Gerald Heyward interviewed by BeatIt
Gerald Heyward is one of top gospel and R&B drummers. By some, he is hailed as the “godfather” and icon of this drumming style. His C.V. includes collaborations with the most prominent artists from this genre in history: Blackstreet, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Puff Daddy, Coolio, Missy Elliot, Destiny’s Child, Beyonce. Currently, he is a member of Chris Brown’s band.
Gerald Heyward during his drum clinic at “Motorland” bike store in Wrocław, Poland
In the fall of last year, Gerald conducted two drum clinics in Poland – in Wrocław and Warsaw. We met up with him in connection with the former event, at the muzyczny.pl store. That’s where this interview was shot.
In the second part of this conversation, our guest talks about the gear he uses, which, as he says, is the backbone of his sound and helps him express himself. Gerald discusses his choice of cymbals and drums (including the configurations) as well as the right approach to endorsement deals. If you want to know, who Emily was and what her connection with cymbals was, you do want to see this episode. The story is very tasty!
“When I leave, DW will definitely be in my casket. Zildjianem, too. They’re gonna be in the casket, man. With DW and Zildjian, there’s always something new. It’s like they’re constantly pushing the envelope.”
“I’m happy with the companies. I talk about this in my clinics. A good friend of mine, Ricky Lawson, who passed away a couple of years ago, he taught me about endorsements and about always playing what you like and not playing something that someone is giving you.”
“UFIP used to have people that distributed those cymbals. Check this out! Every time I’d go to L.A., I’d be like: ‘I got a TV show, I’m gonna need some cymbals’. I got the address to see the contact person. I pull up to this house in L.A. This little, younger lady comes out and she goes: ‘Hey, you Gerald?’. ‘Yeah, I’m here to get the cymbals.’. She’s like: ‘Ok, I’m gonna need you to help me do something before I give you the cymbals’. We walk up the steps, we go into the house and we walk into the living room. There’s nothing in there, there’s cymbals all against the wall. There’s this big…”
You need to watch the video to find out who or what it was…
Gerald Heyward is endorsed by the following brands: Zildjian, DW, Vic Firth, Remo, Roland.
Drummers and Drummerettes! We give you Gerald Heyward in the second episode of an exclusive interview for our channel! Enjoy!
Share
