Charlie Engen – Drummers I Like Podcast #19

Summary: Welcome back to another episode of the Drummers I Like podcast! Today we have Charlie Engen on the show with us!<br> Drummers I Like absolutely loves Charlie's work both in Ideology and as a social media video monster. His technique is so clean and he has tons of creativity. We have been looking forward to this show for a long time. So here it is!<br> 7:00 - 10:00: We start our chat off in usual Drummers I Like fashion, by talking about how Charlie started on the drums! He definitely got his start young and had some hair metal rocker parents to thank for exposing him to music both live and recorded through some formative years. Playing wise he started in the mid-ninety grunge era. From there it just snowballed into heavier and heavier music. Then came the prog influence. It's a great section to hear a timeline of Charlie's influences.<br> <br> 11:00 - 14:00: In our next spot we talk about Charlie playing in school. He started with the drumline in his sophomore year of high school and played both snare and tenor drums. He continues to talk about how he progressed into his first taste of college. There is a lot of value here for you young drummers that dream of doing this full-time so you'll definitely want to pay attention to this section. He talks about some of his bands he did at that time and talks about going back to college and getting his masters in music performance for percussion. Which he finished up last December!<br> <br> 14:00 - 19:00: From there Charlie, Rich, and myself chat about Charlie's well-rounded skills and get into his practice routine. We also talk a little more about his reading skills and breaking down difficult songs. More great knowledge for all drummers out there through this section.<br> <br> 19:00 - 22:00: Here we talk about how Charlie got started with his band, Ideology, how they formed and a quick review of how they got to where they are today.<br> <br> 22:00 - 31:00: Now, Rich gets into how Charlie finds time between all he does to nurture a thriving social media presence. It was interesting to hear that he started his social media videos more as a time capsule to gauge his improvement as a player. Over just trying to get his drumming noticed by the masses. He also touches on how he films and records his drums. So all you drummers making videos here's some good insight into how one of the best does it.<br> <br> 31:00 - 35:00: Keeping on the subject of drum videos. We talk about staying fresh when trying to post content every day and how to keep from getting into ruts. Charlie and Rich talk a lot about strategy on creating the content and keeping things fresh and how making these videos can help you keep playing drums to help overall.<br> <br> 35:00 - 37:00: Here I bring up the topic of Charlie's videos that have drum notation at the bottom of the screen. I personally love that he adds that touch mainly because I like reading drum notation. But it's cool to hear what he uses to add those into his videos for those of us who like to break things down by reading them.<br> <br> 37:00 - 55:00: Rapid Singles<br> <br> 1. What was holding you back from becoming the successful drummer? - Committing material to recording and finishing work. G.T.D. "Get things done."<br> 2. What is the best piece of advice you have ever received? - "Let the click play you." Sometimes playing to a click can be like target practice so this advice will help with a more natural feel when playing with a metronome. <br> 3. What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? - Attention to detail. Make sure to listen as Charlie gets more in depth with this question. <br> 4. Share a resource or tool that helps you survive as a drummer? - Online media in general. Both for promoting himself as well as finding inspiration from other drummers out there. <br> 5. Recommend just one book. what would it be and why? - Mastering the Tables of Time by David Stanoch.