MB Redfined
Drum Instructor Kevin Stevens

Drum Faculty Updates - Tours, Recordings and More...

|    Aug 31, 2010

Drum Program instructors have been very busy with tours, recordings, and more - here's an update.

Kevin Stevens performed on the Lilith Fair tour with Nettwork Records artist Miranda Lee Richards, appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show with Shakira, and on America's Got Talent with the cast of the hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages. Recordings include an upcoming release by Scrote, featuring a great lineup of musicians including Brett Simons (Brian Wilson), Reeves Gabrels (David Bowie), Rami Jaffee (Wallflowers, Foo Fighters), Mike Dillon (Les Claypool) and Wayne Kramer (MC5). In October, Kevin will travel to Egypt for a series of jazz festivals with Los Angeles-based saxophone player, Ron Dziubla.

Jason Harnell played LA’s legendary Baked Potato nightclub with Sigmund Fudge, a critically-acclaimed modern electric jazz quartet featuring Joe Bagg (Keys), Jamie Rosenn (Guitar), and Ryan McGillicuddy (Bass) as well as a special duo concert with Grammy-nominated pianist/keyboardist Adam Benjamin (Kneebody, Dave Douglas) at the Steynberg Gallery in San Luis Obispo.  His band JoE-LeSs ShOe (a bass-less trio featuring Matt Otto on sax and Jamie Rosenn on guitar) will be releasing its second all-original album on October 1 on Jazz Collective records.

Glen Sobel recently took part in the annual Drum Daze festival in Columbus, Ohio alongside Teddy Campbell (American Idol), Chris Coleman (Prince), Jason Bittner (Shadows Fall) and Johnny Rabb. Glen’s recent recordings include the Monday Night Football theme and Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage.

Chuck Silverman is conducting a Latin Crash Course at Drum Headquarters in St. Louis MO on Thursday, September 16, including master classes and a concert, followed that Saturday by a master class and private lessons at Shivelbine Music in Cape Girardeau, MO. In December, he’ll be conducting a two-week Professional Research Program in Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas, Cuba. The program features 40 hours of hands-on percussion instruction with Cuban master musicians and lectures by prominent musicians and musicologists (this is Chuck's eighteenth program in Cuba).

Jeff Bowders appears on Fuzz Universe, the latest release by guitarist Paul Gilbert.

Donny Gruendler produced and played on Rhett Frazier Inc's Escape from Dee-Troyt, to be featured in an upcoming issue of Keyboard magazine (click here to see a review of the album). He also has contributed three articles to Modern Drummer magazine and was featured alongside Teddy and Gordon Campbell in the new Yamaha DTX electronic drum ad campaign (click here to view a clip).

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“More and more of the auditions I’m having for recording artists are turning out to be MI class reunions. The graduates of MI have been dominating the new, young music scene in LA”.

- Barry Squire
  Music Industry Talent Coordinator
  MI Hiring Hall Manager



MI alumni are working on stage, in the studio and behind the scenes around the world, with new stories arriving nearly every day. A sample of former MI students who have achieved industry recognition also includes:




Alessandro Cortini
Nine Inch Nails

Kalen Chase
Korn

Dave Kushner
Velvet Revolver

Rafael Moreira
Pink, Christina Aguilera,
Rock Star: Supernova

Mike Ward
Wallflowers, School of Fish

Kevin Hastings
Liz Phair

Pete Griffin
Hanson

Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell,
Scott Shriner
Weezer

Curt Bisquera
Elton John, Mick Jagger,
Bonnie Raitt

Pete Anderson
guitarist, producer

Paul Gilbert
Mr.Big, Racer X

Norman Brown
recording artist

Scott Henderson
recording artist

Oscar Cartaya
Jennifer Lopez, Spyro Gyra

Alex Al
Tupac Shakur, Stevie Wonder

Keb’ Mo’
recording artist

Fred Clark
Chaka Khan, Ray Charles,
Stevie Wonder

Dave Weiner
Steve Vai

Jennifer Batten
recording artist, Jeff Beck,
Michael Jackson

Toss Panos
Steve Vai, Mike Landau,
Robben Ford

Frank Gambale
recording artist, Chick Corea

Kevin Dukes
Don Henley, Boz Scaggs,
Jackson Browne

Chad Smith,
John Frusciante
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Clayton Gibb, Les Falconer
Keb’ Mo’

John Shanks
Melissa Etheridge, Bonnie Raitt

Allen Hinds
Randy Crawford, Natalie Cole,
Crusaders

Jeff Buckley
recording artist

Ray Luzier
Korn, STP, Army of Anyone,
David Lee Roth

Matt Laug
Alanis Morissette, Slash

Ash Sood
Sarah McLachlan

Joacim Cans
Hammerfall

Leah Andreone
recording artist

Irene Gutierrez (DJ Irene)
DJ/producer/remixer/recording artist

T.J. Guger
Göla

Valerie Vega
Zomba/JIVE recording artist (France)

Ernest Tibbs
Alan Holdsworth, Natalie Cole

Toshi Hiketa
David Lee Roth

Travis Johnson
Dickies, TSOL

Jimmy Herring
Allman Brothers, The Other Ones,
ARU, Widespread Panic

Josh Sklair
Etta James, Jeffrey Osborne

Dan Caron
Clifton Chenier, Charles Brown

Jimmy Scott
Little Milton, Solomon Burke

Steve Kerscznic
Tom Jones

Brian Allen
Virgil Donati, Greg Adams

Meja
recording artist

Jesse Gress
music editor, Guitar Player Magazine

Sarah Hudson
recording artist

Chris Maloney
Dweezil Zappa, Lisa Loeb