¡Dudes! IAmA Professional Drummer named Harry Miree. Sometimes I play #1 songs with artists you’ve heard of and sometimes I play crappy songs you’ll never hear. Let’s Dude This. ¡AMA!

Dear Dude, I’ve dealt with severe depression for most of my life. After finding your channel and watching your video, “Journal of a Suicide Survivor” it really moved me because of the parallels between your situation and mine. It inspired me to pursue instrument performance education/music school. I didn’t do well at all in high school and I’ve never had any post-high school education. I’m 24 years old. Any tips for a dude trying to make his passion for drumming into a career? Thanks!

Dearest Duderino, thanks for watching. Wait, is this me from the past? I sucked at high school! I went straight into a mediocre college right after and struck out even harder. Something about that experience liberated me. When you're inside academia, every signal around you is designed to make you think the school game is all that matters. Speaking from the other side of all that, I can tell you with certainty that nobody in my life gives two shits about any of my college experience. My true saving grace in music has been that people succeed together in this thing. If I had not surrounded myself who value music in the same ways I do, my passions could not have been nourished the way they are now. For some, those people are waiting at the punk club a few blocks from your house. For others, the haven is Los Angeles, CA. Whatever scale you can reach for. Make sense? <3

Dude! Thanks for much for doing this!

1. What was your best and worst/most embarrassing drumming experience?

2. What are some of your favorite less common/more experimental sounds you can achieve on a drum set? Not sure quite how else to word that, but stuff like stacks, splash cymbals on drums, etc.

3. What does your practice routine typically look like?

4. Is water wet?

Thanks again!

Thank YOU for being here my dude.

1.) When I was 15, I played a Halloween event for my school. Every girl I ever wanted to impress was in attendance (this AMA is beginning to take on a theme, I think I need to see a therapist), because dammit it was Activities Period and what else were they going to do? So my shitty band and I play this face-melting set of our horrible original songs, we trash can the ending, and having slain the beast of rock, I throw my sticks into the crowd just like Taylor Hawkins does in the Foo Fighters DVD. The throw was a little zealous and my fucking drum stick landed right in the eye of a dude called 'Stump' who was the biggest human to ever attend that school by about 3 feet. Blood dripping out of his eye socket, he rushed the stage and beat my ass to the floor, in front of everyone. I have video of it somewhere. I am inclined to dig it up and share it when I catch up on all these questions.

Oh, but also what was my worst? I had a band called The Ape Invaders and our first gig was shut down by the cops before we played the first note. See, I was trying to impress this girl... I'll stop.

2.) Cowbell son

3.) Cowbell son

4.) As fuck

Hey Dude! I just want to say that i love your videos!

I have a few questions

1. You seemed to have changed your kit since you talked about it in the video where you explained everything about your kit. (like a new side snare) what are the new things?

2. what got you into drumming?

3. what is your favorite Nintendo game?

4. how can mount Everest have snow on its peak if its above the clouds?

Dude. Thank you for watching!

1.) My kit got lost lots of weight when I started auditioning left and right for country acts. So I started by going from 4 toms in '14 down to 2 toms in '15. I was having to imitate so many electronic samples that I gradually brought in stacks for white noise (like a 16" china nestled into an 18" china) and the side snare you mentioned. Also the cowbells have multiplied for drum solo purposes. I wish I were kidding.

2.) The short story of how I got into drumming: This girl I had a crush on said she was starting a band. I was 12 and didn't yet understand that you could just ask somebody to hang out if you wanted to spend time with 'em. So I told her, "Oh yeah? Uh, I play an instrument. I play the, um, saxophone." So then, I shit you not, I had to go get a saxophone and learn how to play it. It turned out to be the first thing that ever felt like it was taking what I was putting in and giving back ten fold (the saxophone, not the girl). I worked my way up to the school's 'varsity' music group where, instead of counting my 16-bar long rests, I'd realize 80 bars later I was just staring and drooling at the drummer. Every night I'd go home and beat on popcorn bowls and broken hard drives trying to replicate his licks (which were 4-stroke rolls, which he learned from Carter Beauford's 'Under the Table and Drumming'). That Summer, I saw "That Thing You Do", and when Guy Patterson got the girl, I knew I needed to ditch that sax and get some drums. Still haven't hung out with that girl but I'm playing the long game.

3.) HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME PICK ONE ZELDA GAME

3b.) I'll think about this and holler back

4.) http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+can+mount+Everest+have+snow+on+its+peak+if+its+above+the+clouds

Dude! What's the worst gear failure you've had on stage and how did you finish the set?

I raise the horns to your question and your username dude. Dig this. When I first moved to Nashville, I started playing for this talented local feller named Samuel Lee. At the time, he was just getting started on the road so he signed up for one of those college booking conventions (NACCA? something like that). The schedule you end up with is a total crapshoot: some nights you play in the corner of the school's b-cafetria at 2:00 PM when it's closed for maintenance, and sometimes you play these HUGE homecoming events in the quad - but either way, you can bet the thing is being run by student volunteers. So we set up our gear on the front steps of the campus' biggest building (right in front of the massive doors into the building), and they gave us a little green room setup just on the other side of the doors in the buildings main lobby. We sound check, goes fine, we go inside and get fed. What they don't tell us is that while we're eating, the 'lighting committee' is about to set up $10,000 worth of lights all over the stage, and since there's no ceiling to hang lights from, they put them on tripods. Then the emcee radios back for us to come out. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, SAM LEE!" I bust through the door like an obnoxious overperforming asshole and immediately knock down at least $5k worth of lighting. 8,000 people stop mid-cheer and just go "AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!". The first three songs were the most hilarious and awkward songs I've ever played in my life to 8,000 silent people. <3

Will you check out my foo fighters cover? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bLEklOaXcE What do think? Thanks DOOD

I love your time dude. And I love your respect for the parts. It would bore us both if I only gave you praise, so here is my challenge to you, young Dood: bring us some personality on the next'n you make. Dig? I can tell it's in there by the way you type. Looking forward to it. Sincerely. Sweet Pearl drums by the way \m/

Which famous musician that you've worked with is the nicest?

Hey. I actually really like this question because I get asked some version of it pretty often and I've never gotten to answer it publicly.

The more I meet famous people in general, the more I am convinced of one thing: It is nearly impossible to reach that level of stature if you are not incredibly smart, socially savvy, and good to the people around you. When I got the call to audition for one of the bigger country acts I'd ever played for, I Googled them and the first thing I found was them standing on a truck trying to look like gangsters. I did wonder to myself who in their right mind would represent themselves this way, but my first day on the bus I learned they were the smartest dudes in the whole camp. Their memory for radio people's names, kids' names, and life stories was uncanny. Their ability to have cameras constantly pointed at them and be positive and engaging is humbling. Their ability to command a room of 10,000 drunkards is superhuman. Does any of this make sense? I use them as an example because they felt especially easy to dismiss before I actually experienced what they were like as human beings. I respect them so much.

But you asked for a name! James Taylor is certainly one of the gentlest, hippest, and guitar shreddingest dudes I've ever met. He came through Berklee to do a clinic and I was basically in the right ensemble at the right time to back him up for this little thing. That man is a damn folk singin' angel.

Dude

Simple question: how are you these days? I hope life's treating you good.

Keep up beating the drums, and keep feeding us awesome dude videos.

Penguin:

I will answer, but you must answer back.

I am well. Your question reminds me not to take this for granted, because sometimes, inexplicably, I don't feel so good.

Your turn. How are you?

1. Do you really need to be a perfect drummer to score a gig? I.e., never missing a beat such as never being off by a smidgen in some areas.

2. How much freedom do drummers have with their sound in the studio?

3. How can you be exactly perfect on time all the time? That's one of my number one struggles is always landing perfectly on clicks 100% of the time.

4. (Edit) Why do people like their snares to be cranked? I always thought it sounded bad because it all sounds like PVC pipe being smacked together. I've always left mine low, not too low to sound sloppy or fat, but not to high to get nasty overtones. Just an aggressive lower tuned snare on both heads. About the same tension except the top is just slightly higher than the bottom.

5. (Also edited) Have you heard of Aesop Rock?

Dude. I love question #1 because I have learned the hard way that the answer is no. I did one of the biggest auditions of my life last year and had nearly three weeks to get myself together for it (that's unbelievably rare, to have that kind of heads-up). My strategy was to win by trying the hardest, so I learned every song he'd ever released, note for note. I learned every live variation I could find from peoples' crappy iPhone videos on YouTube. I went in and imitated every note their previous drummer had every played, down to the stroke. Guess who won! The guy whose approach was, "Here's what your band sounds like when I play on it. Yes, I know the form, but this is what the form sounds like with my unique voice on it." Do you dig the difference? I will never go into another audition again as a robot. If I don't get the gig because they wanted a robot, I don't want the gig anyway. Feel me? Great question.

As for questions 2 and 3, infer from the answer above. The artist rules all - some camps want you to be you, others aren't even going to learn your name. Be able to smell that in the air and act accordingly!

Where can I get some dudetastic dudesticks?

Dude! I get annoyed when AMA'ers dodge questions, so I will resist the urge right now because my plans are not perfected. Do you mind an imperfect answer? I plan to distribute them through my favorite music store in the world, and I plan to have this done and announced by the end of the Summer. That requires lots of people to say 'yes' who have not totally signed off yet, but I'm 90% there. Fill out the thingy on HarryMiree.com and I'll send you some right now to tide you over. Have a dudetastic day.

EDIT: I meant u/AndrewAn71, not all the other Freeloadin' Freddies that didn't ask! D'oh! I feel like I'm kicking an adorable puppy over and over again replying to all the 'lemme get DudeSticks' emails :{. I promise you will all easily be able to buy as many DudeSticks as your heart desires before this year is out. Pinky promise. Thank you for being as excited as I am about 'em. \m/

Sup HARRY,

How is your life doing? You seem to have been doing a lot better as of recently and you look quiet nice in your black and shirt and black blazer.

Ok two questions:

1. Favorite type of Tostinos?

2. On the Dude, I don't want to play the Cajon percussion rig, dude video you put the snare on sideways when showing off the Pearl sideways tom foot thing. Why is the snare sideways. Is there a new way to holding sticks I don't know about?

Dude. How are you? I'm on a nice kick of trying to take care of myself and I appreciate you encouraging me on that front.

1.) I know this is some East Nashville Whole Foods Hipster shit to say, but I am actually digging these Quinoa chips made by Late July. I am the only male in my house so I eat a lot of tasty stuff that my dude friends wouldn't let me buy without punching me in the balls in the parking lot. Sneak out and buy some sometime.

2.) Nice attention to detail my son. The key is using a clamp that pivots. I mention it by model number shortly thereafter in that video and it will surely provide the angle you seek.

Dude! Whats been your favorite gig and least favorite gig? Love your vids btw :)

I played The Gorge in 2015 with Joey Hyde on a bill with Carrie Underwood. When I walked off stage, I had this overwhelming feeling that I didn't need my arms anymore - I had fulfilled my purpose in life.

I think I answered 'least favorite' somewhere else on this thread. I'll circle back if not. Duder.

Dude What made you want to make YouTube videos? The fun, exposure, meeting other drum dudes? Also if you have any tips for having a music based channel I’d love to hear them.

I dig this question! Check this out. I had no idea YouTube would bring any of the insanity it did into my life. When I first moved to Nashville, the first three drummers I met were all working behind counters at music shops and coffee joints, and they all told me, "Yeah man, just moved here from Chicago 5 years ago, still looking for that gig." It freaked me out. I asked each of them where I could go (online or otherwise) to check them out, and none of them really had an answer. I decided I wanted to try and definitively point to what it sounds, looks, and feels like when I play drums. So I payed this girl $20 to point a camera at me while I played "Rapunzel".

The other element to all this is that I have LOVED YouTube culture for years. I adore Ze Frank, Vlog Brothers, Rhett & Link, and Angry Video Game Nerd. "Could they have a brother in the drum world in the form of Harry the Dude?" was a thought that kept me up at night for far too long 'till I finally watched Ze's "Invocation for Beginnings". I am so happy I uploaded what I thought was a dumb face saying dumb words about a subject I am still very much a student at. And I am so thankful to everybody here for watching and turning the last few years into such a gnarly journey. Thanks for the question!

My dude, I absolutely love basically everything you put out. If you could go back in time and choose one band to be the drummer for, which band would you pick?

This might be my favorite question of this entire AMA, because I want to talk about my favorite new band. They are called The Maine. They put out a record called "Lovely Little Lonely" last year and it is the epitome of what I wish I had made when I was in a band. I would cut off a finger to play drums with them. I LOVE what they are doing. Their previous record had some bangers on it as well Frosty. Thank you for the question!

Dude, what tips do you have for developing my double bass speed?

Haha. When I get asked this question, I always think about visiting Mike Mangini during his office hours. He had a double pedal under his desk, just going BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR while he answered emails and talked to me about the lab material. If you've got an extra double, you know where to set it up now : )

I've been playing a lot with just my left foot lately. I believe that if I can get my left foot even half as agile as my right, I could make music much more confidently with my double pedal. It's been paying off. Best of luck in this quest my dude

Dude.

What's your opinion on Chad Smith?

When I was little, my reaction was, "where are the fast notes?"

Now, it's, "that is, without question, the one and only Chad Smith." I believe that's the highest compliment you can give a drummer.

13 year old Harry, if you're out there: take an extra 5 minutes to think about what I just said before you dismiss it as some old man shit to say about the drums.

1. Do you have a favorite DMB song to perform? (Even if it’s just you in your home studio).

2. Do you have a favorite DMB song just to listen to?

3. Can you expand on your thoughts about frozen vegetables? How do you make them un-boring?

1.) Do you know "Beach Ball"? It was a b-side from their 2009 record "Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King". But that's just today. "Grace is Gone" has drum parts that move me to tears too. "Last Stop" is a fuckin' shredder (especially 12.19.1998). If I don't stop now I'll just list their whole catalog.

2.) They've been working up a new one called "Bismarck" that I think has the most adorable chorus. So that tickles me lately. Overall? See if you can find the way they used to play Grey Street when they were still ironing it out in the Summer of 2000. I have a version from Hartford that year with this unbelievable Dave vocal moment in the 4th chorus. (4th chorus?! yes, it used to literally have double the amount of choruses it has now) Look for Live Trax 3.

3.) A little bit of crushed red pepper and a shitload of desire to play the drums for the rest of my life

Hey Dude!

I'm a guitarist who heard about your videos from watching Jim Lill's channel. Even though I don't understand a lot of the drumming references, I love your enthusiasm for music!!

I'm now in the process of auditioning for music school and I was wondering - do you have any advice for someone who's trying to break into the music scene - specifically for country music? Is there anything you wish you knew going in?

Thanks for doing this AMA!!

Your music will live and die by the friends you make at music school. Cherish the fellow musicians you meet! The professors may or may not teach you anything useful in class, but I was always glad I made friends with them too.

Hey dude, do you listen to The National? and if so what do you think of their drummers style?

Send me your favorite jam and I'll circle back 'round!

Harry, if consistent Youtube video creation is a love/hate relationship, where does it currently sit on the spectrum for you?

Firstly, to your username, I say, got 'eem.

My YouTube schedule made me completely miserable in 2014. The quality suffered tremendously, thereby defeating its purpose. I choose now to follow the teachings of the legendary Dude named Bo Burnham. Do you notice that his specials sometimes take 3 years, and in the meantime he basically doesn't interact with the internet at all? Then his work comes out and it's great, so people don't mind that he neglected them for 3 years. What I have learned from all of this is that time should have no bearing on how I make my stuff. If I feel an ounce of distaste for what I'm doing, I need to stop and take care of my brain, body, and soul. When I'm ready to make it with love, let's go down that rabbit hole and not sleep for a week and break my hands in half trying to get it right. That's why I wrote my Travis Barker idea down in 2014 and didn't finish it 'till two weeks ago.

So, final answer: If it's on your screen, I loved the dudoo out of making that son'gun for you. Thank you for watching!!

Dooood. Why do drummers have a shorter-than-average life expectancy? You did say no question off-limits......

Also, are there any techniques or riffs that you just can't seem to get the hang of?

Party on.

Is that true? Sounds like you know more about it than I do. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Is it all drummers or just the guys who try and make a life of it? I know a lot of successful musicians who have vices (myself included, just not drinking or drugs), and the lifestyle has a way of facilitating unhealthy decisions, but surely that's not what you mean, is it?

Dude. Techniques and riffs that elude me? 1,000x yes. We did a gig with the Chainsmokers last year. Their set is basically a DJ, two front guys, and a drummer who just goes completely apeshit over the track. I don't even understand the language he's up there speaking. But I intend to learn it!

Also, what the hell is Danny Carey doing on drums? I love Tool so much and still can't tell you the first thing about how he plays.

Party onward

Hey Harry! thanks for doing this.

My question: if you could play along with any band in history at one of their concerts, what band would you pick?

Hello Dude. Thank YOU!

Listen: to me, the most legendary concert ever played happened on Wednesday, September 24 2003 in the Great Lawn of Central Park in New York City, New York. When Dave Matthews Band's "The Central Park Concert" DVD came out, I skipped school and watched that DVD standing up with the volume at 100%. Three times.

To answer your question even more directly, I do play along to that bad larry, even sometimes these days. To actually be there playing, though? Maybe in the background playing cowbell on a little riser. It wouldn't be what it was without Carter steering that ship son.

(honorable mentions: Chili Peppers' "Slane Castle", Blink's "Mark, Tom, & Travis Show", holy crap was that an amazing era for Blink and you can hear how much it was all ahead of them in the record)

What would you pick?

Sponsors aside. Whats your dream kit? Shells, hardware and cymbals please.

Sincerely dude, I say to you: I play my dream kit on the road every night. They are black Pearl Masterworks drums in 6 ply birch, with all the requisite Pearl hardware. I have never owned a drum that was not made by Pearl, and I still drool over them like I drooled over their catalogs in the early 2000's. I know that all sounds sponsored as fuck. And it is true that I have an official relationship with the company. But consider how I ended up on their roster in the first place. It ain't because they were banging down my door.

The cymbals are the Meinl Byzance plates you see on up there every night. Here's a layout. I know, more sponsored bullshit, right? Plot twist: I bought every single on of 'em for full price with my own dough at Fork's Drum Closet.

Dude! I’m an aspiring professional drummer (still in high school) and I’m looking to go to college in Nashville. What kind of gigs should I be expecting / on the lookout for? Thanks man! (P.S. Love your videos man, keep it up!)

Nashville is a huge music city, m'dude. I've played everything here from big band read-it-down corporate gigs to Andy McKee style guitar smacking stuff to, of course, straight up Music Row Country. If I were in college here, I'd be looking to the desks to my left and right - no doubt you are surrounded by aspiring artists who need your drumming services. Do great one the first one, and the rest will come to you. I am not kidding.

I wish you the best in your dudely journeys!

I have some questions. I hope you can dude your best to answer them.

1. What got you into drums?

2. What’s your #1 favorite song?

3. Why did you switch to Meinl?

4. You a fan of Stewart Copeland? and Chad Smith?

5. What is it about Evans drum heads that you like?

Thanks dude

If you don't mind digging around, all but the Meinl question have been answered, so I'll hit you right now with that. And I appreciate you asking in a similar way to the 'famous people' question above.

This is the true and complete story of why I play Meinl cymbals.

OK, so I have four pups. They love me. My drumming not so much. I know, chancing my drum heads solves one problem, but what about the cymbals?

Yo! I may not be the Dude himself, but I happen to be a fellow Harry fan who plays the drums and just so happens to cohabitate with an animal behaviorist and have a quite neurotic pup myself.

The best advice I can offer, if you're not going to go the muted or silent route, is:

-Let your pups outside while you're practicing if you can. Seems like a no brainer, but prolonged exposure to loud noises like that will probably just make them anxious.

-If they have to be inside while you're playing, try to help them form a positive association with your joyful racket by giving them a special treat before you start. For example, you could maybe give them some rawhide to nom on while you're playing, which will make them happy and distract while you're bringing the percussive destruction.

This is my favorite answer of the entire Harry Miree AMA. It feels poetic and fitting that it was written by someone other than Harry Miree.

Besides Nashville, what other cities are good for drummers who want to perform?

As far as USA goes, I feel there are three "A" markets for musicians: New York NY; Los Angeles, CA; and Nashville, TN. Before I lived in Nashville, I thought saturation made living in any of the three a silly idea (there are already 20,000 drummers in each city, how will I stand out?). What I ultimately have realized from living here is that for every 20,000 drummers here, there are 200,000 artists/singers/bands that need drummers. The industry infrastructure of these three cities is unparalleled (labels, agents, fellow musicians, etc).

I have a drummer friend in San Fransisco making a living playing with a major touring Broadway musical. I have a total badass friend playing drums for a living in Atlanta by stitching together weddings and independent acts. I have friends in Vegas living off of tourist attraction gigs on the strip. And of course, I have friends from all over the country who dared to make their own music and took it all the way.

¡Dude! I’ve got a good question or two for you:

Who do you think are the most underrated drummers out there? I love Brad Hargreaves of Third Eye Blind.

Also, what’s your favorite uncommon time signature to drum in? I’ve personally always found 5/4 and 7/4 to be very interested.

My answer may sound like a joke, but dig this, in all sincerity.

I know people understand that Carter Beauford is one of the all time greats. And yet, I still think he is underrated.

I've been to nearly 80 gigs with Carter on the drums, and I own hundreds of his live recordings. And every year, as soon as I think I know what he's about to say over that Warehouse outro, he plays something I've never heard him even hint at before. That man is 60 years old and still innovating the language of drumming. People are still watching "Under the Table and Drumming" or the old Tripping Billies from Woodstock and they think that's the whole story. Mother fucker, that's just the PRELUDE!

Hey dude! I got a couple of Q's, hoping to get a couple of A's.

1.) so after seeing the M-80 in your videos, I decided to pick one up. How do you get your's to sound the way it does (tuning, heads, muffling)?

2.) How do you make a living as a performing drummer?

3.) Will you do any future AMAs?

Thanks for reading, and hopefully responding! Rock on, my dude!

DOOD. Hello. Here are my A's.

1.) They key to M-80 as a side snare is cranking that top head. I like to use it basically to imitate white noise from all the electronic records we're trying to reproduce live. I especially dig the frosted EC2 (with the dot in the center, you know) for it.

2.) To me, it's less about maximizing income and more about minimizing expense. Frozen vegetables when you're in town; seconds and thirds and fourths when catering brings out steaks at the gig. Am I answering what you're trying to ask?

3.) LET'S SEE HOW THIS ONE GOES SHIIIIIIIIT I'M OVERWHELMED ALREADY

Dude! What do you love/hate about being a session musician as opposed to being in a band full time?

I was very lucky to have a band of my own in the late 2000's and early 20teens. That era holds some of the most precious memories of my life. We all moved in together in this house in North Carolina, where none of us had ever lived, and we had to build a life and a body of work from scratch out there. By the end, you might wake up and go to the kitchen and find some girls you'd never met before making some pancakes. Given the spiritual attitude of our band, they were the type to make you some extra. My life is way more civilized now (at home, anyway), and I think back on what it's like to be in a band and laugh my ass off. I would not know who the hell I am if it weren't for Steve, James, and Trent. I love them with all my heart.

Of course I've had insane bonding experiences with my sidemanning bandmates too, but the relationships are much more professional. When the bus pulls back in town on Sundays, we hug it out and go home instead of trying to stab one another to death. If you try and stab the bassist he might not call you when he gets on that Madonna gig and needs a drummer. Does any of this make sense? I have proofread 0% of all the shit I've typed into the internet today.

Dude, do you really hate the rudiments or do you just feel they are overrated? Thanks for doing this!

When someone hates something, it is often simply because they are insecure about it or suck at it

Hey dude! Any tips for finding people to jam or bands to stand in for as a drummer when moving to a new city? Also what changed in you to be positive and get rid of focusing on negativity in your life?

¡Hello dude! Listen man. I lived a very frustrated first 19 years of life. It led me to take a bunch of pills and try to die. When I woke up a week later in a straight jacket, I was mad at first that someone had forced me to keep living. But. When I got out, I couldn't help but see how many things just don't matter once you're dead. School? Whether I live up to other peoples' expectations of me? Whether some hot chick is mad at me? They felt so meaningless compared to death. So FUCK all that! Every day since then has felt like borrowed time I don't deserve, so I try and play it like you play Metroid with the Game Shark on. Fuck my score, and fuck everybody else's score, and fuck how this game is supposed to be played, and fuck how the authority figures in my life want me to play this game. I'm just gonna play this game to have fun. What a horribly unhelpful metaphor.

One huge thing I found in the midst of all of that is that I have the most fun when I make sure all the people around me have the most fun. The more love I give to the people around me, the more love I feel for myself. Is anyone around me exuding negativity? 100 times out of 100, I have been glad I removed them from my life. Note to self, read this paragraph again.

Uh, anyway. Finding fellow musicians? I'll tell you what I had to tell myself every night for the first few years I lived here: Get off the couch and go see live music! (ps - there really are jam sessions in nearly every major city I've visited, finding them is not a mysterious process; see you at the next one m'dude)

Dude, that's sick! What bands have you played for? How nervous do you get when you're on stage?

I spent last year playing with LoCash, Clare Bowen (from that TV show Nashville), and Ryan Follese (frontman from Hot Chelle Rae). I never understood how much my heart rate elevated on stage until I started playing to click tracks (you are freaking the fokk out if 120BPM sounds like 80BPM, which still happens if the right someone is out in the crowd, or if there are 40,000 more than you were expecting).

Hey Dude! I love your videos! I was just wondering how much you practise and what your normal practice routine is? Thanks Dude!

Hazo the Dude. Keep in mind that I'm not proud of this answer, but it's honest. When I was 15, I briefly dropped out of school and played drums for 8 hours a day, not in the name of narcissism, but purely in the name of 'this is so damn fun and I can't stop'. I felt myself get better every single day. I know what that feels like. But in adult life, I repeatedly choose these other things, like getting enough sleep, exercise, eating right (8% of the time), and staying on top of all the social chores that come with being a professional drummer. Then when panic sets in and I realize I need to learn a 90 minute set for this artist I start rehearsals with tomorrow, I hole up in the drum room and run songs over and over again, during which I try and stretch my limits a little if I can, but it mainly feels like knocking off dust. The most sacred practice time I've found lately is eating my salad with my right hand and playing along to records with my left hand. It is helping! Ask me again next time we talk. And give me shit if I don't tell you I found my way back to sitting at the kit and having fun for at least some amount of time every single day. Because it is a choice. It really is.

Dude! willy here, not sure if you remember me but you wrote a bitchin ps with the copypasta and promised me some dudesticks (i replied with my address)

i suck major buns at school and really really really do not like school at all, can’t really focus. i’m currently a sophomore and it’s coming time for me to start thinking about college, at least for my parents. i don’t wanna go to college, i just wanna get out there and gig and session and jam and all that funky stuff. what would you suggest? i can play all the instruments normally used in bands so i can produce my own stuff but should i suck it up and go to music school?

Greetings Willy the Dude. I relate to not liking school man. I get this question at every clinic I do with young people. Sometimes parents are present, and I have to say it anyway:

Your life is not up to them. It's up to you. If they are currently CEO'ing your life and it's time to fire them, fire them. You are the board.

To some, the less exciting side of that coin is that if you run your life into the ground, it's all on you, right? That's the side of the coin I find more exciting. When I fired my parents, my primal instincts to not starve kicked in to a degree I didn't know I had in me. It's complicated because in a loving relationship, everybody wants what's best for you, but I trust you with your life more than I trust anybody else in the world.

Happy rocking.

-2 more questions

who’s your main in smash/mario kart

if you could only listen to one band for the rest of your life, excluding DMB, who?

Smash: Link main

Kart: Koopa Troopa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Will you do any uni masterclasses? You should do a BIMM (UK) university tour. Me and my drummer classmates love your videos :D

Dude! Thank you. Where are you? I'm already in Australia this Spring and touring USA all Summer, but I shit you not, clinics are being inked in Sweden as we speak and I would love to stop by your place while I'm out there too.

Dude. Big fan of yours, always look forward to watching your videos.

1. Are there any other Youtube drummers that you enjoy watching?

2. We know some of the drummers that have had an influence on you, are there any guitarists, bassist or other musicians that you look up to or are a big fan of?

3. What music are you in to lately, got any recommendations?

4. I want a cowbell dude. Which one should I get?

Thanks for taking the time to do this, good luck dude!

Dude! Thank you so much for watching.

1.) I watch TONS of YouTube, but never drummers. It's mostly video game stuff. Some dude named Mark has been making these Zelda dungeon analyses called "Boss Key" and they're fuckin' sweet. OH! I KNOW! Game Chaps. Watch Game Chaps play the top 10 hardest Mario Maker levels. Hilarious voice overs.

2.) The Lonely Island (I think their understanding of structure is genius). The guys in NOFX (check out "The Decline"). Andy McKee ("Joyland" and "Art of Motion" are great records). All three of these guys influence my attitude on the drums hugely.

3.) Check out ShadowBoxers. Their drummer Cole McSween is a fuckin' boss. Justin Timberlake has taken them under his wing. I hope they are the world's next huge band. Their live show is the second coming of the lord.

4.) I like Pearl's 'El Negro' cowbells because you can REMOVE THEM FROM THEIR HARDWARE MID ROCKING, which I do every night during the drum solo to great effect, great effect.

Hey dude.

Serious question here....best expansion for Catan?

Much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Aaron Mattson, a musican in nashville who spends too much time playing board games when I should be gigging or something.

Dude. Catan is SO popular on tour here. You're in the right place! For years, I had a monthly Catan in my drum room. The standard expansion gives you a maximum of 6 players, and I think that's the best bang for your buck if we're just talking Catan.

Consider this alternative: Play "Coup" as a dessert to Catan. It's simple (15 cards total; that's the whole game), fast, and deeply psychologically with the right crowd.

I've also been playing Seasons and 7 Wonders, which are interesting variations on the Catan 'resource management' style of game.

Thank the dear lord I have a guru who recommends great board games to me.

edit: spelling of "dessert" d'oh

Dude! what head would you recommend to a PHAT snare sound ?

I was thinking Evans onyx heads or the evans hydraulic .

Whatever head is on there right now!

(I mean that)

Dude! First off, I love the channel. I’ve learnt so much over the past year of watching!

My question to you is:

I’m a left handed drummer about to foray into the world of touring and open mic nights. Am I destined to fail unless I switch over?

In my experience touring, you are best served to hone your kit the way it feels best before it leaves town, memory lock it, and really lean into the homework you did. Translation: tour lefty.

As for the open-mics: everyone will hate you if you move anything. Source: everybody hated me at open mics from 2008-2011