Jeff Bowders in the quintessential rock drummer. His groove is powerful, his sound is big, and his chops are tight. He has recorded and toured with some of the biggest names in rock including; Paul Gilbert, Puddle of Mudd, Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, and Mike Keneally to name a few. He has also released a solo record titled “The Pilgrimage of Thingamuhjig” that showcases Jeff’s technical prowess and monster groove!
Jeff is also a published author with 3 titles penned for Hal Leonard; “Essential Rock Drumming Concepts”, “Essential Drumset Fills”, and “Double Bass Drumming Workshop”.
Real Drum Tracks Now is proud to have one of the best rock drummers in the business on the roster.
1) What’s your experience working with different types of artists?
It varies all over the map. Some artists are very specific in what they want others just want me to play the way I would instinctively approach the song. Some artists can convey and articulate what they’re going for where others require a bit of experimentation to discover what it is they want.
2) How do you approach a song when it’s presented to you?
If the artist has given me no direction, I listen to what the groove is to determine what my foundation will be. Then it’s identifying the dynamic changes within the song so I can support the tension and release. If there are any specific rhythmic passages within the song I make note of it and experiment different ways to interpret it.
3) What if an artist has a specific drum idea for their songs?
Great! I’ll also try to offer some suggestions that may go along with their original idea just to see if they may like that better.
4) Does it help for the artist to give you references of other artists to help convey their ideas?
References are always welcome. The key to getting to best possible result in the studio is communication. Using reference songs, drummers, Dali paintings, whatever, it’s usually all helpful.
5) What’s the most important part of your job as a drummer?
To play as many notes as possible!!!! Haha!! My goal is to make everyone and the song sound better and to drumistically contribute without being a distraction.
