tech and open Tuesday. My friend from college, Scott Crawford, provided the rental — a beautiful, brand new Pearl Session Studio Classic kit. It sounds great! Scott is a fantastic percussionist and all-around great guy. It was a dream come true to have him tech for me on Sunday. I can’t wait to hang with him some more on this 2.5 month stint in Tampa.
