152 – Elton Charles: Touring with Thompson Square, Creating Great Drum Sounds Through Recording Experiences, Building Relationships in the Music Community

Elton Charles is a Guyanese drummer/engineer based in Nashville. Originally from New Jersey, he started playing drums at the early age of five. Elton worked on learning the instrument over the years and, combined with a natural tenacity for playing, was accepted to study at Berklee college of music. After moving to Nashville in 2012, Elton’s experience has been a blur of touring, recording, and building his musical relationships within the music community. When not supporting up and coming artists and writers in music city, Elton is building upon studio clientele offering his talents as a drummer and producer. Elton is currently on the road with multi-award winning country duo Thompson Square.

In this episode, Elton talks about:

The challenges of running a home studio

Studying at Berklee and creating a learning experience for himself

Great drum sounds coming from the player

Working with a click when performing live

Translating programed drum parts to acoustic when performing live

Snare tuning and playing style

A better understanding of drum sounds from recording experiences

Attracting new business in creative ways

Elton endorses: Anchor Drums, Evans Drumheads, Promark Sticks, Puresound, Drumtacs, Paiste Cymbals, Porter and Davies, Sensaphonics in-ear monitors and Smokin Ace Cymbal Shields

This episode is sponsored by Crush Drums