5-ish Questions with Mike Calabrese

Mike and I backstage in Cleveland, OH – September ’14 – Philly Drum Brothers

In October of 2012, I got an offer to Assistant Engineer(can I make a verb with that?) a session at Great North Sound Society for a then relatively unknown Lake Street Dive.  It was right around the time their video of the Jackson 5 classic “I Want You Back” was deservedly beginning to blow up the internet.  Over the course of these 2 weeks, I witnessed the making of their unbelievable LP “Bad Self Portraits” and  basically set up mics and tried to stay out of their way, and keep quiet.   The keeping quiet part was tough because the funniest person I have ever met happens to play drums in the band.  When he wasn’t cooking Chili in the kitchen talking about the deranged Grandmother of his ex-girlfriend, he was playing and singing some of the grooviest jams I had ever heard.

It’s been an absolute joy to follow the success of Lake Street Dive since that session.  Two years later, his stories are just as good, and he’s still nice enough to hang out with me before shows, and answer my questions.  Enjoy.

EH:  I began playing in 4th grade when I joined the school concert band on snare drum.  Two years later I got my first drum set on Christmas morning, when my Mom asked me to get a Turkey out of the refrigerator in the garage and when I walked in, to my surprise, a kit was all set up with a giant bow on it!  How did music start for you?  How old were you when you started playing, and when did you get your first kit?

MC:  Your mom is amazing!  I have a similarly amazing Mom, but also Dad and extended family.  In a way music never started for me.  I was started because of it.  My parents met in a rock band in the 70’s that was named ironically “Just Friends”.  Then they fell in love and the band broke up and they got married and started making babies.  They remained friends with everyone in the band, and both sides of my parents’ families were very enthusiastic about, if not players, of music.  So the household I was born into was as much a place to live as to play or listen to music.  Every holiday was filled with acoustic guitars and revelry.  I started joining in on tambourine at 3, got my first guitar soon after, then relentlessly tapped my utensils on the dining room table until my parents capitulated to my interests and got me involved with percussion.  They solicited the advice of my Uncle, whose first instrument was drums, and he got me my first kit when I was 9.  It’s been drums ever since.

EH:  Regarding practice:  You went to music school, where there is typically a big emphasis on practicing x amount per day.  I personally struggled with this model in the one year I gave music school a shot.  What was that like for you and how do you approach practicing now?

MC:  I always have been, and remain to this day, a bad practicer.  I just never had a good relationship with it.  There were great teachers of mine who kept me interested in drums and always had great inspirational paths to explore, but no one ever really taught me HOW to practice, which is more important in some ways than learning actual skills.  When I got to college I did it to keep up but was always bowled over by the folks who had a great relationship with practicing their instrument and could spend upwards of 6 hours in a practice room.  It was intimidating.  Now, especially since touring so much and applying the skills I know, I can see more about my playing than I was able to in a room, lonely and bored.  That’s the great thing about gigging.  It’s a kind of practice on its own, and it shows you what works and what doesn’t, and what needs to change.  Now that I’ve realized more about my playing, I’m able to take focused bits of time, even if it’s 5 minutes, and work on something in a way that I know will stick in my head.  Sometimes that’s all you need.  6 hours of practicing that’s unfocused can be less helpful than a few minutes of focused, undistracted exploration and application.

EH:  I have been through nearly every phase in music that there is, grunge, metal, industrial goth(yup), jazz, jam bands, etc… And going through all these periods in my life I feel has really helped me better understand music and drumming. Have you had any particular musical phases in your life that have had a big impact on your development as a musician/drummer?

MC:  Oh yeah I’ve tried it all… In order it was classic rock and roll, jazz, punk, ska, 90’s rock, soul, funk, fusion, metal, singer songwriter and then school for jazz.  They’ve all helped, even if they told me “you don’t like this at all.”  It helps you understand yourself too.  My hidden goal for all those years was to be in a band in which I play the way I want to play.  If your goal is freelancing you may master a lot of these styles and apply them week to week.  For me it helped whittle down what exactly I liked about drums and gave me an approach that worked in the band I play with now exclusively.  Either way is fine and noble.  But in the end, the appreciation of a good song will tell you everything you need to know about playing drums.

EH:  Tour food: sometimes amazing, often times Fritos for dinner.  Do you have a favorite tour snack, or a favorite restaurant/city to eat in when time allows?

MC:  Snyder’s Honey Mustard and Onion Pretzels are my jam, especially in times of sadness.  A Whole Foods is always your best bet to stay healthy and sated.  Otherwise I’m going to a Burger King.  The King reigns supreme over this lowly serf when said serf is exhausted and worn out from the road.

EH:  If you had to describe your life as a musician in 3 words and “kind of screwed” is already taken by me, how would you describe it?

MC:  Where’s my sweatshirt?

September 23, 2014 | Categories: Live!, Studio! | Tags: drums, Lake street dive, Mike Calabrese | Leave a comment