WOD Trailer

Stevie: Have you ever listened to a song and thought, "Who's playing drums on this? And what is it about this performance that makes that whole track feel so good?" Hey, welcome to Who's On Drums. I'm Stevie.

Jonnie: G'day, this is Johnny.

Stevie: And we're a couple of drummers from Sydney, Australia, and we- And

Jonnie: New Zealand ...

Stevie: we've known each other since the late '90s.

Stevie: We used to follow each other around to gigs, and then at the end of the gig, we'd inevitably end up in a car park for a couple of hours and just talk about our favorite drummers and favorite musicians and songs and stuff like that. So those conversations never really stopped. Now we're bringing them to you, and we're speaking directly with the musicians who were there.

Stevie: Each episode focuses on one song, one drummer, and one unforgettable performance, and it just fans out from there. We go beyond the credits to uncover the stories, decisions, and moments that shape the music.

David Garfield: And so Jeff, I'm in my house, literally that side of the room. He was standing there at... My Fender Rhodes was there, and he signed me this sign.

David Garfield: He goes, "Creach." Jeff always called me Creach. And Mike Piccaro's the one that came up with the name Creachy. So Jeff was like, "Creach, I got this groove."

Stevie: We hear how those ideas began and how instinct, collaboration, and feel turn those ideas into songs.

David Garfield: Yeah, you know, that's just the way I write. I write all by ear and by from the heart.

David Garfield: I don't- it's not out of a book. So it's like,

David Garfield: I think Jeff might have helped me write that melody a little bit. It's been a few years. Okay. But I really haven't talked about this. I haven't talked about this in depth.

Stevie: Sometimes a performance develops over hours of experimentation, and sometimes a world-class drummer walks into the studio and delivers exactly what the song needs immediately.

Tommy Emmanuel: And so he shows up, and we get his, get his sound and put the headphones on, and we go for the first run-through and, and we, we record it, and that's the one we used. He only played it once. It was so good.

Stevie: We also hear what those performances felt like from the musician standing right there beside the drummer.

Will Lee: You know, when you have a, a good drummer to play with as a bassist, and when you have a guy who's solid to lock into, you look like a million bucks.

Stevie: Because great drumming isn't always about playing more. Sometimes it's about listening and knowing exactly what the song needs.

Will Lee: I think that the immediate reaction came from him, from seeing how sure he was.

Will Lee: Like, he, he seemed to be able to zero in on just what was right for the song, but it not... without any hesitation, just immediately. You know, he just kind of knew what the song needed or what the section of the song needed always.

Stevie: We explore feel, time, pocket, and the difference between following a mechanical pulse and finding the true center of the music.

Gary Husband: It's not like playing with a click track. It's just, it's finding a- the really center of truth in the time

Stevie: And we discover why the moments that aren't technically perfect can sometimes be the most memorable.

Gary Husband: I went through a definite period thinking, no, no, that just doesn't cut it. That's not on the grid.

Gary Husband: You know, I would have absolutely done that again. Whereas now I think, actually, I like it. That's the character. And I think it was one of those nice things you could kind of, you know, I hasten to say get away with in the 80s, because you couldn't. They were not afraid to leave certain imperfections in there.

Stevie: Those imperfections aren't mistakes to be erased. They're part of what makes a performance human.

Tommy Emmanuel: But you know what? In spite of AI and in spite of all the extra technical wizardry that's going on, I believe I've still got a job because I do something real. It's as simple as that. I pour myself into it every night and try to give the people the best I can, you know.

Stevie: Because the greatest drum performances aren't just about technique. They're about choices, personality, feel, and serving the music. I'm Stevie Taylor. Join me and my buddy Johnny Adams as we listen closely, dig deep, and ask the question that every music fan has asked at some point.

David Garfield: Who's on drums?