“A groove is the space between two notes…
It’s what you don’t play, that makes it groove!”
- Darrell Nutt
I started playing drums as a young lad and had my first pro recording session at 16.
I grew up in a very musical family near Buffalo, NY and luckily got thrown into the late 1980's Buffalo music scene at 17. The musicians from Buffalo are amazing and taught me so much about groove, musicianship, song structure and creating great sounds. Everything that I apply today as a drummer and producer started in Buffalo.
I have been fortunate to travel and tour with some of the nation's best artists & musicians, and record on many great albums. While music is my passion, I have always been creative in the graphic design field. So, I started my own audio recording and graphic design studio in my home in 2002, later adding video production in 2005.
If you look around this site, you'll see that I've done a bunch of things in music, design and video. I have plenty of experience and I love what I do. All of it!
So, before this get's too windy, I'll finish up by mentioning my newest venture: defMEDIA Group. Combining all that I love under one roof: Audio Recording & Producing Albums, Playing the Drums, Video Production & Media Design.
Check out some of the Press Articles below for more of my story. Thanks!
RECORDING & PERFORMANCE CREDITS
NATIONAL TOUR & PRODUCERS
Elliott Randall (Steely Dan)
Chuck Rainey (Steely Dan)
Brian Howe (Bad Company)
John Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
Carolyn Leonhart (Steely Dan)
Cliff Williams (AC/DC)
George Clinton (Parliament)
John Lodge (The Moody Blues)
Jon Davison (YES)
Emir & Frozen Camels (Boznia/Croatia)
Johnny Reznik (Goo Goo Dolls)
Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi)
John Waite
Spyro Gyra
Special EFX
Hank Williams, Jr.
Big & Rich
Chris Botti
Boney James
Wayman Tisdale
Walter Beasley
Robbie Nevil
Charlie Daniels Band
U-Nam
Ed Calle
Tito Puente
Celia Cruz
Sheena Easton
Rodney Atkins
Maggie Rose
Love & Theft
Dexter Roberts
Poco
BJ Thomas
Jerry Reed
Skooter Jennings
Casey Weston (The Voice)
Essra Mohawk (Frank Zappa)
Kat Epple (TV, Film, Emerald Web)
Rick Derringer (Donald Fagen)
Neil Stubenhaus (LA Session)
Sir-Mix-A-Lot
Danny Shepard (Michael Franks)
Ray Nesbit (Jimmy Herring)
Mario Infanti (Chuck Mangione)
Father Jerry Kaywell
Lester & Holly (Inspirational)
John Beltran (Ubiquity)
Michael Junkroski (Shadows of Knight)
Barry Fish (Star Search)
Paul Fleisher (Lou Reed)
Afroman
Gary Smith (Nashville Session)
Stuart Ziff (Steve Wariner, David Ball)
Phil Dillon (Nashville)
Anthony Williams (Patti LaBelle)
Howie Lindeman (Stevie Wonder)
Phil O'Donnell (Craig Morgan)
Pat Travers
Matt Baxley (Moot Booxle)
John Kerzweg (Creed, Jewel)
Bruce Hensall (Eagles)
Chuck Allen (Todd Rundgren)
Mochii Project
Steve Sykes (Richard Elliot, Dave Koz)
Alan Hewitt (The Moody Blues)
Marcus Wolf
The Forester Sisters (Warner Bros.)
Billy Walker
The Warren Brothers
The Lynns
José Alvarez
David C. Johnson (Aaron Neville)
Les Smith (Rickie Lee Jones)
Redeem (Germany)
John Mooney
Barry Fish (Star Search)
Triptaka (Canada)
RECORDING COMMERCIAL
TELEVISION / FILM
Music City Tonight (TNN)
Crook & Chase (TNN)
Primetime Country (TNN)
Oprah's Next Chapter (OWN) Theme Song
Oprah's Next Chapter (OWN) S1E12 Composer
Places To Love (PBS)
Street Tuner Challenge (SPEED)
Chop, Cut, Rebuild (SPEED)
"Devil's Fruit" (World's Fair Pictures)
"Barely A Chance" (Erad Pictures)
RECORD LABELS
Atlantic Records
Sony Latin
Universal Music Group
Warner Music Group
Reprise Records
Ubiquity Records
Dreamworks
Polydor
Max Music (Miami)
SFP Records
Dallas Records (Croatia)
OX Records
Royal-Sub Records
Funk Wax (Orlando)
Majammy Records
E-SA Records
Container Records
Dado Records
Deep Touch Records
Hard Six Records, LTD
Deepness music
220 Music Corp.
CORPORATE RECORDING
VISA World Cup
Motorola
Budweiser (George Clooney)
Bounty Paper Towels
Mobil One Oil
Harley-Davidson
Yamaha Musical Instruments
Chico’s
TELEVISION NETWORKS
FOX
Oprah Winfrey Network
Speed Network
Lifetime Network
HGTV
CNN
CMT
TNN
PBS
COMMERCIAL JINGLES
Lee County Fair
Florida State University
Ellis Team – Re/Max
Sunshine Dental Centers
The Best of Everything
Birch’s Air Conditioning and Heating
Jordan's Paint
INDEPENDENT ARTISTS
Steve Uscher
Heather Brooks
Chris Workman
Spencer Clark
Birdie Lee
Dani Dawson
Matt Simpson
Bar Berkoe Buskila
Shay Sharon Haim
Ryan Jennings
TJ Kelly
Mike Rogers
Lynn Richardson
Jo List
Steve Farst
Danny Morgan
John Bernier
Cathy Madigen
Derek Trenholm
Antimo Onzo
Jim Yeomans
Doug Yeomans
Jory Lyle
Chris Milano
John kucaba
Gilbert Neal
Jeff Lawrence
Tim McGeary
Kim Page
Stacey Allison
Matt Chadwick
The Bumbles
Ayla Lynn
Ashlie Smith
Victor Samalot
Kelly Neff
Gary Pickus
Emily Bronzini
Isabella Sbarra
Tom LaRotonda
Rebekah Wells
Danny Sinoff
Seth Anthony
Jeremy Goodman
Sarah Hadeka
Dieter Kelley
Glenn Kidd
Herb Williams
Cyrilia Lopez
Katie Lyon
Mark Corradetti
Johnny Jensen
GROUPS
Theory of Grace
Phoenix Block
Just Like Honey
The Jones Brothers
Modulation
Critical Mass
Adrenaline
Vanilla Crosby
Thinkpiece
Soulfunkunity
Vee/Magsax
Thorobred
Murphy's Law
Deep Shag
The Moots
Wayward Souls
Rockin' Horse
Rick Howard Jazz
The New Vinyls
Ghost Jam
Mudbone
Space Jam
Limited Warranty
Tight Grip
New Zew Review
Charmer
Trailblazers
Infield
High Tide
High Lonesome
Official Outcome
The Incorrigibles
Soul System
The Catman Doodz
Gibralter
High Voltage
Cross Roads

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
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Performed with AC/DC members Cliff Williams and Brian Johnson for two Benefit Concerts to arena crowds.
-
Performed with John Lodge of The Moody Blues and Jon Davison from YES for two benefit concerts.
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Recorded with legendary musicians Elliott Randall & Chuck Rainey from Steely Dan.
-
Played the drums on an album with George Clinton from Parliament Funkadelic.
-
Performed in Europe with The Forester Sisters.
-
Performed onstage with Johnny Rzeznik (Goo Goo Dolls), Hugh McDonald (Bon Jovi) and John Waite.
-
Played drums on theme song for the Oprah Winfrey Network show “Oprah’s Next Chapter.”
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Composed music for “Oprah’s Next Chapter” the “Carrie Underwood” episode S01E20.
-
Performed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia with Emir & Frozen Camels.
-
Was in the first American musical group ever to perform in Gorazda, Bosnia and Herzegovina with Blue Mercury.
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Performed on legendary Grand Ole Opry stage and Grand Ole Opry LIVE radio and television shows.
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Received an endorsement from AMEDIA cymbal company.
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Produced, recorded, edited and programmed a drum sample library for the Slate Digital TRIGGER 2 DAW plugin.
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Recorded more than 210 drum tracks for the website SOUNDBETTER.com.
-
Played the drums on over 1500 commercially released songs in my career.
EDUCATION
Villa Maria College – Buffalo, NY
Jim Chapin – Private Instruction
Louie Marino – Private Instruction
Ron Rocco – Private Instruction
Elliott Randall – Mentor
Jim Kurzdorfer – Mentor
Mike Caputy – Mentor
Pete O’Donnell – Mentor
Todd Lewis - Mentor
PRESS
MAY 2022
JULY 2019
MARCH 2019
MARCH 2019
SEPTEMBER 2016
FLORIDA WEEKLY
APRIL 1991
DRUMS & DRUMMING MAGAZINE
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
2009 - INDEXI AWARD
Best Rock Album of the Year
2002 - DAVORIN AWARD
Best International Music Collaboration
2002 - DAVORIN AWARD
Best Rock Song of the Year


DRUMSTICKS by VATER
THROUGH THE YEARS...
Bands, Drum Kits, Young Nutt, Influential People, Travels, Concerts, Clubs, Hair...



































































































