132 – Kent Slucher: 10 Years Drumming for Luke Bryan, Keeping Your Cool When Things Go Haywire, Playing With Power and Energy

Kent Slucher was born in Louisville, Kentucky October 19, 1976. With an intensely musical ear he learned to appreciate music at a very young age. Some of the most influential bands for Kent growing up included; Led Zeppelin, KISS, Fleetwood Mac, Bad Company, and Journey. At 19, Kent got his first gig in his father’s band, Uncle Lijah. After that, he played in a top 40 house band hoping to be discovered.

In 2002, Kent got his first touring gig with singer/songwriter Anthony Smith. Since touring with Smith, Kent has had the opportunity to tour and record with Pam Tillis for five years as well as working with such artists as; Kelly Keagy(Night Ranger), Gatlin Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys, Suzy Boguss, James Otto, Bill Medley(Rightious Brothers), Mary Sue Englund, Reggie Vinson(Alice Cooper), Bobby Terry(producer/songwriter, Cowboy Crush and many more.

Kent currently plays with country music artist Luke Bryan. Luke has been fortunate enough to tour with artists such as; Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Tim Mcgraw and headlined his own “Tailgates and Tanlines” tour in 2011. Luke has had many number ones and top ten hits including; “Do I”, “Rain is a Good Thing”, “Someone Else Calling You Baby”, “Country Girl Shake It” and “I Don’t Want This Night to End”. Kent performed with Luke on the CMA Awards, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Jimmy Kimmel Show, Ellen Degeneres, The Today Show, Regis and Kelly, and the CMT Awards.

With passion and determination to be the best player he can be, he has brought a uniqueness and energy to the bands he has played with. “I like to think of myself as a pocket player…groove oriented.” Although he started out “stealing licks from hundreds of influential drummers”, he feels he has developed a style of his own. Very technical and precise, he leaves no room for error. “When performing live, while staying true to the recorded version of the song, I try to make it my own.”

In this episode, Kent talks about:

Navigating the home recording thing

His responsibilities as the drummer for Luke Bryan

Keeping your cool when things go haywire

Becoming a full-time musician

His approach to clinics

Bus etiquette

His pre-show ritual of watching and finding inspiration from opening acts

How he spends his time off

Performing on T.V. (talk shows etc..)

Kent endorses: Ahead, Zildjian Cymbals, Ludwig Drums, Vic Firth Sticks