Meet dave rodway: Drummer, Teacher and student.

We had the good fortune of connecting with dave rodway and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi dave, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I was turned on to music at such an early age, really early. My parents were musical and listened to music and I have 3 older brothers that were listening to music and playing instruments. There was always music and dancing in our home AND my uncle owned a restaurant that had a piano player. There were so many great parties and music was everywhere. When I was 6 years old my brothers took me to see the great drummer Buddy Rich. I was amazed. They stayed with me and forced me to wait in line for his autograph, which I did. I still have it somewhere. And then of course there were the Beatles. I was playing pots and pans on the kitchen floor. Eventually I was given drums. One at a time, then a cymbal, then better drums. I received my first ‘real’ kit when I was 8. I never looked back. I’ve always known that I wanted to play drums in bands and on recordings.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When writing about my art or my craft, simply writing one word ‘drummer’ doesn’t seem to say enough. But that’s what I’m most passionate about. I’ve started bands and written their tunes and even sung lead vocals, still, I come back to drumming. I love it so. I practice daily because I love to drum! Growing up, being a drummer or a ‘sideman’ looked promising and so I focused only on it. Now with streaming and social media and all the changes in music, being a sideman isn’t so promising but it’s okay. I wouldn’t change a thing I (we) just have to hustle a bit more now. When I was a teenager, I wanted to learn to read drum music, so I began studying drum lessons with the great Gary Chester. I went every week for five years. He taught us how to play for the tune (he was the drummer on hits like Brown Eyed Girl and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown). He showed us the importance of taking care of yourself so you can drum well into old age! This is how I approach drumming. I want to play music with others until my very last day. In the meantime, I’m preparing and practicing and collaborating with other musicians and looking forward to the end of Covid so we can all get back out there and make some music and some awesome memories!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well it just so happens that not too long ago, BC (before Covid) my lifelong friend Tony Tancredi came to visit LA for a week from his home in New Jersey. He and I grew up in NYC, it’s a long story….anyway he showed up and stayed at a Airbnb so I’d go pick him up in the morning, we would go to EAT NOHO for breakfast. He loved that place. then we’d go for a drive on Mulholland Drive. Of course we went through Laurel Canyon on our way to Hollywood. Sometimes we’d get pizza at the little restaurant behind The Canyon Country Store. We of course checked out all the clubs on Sunset and Tony loved The Whiskey. Some days we’d have lunch at Canter’s Deli and I STILL get there at least once a month. I LOVE Canter’s, and don’t forget to check out some bands right there at The Kibitz Room. Just for fun we went into the Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks on Ventura. I took videos of Tony playing some keys there. In fact, he rented some to keep at his airbnb and on his last day here, Tony, Eric (on bass) and I rented studio time at AMP studios in NOHO and we played music. It was magical because we were in a band together when we were teens! Great fun. Lots more details, too many for here. 🙂 Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, I love The Shoutout series. I love what you guys are doing, so thank you for doing what you do. The list is long of people I’d love to dedicate my shoutout to, but most recently, since 2019, my shoutout has got to go to Troy Richardson of the band Truckerbomb here in LA. I’ve been playing with bands in California since 2006. about 40 or more bands and I’m always looking for talented musicians, the better-than-me kind to help inspire me and my playing. I’ve recorded, toured, gigged and rehearsed with so many great players and Troy stands out among them. I think he’s a great storyteller. He’s educated and plays a mean bass too. I had to audition for the band Truckerbomb. It wasn’t easy either. I think they auditioned 30? 40 guys? Maybe more (maybe less 😉 and when I met Troy he was just so laid back and so prepared. I’m glad to know him and we’re planning on great things for the upcoming months and years ahead! Here’s to you Troy!

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