BR2: Fettuccini, because pasta is everyone’s favorite. It can get messy sometimes, but you still love it!

TDL: What did you get out of NAMM 2008 in Anaheim?

BR2: Well, first off, I got a better relationship with my endorsers. I was able to network with and meet a lot of people in the industry. That was my first year going to NAMM. It opened my eyes to the possibilities of potential work, and other companies I could work with. You can tell once you have talked with someone face to face for a while if they are genuine or not, and I definitely met a lot of people who encouraged me and seemed genuine in their conversation.

TDL: What were your musical influences growing up?

BR2: My mom was a huge musical influence for me. The majority of my family are musicians, either organ players or drummers. My mom really taught me to play in the pocket. I also idolized a lot of melodic players. I did not really have one main influence; I tried to take something from everyone, to be balanced. Church was also a big influence in my life, a lot of soul music.

TDL: How is the music of today, different than your musical influences growing up?

BR2: Well, the music of today, combined with my earlier influences, has definitely propelled me. Music changes, a lot of music today has the same roots as earlier music, it is constantly evolving and changing, so it will help to broaden my talent and not keep me in a box. Kanye West for instance. His whole music is based on digital samples. When you try to play it, it is automatically going to propel you to the next level, trying to emulate a digital percussion track.

TDL: What kind of a practice schedule do you have now to maintain your edge?

BR2: Well, it is not always an official schedule, but I try to practice every day just to stay fresh.

TDL: When did you first know or recognize your talent with regards to drums and/or percussion?

BR2: Well, I first really knew I had talent when I was about 7 years old. My older cousin Lamar was a drummer, and I was always trying to keep up with what he was doing. Then when I got older and noticed I could make a career playing, and it could be a job and a living, I wanted to go for it. I would get payed to play at church, you know just to fill-in. There are a lot of professional drummers out there, and I said to myself if I just practice and apply myself I could work as a drummer and make some money. I definitely had the drive to move forward as a drummer. Also, once I got into MI, that confirmed in my head that I could really make it happen.

TDL: Have you ever given up on playing?

BR2: Yes, when I was a teenager I gave up drumming for a couple of years. I stopped playing because I didn’t think I was getting any better, I was maxed out. I did not have a whole lot of drummers better than me to look up to. I felt I was in a box. I really couldn’t see all that was out there. I felt I was always good in the church scene, but there is a whole world of music out there that I wanted to get at. I started listening to Dave Weckel’s ‘Perpetual Motion’, and I was like WOW. This is music without words. And that music was just going off. Then a friend of mine Keenan Holloway, put me on to Tom Coaster, and it was Dennis Chambers playing the drums. That blew my mind. It really opened up my possibilities. So I went into the garage, put my headphones on, and tried to do as much as I could. My Mom and Dad really encouraged me to continue.

TDL: What was your family’s reaction to you wanting to study music as opposed to a normal career?

BR2: I had full support from my family. My Mom bought me my first drum set; she would take me to drum rehearsals late at night and stay there until I was done. My Dad is the one who found MI. My Dad pushed me to pursue music. Even to this day, he helps push me forward. I went to 2 years at a junior college, and it just was not what I wanted, I wanted to play music.

TDL: Tell our readers a little bit about Musicians Institute (MI).

BR2: I did not know anything about the school in the beginning. My Dad would take the metro link all the time for work, and he would talk to everyone. He met an instructor at MI, got his business card, and two years later I started looking into the school. It is a performance based school.  I went down there for a tour. They don't have housing, but every student had a practice room, especially the drummers, it is just you and the set in the room, so that you have no choice but to practice. They put new DW sets in the rooms and I was like WOW, this is crazy!!   The program moves pretty fast. I worked with Fred Dinkins, (who was my private instructor), Chuck Silverman, he taught me about Latin music, and Rob Carson taught me about technique, so I could play and not 'hurt' myself or my playing ability. It is the perfect school for networking.

TDL: What kind of successes did you see at MI?

BR2: I won the Carlos Vega scholarship based on a competition that I entered. The competition was for any level student at MI. There are judges and it is like a drum off competition. After you solo for 3-5 minutes, the judges can decide to end your time, or ask you to play a specific style of music, or ask for a particular technique. Their goal is to challenge the students. They can tell you to play a Samba, play a Swing when you have never played any of these styles in your life. It is a little difficult and a little scary, but the challenge will help grow your talents and abilities if you work hard enough for it. It was an amazing challenge because my best friend, Manny Dominick, was also in the competition, and he is an amazing musician. I figured out that the reason they were asking so many questions and pushing my abilities so much, was the fact that if you win the competition, you will be playing and sitting in with the late Carlos Vega’s band, and you would need to be able to play various styles. They knew what they were doing. They didn’t want anybody to get up on stage and freeze.

TDL: What did winning that competition do for you mentally?

BR2: At first I was kind of down on myself as a drummer. People told me all of the time that I could play, but I thought if I could play so well, how come I was not playing with anyone? Then, after I won the competition, I got my confidence back and knew I just needed to push forward. I knew I had to really pursue this as a career at that point. I started finding out where the auditions were, and just started playing them. The competition was a fun experience, I was nervous, my hands were sweaty, but it was worth it to push through all of my doubt and anxiety. This competition mentally gave me the courage I needed to advance.

TDL: When you first decided that this could be a career and you could make some money playing drums, what kept your drive going?

BR2: Good question. There is this guy by the name of Barry Squire. He works at the school (MI) and he is there for maybe 2 hours per week.  He is like the top dog. He is the man. Everybody comes to him to put together auditions for a band, all the top bands, even Mariah Carey. I was in my practice room, and he came by and looked through the glass in the door, and when I turned around again, he was gone. I caught up to him later on and we exchanged numbers. He called me for a couple of auditions. My first audition was for Hillary Duff. At that time I had never auditioned before. I did not get that job and I thought to myself that Barry Squire was never going to call me again. I also auditioned for a guy named Kenneth (from Star Trek), and my ”Boy”  Manny got that gig. Later on, I was walking around at MI, and Barry pulled me aside and asked me if I knew of any bass or keyboard players that I would trust for Mariah Carey. I thought it was an honor to even be asked that question. I told him I would email him a few names. The next morning he calls me and said that Mariah Carey was looking for a drummer now. This was a selected few group of drummers that would be auditioning for Mariah Carey. He then sent me an email about the audition, along with some information about the songs I would need to learn for the audition. Now I am thinking to myself, I have to go in there and sit in front of Randy Jackson, Barry Squire, management, etc., and it was a scary feeling. I really have to commend and thank Barry, because he is the one that changed my career path. Barry Squire is the man to go to in this industry, and that’s what has kept my drive going, along with God.

TDL: What does a drummer need to know going into an audition?

BR2: Well, with Mariah Carey, they gave me two songs to learn, her new single ‘Touch My Body’ and ‘Make It Happen’ an older song. These are two totally different songs. On top of that we also had to solo, which I didn’t know I would have to do. You have to pretty much be ready for anything and everything. Randy Jackson was sitting there and he said for me to do a solo. I didn’t know if he meant for 1 minute, 5 minutes or whatever, so you just have to be ready to solo until they tell you to stop. I wasn’t as nervous at this audition, it was like I was telling myself ‘you got this’, and my family was totally pumping me up as well. At the Hillary Duff audition, I was playing with an inner-ear monitor. While I was playing, they (the sound engineers) separated the click from the song track. I stayed with the click to hold the beat, and not the vocals, and it was off. In that case, it was a mistake to follow the click because the audience is listening to the vocals, and I was the only one listening to the click, and they were not synced together.

TDL: What other support have you seen that has helped propel you to where you are today?

BR2: A great friend and supporter of mine is Gil Smith. He really helped to get my foot in the door to the industry. He is a keyboard player. He really mentored me about what I should expect in this industry, and what to watch out for. He mentored me about what to expect once I get that big gig. Once you get the call, it is going to move fast and you won’t have time to think about it. You will have to know beforehand what is expected, what to expect, what to keep an eye out for, how to protect yourself, etc. He introduced me to the right people, and I think if it wasn’t for him, I would not be where I am right now. I just really want to thank him a lot for his help and mentorship. He took me under his wing, introduced me to top drummers, and gave me this start. It also helps to have the love and support of your girlfriend.

TDL: How would you describe your playing style on the upcoming Mariah tour?

BR2: Well, all I can say about that is you can expect some new grooves and new sounds coming from the Mariah Carey stage. I will have some input in the music, and hopefully it shows some of my individuality personality tastefulness, and aggressiveness.                                                                   

TDL: What other projects are you working on now or in the future?

BR2: Well, I want to do my own project. A solo project as a drummer. I can’t really call it a certain genre of music at this point; it is going to be what I am feeling at the time. I also produce and would like to get more involved with producing sessions for other musicians. Right now Mariah is my main focus. We are doing the Jimmy Kimmel Live show, and some overseas dates, and then we start rehearsing for the Mariah Carey Tour in October. I also just completed an album with Elemay, from Finland. Also completed album tracks for the hip-hop artist E-Reese and Core Elements album ‘Live In Studio’. and I’m currently on staff at MI.

TDL: With the next generation looking up to you and other musicians for the future of music, what words of encouragement would you have for them?

BR2: Keep your head up. Don’t give up. You have to pursue your dreams and don’t get down or give up because you can do it, you can achieve your goals. Practice, practice, and more practice, you never stop practicing. I just set up a practice kit for my brother, and he is the happiest guy on the planet. It would make me the happiest guy on the planet to see him rippin’ on those drums a couple of years from now on a stage somewhere at this level. To the kids out there, have a good attitude. Be humble and don’t be cocky. When you have an attitude or are cocky, you just close doors all around you that might never open up again. The people you burn will move on to the next person very quickly, and you’re out. Don’t burn your bridges.