Alan Asuncion has been with the show for 12 years. Marivaldo dos Santos has been with the show for 23! They are both drummers in a company that also includes dancers and actors.

This may come off as rude, but it’s not meant to be! Why are you still here?

ASUNCION: It’s still fresh for me. There’s a lot of improvisation involved. Every night you might be playing a different character. You know you don’t have to stand in a certain place on stage and our dynamics might change or tempo may change. So it really depends on the cast and the interaction of the audience.

DOS SANTOS: It’s one of the best gigs in town. The flexibility has allowed me to stay for 23 years. I’m able to work on other projects like Quabales, which is my social project in Brazil where we connect kids in poor neighborhoods with percussion. STOMP is actually the godfather; they’ve worked with me.

As fun as the show is, this is more abstract than your standard musical. How do you prepare for that role?

ASUNCION: It is abstract. The characters are almost like a concept and it’s more like your own take on the concept that they give you. For example, they might say, “This character is a little quirky. He’s weird. He doesn’t play a lot but what he does play it’s very tasty and makes a big impact.” So you’ve got to figure out how you can do that and what your reactions will be with when someone else reacts towards you. My character can also be a comedy character. There’s another guy who plays the comedy character very different from me. It’s all up to interpretation.

So how do you approach that musically, again in this abstract form?

ASUNCION: I always try to put the music first before the character. We are given certain numbers that we have to play. And just because I’m a silly character doesn’t mean I can throw away that number. We’re pretty strict with the music and making it as clean and as tight as we can.

I imagine the audition process is not conventional either. Who do they cast for this show?

ASUNCION: I auditioned three times. It’s more of a workshop type setting. So there’ll be about 20 people on stage at a time and they’ll teach parts of the show such as “hands and feet” or “brooms” and see how comfortable you are picking up rhythms and interacting with other people on stage. Then they see how fast you could pick it up and if you look comfortable doing it. And the last thing they look for is kind of your personality on stage. What part of you makes me want to watch you on stage?

DOS SANTOS: You could have the best drum set guys come in, put a drum set out, and they would kill. But once you ask them to stand up and start stomping and clapping, it becomes a balance issue. Not everyone can do it.

Is there a specific body type you are looking for?

ASUNCION: There isn’t really a STOMP body type, but the show definitely will keep you in shape. You are stressing your joints, so people do get injured. I still go to the gym. I try to keep my body balanced. I eat well and I just try to stay in shape.

How has the show improved your drumming?

DOS SANTOS: Before STOMP I played jazz with Steve Coleman. He helped me conceptualize rhythms, especially Cuban music, and think about music not just in terms of pocket. So when I came to STOMP I had a good idea, and they helped improve that idea of thinking different than just tick tick with a metronome.

We are currently surrounded by a drummer’s playground. Should we all be jealous?

ASUNCION: Yeah, it is fun! But since it is a theater show, they are pretty strict about putting on a show. Nobody wants to just watch eight guys & gals playing drums and having fun on stage. We have to sell our props and why it is important.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’m not kidding when I say ‘playground’. Here’s raw rehearsal footage of them using basketballs.

At the beginning of this interview, I asked why you’re still here. Let’s go bigger. Why is STOMP still here?

DOS SANTOS: What makes the show special is the combination of so many talented people. It’s a small space even compared to all the other shows. You don’t have to speak English and there’s still audience participation. You just have to feel the music. People love that. We have funny parts. People love that.

ASUNCION: There are parts of the show where I’m still telling myself, “I can’t believe this is my job.” It’s like that feeling of playing “Locomotion” in a wedding band, and when you see everyone dancing on the floor, you get that rush. That’s why we play music.

Crack the track:

I was fortunate enough to actually attempt a crack at the “track”. Alan and Marivaldo gave me a mini lesson on hands and feet. Balance and intent is everything. It’s way more difficult than it looks because the left/right does matter, and you’re driving your feet down.

Remember, kids, it’s all in the facial expressions.

Here’s the real thing.

And because we are drummers here, I’ll throw you one more of them drumming…while suspended. I haven’t had a chat with our lawyers, but I’d recommend not trying this at home.

Artillery:
Literally everything.

Follow Marivaldo:
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Get tickets to STOMP here.

Eblen has to convey those complex emotions and themes through his drumming. He was up to the task three years ago, and still is today.

Let’s start on the heavy emotion. The actors are crying on stage; how do you convey that through drums?

I was brought in maybe a week before the rest of the band. It’s just piano and drums in the rehearsal room and that was the first real taste of the show that I got. Basically, on my first day we were running charts. (The emotion) hadn’t been a thing that I had imported into my playing yet.

But when we did a full run in the room, I started to really feel the piece, so for me it’s an energy thing. I was feeling the intensity of the music and the lyrics, and the whole energy of the show was something that I was trying to transport from inside my soul through the sticks. It wasn’t anything technical that I was doing differently, but I was really focused on the intention behind the notes because the music kind of brings you there anyway.

The biggest challenge is to make sure you’re bringing that intention and that emotion. Not to say that you’re putting yourself through emotional trauma while you play the show, but having that heightened feeling of we’re doing this thing and this audience didn’t see it two nights ago.

Not only do you get some of the best singers to play Evan, but they all play him differently. How much do you adapt to each actor?

I’m so glad they got Ben (Platt, the original Evan). I wasn’t sure anyone else could do it. But then Ben leaves and then somebody else does it. You’re like ”oh, somebody else does do it.”

The thing you notice most at the beginning, I think, is timing. Pace was the thing that we noticed. Ben was so quick – his action on dialogue was so quick – and you start to feel the differences there. But over time they find their groove with it.

It’s been super interesting musically. They bring a little bit of a different thing, maybe vocally or acting wise.

Evan is one of the most difficult male roles on Broadway. It is currently played by 17 year-old Andrew Barth Feldman! Photo: Matthew Murphy

So how do you change for understudies and standbys, when you maybe have never played with them before?

It’s crazy because the same thing happens for us musicians, too. The first time [a musician sub plays] is the show that they’re playing. So there’s a part of you that wants to focus through and get to the end of the show in a way where we’re like “nothing bad is happening.”

When an understudy goes on, just be ready to catch them if there is a stumble. Not to say we’re not on our toes when the OGs are in, but everyone’s a little more alert and focused and ready to catch them if we need to.

The orchestra is up top in the corner of the stage. You’re across on the other side?

Yeah, I’m up in an iso booth basically by myself. The best I can describe it is like a little drum tree house.

If “Little Drum Tree House” isn’t already the name of a band, you’re welcome.

I have a window that faces toward the band. It’s a little bit blurry because they don’t want anybody to see in, and the [stage] lights reflecting is also a thing. So it’s sort of like looking through drunk goggles. You can see silhouettes, but you can’t really see faces or anything. That was one of the first challenges for me. How do we feel the energy as a group together?

This shot is in focus…that’s how blurry it is.

There are some awesome jams in this show. Gimme your favorite.

They’re all so good. I mean there is an intensity with “Waving Through a Window”…especially because it’s the first number everyone knows. It’s also the first moment where you get inside of Evan’s personality, too. It’s a heavy moment for a variety of reasons but it’s always funny because a number like that doesn’t always come second in the show.

So that may be a good answer to what’s musically challenging: how do you get there in the second song? Sometimes that would be an 11 o’clock number. You finally get that number where he speaks his piece and does the whole thing, but it’s number two in our show and that I think is one of the greatest challenges.

Crack the track:

“Waving Through a Window” is the song from this show. Songwriters Pasek and Paul (of The Greatest Showman fame) crafted the rare song that sounds like a “car-top-down-power-to-the-youth-anthem”…but it’s actually about how everyone ignores Evan and he’s lonely. The three main grooves all vary. Listen carefully to where the hats open, and to the rhythm leading into those barks. I’ve seen some drummers play with the butt of the stick during the bridge (“falling in a forest”). And remember to play with the intention that Evan is delivering, even if you have to shed a tear!

Looks up to:
John Bonham
Vinnie Colaiuta
Steve Gadd

Artillery:
Vic Firth Sticks
DW Collector’s Series Drums
DW 5000 Kick pedal
Aquarian Heads
Zildjian Cymbals
Assorted Percussion

Follow Jamie:
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Get tickets to Dear Evan Hansen (Broadway, London, & US Tour)

Feature photo: Matthew Murphy

Rich returned to the diner in May of 2019 to continue the gig he originated: Drummer for the Waitress band. Even after a few years away he was welcomed back like a best friend.

The band is on stage for the majority of the show. Are you all characters?

Whenever you’re on stage, you’re always a character ’cause someone’s gonna be looking at you. We definitely got direction, like “here you’re supposed to be engaged with the conversation at table X, or you saw the big bang happen to her when she dropped something so look over that way, or something heavy is going on at one table so look disinterested – be in your own world.”

Was the whole band game to perform like that on stage?

I think everybody loves being on stage. I mean, I’ll always take the job and work. I love to play music and whatever, but I’d much prefer being on stage.

Marques Walls of Be More Chill said he prefers playing next to the musicians backstage. Is it the same for you?

It’s impossible to be that connected when one guy’s on the fifth floor, two people are on the third floor, etc. I mean if you were going to sessions when everybody is isolated it’s cool, but when the band is together you feel the energy around you. It’s night and day.

Shoshana Bean (the lead actress when I saw the show) was so happy/surprised to see you, so I get the sense you’re just as connected to the cast.

Being with these actors walking by on stage, everybody knows your name. There’s another level of commitment to it because I’ve been here from the very beginning, as has most of the band. And you’re looking at your people – these are the actors – and they’re the muse for us. There’s a responsibility and ownership to it.

You said you were brought on before the songs were written. Please tell me Sara Bareilles is as nice as she seems.

She’s the best.

It started out just with us four: Sara, Rich, Nadia DiGiallonardo (Music Director/Piano), and Lee Nadel (Bass). They didn’t know what it was yet. For every song in the show, there are probably four that aren’t. Each one is great but they had changed for some reason. Sara would go home and write – it was bizarre, “We need another bah bah bah…” – and tomorrow or the next afternoon comes another brilliant masterpiece. You scratch your head like ‘I gotta be better and up my game.’

Then we’d go to my recording studio here in town and we would just flesh them out and work on them. “Let’s try kitchen utensils.” One day she came in with whisks and we’re banging spoons on the floor.

So this was a lot more collaborative than normal.

Sara was pretty adamant about not wanting to just hand her music off to some orchestrator who doesn’t know anything about her or what she’s about.

She’s used to being in a band and working with a band or doing records and it’s such a collaborative event. So as time went on, we finally put the band together and we’d go to a studio with a really big library and we’d just set up in a circle. We also had amps and we were recording everything. And you’d say, “Let’s try this. Well yeah that’s cool but what if the piano dropped out there and a guitar goes brrrrr.”

Everybody was just throwing ideas around and there was no ego in the room because everybody loved it. And Bareilles, just without even trying, brings the best out of everybody because that’s who she is in the room. That’s the biggest coup of life: If you can make everybody else in the room be better, you’re in a very elite class of people that can do that. We did that for about seven straight days.

Rich, the original band, and Bareilles all received an orchestrator credit because of the collaborative way they created the parts for each song. It’s rare for a Broadway show.

You’re doing your first show tonight since coming back from vacation. It’s gotta be in your blood by now.

I’ll always go through it. I’ll really run it down in my head. I’ll take a quick listen to the music. I haven’t read a chart in a long time; since the first preview, I was already off-book. I’m afraid if I looked at the book right now I’d probably be a wreck, even though it’s super accurate! But it’s in my DNA.

Favorite song to play?

I love playing “She Used to Be Mine.”

The ballad (and 11 o’clock showstopper)?

These singers that are up there…it’s a pretty special song. We all laugh about it, we still feel it.

Everybody plays fresh here. I’ve never been in here and watched anybody phone it in because they’ve played the show a thousand times. Ever. Not once. It’s incredible.

Crack the track:

“Bad Idea”, the Act One finale, is in 6/4 time. It’s an excellent test for your internal metronome and how well you count. The chorus has a pulse of 1+2+3+4+5+6+ with varying orchestrations per measure on the kit using your left foot on the hats. I hope you learn from it! (The drum part…not how to cheat on your spouse, which is what the song is about)

Inspired by:

Philly Joe Jones
Ringo Starr
Charley Watts
His Father
Hal Blaine
And many more

The artillery:

Rich uses and endorses:
Yamaha Drums & Hardware
Zildjian Cymbals
Vic Firth Sticks
Big Fat Snare
Ultimate Ears

Follow Rich:

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Feature Photo: Joan Marcus

Warren Odze is the drummer who plays a slew of genres and navigates all sorts of challenges to put out a consistent nightly product, lest he face the Wrath of Kong.

You’ve been doing this a long time. How have you adapted to the changing roles of the pit drummer?

There’s not that much adapting for me because this stuff all reflects what’s going on out there in the world. It’s slowly getting away from the old school conducting. More and more of these shows are on a click system, as more of it becomes pop music away from My Fair Lady kind of shows. And I’ve done a bunch of them. But the more modern shows seem to be click-driven, with more pop music, and more isolation-driven.

King Kong is using an orchestra, a click, and tracks. Could you explain?

So the tracks came first with the show when it was done originally. Grammy winner Marius de Vries (Score composer/producer) did these tracks and they’re very ambitious.

If it’s just a conductor with no click, we play together as a group with our frailties, and that makes for music, right? Then you add the next element, which is the click. It’s just a tempo guide. So even inside the *tick tick* there’s feel. But now we have tracks, which have all the subdivisions. So the name of the game here is precision. So to me it’s almost like data input.

There’s no wiggle room for about 95 percent of the show. It’s kind of like going back a million years to those records that John Robinson played on, like Stevie Winwood’s “Higher Love” and all that stuff. I mean, he was famous and still is famous for his precision.

So how do you get “feel” when playing with all of that precision?

When you put the show together it’s really a fast process. A lot of the parts were kind of wacky and hard because they’re just transcriptions of the tracks, which are sort of unplayable because it was a guy on a keyboard – you know, like five voices at once. So I had to find a way to put a little more John Bonham in the mess.

I spent a lot of time with the metronome making sure I could play the part and relax, and then going back to the (music) styles a little bit.

Eddie Perfect (music & lyrics) is known for writing with a potpourri of music styles. Do you prefer that?

I do like doing that! Some of it sounds like Game of Thrones. Some of it sounds like AC/DC, or even a “We Will Rock You” vibe. Some of it is this sort of big band swing, and there is a tiny bit of goofy old school Broadway vaudeville. It’s fun here.

Author’s Note: Composer Eddie Perfect also wrote the songs for the new Beetlejuice musical. That show uses double bass drumming for some of the metal sections!

We are a stick’s throw away from the percussionists’ setup (they’re in neighboring rooms). How are you syncing up with Dave Roth?

It’s like a recording studio; it does feel weird at first, but everybody’s so used to it at this point.

One of the big things to be successful in a recording studio is “act as if.” If you’re just used to playing with people in [the same room], there will be the sensation of “wow, that sounds weird” and you’re second-guessing. It’s a lot of acting like they’re there.

I guess asking for your “favorite song” is like asking your favorite genre. But anyway…what’s your favorite song?

You know, there’s a couple of favorites. There’s this one that’s at the beginning with a boat and it’s got this Peter Gabriel-esque rolling on the toms thing and it creates a mood. I like stuff that is trance and in a mood.

There is a scene at the end where Kong goes completely cuckoo. And we play that “We Will Rock You” type thing. And I love that kind of music. Simple.

Challenges each night?

A little saving grace here is that the track is always running. So you hear it in your subconscious. Once in a while, the monkey goes cuckoo and it happens in my least favorite piece, “The Cobra Fight” with Kong fighting.

It’s a very complex piece of music that’s constantly shifting meters and fields. The conductor’s constantly getting out of vamps into the next thing and it’s a little nerve wracking.

Yup. That is a Cobra fight. (Credit: Matthew Murphy)

And how about when things go wrong for you?

Well, when we first started, I came in early with this entrance. It was not a great thing, but if you didn’t know the show you would almost think I was supposed to. The lead character is screaming and I played this fill at the wrong time; it almost sounds like a Phil Collins moment.

Of course [the band] never lets me live it down. They can’t. It’s a great fill, but I played it wrong. I keep the sticks out of my hands during that part.

Small monitor for Conductor/Keyboard (Michael Gacetta). Big monitor for Kong. Those lines behind him are the gigantic LCD screen on stage.

Crack the track:

Here’s a music video for “Queen of New York”. It’s a good exercise in approaching the kit from a pop perspective, and trying to replicate the percussion sounds as much as possible. Notice the lack of hi-hat or ride. Also great for improvising a drum part on top.

Inspired by:

Keith Carlock
Elvin Jones
Jack DeJohnette

The artillery:

Yamaha Stage Custom Drums
Zildjian and Sabian Cymbals
Assorted Percussion
Vic Firth Double Glaze Sticks (“One pair lasts me 2 months”)

King Kong is no longer running on Broadway. But after hanging backstage, some may say he’s just hibernating…

Feature photo: Matthew Murphy

This is not your typical acting gig, nor your typical drumming gig.

It’s an absolute blast and a whirlwind because every show is different, especially in Josh Cohen – all of the actors on stage are responsible for everything you hear. So there’s tremendous responsibility in being an actor-musician, especially as the drummer.

Also, we are a show that’s not on click. So I’m responsible for time through a visual metronome making sure that the entire band is on track.

Wait, do you at least have headphones to hear the click?

So I am watching a blinking light and that’s how I’m keeping us on track. I need to be checking in with this blinking light in the brain of this V-kit that I play onstage to make sure that we’re close to the sweet spot of each song.

That was the biggest adjustment for me…I’m used to an auditory click. I am a classical clarinetist and that’s always how I practiced: with an auditory metronome.

Cathryn has a preset tempo list, and just follows the blinking light, all while acting and singing simultaneously.

How the heck do you go from classical clarinetist to playing drums in an off-Broadway musical?

We had a drum kit in my basement when I was 13, which I banged on every once in a while, so I sort of had that in my back pocket. I think when I was in college I got privy to the fact that more and more often they’re taking the orchestra out of the pit and they’re making them actors and they’re putting them onstage.

And so I started kind of investigating. If I play clarinet and I play guitar – I started guitar when I was twelve and clarinet when I was nine – how can we make that multiply? So if you know clarinet you can pick up saxophone and oboe…but you’ll probably be terrible starting out at oboe, as I am. If you know guitar you can play ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and bass. Those all operate under the same rules.

Author’s Note: While Cathryn was the main drummer, a few others in the cast took turns filling in while Cathryn was singing or playing another instrument. And there’s no intermission to rest!

So how did you prove your abilities were legit and not just interests?

I actually was in a different incarnation of the show five years ago at Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) but I wasn’t playing the drum track. I only played drums on one song called “Hang On”.

For this incarnation, Hannah Ellis (who originated the role Off-Broadway) was leaving, so yes, I did have to come in. I played and sang three song snippets, which is easier said than done. They already knew that I played clarinet, saxophone, guitar and so on, so I just exclusively proved my worth on the drum set.

That’s not a normal thing in regular bands, let alone staged musicals. How do you even prepare for that?

I have two very benevolent roommates. I turned our living room into a mini stage, and I went through the blocking. I had my drum set set up. I had the piano. I had a cajon, a violin, and a mandolin, and I just had to physicalize it in my body.

The show is a 90 minute whirlwind/fireball of activity where we are running to switch a wig off stage, then come back in and play piano, then leave the piano to go pick up a violin somewhere, then cross underneath the stage, put on a gray wig and a sparkly tracksuit, and run up to the stage to do a huge number only to then play the drums again. So I knew that there was no room for error.

Talk to me about those shiny drumsticks.

That was an aesthetic choice. Our director Hunter Foster wanted lots of color on stage.

Part of it is that the heavier sticks feel better because of one of the things that I struggled with: you really gotta mash the heads on the V-kit to get the sound. So we choose to use heavier sticks to exert less force and maximize my energy.

Do you have any nightly challenges in the drum book?

There’s a moment in this song called “Neil Life”. We play verse-chorus-verse-chorus, then the bridge starts. I tacet drums for maybe a measure or two in order to put on a headband and get a prop phone. I have to squat slightly in order to make this work and keep four on the kick going while I’m singing and acting.

Finally, the crazy part of this whole sequence is getting out of it. I have to ditch the phone and headband, grab my sticks, sit down on the throne, and then hit a crash and I go back to this comfort I know about.

Here is Cathryn singing and drumming that part without all of the choreography. Now imagine adding in the props and costume switches…

(Skip to 11:52 to hear Cathryn’s big vocal number playing an old Jewish aunt running through her family tree. She kills it.)

Crack the track:

The score was loosely based on a Neil Diamond album (which is a plot point of the show). Cathryn’s favorite track is the titular “The Other Josh Cohen”. It rocks the hardest, and has a really fun triplet fill at 2:30. The album uses a whole team of Broadway stars for all of the different characters.

Sadly, the show has closed off-Broadway…but it doesn’t mean they’re done forever. I know Cathryn isn’t.

Inspired by:

Elena Bonomo
Jessie Linden
Hannah Elless

Artillery:

Yamaha DTX Drum kit
KORG-60 Tuner (for her string instruments)
Vater Sparkle Sticks
Vic Firth Sticks (“For the boys”, as Cathryn said)

Follow Cathryn:

Instagram
Twitter
Website

For each poster in their drum rooms, there’s a different musical style in the show. The opener goes from two bars of Mr. Rogers to two bars of death metal. Separated by a window, these vets effortlessly handle the pressure of playing for some of Broadway’s most talented singers, and have a blast beat doing it.

How did your teamup work? Were you working together early?

FORD (Drums): During the rehearsal process there was a lot of “Can you cover that cymbal roll on this measure?” It’s a lot of tossing instruments back and forth, because it’s such a busy book that during rehearsal we had to have a little conference at least two or three times an hour.

SAMUELS (Percussion): And then being in here there’s a wonderful ability to be able to really groove and look at each other. I think in a lot of pits, the drummer and percussionist are separate or they can’t see each other. I think having this window here really allows us to blend very well.

Beetlejuice is largely a comedy. How are you contributing to the funnies via drums and percussion?

FORD: It’s original music by Eddie Perfect and orchestrations by our musical director Kris Kukul. The music itself reminds me of old Warner Brothers Bugs Bunny cartoons. Just playing the score paints a picture of the Beetlejuice world and the manic kind of fast comedy.

SAMUELS: It was very fun because we got to experiment with all these different sounds. We would play something and maybe I would say, “Kris, I see what you’re going for; let’s try this.” It would be wacky and kooky and we both had bags and bags of toys and cymbals and gongs, and we would try to add to the kookiness.

You both have to play loads of musical genres, sometimes in one song. How are you approaching that potpourri? (SAT word)

FORD: One way I approach it is dynamically. It’s a study in contrasts. I really lean into the death metal stuff, and then pull back for Mr. Rogers land. “Oh, now we’re in ska land. Ok.” So different dynamic levels was my main approach to the thing.

SAMUELS: I think we walk a fine line between trying to stay true to a genre that we’re playing, and then also what needs to be done onstage. Is this a comedy part? Shannon’s having to lay down a salsa groove but he’s having to do fifteen-thousand dance hits, which is very difficult. Sometimes you play on one and three if that’s what’s needed on stage.

Author’s Note: The show first ran out of town in Washington D.C., and that salsa number was originally a boy band number. They changed it for Broadway.

So one of you gained a child, and the other gained a knee. Joshua, how’s the child? (And congrats, by the way!)

SAMUELS: Thanks, he’s awesome! I can’t speak complete sentences right now because I’m exhausted. My wife is very supportive. You’ll learn if you ever move to New York City or if you have a girlfriend or you’re married, you’re never gonna be able to practice in your space. But I have a studio in Midtown as well where I practice. It’s with a bunch of other musicians.

Shannon you had a knee replacement about two months before rehearsal. Just…how?

FORD: In mid-December I had a total knee replacement for my right knee. I had to slowly relearn to play the bass drum again, because after surgery my shin calf muscles and everything were completely immovable. So I had to sit in my apartment with a practice bass drum pad and a single pedal and just try to get through a three minute song playing quarter notes.

Fortunately, the rehearsal process in most shows is playing for maybe 30 seconds and waiting for 30 minutes. I mean, you play a section of a song and then they’ll choreograph it or stage it or do scene work and you’re just sitting there. And it was a good thing for me because it allowed me to ease back into playing.

SAMUELS: Shannon’s actually being very modest. He never complained once, and even with his knee surgery I’ve never heard somebody use his right foot so incredibly well. It’s perfect.

FORD: It was after the Percocet!

Crack the track:

Almost every song is a blast to play. “The Whole Being Dead Thing” is the first full tune in the show. Here’s that whole death metal to Mr. Rogers thing. A lot of the drumming is in a ska-like style, with some swing and Klezmer thrown in. The key isn’t to just play the different sections, but to seamlessly switch between styles.

Shannon is inspired by:

Steve Gadd
John Lennon
Danny Gatton (Friend and bandmate)

Joshua is inspired by:

David Samuels (Uncle)
Vera Daehlin (Former teacher)
Jon Fishman (Phish)

Shannon’s artillery:

DW Drums
Sabian Cymbals
Vic Firth Sticks
Roland SPD-SX
Assorted Percussion

Joshua’s artillery:

Sabian Cymbals (Endorsement)
Vic Firth Sticks (Endorsement)
Assorted Percussion

Marques sits (and stretches) backstage 8 shows a week to provide the pulse for those fans.

Joe Iconis’ pop rock score bounces from funk to rock to electro. How involved were you in revamping the drum book?

The styles are kind of all over the place in the best way possible. Charlie Rosen (orchestrator, Guitar 2) is a man of many talents genre wise.

I wasn’t there in 2015, but I was pretty involved even though the bones of the drum book were already solidified. To paraphrase a Charlie Rosen quote, he goes, “I love working with you because when you read my orchestrations you know what I meant to write.”

Do you get to mix it up each night?

Joe and Charlie are like “do whatever you want”, but every new thing I put in the book I run by them. I’m like “dial me back”, you know? But yeah, they’ve given me a lot of freedom throughout this process.

I see you enjoy hi-hat barking too.

Yeah *laughs ’cause I’m hilarious*. Some of that hi-hat stuff I got from my Dad. It’s kind of a running joke whenever he comes out to see me play. I always find a way to throw that in there if he’s in the audience.

Do you worry about the click?

I’m not doing the click; that’s our MD Emily Marshall (Conductor, Keys 1). For about 75 percent of the show we’re on click. It’s in and out, and with Joe’s style of writing he likes the tempo and groups to kind of ebb and flow a little bit. So there’s no consistent click throughout any song.

That’s funny; with it being pop and rock music I would think it works best with a click.

We have a lot of what they call tempo maps. Things are ebbing and flowing but you can’t really tell from the house. It just sounds like one consistent tempo. And it’s kind of my job to make those transitions sound smoother than they probably are. So I will take a little credit for that because I am working hard to keep those transitions sounding smooth.

What I hate is when Ableton (the program running the click) messes up because I’m the loudest one on stage. It always seems like it’s my fault. I feel like we’ve had a few nights where it’s ruined my week.

With Be More Chill, the band is directly backstage in a line. Does it make a difference performing next to your band instead of in your own room?

We’re all breathing together and it affects it all positively. I interact with the actors backstage every now and then, which musically doesn’t do much, but it helps morale just to be in the same room laughing together.

Out of every single show I’ve done, this is the first one where I’m behind the curtain, which is cool. In Spring Awakening, I would get notes about scratching an itch onstage. They’d say, “You sneezed real hard during the tour in this one scene; could you hold that in next time?” which is really annoying but a small price to pay for being on a stage.

But I can get up and stretch, which helps my shoulder. I experienced a pinched nerve through my left shoulder and had to reteach myself a few things. I have to sit low and have my snare on the same plane as my leg so I can rest the injured arm as I’m hitting the snare.

As a drummer, how’s the lock-in with the bass player?

DENNIS! I love that dude. He has been my support system through this, because we all have bad shows and he’s always giving me the devil horns and is all “It’s fine! You sound good!”

Talk about the pressure of having to nail it 8 shows a week.

As a performer, we kind of thrive off that. Luckily, by the time the audience finally sees the show, we’ve already performed it for hours and hours and hours and hours of doing the same thing over and over again. So those catastrophic mistakes don’t really happen too often.

Does this look like the face of a man who feels pressure?

The audience can often dictate the energy of a show, but at the theater we expect them to be a bit more reserved as they take in the story. How do you gauge the energy?

This show is special because it has such a cult following. It would kind of make us hypocrites to not enjoy that energy. For most shows, you don’t really want too much whooping and hollering, but here we thrive off of it.

Except I will say St. Patrick’s Day was probably our rowdiest audience yet. Yeah, we had to vamp a little too much…

A high schooler takes a pill that makes him cooler…guess which one plays the pill.
Credit: 2019 Maria Baranova

Crack the track:

The whole album has excellent tracks to drum to. “Halloween” and “Smartphone Hour” are upbeat jams. My pick, however, is Two Player Game, specifically the cover by the 8-Bit Big Band (Charlie Rosen’s video game music project) where they funk it up a little bit. Don’t forget the hi-hat barking in the refrain, for Papa Walls!

Inspired by:

George “Spanky” McCurdy
Clayton Craddock (Drummer for Ain’t Too Proud)
Sean McDaniel (Drummer for Frozen)

The artillery:

Spawn Drums
Sabian & Zildjian Cymbals
Evans & Remo Heads
DW 5000 Pedal
LP Percussion
Roland SPD-SX
Vic Firth X5AN Sticks

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