Working Drummer

Sarah has been behind the scenes in the drum industry for decades, from her longtime role at Zildjian to her podcast Sarah Hagan Backstage to founding and running the Royal Cymbal company with Paul Francis. Most recently, she stepped into her newest role as director of artist relations for both Gibraltar Hardware and Rogers Drums.

In this episode, Sarah talks about:

Her new gig with Rogers and Gibraltar and some of the flagship products from both companies

How she got into the business side of drums as a college intern

Harnessing her superpower of connecting with people and connecting people with each other

The experience of hosting a podcast

The Royal Cymbals venture, and what she learned from being a hands-on fabricator of cymbals

How cymbal trends may be returning to “cymbal-sounding cymbals”

Her perspective and advice about the social media landscape

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Born in Brooklyn, New York Rick Dior began his professional music career at the age of thirteen, freelancing in and around the metropolitan area in various small ensembles, orchestras and theater productions. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with timpanist Fred Hinger and jazz composer Bob Mintzer. He also studied extensively with famed jazz drummer Joe Morello. Rick has performed as a percussionist with a variety of superb artists in many musical genres including James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Al Jarreau, Roberta Flack, Martina McBride, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Linda Rondstadt, Glen Campbell, Bobby McFerrin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Randy Newman, and Marvin Hamlisch. He has added his drum set talents to performances with many great jazz artists including Marvin Stamm, Bill Watrous, Rich Perry, Harold Danko, Clark Terry, Red Rodney, Chris Potter, Lionel Hampton and Russell Malone. Rick also has an extensive orchestral percussion background and has performed as principal percussionist, section percussionist and timpanist with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Ballet and Opera Carolina since 1990. As a first-call theater percussionist and drummer in Charlotte NC, Rick has performed in dozens of Broadway show tours. They include Chorus Line, Jesus Christ Superstar, Wicked, The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot, Hairspray, South Pacific, West Side Story, 9 to 5, Mary Poppins, Bring It On, Newsies, and Beautiful. His recording credits are extensive and include CD releases, movie soundtracks and commercial radio/television spots. As an engineer and producer Rick has been involved in hundreds of recordings. These include recording projects with artists such as Branford Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Ellis Marsalis, Ed Thigpen, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Spiro, Joey Calderazzo, Michael Carvin, and Jimmy Cobb.

Rick is also a very active educator and has served as the Professor of Percussion at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte since 2001. He also maintains a busy private and online teaching studio.

In this episode, Rick talks about:

The variety of demands performing with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra

Playing percussion with touring musicals and the skills needed

How important it is to develop fundamental technique at an early age

Studying with and befriending the legendary Joe Morello

Rick’s Youtube channel: it’s beginning and it’s appeal

His custom built drumsticks

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Tim Carman is a Nashville-based drummer, author, and educator known for his deep pocket, soulful touch, and command of blues, soul jazz, and roots music. Originally from the Boston area, Carman built his reputation on the New England music scene as a first-call sideman and session musician. From 2018 to 2024, he toured internationally and recorded with GA-20, a three-time Billboard #1 blues artist on Colemine/Karma Chief Records, helping the band earn repeated Boston Music Awards for Blues Act of the Year.

Now based in Nashville, Carman records and tours with Parlor Greens, an organ trio on Colemine Records, and continues to be an in-demand session drummer and bandleader. His playing draws on vintage electric blues grit, organ-jazz lineage, and a shuffle vocabulary that has made him a go-to voice for artists seeking deep feel and stylistic authenticity. Alongside performing, Carman is an active educator, offering lessons, clinics, and online content that connect technique to real-world musical situations for working drummers and emerging players alike.

Carman is the author of six drum books, including The Shuffle Book Vol. 1 (2026), Philly-ISM (2023), and Haynes-ISM (2022), with the latter two nominated by Modern Drummer for Educational Product of the Year. His other titles include Groove Systems (2021), Shape Beats (2020), and Shape Beats for Kids (2017).

In this episode, Tim talks about

The many changes in his life and career since we last talked in 2022

The creation and unexpected success of Parlor Greens

Colemine Records and other small record labels acting as aesthetic curators for recorded and live music

Bouncing around to a few cities over the last few years before settling on Nashville

Finding jams/hangs/residencies on a given scene, and being able to read the different vibes there

Contributing to a community by creating your own projects/opportunities

The process and goals of writing his book on Shuffles

How generalities are more useful in considering types of shuffles than definitive categories

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Evan Hutchings was Born and raised in Arkansas, Evan grew up playing drums at his dad’s church in Fort Smith. He was the kid that would sit behind the drummer during church and soak in every detail and nuance. Once church let out, he’d jump up on the kit and play, until the next church service started a few hours later.Evan got his first drum set at the age of 8 and began serenading his whole
family and neighborhood with punk rock beats and the sounds of the
radio. After touring the country with his band The Exception, Evan
decided it was time to move to Nashville, TN and attend Middle Tennessee
State under the direction of Lalo Davila and Tom Giampietro. It was in
college where Evan honed his craft and wanted to become a studio
musician.Years later and having played on multiple #1 songs on the radio, Evan is now an in demand studio drummer. You can hear his drumming with , Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Luke Bryan, Jimmie Allen, Sam Hunt, Ronnie Dunn,Keith Urban, Steven Tyler, Toby Keith, Matt Stell, Maddie and Tae, Tim McGraw, Lauren Alaina, Erin McCarley, Rascal Flatts, Elle Langley and many others.

In this episode, Evan talks about:

Performing in high pressure live scenarios like live TV

The welcoming nature of people in the music industry

His consistent hunger for knowledge

Learning from other musicians

Mindfulness practicing and how that effects your drumming

Going for it in the studio and not playing it safe

Less takes about skills that are needed for session work

Performing at 50% - 70% of your total skill level and leaving some in the tank

How to dial in a mix for a session

Check out Evan's interview with us from before - #142

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Sterling Laws is a well-established drummer in LA, having toured and/or recorded with Chappell Roan, Olivia Rodrigo, producer Dan Nigro, Natasha Bedingfield, and many others. He is a graduate of Musicians Institute in LA where he studied with Stewart Jean and Kevin Stevens.

In this episode, Sterling talks about:

Playing with Natasha Bedingfield and serving as her MD

Growing up in rural Washington north of Seattle, and picking up drumming from his mom

Discovering a viable musical path other than being in a band and trying to “make it”

Studying at Musicians Institute with Stewart Jean and Kevin Stevens

Matriculating from school onto into he LA scene and getting his first opportunities from Barry Squire

Financial literacy lessons learned early

The support and positivity of today’s LA drumming community

Recording for Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo, and how the drum tracking for a huge hit is often relatively DIY

Getting comfortable with your drumming being manipulated or even discarded altogether in the record-making process

How “getting the safe take” will earn you the right to do a more adventurous one

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