I’ve been a Zildjian artist for a few years now, but on a recent trip to Boston I finally got to visit HQ. In my mind, I’m still there. Big thanks to Eric Gross at Zildjian for hosting me. As someone who’s been playing Zildjian cymbals since I was 12, it still kinda blows my mind to be part of the Zildjian family.

I LOVE my two drum kits: my circa mid-60s Ludwig Downbeats and my circa 1940s Slingerland Rolling Bombers. These kits have served me well and they’ll continue to serve me well. I just got to feeling like it was time for some brand new tools. New drums, new sizes, new sounds, new sweet spots to find, new head combinations to test out, new tuning puzzles to unravel. I love that stuff. It can take YEARS to figure it out. But it’s all good. I’ve got lots of time for that. That’s part of the joy of playing any instrument - the long-game of finding out what it’s capable of. 

So my mind was made up - I was getting a new drum kit!!! It was high time. The last time I purchased a new kit was January 1991. A six-piece Tama Granstar. With a curved  hardware rack. And a piccolo snare. Things were different then. After talking it over (and over, and over) with a friend who works for Noble and Cooley (whose drums I played on a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah tour in 2017 and fell in love with) we decided on the model, sizes, shells, finish, budget and all that good stuff. I was so excited. Maybe too excited.

Even though I was about six weeks out from making the first payment (you place the order, then they custom build the kit), I was so over the moon about the prospect of playing and owning NEW CUSTOM BUILT Noble and Cooley drums that I started telling people about them. And I’m not one who likes to count or talk about his chickens before they’re hatched.  And yet here I was clucking about these damn drums that didn’t even exist yet (again, they’re CUSTOM BUILT - you can see why I was so excited).

Now I’m not much for superstition but it’s worth pointing out that not long after I uncharacteristically started talking about my plans for something I didn’t have yet that a lot of stuff started going south financially. First my wife’s car needed a bunch of work. Then our dog, who’s getting older and is living with a treatable disease, required some pricey medical care and will continue to require some pricey meds. After that MY car needed some work. Then we realized we needed a new roof, and just after we realized we needed a new roof, we realized the chimney needed some repairs. Oh, and then last week I lost my full-time job of 12 years (and two weeks!). 

(Why do I feel like George Costanza pleading his case to the co-op board?)

Needless to say, after sustaining one financial kick to the nuts after another, the drums are on hold for now. That’s what I get for popping off about something I didn’t even have yet. Never again.

Hopefully losing my job (which was a great job for many reasons, not the least of which was that I was there for a long time so I could get a fair bit of time off to go play drums - because that’s a helluva lot more fun than a day job!) will be the end of this carnage. I’m not disclosing these financial hardships looking for sympathy. Our situation is certainly not unique. People deal with stuff like this all the time. It sucks. But I’m confident we’ll manage. I’ve got a few things lined up in the short term, and I’m looking longer term. If you think you might have work for me - drumming, writing, whatever.. hit me up!

In the meantime, I can assure you that never again will you hear me utter a word to anyone about my intentions for getting a new drum kit. You’ll just see me playing it one day.

And you WILL see me playing it one day. Hopefully in the not too distant future.

-pb, 2/12/19

I know… I know; here it is May and I'm finally checking in with my first proper update of 2018. 

Up next: my Oscar picks!

Where to start? 

Well, a record I played on won the Grammy for Best Rock Album. Nieces and nephews are finally showing me some damn respect. My mom thinks I won a Daytime Emmy.

I had a great time doing a Shaking Through session for Weathervane Music with Jesse Hale Moore, which was released last month. Jesse is one of the brightest among many bright lights on the Philadelphia music scene. You can check out the track we cut, "Enter, Light," and a little making-of documentary on the VIDEOS page.

We did some Clap Your Hands Say Yeah shows earlier in the year: a festival in Santiago, Chile, and a bunch of West Coast dates. All quite fun. I even met Dave Matthews in a Seattle barbershop. Totally chill guy. I’m headed over to Europe with Clap in July for some more shows (dates here). I also did a little knocking around with Alec in the basement recently on some song ideas. I think he's working toward a new album in the not-too-distant future.

Also earlier this year: I participated in an amazing Tom Petty tribute show with a mess of great folks. It was me and my pal and fellow Petty obsessive Pat Finnerty (he plays with Son Little), his cousin Mike Quinn, Todd Erk on bass (he also plays in Clap Your Hands), Zach Miller from Dr. Dog and an amazing guitarist named Justin Mazer. We called ourselves the Philadelphia Tom Petty Appreciation Band (rolls off the tongue, I know) and it looks like we'll be doing a New York City gig in October, along with another Philly date. Hits! Deep cuts! Unreleased stuff! Wilburys! So much fun. Details soonish.

What else??

For the first time in more than 12 years, I unexpectedly found myself recording drums for a Pernice Brothers record last month! I had hoped it would happen again someday, I just didn’t expect it to happen right now. I tracked drums remotely in Philly to a few new songs Joe has penned. It reminded me how much I missed playing Joe’s songs. At heart, I'm just a drummer that loves playing to great songs. And Joe’s one of the best songwriters I’ve ever worked with. One of the best of his generation, really (though I may be biased…) I’m not sure when/how/where the new stuff will be released. I just know that Joe is working toward releasing something. 

Another thing I hadn’t done in a while (since 2010, I believe) I found myself doing recently: recording with Daniel Smith of Danielson! It wasn’t for a Danielson project though… it was for a movie soundtrack very much in the wheelhouse of two dudes who grew up in South Jersey in the 80s such as us. More on that as the project develops and the film begins shooting. All I’ll divulge at this point is that I used a double-kick pedal and TWO rack toms. Very excessive, by my standards.

Last bust certainly not least: as I briefly posted about a couple of weeks back, I’ve joined a new band! It's called Corporal Quorum, and it features Wesley Stace of Wesley Stace (and the English U.K.)/John Wesley Harding fame, Kurt Bloch of Fastbacks/Young Fresh Fellows/Filthy Friends fame, Eddie Carlson of English U.K./Jon Langford/Poi Dog Pondering fame, and ME!!! Here’s the catch: We’re only playing two shows (for now). Think of us as a small-batch, artisanal sort of supergroup. The shows are June 2nd (the 10th Annual Dara’s Defense Benefit in Philly) and June 3rd (Rockwood Music Hall in NYC). Deets on the SHOWS page. We'll be playing selections from the Stace/Bloch catalogs, and covering a whole mess of obscurities from the 60s and 70s, plucked from all sections of the record store: prog, psych, chamber pop, new wave, pub, proto pub, and hard rock. It’ll be like a MOJO sampler come to life.

I lied, there's one more thing. Two, really. As in I'm playing on two great DIY records that have just been released. I worked with a band from Pittsburgh called The Local on their new EP Reverie which you can check out here. And I play on a new record called What Happened to You? from Philly's Backyard Collective which you can check out here. Reppin' both ends of the state, I am!

I think that’s all I’ve got…

P.B. 5/14/18

"Live a Little,” my second studio album (third overall) as a member of the Pernice Brothers, was released 10 years ago today – October 3, 2006. Back when records came out on Tuesdays.

IMO, 'LAL' is the Pernice-Pernice-Pinkerton-Walbourne-Berkery incarnation of the Pernice Brothers at the peak of our powers. We'd been touring together for a couple years at that point and were good & salty as a unit, as Joe liked to say. And we’d already cut an album together, 2005's "Discover a Lovelier You," which had great songs (“Amazing Glow” and “There Goes the Sun” in particular), but the performances and the sounds felt canned to my ears (a word of advice, fellow drummers: NEVER agree to play AN ENTIRE ALBUM on an electronic drum kit, even if you're the new guy in the band).

We found the sweet spot on LAL, though. Everyone plays their ass off on the record. Just a few of many highlights: Peyton's easy-like-Sunday-morning solo on "Grudge F*** (2006)" and his Honeyman-Scott-ian work on "Conscience Clean"; Bob's sweet guitar licks during the long fade on "Zero Refills"; and James's burner of a solo that caps "Somerville."

We got awesome sounds laying everything to fat, two-inch tape with Mike Deming (known for great work with the Lilys, Beachwood Sparks and on the first Pernice album, 1998's “Overcome by Happiness”) behind the desk at Studio .45 in Enfield, Conn . Mike also did a lovely job arranging and conducting the horns and strings heard throughout the album. (Side note: I’d hear Mike could be a little intense, but he and I got along great. I’d like to think it’s because I’m a very efficient worker in the studio, but I think it was mostly because he’s from Pittsburgh and he really respected me for knowing that Yinzer rocker Donnie Iris was a member of both the Jaggerz and Wild Cherry before finding success on his own).

Most importantly Joe had written some AMAZING songs for LAL. Of all the songs I’ve ever played on, "Somerville" might be my favorite- and I swear I'm not just saying that because a guitar lick I suggested made it into James' solo at the end. Every damn thing about that song is perfect to my ears (though the snare – my Ludwig 5 x 14 Supraphonic, which I still have - could TOTALLY be louder in the mix. There’s always the reissue… ). "Zero Refills,” “PCH One,” “High as a Kite,” and “How Can I Compare” are all right behind “Somerville.” LAL was STACKED. 

And I have very fond memories of making this record. We layered everything so I cut my tracks first. Just Joe, Deming and I camped out for a week in the dead of the Connecticut winter in January 2006. Joe and I stayed downstairs from the studio, falling asleep to ESPN while keeping a close eye on the percolating Hot Stove (I believe the Josh Beckett-for-Hanley Ramirez swap was consummated during these sessions). In the morning we’d hang out drinking coffee for a couple hours at a local Dunkin’ Donuts (Joe: “Don’t worry, Gavone, this is good practice for when we’re old men.”) waiting for Deming to rise. Peyton came by a few nights and made AMAZING meals.  Dude can COOK, ya know.

And I got to play drums to Joe’s incredible songs in the big, beautiful live room at .45. I can still hear the sound in my head. My Ludwigs have never sounded as sweet as they did in that room.  And I can still see Deming in the control room, pumping one fist in the air in approval (pretty certain he was holding a lit bowl with the other fist) as I was playing those crazy fills at the end of “Zero Refills.”

Those were seriously good times making great music. Go put "Live a Little" on now. I might be biased, but I think it holds up in a very big way.

-PB, 10/3/1

Time does indeed fly. You really start to notice this the older you get. One minute, you’re up to your knees in snow and counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report. The next, you’re walking around in denim cutoffs and a half-shirt, sweating like a whore in church.

That’s why I haven’t been in touch for a while. Time has flown and I’ve been busy. So while I have a few spare minutes, I figured it’d be a good time to bring you up to speed on what I’ve been doing. It’s all good stuff. I’m a fortunate dude for many reasons. And one of those reasons is that incredibly talented people ask me to play drums for them.

Take Wesley Stace (aka John Wesley Harding) for instance. We’re going to be doing a couple of shows next week, including a free show July 13 at Pastorius Park in our shared neck of the Northwest Philly woods. The following night we play Jammin’ Java just outside D.C. Haven’t played the Double J in 11 years. Last time I did was with Pernice Brothers, and it got a little strange. (Then again, most shows near the end of seven-week tours tend to get a little strange.)

You know who else is talented? ELIZA HARDY JONES! She’s been touring forever and a day as part of Grace Potter’s band, which is totally great for Eliza except that we’ve only managed to play one show behind her amazing solo album Because Become, which is one of the best things I’ve ever played on. But we’re finally doing a second show! Sunday, July 24 at Wiggins Park in Camden (about 3 miles from where I grew up in Merchantville, NJ) as part of WXPN’s Xponential Music Festival. We kick off the main stage at noon.

More hot festival action: I’m playing with Heart Harbor at the 55th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival on Saturday, August 20. It’s traditionally an earthy, crunchy vibe at the Folk Fest, but the last few years they’ve been letting some weirdos like us crash the countryside hang. For the uninitiated, Heart Harbor is the nom de rock of Kerry Hallett. I play on her debut EP Tender Trap (which we tracked in Philly last year with Erin McKeown producing) and you should absolutely hunt it down… post haste!

Some other stuff of note: I spent four days in Hollywood (California) last week recording with The War on Drugs. We had a tremendous time making noise at Boulevard Recording (formerly Producer’s Workshop, where a lot of your favorite records were recorded and/or mixed) and it felt great to be playing with those dudes again. I did a bit of touring with them back in 2012 and played a little on the Lost in the Dream album. We were tracking with producer/engineer Shawn Everett who dialed in some bananas drums sounds and is about as decent a person as they come. Dunno much about plans for the album but I can confirm that the tunes I played on were KILLER.

And one more bit of news that I am especially proud to share: I am now an OFFICIAL ZILDJIAN ARTIST! I’ve been playing Zildjian cymbals since I was 12 and 32 years later (that’d make me 44, if you’re scoring at home) I am now endorsing them. My opinion: some companies make terrific cymbals that are extremely unique, but Zildjian is the only brand I’ve played that covers ALL the bases. They have the perfect cymbal for every situation. And the satin jacket is SO COMFORTABLE! A HUGE debt of gratitude to Zildjian for bringing me into the family.

Last but absolutely not least…  We’ve been working on a new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah record on and off this year and it sounds really, really sweet. We’ve been tracking it mostly down at Dr. Dog’s studio just outside Philly. Nick Krill has been killing it at the desk and Alec brought in some classic tunes to work on. I can’t wait for people to hear these songs and this incarnation of the band on record. Hope it's not too long a wait...

Ticket info etc. for all these gigs on the SHOWS page.

That’s about all I’ve got for now. Be good to each other.

The dog's head is currently resting in my lap because it's almost his dinnertime, so I'd better keep this brief.

I've had the pleasure of recording with some great people this year, and some of the fruits of this labor are beginning to bear.

That's me playing drums AND bonogs on the new Cliff Hills single, "Love Not War." Typical of Cliff, it's a lovely guitar-pop number and you can sample/purchase it here. We're celebrating the release of the single with a show I'll tell you about in just a second.

Another new tune I'm featured on: "Hating Nothing," the lead track off the debut EP from Heart Harbor, which is the nom de rock of Kerry Hallet. We spent a day tracking with Erin McKeown producing earlier this year in Philly and I'm really excited for the EP to find some ears. Kerry's got great songs and does a lovely job fusing the electronic and the human element, I think. Stream "Hating Nothing" here and look for the EP, Tender Trap, soon.

In show news, I'm rounding out the year with Cliff's single release show at Steel City in Phoenixville, Pa. Nov. 28, then it's a rare Photon Band show in Philly December 5 at Johnny Brenda's (old heads - I hope you've lined up the babysitter for that one), a record release show with Madalean Gauze at Boot and Saddle in Philly December 17 and the last one of the year: a special Clap Your Hands Say Yeah New Year's Eve show at Rough Trade Records in Brooklyn. Tix moving fast for that one.

And I'm also totally effin' psyched to begin 2016 playing with Eliza Hardy Jones, January 6 at Boot and Saddle. Eliza is the real deal. If you're familiar with her work (she has a great band called Buried Beds, she's played with Strand of Oaks, she's currently playing with Grace Potter and we've played together in the Lindsey Buckingham Appreciation Society) you know what I'm talking about. I recorded a bunch of songs with her over the course of the last two years and they're going to be on her debut solo album which will hopefully be out sometime in 2016. It’s so good it makes me cry.

Ticket info etc. for all these gig on the SHOWS page.

That's it for now.

While I spent the summer playing Fargo, Buenos Aires, Spain, and many points in between, I haven't played on my "home turf" of Philadelphia for a while.

But just as soon as the Pope splits town (I wanted to let the pontiff enjoy his moment and not steal his thunder - that's just the kind of guy I am) you will have multiple chances this fall to see me bring the heat on my Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals in the 215 - with a variety of artists, in a variety of venues.

The lightning round rundown:

Friday, October 2 I'll be playing with the amazing Madalean Gauze at the Boot & Saddle.

Saturday, October 3 I'm going full-on Phil Collins-at-Live Aid, playing behind my man Cliff Hillis at 4 pm at the Roxtober street fest in the Roxborough section of town, and then making the grueling 3 mile trek to play a house concert in Philly's Mt. Airy neighborhood with Cliff that kicks off at 7.

Sunday, October 18, I make my return to the Tin Angel (where I believe I last played in May of 2001) with Wesley Stace and the English U.K. We'll be playing some choice selections from Wes's John Wesley Harding days at this one. It's a cozy room and I reckon this will be a sellout.

Saturday, November 28 I'm again hooking up with Cliff Hillis on his home turf of Phoenixville, Pa. at the Steel City Coffeehouse.  Again, cozy room, sellout likely.

And I'm super excited about Saturday, December 5: the return of the Photon Band! Our first Philly gig in two-and-a-half years. We're gonna turn it up nice & loud at Johnny Brenda's to celebrate the release of the Songs of Rapture and Hatred album we dropped back in June. More on this special night later, but I strongly advise you old heads to book a babysitter and/or notify your parole officers now.

More details on these shows and links to buy tix here.

What else? I’ve played on some great sessions this year with folks like Madalean, Eliza Hardy Jones, Robert Griffin Lowe, and Heart Harbor. Hopefully you’ll hear these recordings before too long. We’ve also been messing around with/demoing some Clap Your Hands Say Yeah songs recently. Some very interesting stuff in the mix. Don’t quite know where it’s leading yet but Alec has some fantastic songs, I can tell you that much.

Ok, everyone be cool and we’ll catch up real soon.

Happy September to you all! I am just back from my maiden voyage to Latin/South America with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and it was completely fantastic. Amazing shows in Mexico City, Bogata, Lima, Santiago, Bueno Aires and Sao Paolo, with nearly 100 percent drum backline compliance! (All I ask for is a good set of vintage Ludwigs with coated skins, Zildjian A's all around, a throne with lumbar support and a riser - I'm not an unreasonable man).

The food and sights were amazing too. Rock bands, I can assure you that a trip to Latin/South America is well-worth the shit-ton of paperwork it takes to make happen.

All in all with CYHSY this summer, we played 20 shows in nine countries across three continents. Which means I now have enough frequent flyer miles to get a free can of non-premium domestic diet soda on any trans-continental flight * (* some restrictions apply).

Now that I'm back, I'm happy to report that I'll be pinch-drumming with my close, personal friend and kinda neighbor (we live 2.4 miles from each other) Wesley Stace and his crack band the English U.K. for two great shows of varying stripes next week.

Friday, September 11, we're doing Wes's Cabinet of Wonders "variety" show at City Winery in NYC. Joining us that evening will be special guests Ted Allen (host of the cooking competition show "Chopped" and formerly of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy"), author Stacey D'erasmo, total package entertainer Dave Hill (another close, personal friend!), Sally Timms of The Mekons, Dar Williams, Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby, and Ryan Miller of Guster. Show starts at 8:00.

The following day, we're heading to Delco (Delaware County - the birthplace of Wawa!!!!) just outside Philly to headline the 4th annual Haverford Music Festival, which also features Laura Cantrell, the Grip Weeds and many others. It's a free, all-ages, all-day family event and we play at 7:30.

More info on both shows here.

And more song & dance from me soonish...

As some of you may know, I was a DJ in a former life. The details aren't important.

Point is, I'm getting back to my DJ roots this Thursday (July 2) at Dan Reed & Freddie Rojo's weekly hang at the Dawson Street Pub in Roxyunk. Bruce Warren is filling in for Freddie (who's on tour with Amos Lee), and I'll be doing a 'special guest DJ' set, spinning some nice rock & soul & whatever vinyl records.

Please forgive me if I slip up and say "Please help me welcome Skylar to the stage... "  

The whole sordid business starts at 8pm. More info here.

Because my parents let me have a TV in my room when I was 10, and never really established a hard & fast "bed time," I was watching Late Night with David Letterman religiously from the start.

That show set a ridiculously high bar for televised comedy and subversion. Few things in my life have impacted me the way Late Night did.

And while Dave's CBS show has had a different feel and never moved me in the same way, I'd still tune in frequently. Because it's still Dave. Like Tom Petty, Charlie Watts, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Garry Shandling, Dave's earned a lifetime pass from me.

My favorite recurring part of the CBS show has been when Dave asks the drummer from that night's musical guest if the drum kit was a rental. I'd always hoped he'd be asking me that one day. Despite playing in 87 bands, I never got there. Oh well... I'll always have Bill Henley's 10! show.

I'd be remiss if I didn't put a word out there for Chris Elliot, Larry Bud Melman, Peggy the Foul-Mouthed Chamber Maid, Gruff but Loveable Gus, Hal Gurnee, Steve Jordan's snare drum, Art Donovan, Crispin Glover, Harvey Pekar, Richard Lewis (seemingly) on Blow, Merrill Markoe, the NBC Bookmobile, Joe Frazier, Andy Kaufman, and all the other people and things that had a hand in making Late Night the weirdest and funniest damn thing I've ever seen.

So, thanks, mom and dad. And thanks, Dave. You were far and away the best at what you did.