Nashville first-call drummers

[Ardent15]

Who are the first-call drummers in Nashville these days?

I know these are a few of the first-call drummers in Nashville now:

Rich Redmond
Paul Leim
Eddie Bayers
Chris McHugh

Don't know if any of the following are actually Nashville-based, but they've been on a lot of recordings that come out of Nashville.

Vinnie Colaiuta
JR Robinson
Kenny Aronoff
Russ Miller
Curt Bisquera
Matt Chamberlain

Finally, drummers who live in Nashville but aren't really "First-call" drummers there

Billy Ward
Keith Carlock
Bart Elliott

Any names you would add or subtract?

[Gaddabout]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

[Cheggs]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

Keith discussed this in his Modern Drummer interview earlier this year. Talked about how different the Nashville recording scene is compared to pretty much anywhere else. Apparently they have a completely different way of charting out songs that you pretty much HAVE to know if you want to cut it down there. Pretty interesting read.

[Ardent15]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

To expand on what Cheggs said, I've heard from a credible source that in Nashville it's the A-list session players who are in charge of finding players for sessions, not the producers. And it takes a LONG time to getting anywhere close to the top of the Nashville scene.

My hunch is players like Vinnie, Kenny Aronoff, JR , etc. are just so prolific in places like LA or NYC, that sooner or later they came into contact with the guys in Nashville.
They don't have to "work there way up" because they are at the top of the food chain in huge session scenes already.

Vinnie, JR, Kenny, Curt Bisquera etc. spent much of their careers elsewhere. The gap between the number of openings in Nashville and the number of players who are competing in Nashville is probably greater there than anywhere else.

I guess the point is, if you want to make it in Nashville, make it somewhere else first. Competing with the likes of Paul Liem and Eddie Bayers, not to mention players like Vinnie and JR..to say it's a "long shot" is an extreme understatement.

[Gaddabout]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

Keith discussed this in his Modern Drummer interview earlier this year. Talked about how different the Nashville recording scene is compared to pretty much anywhere else. Apparently they have a completely different way of charting out songs that you pretty much HAVE to know if you want to cut it down there. Pretty interesting read.

Nashville Notation, and if you have any music theory at all -- and good ears, it's pretty simple to learn.

[Gaddabout]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

To expand on what Cheggs said, I've heard from a credible source that in Nashville it's the A-list session players who are in charge of finding players for sessions, not the producers. And it takes a LONG time to getting anywhere close to the top of the Nashville scene.

My hunch is players like Vinnie, Kenny Aronoff, JR , etc. are just so prolific in places like LA or NYC, that sooner or later they came into contact with the guys in Nashville.
They don't have to "work there way up" because they are at the top of the food chain in huge session scenes already.

Vinnie, JR, Kenny, Curt Bisquera etc. spent much of their careers elsewhere. The gap between the number of openings in Nashville and the number of players who are competing in Nashville is probably greater there than anywhere else.

I guess the point is, if you want to make it in Nashville, make it somewhere else first. Competing with the likes of Paul Liem and Eddie Bayers, not to mention players like Vinnie and JR..to say it's a "long shot" is an extreme understatement.

Yes, but Carlock would be in the same studio class as the other guys. I know he's picked up a lot of Nashville work in the last year. They called him down there.

[Ardent15]

I've heard Carlock has moved to Nashville and I'd have to say he's a first-call drummer anywhere on the planet that he wants to be.

To expand on what Cheggs said, I've heard from a credible source that in Nashville it's the A-list session players who are in charge of finding players for sessions, not the producers. And it takes a LONG time to getting anywhere close to the top of the Nashville scene.

My hunch is players like Vinnie, Kenny Aronoff, JR , etc. are just so prolific in places like LA or NYC, that sooner or later they came into contact with the guys in Nashville.
They don't have to "work there way up" because they are at the top of the food chain in huge session scenes already.

Vinnie, JR, Kenny, Curt Bisquera etc. spent much of their careers elsewhere. The gap between the number of openings in Nashville and the number of players who are competing in Nashville is probably greater there than anywhere else.

I guess the point is, if you want to make it in Nashville, make it somewhere else first. Competing with the likes of Paul Liem and Eddie Bayers, not to mention players like Vinnie and JR..to say it's a "long shot" is an extreme understatement.

Yes, but Carlock would be in the same studio class as the other guys. I know he's picked up a lot of Nashville work in the last year. They called him down there.

Ah, that makes sense. He's playing with Sting and Steely Dan, among many others, so of course he's an A-lister.

And it makes sense that they called him down to Nashville. Dude's got such a great feel.

[patdrums]

I would definitely add Greg Morrow and Shannon Forrest to that list of first call guys.

Other in-demand guys who get called alot too are Tommy Harden and Nick Buda. I know all the guys in town and the decline of the music industry in general has pretty much decimated the old standard of session work being considered the holy grail of career paths. Years ago, Lonnie Wilson, Eddie Bayers, Paul Leim et al, could stay in town, do master sessions every day and bring home a strong 6 figure income. Now, alot of them are moving into producing/writing or are taking road gigs that they wouldn't have considered back then. Session work has become spread out among more than just the old guard, first call guys and more and more guys are getting a chance at the trough. I know alot of guys who have decided in the past to not take road gigs and "stay in town and do sessions". Very few of them have been able to stick to their guns and not end up on another road gig in a couple of years. It's tough.

Alot of the LA guys who have made careers there and now are getting calls to play in Nashville are more on the fringes of things in my estimation. I don't really consider them much of a factor when it comes to the work available to those of us who live here full time. Most times, an artist looking to do something outside the Nashville machine ends up with a producer who isn't a part of the Nashville circle and ends up calling someone like Vinnie or Kenny Aronoff to come in to do their thing. I wouldn't consider them Nashville session players in the strictest sense.

The odd thing about the music biz these days is the fact that Nashville is one of the few remaining music centers where people who play real instruments can still go to do what they do. So much of the hip-hop based stuff is done with loops and samples inside a computer by the producer-du-jour that alot of those LA guys are moving here to try to make a living. I hear of more and more guys I grew up listening to who live here now. It's a great place but it's definitely changing.

As far as the Nashville number system? It's really simple and a very convenient way to do alot of tracks fast. It's very common to be able to cut an entire record's worth of material in a single day and have it comped, mixed and ready to print in a week or less. My first Nashville session, I was handed a number chart and didn't know what it meant. I shut my mouth, opened my ears, listened carfeully and by the time we reached the first chorus I had it down. There are alot of shorthand notational things that help navigate them and you learn them all really fast. My good friend Jim Riley from Rascal Flatts just released book about how it works but I haven't seen it yet. Knowing Jim, it'll be a great resource to anyone who wants to learn the system.

[Rob Ferrell]

Tommy Harden keeps himself busy doing sessions and touring with Reba.

[Julián Fernández]

My good friend Jim Riley from Rascal Flatts just released book about how it works but I haven't seen it yet. Knowing Jim, it'll be a great resource to anyone who wants to learn the system.

I´ll try to check it out... I heard Jim recently and was pleasantly surprised... great tone and pocket!