064 – Josh Heffernan: Freelancing vs. being in a band, making a live album, the balance between vintage and modern

Josh Heffernan is the drummer for Dustbowl Revival, an eight-piece outfit based in LA. Their most recent album, With A Lampshade On is their biggest yet, and their touring schedule is keeping them busy all over North America and Europe, and most recently, China. Josh grew up in Seattle and got some of his first professional experience in an Army band before moving to LA. He attended the Los Angeles College of Music where he studied with Ralph Humphrey, and was a freelancer around LA until the Dustbowl drum chair became his full time job. Comprised of an acoustic rhythm section, two singers, trumpet, trombone, mandolin and fiddle, the band is a mashup of folk, rock, bluegrass, New Orleans swing, and whatever else they can come up with. No matter what musical or geographical territory they find themselves in, Josh is at the center of it finding ways to get people dancing.

In this podcast, Josh talks about:

Dustbowl Revival’s recent tour of China

His post-high school musical education first in an Army band, then at the Los Angeles College of Music

Being a “jack of all trades” vs. dedicating yourself to one style

Dustbowl Revival’s latest album, With A Lampshade On, and the unique way it was put together

The band’s stylistic development, from hitting a different style with each song to trying to blur the lines for a sound that is more homogenous and more their own

The hustle of freelancing vs. the hustle of being in a band

Blending the old and the new, both in his playing and his gear

This episode is sponsored by Aquarian Drumheads.