Web Version - Drum Workshop

Satnam Ramgotra may not be a name you’ve heard
before, but he’s quickly being elevated to the upper
echelon of studio drummers. This may be due, in
part, to his association with omnipresent, high-powered film
composer, Hans Zimmer, but he has the uniqueness, style,
and drumming prowess to back up his reputation. We spoke
with Satnam about his move from strictly being a drummer,
to also composing and engineering his own recordings. As
you’ll read, he’s a drummer that’s keeping pace with today’s
rapidly evolving music scene.
SCOTT DONNELL: Talk a little bit about your drumming
past, career highlights, notable gigs, etc.
SATNAM RAMGOTRA: I’ve done some gigs where I’ve
definitely had to pinch myself! One gig I was honored to do
for a little more than eight years was with Nikka Costa, whom
I consider a true artist’s artist. We traveled to many parts of
the world and got to be on tours with the likes of Beck, Erykah
Badu, Prince, and Lenny Kravitz. I also toured with Jada
Pinkett Smith’s metal band called Wicked Wisdom and we
opened for Britney Spears, as well. A notable gig during that
time was one of Prince’s birthday parties at Paisley Park. We
got a personal tour of the studio and the garage that housed
all of his cars from his old videos. Pretty cool if you grew
up a major fan of his like I did in the ‘middle of nowhere’
Canada! He’s even jumped on stage and jammed with us!
Beck had me sit in on the tabla on one of my all-time favorite
songs. That song actually doesn’t even have percussion on
it! That was a definite highlight. Getting to record drums
with Bootsy in his home studio in Ohio was also pretty rad!
Early on in my career, I got to be a guest artist on gigs for
Sting, with Manu Katché on drums, and Seal, with Brian
Blade on drums. These artists, and their drummers at the
time, were major, huge influences on me. A long time ago, I
did a gig that I’ll never forget, subbing for Abe Jr. in Germany
with Mike & Teddy Landau’s group, The Raging Honkies.
Every night I was pinching myself!! I sucked, but man it
was fun! Nowadays, getting to be a part of Hans Zimmer’s
world means we have the opportunity to collaborate with
all kinds of musicians. Sometimes, we play together when
we are coming up with ideas. One of the coolest times was
with Dave Stewart and Pharrell Williams. It’s much different
writing tunes on the spot as opposed to recording a tune
that has already been started as a demo. Other times we’ve
collaborated over dubs, but getting a chance to play with
guys like Johnny Marr and Mel Wesson on a live, one-timeonly
performance like we did for the Inception premiere is
the coolest. I have to say, the first real studio ‘pinch myself’
moment was when I got to record alongside my drum hero,
Vinnie Colaiuta and percussion/drum hero, Alex Acuña on
a Lee Ritenour album! Vinnie and I were recently part of a
massive drum set ensemble, but I can’t tell you anymore than
that right now.
SD: How has the tabla influenced your drum set playing?
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