"Music Entrepreneur" Rob Wallis Interview
www.HudsonMusic.com
Interview by Roger Zee (12/19/20)
Roger Zee: Who inspired you to play drums?
Rob Wallis: I actually don’t remember! At about nine, I got my first snare drum, a silver sparkle Kent that I still own. Just finished restoring it. When I got a few more pieces, I remember first playing along to Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass's "The Lonely Bull" from the Whipped Cream album, the one with the cover of the gorgeous lady covered in it -- very risqué for the time! When I turned thirteen, my band won the Dobbs Ferry, NY Kiwanis Club talent show playing the Vanilla Fudge version of “You Keep Me Hanging On." Ironically, I eventually met Fudge drummer Carmine Appice and we became close friends. Next, I remember Jimi Hendrix's "Are You Experienced" really impressing me. I wore that out on my record player with its three inch speaker! Mitch Mitchell drew me in with the incredible looseness of his playing. Not until years later, when I started listening to some of the jazz masters, could I hear Elvin Jones come thru Mitch’s playing in a big way. To me, the Hendrix trio seemed as good as it gets. But I also loved Cream with Ginger Baker.
Here's a funny story. At one of the earliest NAMM Shows I attended with my first company, DCI Music Video, in Anaheim, CA, I remember standing at our table, too small to afford a booth, trying to sell our goods when a man walks up and starts telling me how much he enjoys our VHS video tapes. His strong British accent starts my mind going. I begin thinking, no way! So in an effort to find out, I reach my hand out and say, "It’s a pleasure, my name’s Rob." He puts his out and says, "Hi Rob, my name's Mitch." After about ten minutes, the medics lift me off the floor! No, just kidding, but a true story. My life's full of these chance meetings... I always tell my kids, you never know whose path you might cross in the course of your day! My Marlon Brando story's a good one too, but long so I’ll save it for another day, LOL!
RZ: You've worked with some major figures in the Rock/Blues/Jazz world. Talk about your journey.
RW: I lead a double career. I started out playing drums, then went to college to earn a degree in accounting, which I hated! Afterwards I worked for a short time at Sam Ash Music in White Plains, NY. I transferred to Sam Ash 48th Street in Manhattan thinking what a great place to meet musicians! And so it happened... While working in the city, I heard about a small, underground drum school located a few blocks from 48th Street called "Drummers Collective." One day on my lunch hour I walked down to check it out and began studying there. Within a year, I found out the owner wanted to move back to a family business in Boston. So with just about no money down, I bought the school for the value of the instruments there, partnering with the person who worked the front desk. A pretty crazy move, especially since my new business partner and I knew each other for literally fifteen minutes! We actually chatted and became friendly when I went in for lessons. Even went out to lunch once where the idea came up. And the next thing you know, I'm 25 years old with a partner and a set of keys to a space on 42nd Street with six drum rooms and a large open space plus two offices. That began my business life. Within a year of buying the school, I heard about the coming of a thing called a VCR that could play and record video and got the idea to start filming master classes and selling tapes. At the time, I didn’t own a VCR and didn’t know anyone that did. But I knew deep down that this would take off as a big thing to say the least.
At the same time, living in Yonkers, I also played music, mostly in the city with some occasional Westchester gigs. I started subbing on Broadway shows and playing on some jingles. A few of the teachers at Drummers Collective would occasionally recommend me to sub for them. One such gig came from a drummer named Terry Silverlight. A terrific player, he recommended me to work with a songwriter named Gary Portnoy. One day I got a call from Gary to do a session at Media Sound on 57th Street. I ended up playing on the single version of the "Cheers" TV Show theme which he wrote! The record made it into the Top 10. I also subbed in a few Broadway shows, including my favorite -- the original Off-Broadway version of "Little Shop of Horrors."
For many years, I worked in a NYC band called "The Rhythm Method." We played some of the classic venues like Tracks on the upper West Side, The Ritz, and Heartbreak. The group lasted for a bunch of years and included some great players. I also freelanced various gigs for a long time.
About 20 years ago I made the decision to stay home more in order to watch my three kids grow up. I decided not to play music for a while. As my children grew older and began leaving the nest for college, etc., I found myself with time on my hands and a burning desire to begin playing again. It started again for me with an invitation from bassist Steve Wexler, another Briarcliff resident, to go to the Tuesday night jam at Lucy's in Pleasantville led by Will Van Sise. That went down about eight or nine years ago and I’ve played steadily ever since.
A few years back I got a call from Ron Negro, a drummer I met once briefly, asking if wanted to sit in with his band Powderfinger. Butch Trucks of the Allman brothers just passed away and they wanted to do a tribute set at Lucy’s. I couldn't make the gig due to a previous commitment, but told Ronnie I’d love to do it and maybe we could perform a one-shot night of Allman Brothers music. So Powderfinger (Norm Dodge on guitar, Bob Goetz on bass, and Ron Negro) added Geoff Hartwell on guitar, Chris Burke on keys, as well as myself. I'd never met Bob and Norm, but we corresponded via email and picked out two sets of music. We agreed to do one rehearsal at Geoff’s place and then enjoy a fun night playing out. After the first rehearsal song, we all looked at each other and realized we felt "The Force." And so gave birth to a very, very powerful "SoulShine!"
A few days later we played the gig and unexpectedly sold out Lucy’s. Quite the night! We all wanted a second gig, so we booked it at Lucy's a few weeks later. That drew even more people. Our third performance came from Scott Campbell who wanted us to play the brand new Chappaqua Performing Arts Center. I guess word had spread about the band cause we sold it out, or close to it. That occurred over three and a half years ago. Since then, we played The Tarrytown Music Hall in NY, Ridgefield Playhouse in CT, as well as other venues throughout NY, NJ, CT, and PA. Last Fall, we started working with the Blue Raven booking agency who began lining up East Coast dates. This past Summer, we scheduled a number of theater and outdoor shows, but as we know... By the way, thank you so much for your generous review of the SoulShine ABB live show at Garcia's in Port Chester NY.
So I led this double life! I played drums and ran two Manhattan businesses. Those businesses kept me very busy -- Drummers Collective which became an internationally known drum school, as well as DCI Music Video, also known worldwide through our early projects featuring Steve Gadd, Neil Peart, Jaco Pastorius, BB King, Carlos Santana, Chick Corea, Dave Weckl, and so many others. Then a few years back, I sold my share of Drummers Collective. Years earlier I sold DCI Music Video and formed a new company called Hudson Music.
RZ: Tell me about Hudson Music.
RW: In 1998 after selling DCI Music Video, we started a new company in order to pick up where that left off. This began when DVD’s first started to take hold. So everything we did included a DVD release. I think we put out the first one with DreamTheater drummer, Mike Portnoy. We also worked with Neil Peart on several projects, as well as Victor Wooten, Steve Smith Jojo Mayer, Tommy Igoe, and many others. We also began focusing on books, many with accompanying video or audio. At this point, our catalog contains about 200+ titles. A few years ago, I made the decision to start building a digital catalog by licensing classic drum titles from the past 50 years. That now includes over 250 titles. Also, a ways back, I started a lesson App thru the Apple App Store called Drum Guru and Bass Guru. I produced about 100 drum lesson packs with players like Chad Smith, Mike Mangini, Steve Smith and Steve Gadd and about 50-60 packs with bass players like Vic Wooten, Felix Pastorius, Lincoln Goines, and many others.
The latest offering from Hudson's a catalog of over 200 play-along tracks for drummers minus drums. This past year, I wanted to try a new area of publishing, so we released four biographies -- Buddy Rich, Jeff Porcaro, Liberty DeVitto and Las Vegas legend Bobby Morris. I feel so fortunate to produce such a wide range of products. And I still look forward to working with more great artists and creating new things.
RZ: What drum kit do you currently play?
RW: I own a mid Eighties Yamaha Recording series. For Rhythm Method gigs, I took out the old name and put together a loose band of rotating musicians that play R & B, and SoulShine, I use a four piece kit -- small and simple. For other gigs, I sometimes use just a snare drum, bass drum, hi hat and ride cymbal. I love getting back to basics. That way nothing gets in the way of the groove. For cymbals, I trade off some prototypes Zildijan sent me over the years as well as some cymbals Amedia sent with the old K Ziljdian sound. I mainly use a 1966 Ludwig 400 chrome snare drum, although I own a collection of vintage drums and started thinking about mixing them in once we start playing shows again. Anyone with any drums 1960’s or older that you want to sell, please contact me...
RZ: Do you teach private lessons?
RW: I used to teach privately in Westchester, pre-Drummers Collective, and then continued for a little while in the early days of The Collective. I really enjoyed teaching. Maybe someday I can get back to it!
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
RW: A few years ago, as I drove down from Westchester to the Jersey Shore for the weekend, my phone rang while on the Tappan Zee and a friend said, if you're in the area, Bernie Williams is appearing live on The FAN with Mike Francesa, sitting in with a well known Springsteen Tribute band at one of the Shore's largest clubs. He went on to say that since I knew Bernie, he wanted me to know he held an extra ticket to get in. I told him I had no idea about the traffic, but I’d let him know since it's on the way to my destination. Long story short, I got there, the band's playing with Francessa broadcasting from the side of the stage. And somehow I managed to catch Bernie’s eye even through a packed, probably 1000 person crowd. Don’t know how that happened, but he signaled me to meet him backstage after their set. As I spoke to Bernie, one of the guys from the band came by and Bernie introduced us. Within about two minutes, this fella brought over the band leader and they asked if I’d sit in for the next set. I said, "you’re joking, its live on the radio and we never met..." They asked if I knew any Springsteen tunes. I happen to know most of his catalog from years of listening and going to live shows. So the next thing I know, within fifteen minutes of getting there, I walk onstage in my shorts and flip flops and play a four song set, live on the radio. That was pretty cool...
Another memorable show happened while at college in Florida. They scheduled Herbie Mann scheduled to do an outdoor performance on campus to almost four thousand people on the great lawn. They called me up to rent my drums and when I went to set them up, I heard the band talking about the drummer's flight problems. They didn't know when he’d arrive, so they delayed the show for a bit with the hope of him showing but eventually Herbie asked me if I’d sit in until he arrived. So there I sat, not familiar with his song catalog, winging it in front of several thousand people. After about twenty minutes, his drummer showed up and I just about ran off that stage... Yikes!
RZ: How has the Covid-19 Pandemic affected you?
RW: For all the musicians around the world, it's been incredibly tough. SoulShine had our shows cancelled all over the East Coast this summer. The same with all Rhythm Method bookings. I also work a lot with Curtis Winchester, Jon Cobert, Gil Parris, Mark Fineberg and Kip Sophos. Those gigs also went out the window. I'm especially sad about our annual Christmas Caroling show at Pete’s Tavern that won't happen. It's one of the most fun evenings of the year and always a great way to kick off to the Holidays. I really miss the music, the fun, and hanging with all my buddies. Can’t wait until it all comes back!
YouTube - Cheers Theme Song - Gary Portnoy
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