Cris Cohen: You seem like someone who is never done, never satisfied. Over the years, you made some big changes to your drumming technique. For instance, in recent years, you learned how to play using traditional grip.

Ben Sesar, drummer for Brad Paisley: It is all about trying to make the gig easier. Because with Brad, it is very demanding musically. There is a lot going on and the intensity is high. And there is something magical about having more at your disposal than you actually need, so that when you are cruising along, it is that much easier.

​Cris Cohen: In other words, learning to play fast improves your ability to play slowly as well.
 
Ben Sesar: Yes. It is like an Aston Martin versus a Volkswagen Bug from the 60s. Both can go 70 miles an hour. But one is doing it easily and one is doing it at the top of its range.
 
That is the purpose: To increase your headroom so that everything you do just rolls off. That is how I look at it.

Cris Cohen: Did this whole process [recording a concert with a symphony] change how you viewed any particular song of yours?

Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls: That's a really good question. Gosh, I'll have to think about that for a second. I just have to say that the arrangements, they bring the songs to life in a way that I didn't experience before then. And so now, even when Amy and I are playing as a duo, I hear those arrangements in my head.

You know how orchestral arrangements can be. They get used in movies all the time because they evoke emotion. They can make you feel things in a very big way, when the orchestra kicks in. I think it's the same way with these songs. To have that beautiful sound, now, as part of the landscape of the song, is profound. What I end up feeling is, those arrangements really bring the messages of the songs home. 

I'll pick a song like “Mystery.” It's about a relationship, but it also describes the end of summer and what it feels like outside in the weather. It's describing these two people and the mystery of what's going on, both in the physical world and in their relationship.

The strings just make that like a movie inside my head. So I think the arrangements just bring the songs to life in a new way. But I wouldn't say that they make me stop and think about the lyrics in a different way. They just sort of heighten the experience.

Cris Cohen: When you join an existing band, how do you honor what came before -- in terms of the drummers who sat in that throne before -- but also make space to express yourself and show what you have to offer?

Mike Vanderhule of Y&T: Good question. First thing I do is learn everything the way it was done originally, so I can sound like the record first and foremost. And then as you get to know them, they'll let you know where you have freedom to play other parts. As a kid coming up, any band I was into, you go to a concert and you want to hear songs played the way we knew it. So those are the key parts, the sound you want it to have. But we have a lot of places where we stretch out and I can't help but sound like myself. 

Scott from clients Red Wanting Blue: If you're a music listener that's listening for flawless perfection, I don't know if we'll ever be the band for you. We're always looking to find a moment, coddle it, and turn it into something that can really be remembered. For me, that's the best thing in the world.

Cris Cohen: What's the key to learning how to play well with others on an album? To play well with the percussionist? To play well with the programmed drums?

Chris Fryar of the Zac Brown Band: The most helpful thing you can keep in mind is to listen, to be aware. For example, when Daniel (de los Reyes) is playing, sometimes he'll play a part, and that part will just catch the ear of whoever's in the booth and he will go, "Oh yeah, why don't we make that into a loop?" In that kind of context, you want to just listen and give space to those ideas as they come up in a live context. And so from my perspective, my job is to hit the high points, the strong beats, embellish where I can, but pretty much be aware and be open to what's happening musically with the electronic end of things. And what's happening with Daniel's end of things. So if he picks up a shaker and starts playing an intricate pattern, then I am more than likely going to lessen what I do on the hi-hat, since they are similar sounds. I defer to him. It's  out of love for the music and out of love for him, because he's an incredible player and masterful musician in his own. I don't want to detract from what he's doing.

I finally got to do an in-person interview with bassist John Pierce of Toto. We discussed:
- How learning to play the drums has influenced his bass playing
- Playing with Toto drummer Shannon Forrest 
- His quest to play less and make each note more meaningful 
- Sessions with Huey Lewis, Mick Jagger, and Tom Petty
- Toto's "With A Little Help From My Friends" album
- And more