Rodney Howard - The Broadway Drumming 101 Classic Podcast (Video)

This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.When I recorded this in February of 2022, Rodney was in his drum room. Blue Pearl kit behind him. Meshell Ndegeocello shirt on — second album, Peace Beyond Passion. We both agreed it's her best record. If you've never heard it, fix that before you do anything else today.Now he’s the percussionist on The Lost Boys at the Palace Theatre. Twelve Tony nominations. Best Musical on the table. If there was ever a time to bring this one back in full, it’s now.He came up in a town in North Carolina with no stoplight. His dad couldn’t buy him brushes, so he put mini broomsticks in his hands and showed him what a brush sweep sounds like on a picnic table. That’s the foundation. He started on saxophone. Switched to drums at 17. Moved to New York not thinking about Broadway at all. Jeff Campbell put his name in front of Chris Parker. The rest followed.The conversation goes deep on what it actually costs to stack your deck in this business. Playing Diana in La Jolla, then jumping on a plane to Japan with Avril Lavigne, then folding Mrs. Doubtfire in because his wife asked one simple question: what’s the worst that can happen?Clayton Craddock is the drummer for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also the founder of Broadway Drumming 101 and the author of Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician’s Guide to Building a Theater Career.His Broadway credits include Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Ain’t Too Proud, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, with additional credits spanning tick, tick…BOOM!, The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and subbing on Rent, Motown, Evita, Avenue Q, and the Hadestown tour.Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the Tony Awards. He has performed with artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Ben E. King to Kristin Chenoweth and Norm Lewis.www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe