247 – Jerrod Sullivan: Playing with The 4 Korners, Studying at the Atlanta Institute of Music

“J-rod” isn’t your typical product of a family of musicians; rather, he grew up in a family who loved listening to music, and exposed him to Gospel and R&B. Through church and school he worked on his music, participating in bands and teaching himself bass guitar, keyboard, and music production. By 2006 he began posting drum cover videos to YouTube, the base of his ever-growing social media following, currently totaling 103K followers on Facebook and Instagram, not to mention his 43K YouTube subscribers.

After graduating from the Atlanta Institute of Music (studying music performance), J-rod joined The 4 Korners in 2013. As well as The 4 Korners, J-rod also drums for Alex Bugnon and Byron Cage. Besides being a full time performing musician, he continues to program live shows and produce for different artists under his business name: J-rod Sullivan Productions, LLC. J-rod has worked with the likes of Jidenna, Seven Streeter, Xscape, Bebe Winans, Everette Harp, Nick Colionne, Kenny Latimore, Chantae Cann, Avery Sunshine, Byron Cage, Alex Bugnon, Ronnie Laws and appeared in films such as BET’s ‘Being Mary Jane’, VH1s ‘Single Ladies’, Oprah’s ‘Greenleaf’, and BET HER.

In this episode, Jerrod talks about:

* The 4 Korners – formation, influences, and writing process* Setting himself apart from his peers with dynamics and touch* His experience in the Atlanta Institute of Music’s one-year performance program* Strategies for increased comfort behind the kit* His clothing company Got Pocket* How he has amassed over 100,000 social media followers